Dream Star

"Ah-huh, do you want to sleep on my lap?"

Haruka smiled, "No, it"s okay. But you can sleep beside me."

"If we both sleep, who is going to wake the other one up?" Lila asked. But Haruka had already pulled her down onto the couch, and drew her closer to his body. Well, she suppose she ought to keep herself occupied with staring at his face or smelling him.

...
Dream Stars 3rd Round Venue - Backstage -

Lila didn"t know what she was expecting from the third round. After the second round, it felt like her motivation had slipped slightly. Of course, she still wanted to convey her deep feelings and emotions - through her new song. But winning? Lila wasn"t sure she was in the mood to get all compet.i.tive today. She was more focused on going back to Universal Star Town. Since they would be arriving during the day there, Lila knew things would blow up right away. If they arrived at night, then she would still be able to prepare. But the moment she gets off that plane, then things will inevitably change.

It didn"t help that her attention was on her boyfriend who was sitting in the judging panel. She was painfully aware that he hadn"t been paying attention to the performance. But instead, he was on his phone. What is he doing? As Lila thought that, she hears her

From: Haruka

So, I may as well tell you now.
I arranged this really, as in really
cheesy dinner in the airplane.
The airport staff are going to serve
the best food, and there will be cheesy music playing in the background

Lila blinked once she read the message. She blinked again to make sure she was reading the contents correctly. Is he serious? Lila wondered why he was hunched up like that instead of paying attention. She laughed.

From: Haruka
Don"t laugh.

From: Lila
I get it; I"m very happy!
What kind of music?

From: Haruka
Anything you want dear

From: Lila
How about your songs for me?

From: Haruka
You really do want to embarra.s.s me, don"t you?

From: Lila
Yes, I want to see you embarra.s.sed.

Lila sends a kiss and hug emoji, and Haruka from his seat sends her a puzzled look causing her to laugh more.

From: Lila
Why aren"t you paying attention?

From: Haruka
These team arrangements are terrible. The first few combinations are awful; I don"t know who came up with it. But they should be fired.

From: Lila
Don"t you remember this was done by a random draw? It was a coincidence.

From: Haruka
And yet, look at yours, Jae-hee and Kogami"s team - there is a good balance there.

From: Lila
Maybe luck is on our side.

From: Haruka
Keep texting me; otherwise, I really will fall asleep.

Her sweat fell; he probably isn"t kidding about that. Still, Lila had to admit that Haruka made a point. The teams that have gone on so far haven"t shown anything remarkable at all. Is it deliberate? Lila knew that compet.i.tions had parameters where they would get rid of certain contestants if they don"t fill the right criteria. Look how badly the judging panel tried to kick out Yumeko at the beginning. Speaking of Yumeko, her gaze landed on the girl - she was in Maika"s team. And Ruka was there too. Well, she supposes this is a good chance to see whether the three can actually make a good team or not.

Still, Lila had to admit that she was surprised Maika switched teams, originally she was in Jae-hee"s group. Is it because of their little dispute? No, Maika isn"t that type of person. Maybe just maybe her friend wants to take a chance.

…
Lila didn"t know whether it was a coincidence or not. But it just so happened the two remaining members of Maika"s team got injured - both of them at the same time. At first, Lila thought they were both faking it, but apparently, they were training hard to keep up with Maika - and ended up spraining their ankles. After hearing that story, Lila understood that Maika"s presence in the team must have made them nervous. After all, though Maika hasn"t entered the idol rankings. She is still a top-ranked idol, her t.i.tle as Light Academy"s number one is no joke.

"Don"t worry! We will put on a dream-like performance for you!" Yumeko clasped one of the girl"s hands.

Ruka nodded, "We won"t let you down."

Maika was the only one who remained quiet; it looked like she had something on her mind. Lila walked over, "Maika?"

"I"m sorry, I-- it"s because of me...."

Before Lila could say anything though Yumeko quickly interjected, "Don"t blame yourself! These girls look up to you, they simply trained too hard because they wanted to be able to put on a performance that you can be proud about. Getting nervous and acting careless to impress your idol, that"s a feeling I know all too well," and that"s when it hit Lila. Yumeko is talking about her isn"t she? Talking about the time they performed together.

Even now that performance had yet to leave her mind. The stage she put on with Yumeko as Kiku Ari, felt completely different after all.

"..."

Yumeko smiled, "So, in other words your peoples hope! You have people who love and respect you, people who care and look up to you. Maikchan, don"t blame yourself for being a guiding light."

Yumeko and her were still not on speaking terms, but after seeing her encourage Maika the way she did. Lila couldn"t help but interject, she reached over and placed her hand on top, "Ari-chan?" Yumeko said puzzled.

Lila smiled, "I want to see it two. The scenery, the colours from your performance."

----

When Ari-chan said those words, Yumeko recalled something Lilchan told her once before. It ought to be a coincidence, that"s right. A coincidence. While that may be the case, Yumeko clenched her fist.

Yumeko had dreams.

She had plenty of them, dreams of various kinds - dreams that had nothing to do with the music world. She was a person filled with many dreams, but the dream she wanted to fulfill the most was the promise she made with Lilchan. No, this wasn"t the promise about them standing on stage together again.

It was something different; it was about teams. Lilchan once told her that a person couldn"t achieve their dreams alone.

"While you hear grand stories from top idols how their careers started. In all these stories, you"ll find something in common. No matter who, they will always mention a special person. Whether it"s one person or a group, without that person, they wouldn"t have been able to get to where they are now. Of course, they got there with their hard work and effort too, but without other people - they would have long given up."

"You can only achieve your potential when you have somebody supporting you," Yumeko understands those words well now. It was the same for her. The reason why she could come this far despite all the negative things is because there have always been people supporting her. Rukchan, her brother, Mikami-kun, Takahiro-kun. Harukkun too is included in that. Though things are awkward between them, Yumeko knew it was because of him that Maikchan switched teams.

He"s giving her a chance.

Like he did all those years ago when he visited the hospital after Atsuya"s death. He"s giving her a choice and while she couldn"t appreciate the things he did before. That doesn"t mean

Since Atsuya"s death, it feels like she has been living like a ghost. Like a wandering soul. Has she been smiling? Has she been able to talk? Yumeko didn"t know. It felt like time had stopped for her. But things are different now since she met her idol since she met the girl who resembled her idol so much — the girl named Kiku Ari. Yumeko was made to confront the shadows of the past, that she couldn"t do so before. The darkness she has in the depths of her heart, all of it has coming spilling forward.

Since Atsuya"s death, she"s like a dead person walking. But, she no longer wanted to live like that. Yumeko doesn"t want to turn away the people who care for her. She doesn"t want to worry them any longer. She wants to convey these deep feelings in her heart, and there is only way she can do that. Through her music, through her singing.

"Maikchan, Rukchan. Let"s do our best together!"

"Kanehera, before--" Maika started.

It"s then Yumeko realized why the girl was acting all awkward. It must be because of the harsh words she said that time. Whenever Yumeko thought about it, a heavy feeling would appear in her heart. After all, it felt like a direct hit in her heart; everything she had been hiding was exposed just like that.

Yumeko shook her head, "No, you were yright," she wasn"t going to deny it or make a big deal out of things anymore. While it was a big deal for her for a long time, and she often thought about it. But it was because Maika exposed her, "Since then I"ve been thinking about things a lot, you were right. The reason why I wanted to form a team with you, I didn"t consider the other factors. I was only being selfish and thinking about myself."