Dream Star

A woman with long brunette hair stood on the railing area of the second seating arena. Her gaze fell on her daughter, who was practicing with Kanehera Yumeko.

Lilchan has genuinely changed. Through her journey, her daughter met so many people. She created even more bonds. It"s the same as her, and yet, Sumire knew something was different. This girl is truly amazing. Sumire thought so before, but she resembles Yuhi more. That stubbornness not to give up.

She watched as a certain maroon-colored haired man re-emerged from the backstage. He placed the boxes down on the ground and walked over to Lila. He wiped her sweat with a towel, and laughter escaped Lilchan"s lips.

What a bright smile... After she left, Sumire was very worried that hate would consume Lilchan. But that does not seem to be the case after all.

So many years have pa.s.sed since she conveyed such beautiful feelings. The feelings that she previously denied. Ever since she was younger, she had noticed it after all, how different she was in contrast to other people. For some reason, she had always felt like something was missing. Like there was something important that she had forgotten, she didn"t understand what it was. Yet her feelings told her that it was important.

Every single time she fell in love, something would always go wrong. It wouldn"t last long; it would end always come to an end. In the end, she probably won"t ever truly understand it, the meaning of love. The meaning of being close to others and being friends, it was foreign to her.

She once believed that she didn"t need friends, that she was okay alone. Yet there was someone who taught her the meaning of being close to others. Someone, she couldn"t remember that time.

When Sumire realized who it was, she couldn"t help but think that everything made sense afterward. When Sumire figured out who that person was, everything became more apparent to her. She chuckles to herself, to think it had been that person. Ever since she was younger, she always had that same dream after all—that same dream of someone holding her hand.

Who would have thought that in the end, it would be Teras.h.i.+ma Yuhi?

"It seems like the new generation is quite interesting," a familiar voice from behind her said.

Sumire turned around and saw a familiar woman. A woman seven years older than her. This person is the reason why she became an idol. The reason she got this far. Ahoji Yumi does not look like a woman in her fifties. Her hair color had lost its usual l.u.s.ter, but the woman was still very beautiful.

However, one thing that has changed? Her gaze darkened when she saw the wheelchair. It pained her whenever she saw her this way.

"Yumi-senpai."

"h.e.l.lo Sumire--" her sentence

Sumire looked over concerned, but the older woman shook her head. "No need, it"s a slight cough. Besides, I"m getting old. It"s normal."

"Old?" Sumire scanned the woman in the wheelchair up and down. "Well, if you ask me, you still look as beautiful as ever."

"Still flattering people I see. But you know my legs aren"t like they used to be. I can"t dance like before..."

Her gaze softened. "But you can still sing. Your voice, it"s the reason why I made it this far."

"Yes, that"s true. But Sumire-chan you have surpa.s.sed me already." Yumi"s gaze fell on the stage where Yumeko and Lilchan were practicing. "You"ve inspired countless number of idols, and you"ve pa.s.sed on the baton to carry on that chain. I"m very proud of you, Sumire."

Ah...

"That"s probably true. The baton, huh? I was worried for a while. My idol career ended terribly. I made a mess of things and lost the trust of my fans and everybody who believed in me. I ran away and tried to escape."

Yumi sighed, "You haven"t changed; you still brood a lot. You know Sumire-chan..I never blamed you for running away. All those people said so many things. But the reality was? Everybody was waiting for you to return. They all said such terrible things and those reporters treated you terribly. However, when you left they regretted it so much. They drove you to a corner. Those people only wanted to do their jobs. It"s weird, isn"t it?"

"Their jobs...but.." Sumire clenched her fist as the bitter memories appeared in her head. "Then did Dai-chan have to die for that? Did Ren have to suffer... Yuhi even left me for so long. Everybody was in so much pain. And I caused all of it because of their connection to me."

"That"s wrong. I will tell you the truth, Sumire.

Don"t you understand what you did? You united everybody, you joined all the idols and completely changed the entertainment industry. Everybody got along with one another. Your achievement was something unheard of. No conflicts between idols, a world where everybody encouraged one another. Where everybody supported one another, in that society, what will the reporters have to report?"

At that comment, her eyes widened. "She never thought about it that way before." But, Sumire understood it before than anyone. "Light cannot exist without darkness. I guess I broke the balance, huh?" she laughed sheepishly.

"Yes. But there is nothing wrong with that. Besides, we can"t get rid of sadness, hatred, and pain. Those are emotions that will continue to exist. That doesn"t mean we can"t s.h.i.+ne or have dreams. The future you envisioned wasn"t wrong. I believed sooner or later that peace would have broken anyway. Even if the media didn"t target you."

Yumi glanced over at Lila. "Your daughter is carrying a lot on her small shoulders. Indeed, you"ve made her suffer. However, she"s --"

"Already walking a different path than me." Sumire finished off. "Honestly, that girl, she is more reckless than me. She takes after her father more there. That stubborn att.i.tude, where did she get it from? You know, even after I left and abandoned her. Lilchan never stopped believing I would return."

"Of course, she wouldn"t stop. Your her dream, the person she admires and aspires to be like."

"I"m not used to people admiring me. I will admit, at times, it"s stifling. But, I"m glad in a way. I wasn"t afraid of Lilchan hating me. She has every right to dislike me. However, Lilchan didn"t hate me. That girl waited for me this whole time. She worked so hard just to get rid of those rumors too. Why did she do that for me? I was a terrible mother."

Yumi sighed. "Don"t be so negative. Who was the one who got me out of my slump? It was you. The reason why I didn"t give up singing was because of you Teras.h.i.+ma Sumire. I will never forget what you have done for me."

"That was in the past; the current me will not be able to do anything."

"I don"t think so, even now you have the same no," the older woman shook her head. "You have a different power than before."

"Even now, your faith in me remains unchanged, I wonder why."

"Honestly, that part of you…"

Sumire laughed. "But, I guess there is no need for me to ask that is there?" The reason why it will differ per person. The reason why so many people remain faithful to her even now.