🎵 Suggested Background Music: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZEVxPQO-1jIQEOsC-T2c6OOqHrQCoCRj/view?usp=sharing]
Tokyo's morning air felt sharp today. It didn't feel like the usual routine. For the past three years, my life just went on according to what others wanted. Wake up, put on the heavy makeup, smile until my cheeks hurt, and be the "Idol" everyone wanted to see.
But this morning? I just looked at the mirror. No concealer for the dark circles under my eyes. Just me. My heart was thumping against my chest—not because I was scared, but because I was finally breathing.
"I'm off," I whispered to the empty room. Saying it felt like a promise to myself.
Walking to school was a blur. The streets were quiet, and the sun was hidden behind the grey city clouds. At the school gate, everyone started whispering to each other.
"Wait, is that Sayaka? Why does she look so... plain?" "Is she sick? Look at her face."
I kept walking. Their words didn't matter to me anymore. I reached Class 2-B and pushed the sliding door open. The noisy classroom suddenly turned quiet. Every eye was on me. I didn't stop at my desk in the front row. Instead, I walked straight to the back of the room.
Arata was sitting by the window, staring at the sky like he always does. I walked up and stood right in front of his desk. My shadow fell over him, blocking the light.
"Good morning, Arata-kun," I said. My voice was a bit shaky, but it was my real voice. It wasn't a fake smile anymore. Just me.
Arata slowly looked up. His eyes, usually so cold and distant, widened for a split second as he looked at my face—the face without the mask. Then, his lips curved into the smallest smile I had ever seen.
"You look like you've seen a ghost, Sayaka," he said softly.
"Maybe I am one now," I looked at him. I wasn't hiding behind my fans anymore. "The idol Sayaka died in the mist last night. I'm just... me today."
He closed his sketchbook and leaned back. "Better this way. You look like you can finally breathe."
"I can," I whispered. I then turned and walked back to my seat at the very front.
As I sat down, I could feel how heavy the atmosphere was. My "friends"—the girls who usually followed me everywhere—were staring at me like I was someone else entirely.
"Sayaka-chan... is everything okay?" one of them asked, pretending to be worried. "You didn't put on any makeup today. And why were you talking to that guy?"
I looked at her. For the first time, I didn't feel the need to give her a rehearsed response. "I'm fine, Rina. I just felt like being myself today. And 'that guy' has a name. It's Arata."
The girls exchanged confused glances. The teacher started the lesson, but I could barely focus on the equations on the board. I felt a strange sense of freedom. I opened my notebook and, instead of taking notes, I wrote a single sentence at the top of the page: The mist is clearing.
By the time the final bell rang, the classroom cleared out quickly. I took my time packing my bag. As I walked out into the corridor, I saw a familiar figure leaning against the wall near the stairs. It was Arata.
He didn't say anything, but as I walked past him, he started walking alongside me. We didn't talk. We just walked through the long, quiet corridor together. As we reached the exit and the sunlight hit our faces, I realized—maybe the idol named Sayaka is gone, but for the first time, I have finally found myself.