He is an idol and a childhood sweetheart.

"…………"

As a childhood sweetheart who has known each other for many years, Higuchi Enka can naturally see that the smile on Asakura Toru's face is by no means fake.

However, the "loneliness" and "sadness" hidden under that smile cannot escape Higuchi Enka's eyes.

"Speaking of which... can I ask you the question again now?"

Higuchi Enka looked directly into Toru Asakura's eyes and asked in a serious tone:

"Since you are so happy

Huan Xianren, then why did you leave him? "

Chapter 4: A tragic story that failed to fit on the same page

Toru Asakura has been in love with Kento Watanabe for a long time.

When did it start specifically... According to her own statement, she had already vaguely developed this awareness when she just entered junior high school.

She prefers to stay with Kento Watanabe than her family or classmates.

Whether it was after school, on weekends, or during holidays, as long as she could, she would immediately run to Kento Watanabe's house and stick to his side.

At the beginning, Toru Asakura only regarded Kento Watanabe as a gentle big brother. However, as her mind continued to mature, her "love" for her brother naturally transformed into another A feeling.

She liked how gentle he always greeted her with a smile, and how reliable he could always answer her questions.

As long as you stay by his side, you will feel extremely at ease and calm.

As long as he is by your side, no matter what difficulties you encounter, you will be able to overcome them.

The five-year gap puts Kento Watanabe at the critical point between his peers and elders.

Not only will she not feel the pressure from her parents, but she will always be able to lead her growth from a mature perspective.

Reliance, longing... and within reach.

"Does Higuchi feel the same way about Kento?"

Asakura Toru, who was sitting on the bed, shook his legs and lowered his head and asked softly:

"I know that although you don't like to stick to sages, you always keep your eyes on him."

"...There's nothing we can do about it, right?"

Higuchi Enka looked away and said:

"When we were still elementary school students, this guy had already entered high school. At that ignorant age, he met such a big brother who was completely disgusting... It is natural for him to become admiring for him."

"And the two of us are the kind of people who don't have clear goals or preferences... so it's easy to be brought into his world."

Asakura Toru said with a smile:

"Do you still remember the first time you saw him calling in front of the TV?"

"...Ah, I can't remember it more clearly."

Higuchi Enka couldn't help but raise her forehead in silence when she mentioned this matter.

"Not only is he holding a glow stick, but he is also wearing such a...fancy quilt. Just looking at him makes you feel ashamed."

"It's really shameful."

Asakura Toru couldn't help but nodded.

"But... I don't find it annoying. Higuchi should be the same, right?"

"…………"

Higuchi Enka did not answer after hearing this.

But in fact, her silence already showed her thoughts.

"Both of us are the kind of people who don't have any special hobbies or clear goals, so... people like Xianren who have been working hard for their dreams are actually quite dazzling to us."

Asakura Toru's voice and expression became gentler.

"Even now, I don't have any special thoughts about 'idol'. The reason why I joined the Watanabe Agency is actually just because I want to support his dazzling ideals."

"……what."

Higuchi Enka subconsciously made a short sound from her throat.

This reason... is the same as hers.

But compared to Asakura, he had one more reason to "revenge" her.

If Toru Asakura's opportunity to become an idol was also to support Kento Watanabe's dream, and if Toru Asakura's feelings for Kento Watanabe have not changed, then her departure... may only be for the same reason.

"Asakura, you..."

"Higuchi, do you still remember the question I asked you before?"

Just when Higuchi Enka was about to ask more questions, Asakura suddenly asked:

"What position or reason are you asking me now?"

"........."

After hearing this, Higuchi Enka was silent for a while, then raised his head, looked back at Asakura's calm gaze, and said word by word:

"I'm asking you this question from the standpoint of being his childhood sweetheart who has always cared about him since childhood, and from the standpoint of being his idol."

"Eh...why do you care?"

Toru Asakura seemed a little uncomfortable with Higuchi Enka's choice of words.

"You obviously like sages, right?"

"Because idols are not allowed to fall in love."

Higuchi Enka said seriously:

"Now I am his idol, so...I cannot hinder his ideals because of emotional reasons."

"…………You are really serious."

Asakura Toru was stunned for a while and then slowly said:

"However, this seriousness also means that you also sincerely want to support the wise... In this case, let me answer your previous question carefully... In fact, the reason is not complicated, just because I have been It’s just a threat from Prlchra Company.”

Under the astonished gaze of Higuchi Enka,

Toru Asakura said:

"If I don't accept the poaching, then they will use all their resources to block the business of Watanabe Office, and they will conduct a large-scale inflammatory campaign against wise people on the Internet."

"Business blockade..."

