"Alright, great work everyone!"
With the producer's single remark, the party began. Having successfully wrapped up the dome concert, everyone was in a festive mood.
"Unnie! You were amazing again today!"
"...Yeah, thanks."
Nano, holding a glass of cola, came up beside me with a bright smile. Considering how terrified she had been of me when she first joined the group, it was tremendous growth.
Starting with Nano, the other members also came up to my side with smiles.
Nano, Natsume, Airi, Yui, Hina, and finally me, Ren. We were the members of the idol group 'Cornelia.'
"Unnie, doesn't this feel like a dream? My heart was pounding like crazy during our first performance, but now I don't feel as nervous performing at a dome as I did back then."
"...Right, I guess we're used to it now."
I had personally recruited every single one of our members, and unlike the original story, we even called each other unnie and dongsaeng, so by now they really felt like my little sisters.
I casually turned my head and sensed Shion watching us with a smile.
"Guys, hold on a sec."
I got up from my seat and headed to Shion's side. Maybe because I'm the type who can't stand seeing someone left alone, he looked lonely drinking by himself.
"Shion, thank you for your hard work today as well."
"Huh? Ah... if anything, Ren, you've worked harder than I have."
I sat beside Shion and spoke to him while he looked at his phone.
I could feel the other members making room for our conversation. Some of them even struck poses, going "What's going on?" as they looked at us.
'It's not really that kind of relationship.'
To begin with, since I'm essentially a man on the inside, the thought of seeing the producer as a romantic partner hadn't even crossed my mind.
'By the way, how old will I be next year...'
Come to think of it, I would soon have lived longer as a woman than as a man.
Ah, I already feel old.
"Huh? Ah, yes, President."
At that moment, a call came in on Shion's phone.
"...Ah, already?"
"What's going on?"
Shion's expression after taking the call looked unusual.
"The President wants me to bring you to him."
"The President?"
What could this be about? The President wasn't the type to call us just because we finished a dome concert. If he were, he would have summoned us dozens of times already.
With an inexplicable sense of unease, I moved my feet toward the President's office.
*
"...What did you say?"
I couldn't help but question the President's words.
"Say that again?"
"Yes, please repeat yourself."
No. Though I appeared calm at a glance, it was silent pressure. Pressure demanding I not talk back any further. If I were my usual self, I would have quietly backed down by this point.
But this was too big an issue to back down from.
"You're adding a member out of nowhere? And an ordinary person who hasn't even been properly trained?"
"She can start training now."
With those words, the President began earnestly pushing his argument.
"The fans will love the image of a youngest idol growing up alongside them."
"Yes, perhaps another group might."
Japanese idols had a tendency to debut groups that were relatively lacking in skill, intending for them to build experience in the field and grow from there.
But the group I belonged to, Cornelia, had been a complete-package idol group from the moment of our debut. Because the producer and I had brought in members based strictly on skill, potential, and personality.
That's why it had taken a full year to gather the current members.
As such, those who watched us wanted not a growth-type idol, but an idol who could perfectly execute both dance and song.
"You weren't good at first either, were you?"
"Yes, which is why I couldn't even step past the debut threshold until I got good."
I snapped back at the President, who was somehow defending his own choice. All of us had gone through countless efforts to become idols.
From interviews to training, it easily took over a year.
So who the hell is she to waltz right in?
"So, what's the reason you're favoring her so much?"
I had a rough idea, but I asked the President anyway. Because in this game, there was only one member who entered via parachute.
"...Because I see enough talent."
"Isn't it simply because she's your niece?"
"Sakamiya!!!"
His emotional reaction made me realize my guess was correct. If he truly saw talent, he could have sent her to the girl group he was currently pushing. Unlike us, they hadn't debuted yet, so there would have been plenty of time to sync with them.
Nevertheless, the fact that he insisted on squeezing her into our group meant she likely had a special relationship with the President, and that new member was Sakamoto Hikari, the President's niece.
