We've finishes filming the beginning of My Love with an Idol!
On the end party — evening
"Good work, guys!" Yuki said, cheering with the other's.
Nobu approaches Akane.
"It all happened in a flash, didn't it?"
Akane glares unto her beer, smiling.
"A lot of things had happened, but it was fun."
Nobu smiled back. Nodding.
"If Akane says so, we can't complain either."
Meanwhile
Mem-cho and Yuki approached Aqua, crawling unto him slowly, teasing.
Mem-cho smirks.
"So...?"
Yuki leans her head unto his shoulder.
Aqua takes a sip of his wine.
"Can we get to the point and ask this now...?"
Mem-cho and Yuki turns their head to Akane, taking her off guard.
Mem-cho:
"The final kiss! Are you really going out with him?!"
Yuki's
"What will happen next?
Akane blushed, looking down at the ground. closing her eyes, sighing
"I don't know."
Akane bites her lips, trying to focus
"We just went down with the flow during the show, and j have my career. I don't a time for a boyfriend..."
Nobu joins the conversation.
"You may be an entertainer but a high schooler like you can have a boyfriend or two!"
Mem-cho then turns her head to Yuki. A blank expression.
"What about you, Yuki?Are you changing one boyfriend after another?"
Yuki's eyelids dropped, sighing. Raising a finger
"Do you see me that way? For your information, my job is my number one priority. I've never had a boyfriend before."
Mem-cho's eyes widened.
"No way!"
Akane raises an arm. Taking a guess
"I think she's telling the truth. Someone from her performing arts department said the same thing."
Mem-cho's shoulders lowered.
"She's surprisingly chaste, huh?"
Akane continues —
"There are quite a number of people like that around models, you know? The ratio of idols and actresses is the same as that of ordinary people."
Nobu:
"But only a few of them will really say no romance. They're still occasionally exposed to scandals, after all..."
Mem-cho stares back at Akane, trying to put it all together.
"In that sense, it won't be a scandal if you go out on the show, so it's okay, right?"
Akane looks down, putting a finger on her lip.
"But..."
"That's right. We want you to use this show to get along." one of the staffs said. Holding a beer.
"However, from here on out, show won't be part of your life anymore. It's the couple"s freedom to decide whether they want to continue their relationship or break up.
There are people who'll continue to go and get married. But there are also people who'll call themselves a couple for a few months just to keep up appearances.
Think about it carefully...and decide for yourself."
He pouts another shot of beer into his bottle.
"There are a lot of bad adults who just want to use your talent before they throw you away, you know?"
He puts down his glass. Putting an arm unto his hips.
"You'll fine a lot of temptations in this industry. But those who get carried away by their surroundings easily will end up in hell."
He sighed, turning away.
"Well, that's a piece of advice the the so-called bad adult."
Mem-cho laughs back sarcastically.
The Staff turns his head back to them, raising an eyebrow.
"Speaking of, where did that bad kid go?" (referring to Aqua)
Meanwhile —
In a dark corner of the building, stands Aqua and Kaburagi.
"My love has a good reputation. I wasn't wrong choosing you, after all."
Aqua looks into the stars. Uninterested.
"I don't know about that. It only got a lot of attention after Akane was flamed online."
Kaburagi smirks, closing his eyes.
"I heard you're the one who fixed everything with your skills.
But that video you made...was a bit of a pain in the neck for the higher-ups.
In this industry, we have an iron rule not to leak unedited videos, so they were surprised when they saw it."
He turns his head to Aqua.
"Even though you were one of the performers, you still broke the rule. They even talked abour suing strawberry productions."
Aqua squinted his eyes.
"But they didn't do it, did they?
The contract says the performers are allowed to upload candid shots on the show's official accounts. That's why we uploaded the video right there. We did our job properly without violating the contract."
Kaburagi squints, chuckling.
"You're pretty shrewd, aren't you?"
Aqua looks down on the ground, thanking him sarcastically.
Kaburagi puts down his cigarette. Cleaning it up.
"On top of that, you kept your contract with me and did a good job. It's time for me to give you your reward, eh?"
He paused, turning his head back to Aqua.
"Would you like to go eat sushi next week?
I'll give you some information about Ai."
