"How come I never noticed it before?" Resting one arm across her chest while the other tapped her chin, Maki looked Ayase up and down, then turned to Miyahito. "Ayase-chan is genuinely cut out for modeling. My bad for underestimating her."
"Obviously."
Miyahito puffed out his chest, chin slightly raised in pride.
"Ayase is the cutest in the world!"
"Big Brother!"
Still pouting over his earlier betrayal, Ayase planted her hands on her hips, her tone carrying a playful threat.
"Keep this up and I'm telling Mom you're bullying me!"
"Eh."
Hearing the warning, Miyahito clutched his chest with both hands, his face contorting into exaggerated agony.
"My heart aches, Ayase."
"Hmph, then let it ache! Big Brother."
Wrinkling her nose and shooting him one last annoyed glare, Ayase straightened up. She looked at the smiling Maki and spoke with serious resolve:
"Maki-nee, could I please ask you to be my manager? I'm counting on you."
As she spoke, Ayase bowed deeply.
Truthfully, she already knew Miyahito hadn't just brought her here to drop off signed albums.
He'd brought her to properly introduce her to her future manager, Nakamura Maki.
More importantly, he wanted to discuss Ayase's modeling career with Maki, openly and with her full knowledge.
That's why, from the moment they stepped into the agency, Ayase had maintained a serious, composed demeanor—completely unlike her usual playful self when tagging along with her brother.
Even though she already knew Maki had agreed to take her on, Ayase couldn't, and wouldn't, treat her decision and future efforts as a given.
That was why, right now, as "Aragaki Ayase," she was making this formal request.
"Of course, Ayase-chan."
Looking at the polite, earnest girl in front of her, Maki couldn't help but sigh internally.
As expected, Miyani-sensei's family really knows how to be courteous.
(Hmm, if Miyani didn't constantly miss deadlines... he'd be courteous too.)
Stepping slightly closer, Maki gently lifted the bowing girl by the arm and couldn't resist patting her head.
"So, Ayase-chan, have you thought of a stage name for yourself?"
"A stage name?"
"Yeah."
Seeing the girl's confused look, Maki smiled and explained the basics.
After hearing it, Ayase decided to do what her brother did and use the romaji of her name as her stage name.
But unlike her brother's "Miyani,"
"AYAS. That's my stage name, Big Brother."
"Hmm, it sounds great."
Having stayed quiet the whole time, letting Maki and his sister discuss things, Miyahito smiled and praised his sister's choice.
"Hehe, thanks, Big Brother."
"You're welcome, Ayase."
Soon, Ayase's artist contract was signed.
After Maki organized the documents, Miyahito pulled an album from his pocket and handed it to her.
"Here you go, Maki-nee. The signed album Akane-san asked for."
"Got it."
Taking it, Maki glanced at the cover. Seeing Miyahito's dedication, she smiled.
"May reality be as beautiful as the words you write"? Miyani-sensei, that's quite the sentimental message.
"Any problem with that?"
Opening a pack of biscuits and offering one to his sister (who declined), Miyahito popped one in his mouth, speaking slightly muffled.
"Didn't you say last night that the album was requested by one of your editor friends for her author?"
"If it's for an author, my message is perfectly fine."
"True, true." Maki nodded with amusement. "If it's a pretty female author, she'd probably be moved to tears."
"Not that dramatic."
He waved it off with a smile, then suddenly felt Ayase shift beside him.
Turning to ask her what was wrong, he noticed her gaze fixed on something, her face showing a mix of anticipation and longing.
Instinctively, Miyahito followed her line of sight.
The next second.
"Hey, Maki-nee."
The corners of his mouth lifting, Miyahito turned back, his voice laced with playful temptation toward the confused Maki.
"How about we put on a 'concert' with just one song?"
.....
Time slipped by unnoticed, reaching 11 AM.
Having signed yet another book, Utaha handed the signed copy of Love's Metronome to a beaming fan, repeating a phrase she'd said countless times that day.
"Thank you for enjoying my work."
Once again, she received the familiar reply: "I'll always support you! Kasumi Utako-sensei!"
So tired.
Sensing her smile was turning stiff, a flash of exhaustion crossed Utaha's eyes as she looked past the fan.
So tired... my hand aches.
Forcing through the wrist pain, Utaha smiled as she took the next book from the fan. Just as she was about to pen her name...
"Hello, Kasumi-sensei!"
A slightly fanatical voice abruptly pierced her exhausted mind.
So noisy... can't you just wait quietly for me to finish and leave?
Though she knew the thought was uncharitable, she had been sitting motionless for three full hours, signing dozens upon dozens of books.
Physically and mentally drained, such thoughts were inevitable.
Sigh... Miyani-sensei really... Remembering that much of her current "suffering" stemmed from Miyani-sensei's recommendation, a bittersweet feeling welled up in her heart.
Sweet, because her work had been acknowledged by the person she admired most.
Bitter, because without that acknowledgment, she wouldn't be this exhausted.
"Um, hello."
Reigning in her wandering thoughts, Utaha forced a polite, graceful smile and slowly looked up.
Her gaze, tinged with distance and caution, fell on the boy before her: wearing a white-and-green striped shirt, glasses, and a backpack.
However, the glasses-wearing boy seemed completely oblivious to her distance, launching straight into his thoughts on the novel as if no one else was there.
"I was so moved, Kasumi-sensei."
"I'm a huge fan of Love's Metronome. I've read Volume 1 over twenty times, and I still cry every week after reading it."
Over twenty times? Cries every week?
Listening to the boy ramble, the exhausted Utaha couldn't help but think of that day, and of the boy who had shattered her defenses with just a few words.
Would Aragaki-kun have read my novel many times too?
Would he also shed tears for my story?
"Chapter 6, the scene where Naoto strives for Sayaka, really hit my tear ducts! And their relationship, always missing each other by a hair's breadth, is so frustrating."
Would he, too, be moved by that scene?
"Honestly, at first I couldn't understand Sayaka. Her thoughts were hard to accept. But around the fifth read, I finally connected with her."
Would he analyze my novel that deeply?
"I thought, 'Ah, so that's the kind of past she had...'"
Hearing this, Utaha's thoughts snapped back to the present.
But standing before her wasn't the guitar-carrying boy from that day. It was a complete stranger.
The joyful light in her wine-red eyes instantly dimmed into quiet disappointment.
"Reading it over and over really helps you understand a lot, doesn't it?"
Just like before, the stranger remained utterly unaware of the shift in Utaha's gaze, continuing his monologue.
"Maybe my comprehension is just limited, but it's quite profound."
That single sentence made one thing crystal clear to Utaha.
The only person who could truly read Kasumi Utako's novels, who could understand Kasumigaoka Utaha's deepest hopes...
Was, and only was.
That boy with the guitar, who smiled gently and said, "Companionship is the longest confession of love."
30 Power Stone = Bonus Chapter
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