'And she's this game's main heroine.'
To begin with, the story of this dating sim began with Hikari newly entering the group.
'Now that I think about it, it's absurd. Forcing a parachute into a group that's running smoothly?'
Seeing it this way, I understood how the in-game Ren must have felt. I thought of all the hardships I had gone through as an idol.
There were times I collapsed from starving for weight management, and times in the early debut days when we were so exhausted from the brutal schedule that everyone got IV drips in their arms to endure. Every single member went through hard times to get into this group, and only after making it a success were we finally starting to reap the rewards.
And now she wants to skip all that and just ride her uncle's coattails?
'I feel like absolute shit.'
It felt like everything I'd built up in my life was being denied. If all it took was being born into the right family, why the hell did I suffer all this?
"Nano joined mid-way too."
"But Nano was an experienced hire."
Nano had been an idol trainee from the start. Her company just went bankrupt and she failed to debut, but her skills were at a level where she could perform as an active idol with just a little polishing.
But even someone like Nano took three months to become a member, and you're going to make a complete beginner like her debut-ready in three months?
Impossible, unless she's extraordinarily talented.
"Hoo... anyway, it's already decided. She'll probably move into the dorm after this concert ends."
"..."
"People outside the company already know as well."
The fact that he had told people outside the company meant her joining as our member was already finalized.
Realizing nothing would change no matter what I said, I irritably shut the door and stormed out of the President's office.
"That insolent...!"
Crunch.
The sound of the President's voice from behind was drowned out by my grinding teeth.
"Ah, Ren..."
"...Did you know?"
Walking irritably down the hallway, the producer called out to me.
"...Sorry, the President told me to keep it secret."
"...Forget it, you get paid to work. You have to listen to the President."
Of course, from his position, it was unavoidable.
But I couldn't help a strange sense of betrayal that he had hidden it from me even knowing I would be angry.
I returned to the party venue with the producer.
The members looked at me in my obviously furious state and asked,
"Unnie... did you fight with the President?"
"...No, it's nothing. Everyone rest up."
But despite my words, no one was able to relax and enjoy themselves.
The party atmosphere had been completely wrecked.
*
A month's time passed quickly.
"Ren unnie, we don't have schedules for a while now...?"
"Yeah, let's rest up for now."
After all the busy concert schedules had ended, we were languidly resting our tired bodies at the dorm.
The President called us out from the dorm.
When we went out in front of the dorm, the agency president was there. Standing next to him was a girl who looked about our age, boasting a striking appearance that stood out even from a distance.
"Unnie, what's going on?"
"...Don't worry."
After reassuring Hina, who hadn't grasped the situation beside me, I walked forward silently.
"Alright, this is Sakamoto Hikari, who will be joining Cornelia starting today."
"Hello! I'm Hikari!"
At the President's introduction, Hikari greeted us with words that were neither polite nor casual—impossible to tell which.
"President...? What do you mean..."
"You heard me. Starting with the next project, Hikari will be joining you."
"That's absurd! We've already choreographed all the formations for six members...!"
The President remained stubborn even in the face of Natsume's objection using our formations as an excuse. If he were the type to stop at that, he would have given up when I spoke up.
"For now, use the room at the end of the hallway, Hikari."
Without even a proper interview, a room was assigned to Hikari.
The only problem was—that room was mine.
"President, that's my room."
"...Ah, right. You can use the room next to it."
"Yes~!"
At those words, Hikari smiled brightly and walked into the building.
"Unnie, what's going on?"
"...Don't worry, nothing will happen."
After the President left, we went back inside the dorm.
In stark contrast to us, who were bewildered by the sudden situation, an energetic-looking girl caught my eye.
"Ah, you're the team leader, right? Take care of me!"
"............"
Silently, I took the hand she held out.
Right, she's the protagonist, so surely nothing bad would happen. I didn't know about other things, but at least her personality had to be decent.
And it didn't take long to realize that thought was completely wrong.