"I'll keep that date open." Aqua replied, eyes widened.
Yuki and Nobu finally found Aqua, waving a hand.
Yuki:
"Oh, Aqua."
Nobu waves a hand, too, inviting him to join them.
"Come here for a sec!"
Yuki's eyes furrowed.
"You can't run away!"
A few Minutes later
Aqua and Akane sits beside each other awkwardly. A loud silence...
Akane breaks thw awkwardness, composing herself, Blushing.
"Um, Aqua-kun. what now?"
Aqua rolls his eyes away.
"What now...? Yeah.
That episode will be broadcast, so we have to be a couple for a while."
Akane stares away.
"I know that, but... In that case...I mean...um..."
Akane swallows, trying to calm down.
"Is out relationship...part of a job? Or is it real?"
Aqua looks into his glass of wine. Shaking it
Well, I wouldn't say it's just part of a job..." (lying for Akane's sake)
Akane looks down, feeling guilty.
"Don't worry about me."
She paused, then turned her head to Aqua.
"You don't see me...as the opposite sex, do you?
You might think we'll of me when I'm playing my character. But you don't see me, Akane, in the same way, right?"
Aqua looks down on the table, feeling guilty, too
"Well..."
"I know that much." Akane replied gently
Aqua went silent for a some seconds. Then replied
"I don't see...you as the opposite sex, indeed. To me, dating is just an extension of my work."
Akane slowly frowns, closing her eyes.
"However." Aqua continued.
Akane's eyes widened, glancing over him.
"I'm highly interested in you...as an actress.
That alone isn't a lie..." Aqua said.
Akane smiles in relief.
"I see.
Oh well, it's all good."
She clasps her hand, leaning head into it.
"Those words make me happiest, after all."
Akane sighed.
"Let's be a couple as a job, then. We already have Yuki and Nobuyuki as a real couple, anyway."
Aqua's eyes widened, turning his head unto her.
"What?"
Akane whispers.
"Don't you realize? Those two...have started dating each other recently."
Aqua puts a finger on his chin, thinking.
"For real? But she dumped him during the filming..."
"Sly, isn't she?" Akane replied.
"But I like that side of her" Akane said, smiling, glancing unto her.
"It seems that...he's truly her first boyfriend."
Aqua went silent.
"I didn't know about that."
Hours passed
The four of the casts, Kengo, Nobu, Yuki and Akane waves bye to both Aqua and Mem-cho. Taking the leave first.
Mem-cho waves back.
Aqua noticed Mem-cho hasn't left yet. He turns unto her, saying
"Aren't you going to catch a taxi?"
Mem-cho shakes her head.
"No. My house is withing walking distance."
Mem-cho glares to the sky. Smiling.
"Come to think of it, we're pretty much neighbors, huh?"
"Well, most people in the industry live around here." Aqua replied dryly.
"I feel lonely already." Mem-cho replied.
"I love everyone on the set."
Aqua stares at Mem-cho.
"I see."
Mem-cho smirks, teasing Aqua.
"In your case, you won't be that lonely, huh? You're Akane's boyfriend, after all."
Aqua's shoulders lowered. Staring away.
"It's just a business relationship." Aqua exclaimed.
Mem-cho rests her arms above her head — walking.
"That's a good start, isn't it. Sooner or later, you might really end up being a couple."
Aqua puts on a gentle smile, uninterested.
"Never."
Mem-cho glares unto him intensely. Covering her mouth.
"Big talk...for someone whose face turned all red when Akane was playing Ai."
Aqua's face went dark.
"By the way, you know a lot about Ai, huh? Even though B-Komachi isn't from your generation." Mem-cho continued.
"So what? Everyone adores B-Komachi!" Aqua replied, defending.
Silence
Mem-cho's voice turned serious, lower than usual.
"Don't tell anyone, but...I originally wanted to be an Idol." staring up the sky.
She shakes it off, smiling it away.
"However, things happened and I lost heart. I'm doing well as a YouTuber, though!"
Aqua glares at her, eyes widened in realization.
He the stares upon the sky too, saying.
"Why don't you work for our agency?" Aqua claimed.
"The new B-Komachi...is looking for more members."
Mem-cho's eyes widened. Her eyes shined with hope and desire.