Back in the day, Arima Kana was known as a "child prodigy actress." Because of that, she developed a proud and arrogant personality—conceited, sharp-tongued, and easily offended.
She didn't understand how to get along with others and always thought too highly of herself. As a result, her popularity started to decline as early as elementary school.
By the time she reached middle school, the number of roles she could get had dwindled to almost nothing—and the few she did get were small, low-profile parts in forgettable productions.
In simple terms, little Kana had been a brat: sharp-tongued, spoiled, egotistical, and self-centered. Even Seiya had often been on the receiving end of her tantrums.
The last time Seiya saw Arima Kana was two or three years ago.
At the time, Seiya had landed the leading role in a movie, while Kana—who happened to be in the same production—was only given a minor supporting part, barely a step above an extra.
When he saw his childhood friend again after so long, Seiya had actually planned to catch up with her once the shoot wrapped.
But to his surprise, by the time he was done, Kana had already vanished from the set without a trace.
Back then, Seiya had felt a little disappointed. After all, though she'd been a bit of a sharp-tongued little gremlin, she'd also helped him quite a bit when they were younger.
Later, Seiya had thought about asking around for Kana's contact info. With his current connections, it wouldn't have been hard at all.
But when he remembered that she had probably recognized him, yet still chose to leave in a hurry, he figured she must have had her reasons—and decided not to disturb her.
Still, he never expected that after all these years, he would run into her again… right here, at the same high school he'd just transferred into. And judging by her uniform, she seemed to be a second-year student here.
"Seiya… I can't believe you also chose Youtou High! And what was that supposed to mean just now?!
You said I haven't changed at all these past two years—what's that even supposed to mean? You even pointed out my height! You know I'm your senior now, right? Senior!
Seriously, why are all you juniors like this? Have you people never heard of showing respect to your seniors?"
Hearing the indignant tone of the girl before him, Seiya blinked in surprise—then broke into a warm smile.
"I take back what I said, Kana. You've changed a lot since the old days… so much that it almost feels strange to me."
Kana gave a wry smile. She knew exactly what he meant.
Indeed, after everything she'd been through, if she hadn't changed at all, that would've been the real problem.
Her pride and arrogance had cost her dearly.
After being battered again and again by the harsh realities of the industry, she had no choice but to become more tactful and flexible—to learn how to compromise with the world.
Her talent agency had dropped her when she was still in elementary school, right after her fame began to fade.
She had tried branching out into other fields, but none of her attempts gained any traction. Even the occasional job she got thanks to her past fame only ended up costing the companies money instead of earning it.
After countless failures, Arima Kana's former arrogance completely crumbled. She even considered retiring from the entertainment world more than once.
But in the end, her longing for recognition—and her genuine love for acting—kept her going.
Back during that film shoot two years ago, Kana had immediately recognized Seiya. She'd even wanted to greet him—to reconnect with one of the few childhood friends she still had.
But the moment she saw Seiya surrounded by staff and admirers, she froze.
She knew very well that the Seiya standing there was no longer the same boy she used to know.
The Seiya of today and the Kana of now lived in two completely different worlds.
Looking at him, she couldn't help but recall her past self—and realize just how laughable she had been back then.
The Seiya shining so brightly now likely didn't even remember the rude little girl who'd once barked at him all the time. So instead of embarrassing herself, she had quietly turned and walked away.
That was what she'd thought back then.
Yet today, she hadn't expected that she'd run into Seiya again here—and that he'd be nothing like she'd imagined.
When Seiya had teased her about her height just now, she'd acted annoyed on the surface—but deep down, she'd felt genuinely happy.
Because she realized… after all these years, Seiya hadn't changed one bit.
Despite becoming a big-name star, he wasn't arrogant or distant. He was still the same kind, gentle boy she remembered.
Of course, thinking about it again, that was no surprise. If Seiya had ever been like her younger self, he wouldn't have made it this far.
Seeing that Seiya still treated her like his old childhood friend, Kana was just about to strike up a proper conversation—when a blonde girl suddenly exclaimed in disbelief beside her.
"Wenren Seiya?! No way—that's really him?!
And wait, Arima-senpai, weren't you already washed up? Why do you look like you're on such good terms with a super popular actor like him?!"
Kana's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
She realized that this blonde girl—Hoshino Ruby—was absolutely her natural-born nemesis. Ever since they'd met, Ruby had unintentionally dealt her one emotional blow after another.
What made it worse was that Ruby's comments weren't even malicious—they were just brutally honest, straight from the heart.
"Hmph! The so-called 'super popular actor' you're talking about happens to be my junior, thank you very much.
We're childhood friends, so of course we know each other well.
Besides, this is Youtou High School—the only school in the city that specializes in nurturing entertainment industry talent.
Meeting idols, models, actors, or any kind of performer here isn't unusual at all."
Seeing that Seiya still treated her normally, Kana confidently placed her hands on her hips and struck a proud pose in front of Ruby.
Seiya, noticing that the blonde girl and the boy next to her were apparently Kana's friends, smiled warmly and said, "I'm Wenren Seiya. As Kana said, I'm her junior and childhood friend.
Like you two, I'm a first-year student here at Youtou High. Please take care of me."
Ruby's eyes went wide as she hurriedly introduced herself, clearly flustered. "I—I'm Hoshino Ruby! And this is my brother, Hoshino Aqua. Please take care of us too!"
She added shyly, "Wow, I didn't expect you to be so easy to talk to, Wenren-san. You're totally different from Arima-senpai—you don't have any of that 'celebrity attitude' at all."
"Just call me Seiya," he said with a light chuckle. "We're all classmates here, after all. Using honorifics would feel kind of weird."
(A lot of readers seem to dislike this arc… but honestly, I'm enjoying writing it quite a bit. Still, since people aren't into it, I'll pick up the pace. Probably about ten chapters left for this part. (ToT)/~~~)
(End of Chapter)