The Nonfiction That Only You Know

Chapter 21

Original Author: ひのはら (Hinohara)
Date Submitted to Kakuyomu: 2021/06/15

The venue buzzes with confusion and joy.
After the last song, the group members usually leave the stage briefly to prepare for an encore.

However, that's not the case today. All the members remained on stage, led by Fuuka.

Chiho gazes at the pink penlights from the stage. This is Minami's member color, so she loves seeing this sight.

"The truth is, we have a surprise announcement for you all!"

Fuuka is a good speaker and since she is the leader of the group, it is one of her roles to MC.

The audience cheers with joy.
Fans love surprise announcements and everyone is excited.

"We have a new member joining Love Mill! Rumi-chan!"

The stage darkens and the spotlights gather in one spot.
They shine down on Yotsuya Rumi, dressed in a red costume.

"I'm the new member, Yotsuya Rumi."

The audience's excitement heats up further at the cute and bashful Rumi.

However, looking closely, Chiho can see that the number of fans in the front row with confused looks on their faces is not small.

That's natural. After all, even the members of the group are still terribly puzzled.

"My member color is red. I will do my best as a member of Love Mill from now on! Please treat me well."

Some of the glow sticks begin to change color to red.
From light blue... from green... and from pink, the color of Minami.

In just a few seconds, some of the fans changed the member they support to Rumi.

"Now then, this is the new six-member Love Mill's..."

At their leader's signal, the intro begins to play.
This is one of Love Mill's top hits, loved for many years.

Until now, it was Minami's role to sing the first lines, but Rumi now sings that part instead.

There's no way Chiho wouldn't feel frustrated.
This new member appeared out of nowhere and stole both her part and her fans.

Still, while she's on the stage, she must put on a smile.
Since she takes pride in this job, she'll sing and dance on this stage no matter what is in the pit of her stomach.

In the waiting room after the live concert, Chiho's attention focuses on her smartphone screen.
For the sake of maintaining her mental health, her manager had told her to refrain from egosurfing.

The screen shows many tweets about Love Mill.

Fans' reactions to the sudden announcement of a new member varied.

Some gladly accepted the news.
Some declared they would change who they support.
Some expressed negative opinions about Yotsuya Rumi.

Everyone has their own basis for their opinions, but they all have the best interests of Love Mill in mind.

While removing her makeup and looking at her smartphone, Minami hears the member next to her call out to her.

"Minami, didn't you make quite a few mistakes today?"

Startled by that, Chiho's shoulders jump.
The announcement of a new member wasn't the reason she couldn't remain composed onstage.

She was curious if Kisaragi Mii came and was restlessly trying to catch a glimpse of her, so she couldn't concentrate.

Her egosurfing from earlier was also not to see the opinions people had on Yotsuya Rumi.

Chiho was trying to find Mii's social media account to see if she posted anything.

Chiho couldn't help but be curious about Mii's thoughts on the new member announcement.

"Haah..."

Ever since she became aware of her feelings, she has been like this.
She sighs all the time and can't think about anything except Mii.

Even though she knows she can't go on like this, her mind has been completely dominated by thoughts of Mii.

What if Mii decides to support someone else?
Chiho doesn't think she of all people would do that, but there is always a chance.
Just imagining that fills her with nausea and she holds her head in her hands.

"...Not that."

Even though Mii isn't hers, Chiho doesn't want the person she loves to be taken from her.

She has succumbed to the terribly selfish desire of wanting that girl all to herself.

How can bad premonitions be so accurate?

She thought that if she went to the rooftop, her fun time with Mii awaited her.
However, what Mii is saying now makes Chiho want to plug her ears.

"So, they announced a new member yesterday. I was surprised by how incredibly cute she is."

Yotsuya Rumi is indeed cute.
She's cute enough to be accepted by fans even after being introduced as a late member and she has a little sisterly cuteness that idol fans appreciate.

When Chiho did her egosurfing last night, the number of people who stated they would switch over to supporting Rumi was not small.

"It seems Rumi-chan will be popular~"

Even though normally she only talks about Isuzu Minami...
Chiho hates hearing the names of other girls come out of Mii's mouth.

She sits on the floor grasping her legs and burying her face in them in frustration.

"Hey, Chiho-chan, are you not feeling well...?"

Despite Mii's concern, Chiho decides to play dumb and refuses to answer.
She's acting like a child and knows that Mii will become exasperated with her.

Even so, jealousy truly is a frightening thing. It spurs people into action without giving reason a chance to intervene.

If Chiho told her not to talk about other girls, what would Mii's face look like?
Would she laugh it off, wondering what Chiho was talking about?

Chiho wants to give in to her selfishness and say it, but she's not sure if she'll be hated for saying that, so she holds back.
Chiho is terribly timid when it comes to the girl she loves.