Eternal Melody



HINO

Yuhi no longer needs him, at least the same way before. He has many people by his side, people he treats as family, his children and his friends. Even though the rest of M5 were stuck in the US, he hears them call Yuhi regularly. Yuhi has people he can genuinely call his friends now. 

For the longest time, Hino has been worried how small Yuhi's friendship circle was. It's not like Yuhi was a bad guy, he was kind and friendly to others. So many people wanted to get close to him. But, Yuhi would push everyone away.

It wasn't until Sumire came, when Yuhi slowly started to accept others. That girl is truly amazing. Hino doesn't know how she did it.

'I don't need to ask Yuhi to do anything. My dearest finds me cute and adorable so he naturally does things to me.'

Hino exhaled deeply. They really are a silly couple, 

Through the half open creak, Yuhi sat with two twins on his lap and a small stool in the corner where Huan was reading a book to Sumire. The day Yuhi finally met the twins, Hino saw nothing but love and affection in his eyes. He has only ever seen Yuhi look at Sumire with such eyes.

"I see." Cassie's gaze drifted onto Sumire. "I watched her concert."

"How was it?" Hino asked despite already knowing what the answer would be. Her tone already gives her away.

"It was truly amazing. I thought Nase Siena's performances couldn't be matched. But Ibuki has proven otherwise. I didn't notice it when she was performing in smaller venues."

Hino nodded. "The small stages suppressed what she could actually do."

"Other artists performances differ depending on the venue, but the change isn't that drastic. So, I wasn't expecting much difference. However, I was wrong. Ibuki has something others don't-" Cassie trailed off. "She has eyes that leave a strong impression. Normally her gaze seems fierce and cold but when her eyes face the camera it changes everything."

"You'll find people with those eyes every few decades. Even now there is someone else who is like that."

"Takahashi Yumi. I know."

"She probably noticed it too, and that's probably one of many reasons why Sumire became her pupil." Hino trailed off. "Well, either way. Sumire is the only one in this generation with eyes like those. That's why I have been gradually pushing her into the spotlight."

Cassie nodded. "Those jobs you have been giving her. They aren't ones that will stand out to draw media attention but, the ones in charge of them are people who have been in the industry for a long time." She trailed off. "You really are cunning Hino. Yuhi became a star not just because of his skills but because of your management. If you continue doing the same with Ibuki, it won't be long before she reaches the top."

Hino pulled out his phone and pointed to the idol rankings. "She's been consistently in fourth place for awhile now. After the concert, I had huge plans for her to break into the top three. But-"

Cassie bit her lip. "Did you find out-"

"A reporter, and the stalker who was her fan." Hino sighed deeply. He didn't want to give too much information to Cassie. She is the type of person who would get herself involved of

She frowned. "A fan, huh. That's going to cause some mental damage. I have had some experiences with extreme stalker fans too."

"You have?" Hino said surprised.

Cassie nodded. "It was when I was abroad. I had to keep switching between different hotels because of it."

That explains why she rejected the company finding a place for her to stay in. Hino thought she already made her own arrangements, but it turns out that wasn't the case. 

"These stalkers are fans too. So, it's really hard to hate them."

Hino sighed deeply. "Sumire doesn't hate him at all. On the contrary after he stabbed her, she still tried to reason with him. She knew him by name."

"A long time fan." Cassie shakes her head. "The entertainment industry can be really cruel. Because society has projected norms that treat idols as fans possessions. The fans become possessive. I'm actually surprised this only just happened. Ibuki-san's fans aside I thought Yuhi's fans would riot. He has some extreme ones, like the head of his fanclub."

"That's because Yuhi already issued a warning. He personally went to the fan club headquarters and spoke to everyone. He said that 'while I appreciate all your support. Make no mistake, if you harm Sumire. Consider yourselves my enemies not my fans.' Well, you know how threatening Yuhi can be. Those girls don't need to be told twice. Even if there are some who are hurt because of Sumire giving birth to Yuhi's children, there is nothing they can do."

Cassie sweat fell. "Surely you should have stopped him from doing that. If it went wrong, and the girls told someone-"

"Right, it would have damaged Yuhi's reputation. But they are Yuhi's die hard fans. They'd never do anything that would harm his career. Yuhi took that risk, since he believed in them." Hino trailed off. "The entertainment industry is always going to be ugly. But, if Sumire reaches the top. I truly believe she can make changes."

If it's that girl, he can see the entertainment industry revolving around her in the future.

"It won't be easy." Cassie mumbled. "And this incident will surely cause some mental damage, no matter how strong she is."

"Sumire once told me, that idols are other people's ideals. They are what people wish to be. The dreams and their ideals they cannot achieve themselves, they portray it onto idols. 'No matter how tough life gets, when we get on stage, when we start singing. We have to smile no matter what. That's what it means to be an idol. We have to sacrifice and numb our emotions even if something serious happens.'"

Cassie turns quiet and Hino thinks back to that conversation he had with Sumire.

It was on the rooftop after one of her jobs.

…

A few months ago.

Sumire's progress is amazing. Hino scrolled through his phone. There are still people criticising her, that's a given. But, there seems to be more people supporting her now. He maybe the ones getting her those good jobs and opportunities, but in the end if she wasn't qualified for any of the work, she would have failed those jobs. But she didn't, in fact. She raised the bar for her fellow idols.

There are many who are saying now that 'if there are more idols like Ibuki, than I see a great future for the idol world.' 

It's her own hard work and effort that is contributing to her success. However, the higher position becomes, the more enemies she will gain. During times like those, her manager, he needs to step up.

*Unedited*