Higuchi Enka couldn't help but frowned when he heard this word.

"Approximately how serious is it?"

"As long as all commercial activities within the scope of Pulchra's influence will be blacklisted, Watanabe & Associates will be blacklisted, such as WING next, as well as various fashion magazines, advertisers, TV stations... plus the ones at that time Xian Ren does not have any connections or influence, so more and more companies will join in the blockade of Watanabe Office."

"If I continue to stay at the Watanabe Office, even if I can still act as Kento's idol, Kento will completely lose the power to pursue his ideals... For Kento who has no background and no resources, this industry is like this cruel."

Having said this, Toru Asakura suddenly raised his head, looked at the ceiling and said:

"But... fortunately, Xianren likes idols, not me. Even without me, as long as he can find the next talented newcomer, he can continue to work hard. So... in order to protect him Ideally, I accepted Pulchra's conditions. At the same time, in order to ensure that they will not attack Watanabe & Associates again in the future, I have also worked hard to become Pulchra's main idol in the past year and a half. As long as I can still provide value to them … A wise man is safe.”

"And for the past year and a half, I have been waiting for someone to respond to Xianto's enthusiasm and ideals and take my place...but I didn't expect that person would be Higuchi. But looking at it now, you may be... He is the best candidate.”

Having said this, Asakura Toru took Higuchi Enka's hand and said to her:

"By the way... don't tell the wise man about what I said today. If it were him, he would definitely blame himself for it, and even shake his ideals because of it. This is something I have never told His reason... He obviously had a hard time getting back on his feet, and I don't want to dampen his faith at this time."

As long as he could keep going, whatever he wanted her to do.

With a complicated smile that was difficult to let go, Asakura Toru said to Higuchi Enka in a rare serious tone:

"Then, I will say it again, and I will leave the wise man to you."

In this way, the tragic story belonging to these two people is divided into different pages by chapters called reality.

Chapter 5: The other side of the scale

heavy.

【The wise man will leave it to you】

After that, Toru Asakura's words always lingered in Enka Higuchi's ears.

Just recalling the lonely smile on Asakura Toru's face, Higuchi Enka couldn't help but sigh.

As a result, in addition to supporting the ideals of the wise man, she also inexplicably carried Asakura's expectations on her shoulders.

But this is not surprising.

After all, Asakura did sacrifice herself to protect the sage, so it is only natural that she would expect the next person to take her place...

However, for Higuchi Enka, who had just decided to become a new idol, the things she was carrying at this time were too many and too heavy.

In order to arouse the once extinguished ambition of the sage, in order to respond to his desperate efforts over the past year and a half, in order to catch up with Asakura Toru's pace, now there is a new one who has to inherit Asakura Toru's will...

Is she really okay?

Even though both of them hold the belief that they want to support Kento Watanabe, unlike Toru Asakura, she does not have the strong heart of Asakura Toru who can always carry out herself no matter what situation she faces.

In fact, she had already felt the pressure when she met Mr. Guchon the day before.

The leader of a well-known dance troupe, a professional dancer who has won numerous world championships, and an Internet celebrity with millions of fans on social platforms.No matter how you think about it, it is unreasonable to ask such an amazing person to serve as a dance teacher for a new idol like yourself who has no background.

Even though the sage had said in advance that the reason why he invited these great people was not for her, she still couldn't accept it right away...

She doesn't understand the so-called talent or talent, let alone what value she has in the idol industry.

Can she, who has already shouldered such a heavy burden when she first became an idol, really be able to achieve the same level as Asakura?

If she fails to achieve the goal of a sage and fails to pass WING's first round of review, then she...

"Enka? Can you hear me? Hello, hey, hey?"

"……what."

It wasn't until Kento Watanabe put his hand in front of her eyes several times that Higuchi Enka finally came back from his thoughts.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something and didn't hear you."

"...Are you still a little tired after all?"

Looking at Higuchi Enka's distracted look, Watanabe Kento couldn't help but asked worriedly:

"The fatigue accumulated from previous talent scouting activities hasn't eased yet, has it? If you really feel uncomfortable——"

"No, I'm not tired."

Higuchi Enka interrupted Watanabe Kento at a very fast speed.

"I

Really just thinking about things. "

"That's it."

Seeing Higuchi Enka's response so decisively, Watanabe Kento no longer had any doubts.

"If you have any worries, be sure to tell me. Whether you are a producer or a childhood sweetheart, I will listen to you."

"...If necessary, I will."

(Although I can’t just tell you about this...)

"How long before we get there?"

"Two 10 minutes."

Kento Watanabe looked at the address on his phone and said:

"Considering the work ahead...should I buy a car?"

"Do you have a driver's license?"