Dream Star

To keep her mind occupied. Yumeko started to follow a similar crazy training schedule like Lilchan. She woke up at exactly 5:00 am and started jogging. In the middle of this jog, though, she spotted somebody familiar practicing at a nearby park.

Seven Star"s Kudou Satoru. The two of them weren"t quite friends, but they weren"t exactly strangers either. Before she even met Lilchan, she b.u.mped into this person a lot.

"Here you go." Satoru said and pa.s.sed her a can of orange juice. The juice felt cold in her hands, and yet Yumeko didn"t put it down.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Instead of leaving right away, she remained and leaned against the railing. Satoru seemed to have stopped his practice and joined her. This feels strange, seeing him at this time. At a time where there"s hardly anyone around. A comforting silence descended between them. There"s a lot she wants to talk to him about. There are so many things that need to be said here.

It was a long time ago. But this person confessed to her when she was in middle school. However, at that time, she turned him down because she was dating Atsuya.

"Its the first time I"ve seen you dancing off stage." Yumeko ended up saying.

She never saw him in action before. She didn"t think he would be this good. For an idol, you can measure that person"s real ability of stage. If they still produce the same level as when they are on stage, off stage, then you know that the person"s ability is the real deal.

"Do you always practice here?" Yumeko asked.

"Yeah. It was my secret dancing place until you found it," Satoru admitted.

"You were amazing; such amazing moves are still impossible for me." To become a number one dancer, to obtain that ability. What she lacks for those two is most likely the same thing.

"I"m not that good myself. That"s why I"m practicing."

"I thought you never practiced. You"re always just giving everyone instructions during the joint cla.s.ses," Yumeko remembered the time where he briefly transferred to their school. It was only for a good two months. But it was enough time.

"Let me address the later first. The only reason I did that is because you were there."

"So, you admit to pus.h.i.+ng all the work on to me."

Even though her dancing in middle school was beyond awful.

"That"s not what I mean." Satoru trails of and smiles. "It"s because I can trust you to handle it alone. Your dance, indeed it"s still clumsy in some areas and could use a lot of work. However, I"ve always really liked it."

Yumeko"s cheeks heated up at his words. Oh gosh, she didn"t know he would have such a bright smile and the words "I like. "Just hearing them makes her heartbeat so much. But Yumeko quickly calmed down. Is she stupid? Just because somebody hasn"t said those words to her in a long time doesn"t mean she can act like an idiot now.

"It seems like she is gullible even now, Atsuya." Yumeko wondered what that guy even saw in someone like her.

"About what you said just now. Of course, I practice. After all, you practice to have fun at the actual show, don"t you?"

"Fun at the actual show?" Yumeko repeated. Why do those words sound familiar to her?

"The idol world isn"t all about perfecting amazing techniques and or obtaining amazing auras. Its a show for the audience to enjoy. If your focussing too much on skill, you"ll end up facing a mirror during the show rather than the audience."

"Yeah. .like Miyazawa?"

Satoru nodded, "It"s our enthusiasm that thrills the audience. If you don"t enjoy the performance, then the audience won"t either."

"Enjoy the performance. I think Lilchan said something like that before."

"Well yeah, Lila was the one who went around and drilled that into everyone"s heads."

Now that she thought about it weren"t there rumors about all the guys in seven stars liking Lilchan? Yumeko wondered if it was the same for him.

"Smile."

Wait. What? Satoru"s sudden words surprised her a lot.

"Smile, Yumeko." he repeated.

Satoru bends down, his faces a mere few inches away. He is so close. But more importantly, Yumeko bursts into laughter.

"Hey! Don"t make such a strange face.."

"See, you laughed for me."

Oh, she suddenly feels more relaxed.

"A smile still suits you the best. I really like your face when you smile. If something is troubling you, don"t hesitate to come and see me. I"m always practicing here." Satoru commented.

"Okay, thank you."

"Your welcome."

He"s really kind. How come she didn"t realize it then? Why did she paint a different picture of him; despite knowing him even long before? Then again, quite some time has pa.s.sed since she last saw this person.

"I heard you dated Hanazo Nanami for a while, is that true?" Yumeko asked.

Satoru nodded, "Yeah, but we broke up. She thought I still liked Lila and felt uncomfortable."

"So does that mean he no longer likes Lilchan?" Lilchan has quite the harem, so many amazing guys like her. But that girl would probably like it better if n.o.body else confessed to her.

Her thoughts break off when she spotted someone approaching them. A girl with long black hair tied in a high ponytail. Oh, its Lila, judging from those clothes she"s been jogging. She"s working hard during this time. Even though her health has been bad recently. ..

"--um, Lila? Personal s.p.a.ce?"

The black-haired girl doesn"t answer and grabbed hold of her hands, "Yumeko! Your smile is really pretty like your mothers. So solemn expressions are a no!" Huh? She -- this is deja vu. Rather it feels like it wasn"t too long ago where Lila said something like this to her.

"But, hmm, if that upset about something. The best thing to do is talk with a load of people. It"s horrible keeping things to yourself. You get this pain in your chest, and it feels like you can"t breathe. During such times, talking with people and relying on them is the best medicine. I know that very well."

"Even though it"s suffocating to be with others?" Yumeko questioned.