"People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of."
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Ever since that day, I've had a stalker. Honestly, I don't know how she tracks me down, but the kid—shouldn't she be in school?—follows me to every performance and even tags along long after the show is over.
'This isn't even a groupie situation anymore... If I keep hanging around a thirteen-year-old groupie, I won't become a rock star; I'll become a guest of the state in a prison cell.'
To be frank, having a brat like that around is a heavy burden. From our conversations, I realized Ai was like a pristine sheet of white paper. Because she was hollow inside, she was a canvas that could be filled with any color at all.
Normally, one should fill the colors of their own canvas themselves. Since one decides their own life, no one else can be the painter of that canvas. No one else should be.
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"So, what exactly is the reason you're following me?"
"I told you, I'm Ai! An idol from B-Komachi!"
"And? If you're an idol, shouldn't you be more careful about your behavior? I doubt your agency would just let this slide."
"Ahhh! President Sato isn't that strict, so it's fine!"
"Fine. So why is our little Miss Idol following me?"
"You haven't told me yet! How to express 'sincerity' on stage!"
I'm pretty sure I explained that to her last time, yet she keeps following me anyway.
"Tell me a concrete way!"
"Concrete? I mean..."
Concrete, she says.
I definitely explained it concretely.
Multiple times, even.
Have conviction in yourself, surrender your body to the emotions you feel, and enjoy the stage. Then, your emotions will naturally manifest during the performance. Where else could she find an explanation as concrete and detailed as that?
I even gave in to her nagging and showed her on stage several times. What clearer expression of emotion is there than getting swept up in the heat of a street performance, eyes welling with tears, and smashing a hundred-thousand-yen electric guitar to pieces?!
'The reason rock stars always had curses on their lips was probably because of groupies. I'd bet my four-million-yen Gibson J-45 on it.'
I ended up falling to my knees on the pavement in frustration. I'm going to end up at a police station before I ever become a rock star.
Seeing my reaction, Ai began to laugh.
Contrasting her laughter, a single tear trickled down my cheek.
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Escaping the gazes of passersby who looked at me like I was some sort of criminal on the street, we resumed our conversation in a spot bathed in gentle sunlight. When I checked my documents at the government office earlier, it said I was sixteen... has my face really withered that much?
"So, which part are you stuck on?"
"Since Ai is an idol, I have to go around delivering love!"
"Well, that's true. Idols use that to build their marketability—"
Mid-sentence, I felt a gaze coming from the brat that was steeped in deep darkness. Hey, where did those stars in your eyes go?
"Anyway! If you can't love the audience, why don't you just think of someone you do love?"
"Someone I love...?"
The girl's shoulders slumped, and she began to fidget with her fingers, hesitating. She looked like she was carefully picking her words.
'Ah... right. A hollow heart means she doesn't know the emotion called love. Which obviously means there's no one she loves.'
Realizing my mistake, I hurriedly spoke up.
"If there's no one you love, try thinking of someone you respect or a role model. Sometimes respect and affection share a similar wavelength."
"But Ai doesn't understand the emotion of love."
"It's normal not to know at your age. To put it simply, love is participating in a relationship.
It's giving affection to someone without depriving or sacrificing yourself, and finding happiness through them.
If you want to be more specific, love is the emotion that allows you to give someone the thing most precious to you."
"Ehh? I still don't get it even when you put it like that..."
I thought I explained it well. The fact that the brat still didn't understand was likely due to the 'void' in her childhood.
Once that void is filled and she finds some peace of mind, she'll surely understand.
"Then you teach me, Hide! Love!"
"?????!"
Fine... I don't know what kind of void you have, but I'll help you solve it. Then maybe you'll stop following me around like this.
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Back at her dorm, Ai opened her eyes and stared intensely at Hide's phone number saved in her mobile. He had refused to give her his number several times, but for whatever reason, he had finally relented this time.
A small smile played on her lips as she recalled the way he had sighed deeply, gulped down his coffee, took her phone to save the number, and then handed it back with trembling hands.
'But why does he avoid me so much?'
The question crossed her mind, but Ai brushed it aside and shouted with an uncharacteristic amount of genuine emotion.
"Anyway, I feel great!☆"