The show must go on

Scene 2

It's Wednesday today, yesterday I was met with a choice. Well it's not really a choice, there's not much I can do.

I'll just live my day how it was supposed to be for today. I do my usual training until shinozui my dance teacher come in.

"Your stance is wrong, you lack focus."

"Hello to you too, you're always so polite." I'm so frustrated, do I need to endure all of this just to make everyone happy?

After finishing my training I spend the rare free time I have with Ritsu, we decided to go on a walk in a park.

I'm always happy to be with him, but today it feels weird, I don't have the strength to tell him what happened. But he noticed pretty quickly that something's wrong.

"Are you okay, Rinka?"

"I'm okay, I'm just tired because of work." As if things weren't hard enough, I hear someone calling me by my idol name. I don't really like being recognized.

"Mion! Is that really you?"

"No, you must be mistaken." I take Ritsu by his arm and go away, I don't want to deal with it.

After hiding somewhere calm, Ritsu get closer to me.

"I can see there's a problem, you wouldn't act like that if there weren't.

"I swear it's nothing." I don't want to worry him, I just need to keep it to myself.

"Let's eat ice cream, I want one." I try the best I can to make him think about something else.

"I'll buy them, don't worry." I follow him, and we spend the next hour together.

After an hour of fun without any worries, I get a call, it's my manager.

"Hello manager, I have a free day today, you know."

"I know, but I'd need you to come, there's a problem and I need you here. It's just 5 minutes." I hesitate, but Ritsu understand quickly what happened.

"You should go, it was fun, and we'll do it again next time."

"I'm really sorry." I kiss him on the cheek and run toward the agency.

Once I'm there, I see everyone panic, something big must have happened. I go to my manager, there's Fuyuko too. I really don't want to see her after yesterday.

"Manager, I'm here."

"Ah, Rinka. There was supposed to be an interview with one of our top idol, but she got sick."

"Is she okay?" I'm concerned for her safety. I know it's not easy being an idol, so a top one is even harder.

"She won't be available to work for at least a week, it's a shame we have a lot to do."

"I see, and what can I do?" Fuyuko looks at me in the eyes and start speaking.

"You see, we need someone to do the interview instead, but everyone's busy. And we're the only two available."

"Well, you can take care of it, I was busy."

"Busy with someone? A guy maybe?" She's really getting on my nerve.

"Wasn't it what you wanted, being in front of the public's eyes alone?"

"I'll let you enjoy your last moments of glory." Why is she so mean? She could at least ignore me.

"So Rinka will do it?" Ask my manager, can't he see that something is happening in front of him? Is he too busy thinking about his schedule to see that I need help?

"Okay, fine, I'll do it." I don't know why I accepted, maybe I wanted this conversation to end.

I send a text to Ritsu saying I will be busy. Fuyuko comes toward me with a smug face.

"Too bad you're too busy to see your boyfriend. You can just say that you give up and go see him."

"I don't intent to give up on being an idol." I don't even wait for her answer and go prepare myself

After the preparations are done, I go to give the interview. I would have preferred to spend time in another way, but it's okay.

The reporter and cameraman are making sure everything is good. After a moment, the cameraman gives the signal to start.

"Hello everyone! We're here to interview a special guest. Mion herself! How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing well, I'm always happy to give an interview for my fans!"

"We are glad to see you are doing well. Isn't the life of an idol too difficult?"

"It demands a lot of hard work, for sure, but it's always worth it after seeing all of your smiles while I perform!"

"You're very happy to be an idol, what inspired you to be one?" For a moment, I'm not sure if I should tell them, but maybe they will feel sad for me.

Maybe my popularity will skyrocket!

"I never said it before, it was supposed to be secret. But I will tell everything to thank you for your support! It's because of my sister, she wanted to be an idol. Sadly, she couldn't because of her illness. So I decided to be one for her!"

Was it what she wanted? Not living her teenage years? Worrying about cameras every time? Is it all worth it in the end?

"That's a very sad story, we're sure she's proud of you." I hope she is, I want her to be happy. Even if she's not here anymore.

I get a call, it's Ritsu.

"I'm really sorry, I forgot to turn it off."

"It's okay, we'll take a small break." After everyone split up for a moment, I answer the call.

"Ritsu? Something happened?"

"Kinda, but I hope you're not busy."

"No, I'm not, don't worry. What is it?"

"There's a girl named Fuyuko that talked to me. I was going to see you after you finish work and I found her by chance. She told me she knew about us and that I was causing troubles, is that true?"

No, why does he know, he didn't need to know.

"It's nothing, I'll deal with it."

"It's not nothing, I know music is important for you, and I don't want to cause any problem."

"I'll manage alone."

"But you don't need to do it alone, we're a couple. We need to do it together."

"Can you just shut up! I want to be alone!" I didn't mean to scream, but I did. It's like all the stress I had come out just now.

"I'll leave you alone, I'm sorry." He hung up, tears starts to blurry my eyes.

Am I going to lose everything I had? It starts to rain, the interview is canceled, everyone goes home except me.

I watch the sky as my tears mix with the rain.