Unlike the oppressive noise of the evening, the basement of the livehouse during the day was much more vibrant.
Fast-paced J-Pop accompaniment played through the speakers.
Musicians carrying various pieces of equipment hurried past each other on the stage and through the corridors, while the sound of someone warming up their voice drifted from an unknown direction.
A young girl wearing a beige hoodie and a navy-blue long skirt, topped with a loose, casual jacket, walked through the passage.
Her long hair fluttered behind her, and her eyes behind her black-framed glasses were clear and calm.
— Koharu Miura was not as composed as she appeared.
The closer she got to the door of the dressing room from the previous night, the faster Koharu’s heart raced. She couldn’t help but slow her pace.
— The dressing room door was ajar.
As Koharu approached the slightly open door, she could hear the voices of several girls inside.
It wasn’t particularly valuable information, just idle chatter.
Koharu composed herself, adjusted her expression, and stepped lightly toward the door.
…Alright. ‘Time to act.’
The girl tapped softly on the door.
“Um… excuse me, sorry to bother you.”
She didn’t push the door open immediately after knocking, but stood obediently at the entrance and waited for a moment.
Soon, the partially open door was pulled wide.
A university-aged girl with twin tails and heavy dark circles under her eyes appeared.
Through the open door, two other girls could be seen sitting inside.
The girl directly facing the door wore a gray sweatshirt and was looking down at a sheet of music.
The other one looked a bit younger than the first two — likely around the same age as Koharu — and was sitting in the corner, silently drinking from a can.
They were wearing light makeup or none at all, and none of them were in their stage outfits.
They looked no different from ordinary people.
They were just ordinary girls struggling in this small circle, much like many other underground idols.
As the three of them came into Koharu’s view, the girl at the door caused the three inside to look up simultaneously.
“You are…”
The girl in the gray sweatshirt, who seemed to be the leader, asked in a puzzled tone.
She stood up, her voice relatively polite. “Sorry, we aren’t open for business yet. Who are you looking for?”
“Ah, I’m so sorry!”
Koharu quickly gave a small bow, her tone sounding flustered.
” — I’m sorry, I’m a fan of Sugar Starlight… I happened to be passing by today and saw the back door was open, so I couldn’t help but want to come and take a look… I am truly sorry!”
Hearing the word “fan,” the expressions of the three girls clearly softened.
“I see.”
The twin-tailed girl who opened the door for Koharu gave a strained smile.
“Since you’re a girl too, come in and sit for a while. Though we don’t have anything right now, we can at least offer you a glass of water.”
Koharu thanked them and sat down obediently.
Her gaze swept around the dressing room as she asked, sounding casual, “Um… excuse me, I didn’t see ALISA… Is she not here right now?”
The air froze in that instant.
The previously relaxed atmosphere plummeted to freezing point at the mention of that name.
Maki’s hand tightened on the sheet music she was holding.
She looked at Koharu with a complicated gaze, appearing as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
“ALISA…”
The twin-tailed girl lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously picking at her nails. “She didn’t come to rehearsal today, either.”
Koharu keenly caught the word “either.”
“I see…”
She allowed a well-timed trace of worry to show on her face, her eyes sincere. “I’ve seen a lot of rumors about Arisa online lately, saying she’s not feeling well, or that she’s… she’s going to leave the group. I was worried about her, so I wanted to see if I could run into her.”
As Koharu spoke, she observed the reactions of the three girls.
The leader sighed. She pulled a chair over and sat opposite Koharu, her expression becoming much more serious. “Listen, fellow student, we understand how you feel. Actually… we also wish those rumors were just rumors.”
She paused for a moment, appearing to weigh her words.
“My name is Maki, and I’m the leader of this group,” she introduced herself, her voice laced with deep exhaustion. “Since you’re a fan who supports us, there’s no need for me to hide it. Arisa’s recent situation… it really isn’t good.”
“Is she unwell?” Koharu pressed.
“It would be better if she were just sick.”
The girl drinking coffee suddenly chimed in. She set the can down, her eyes appearing somewhat gloomy. “She simply doesn’t want to be with us. During these fifteen days of rehearsal, she has been late more often than she’s been on time. Even when she finally shows up, she just sits by herself in a daze, unwilling to even coordinate her dance steps with us.”
“Yuu, don’t say that,” Maki scolded softly, but there wasn’t much conviction in her voice.
“Isn’t it true, though?”
The girl named Yuu became a bit agitated. “Maki, the Anniversary is only three weeks away. We pulled so many all-nighters to earn that opportunity! But what about her? Her head is filled with those rumors about leaving the group. Every time rehearsal is mentioned, she looks completely distracted, as if this place is some kind of cage that’s suffocating her.”
“We’re human, too. How can we have peace of mind during rehearsal when we see the Center Position acting like this?”
Koharu listened quietly, and the puzzle in her heart began to come together.
‘So that’s how it is.’
It wasn’t one-sided bullying, but a vicious cycle following a collapse of trust.
Kiyono Arisa had developed a strong avoidance mentality due to some unknown fear — perhaps a stalker, or maybe family pressure — and this manifested as a negative attitude toward rehearsals. For the other members who were desperately trying to seize the chance for fame, Arisa’s negativity was not just a betrayal of the group, but a desecration of their hard work.
Due to a lack of effective communication, the already fragile friendship between the girls had finally devolved into a sharp conflict under the immense pressure.
“Maki, is Arisa really going to leave the group?”
Koharu looked the leader in the eye, her tone calm. “Even though I’m just a fan, I’ve always felt that Arisa isn’t the type of person to be lazy without a reason.”
Maki was stunned.
She looked at the girl her own age with the clear eyes. The frustration that had been suppressed in her heart seemed to ease slightly because of that objective statement.
“Actually… she has never personally said she wants to leave the group.”
Maki gave a bitter smile. “But those rumors sound so real. There were even fans at the Live who asked her directly if she was going to jump to a major agency. Facing all that, she does nothing but stay silent and cry, or she loses her temper like she did yesterday.”
“If you had been there yesterday, you probably would have felt it. At the time, we just wanted her to practice the chorus one more time, but she suddenly broke down and said we were all forcing her…”
Maki covered her face, her voice growing raspy.
“We really didn’t want to force her. We just… we just wanted to see the real, shining Sugar Starlight on stage on that day.”
A long silence fell over the dressing room.
That heavy, powerless sorrow made even Koharu feel a sense of suffocation.