| ...The first job I was given upon joining Ginsenkai was looking after the Chairman’s son—in other words, I was his caretaker. |
| Azami had been slipping into depression ever since his mother died;
I heard he had caused a giant fuss by running away from home before I joined Ginsenkai. |
| I was told to keep an eye on him so that he wouldn’t pull that kind of mischief again.
I stuck to him 24/7. |
| I took care of him and taught him how to use an abacus; through it all, he slowly regained enough energy to respond to me. |
| He would talk back at me, but we were like siblings.
He started telling me all sorts of things. |
| “Hey, don’t tell anyone, okay? When I grow up, I want to be a professional makeup artist.” |
| “The son of a yakuza can’t make a girly dream like that come true. I know it’s better if I give up, but...” |
| I listened to him and saw myself in him. |
| I gave up on my dream of being an actor, turned my back on MANKAI Company, and chose to become a yakuza.... |
| “Listen up, Azami. It’s good to have a dream.” |
| Those words slipped from my mouth before I knew it. |
| I owed my life to the Chairman, and I knew that it was his dream to raise Azami to become a fine heir... Yet I couldn’t deny Azami’s dream. |
| “I also have a dream that I know won’t ever come true. But I’ll never throw it aside.” |
| Even if there’s no hope, I’ll never throw it away.... |
| When I told him that, Azami laughed, as if he were relieved. |
| “One day, I hope we can make our dreams come true together.” |
| |
| Izumi | .... |
| Sakyo | I knew he had little chance of realizing his dream. But I identified with him, and irresponsibly cheered him on. |
| And then I went off and made my dream come true on my own. Of course he hates me. |
| Izumi | You weren’t irresponsible. |
| Azami-kun was shining when he did the makeup for Summer Troupe’s performance, when he participated in the fashion show and the event.... |
| He looked like he was having so much fun. He was full of energy. |
| Azami-kun is who he is today because he didn’t give up on his dream. I don’t think you made a mistake by encouraging him, Sakyo-san. |
| Sakyo | ...But I still betrayed him. |
| Izumi | Sakyo-san, do you still want Azami-kun’s dream to come true? |
| Sakyo | ——. |
| Of course, if it’s possible, I want it to come true. I know better than anyone how serious he is about his dream. |
| Izumi | Then—. |
| Sakyo | But I’m a member of the Ginsenkai. I can’t give up on the Chairman’s dream to make his only son the heir. |
| He picked me up off the streets—I owe him my life. I know that he has high hopes for his son because he’s concerned for the Ginsenkai’s future. |
| I can’t casually support Azami’s dream knowing that. |
| Izumi | .... |
| (The Chairman’s dream and Azami-kun’s dream; Sakyo-san is struggling because he’s caught between them....) |
| (But I still think it’s strange for Azami-kun to hate Sakyo-san because of that.) |
| (He still wants to cheer him on....) |
| Sakyo-san, please talk to Azami-kun before you do anything else. |
| Tell him how you’ve been struggling. Be honest with him—tell him everything. |
| If you feel bad for making your dream come true first, try apologizing to him. |
| Sakyo | Don’t be silly. I can’t tell him this kind of pathetic story. |
| Izumi | But unless you talk to him face-to-face, you’ll keep misunderstanding each other. |
| Sakyo-san, you realize that it’s having a negative impact on your acting, right? |
| The show won’t succeed with this unpleasant feeling lingering in the air. |
| Sakyo | ——. |
| Izumi | Please talk to Azami-kun. |
| Sakyo | ...If it’s the General Director’s orders, I guess I have to. |
| |
| Sakoda | Hmm, this is his school bag, right? |
| Huh? ...What’s this? |
| Hey, isn’t this a school supply box from elementary school? Sure brings back memories~. |
| Huh? Is this aniki’s handwriting? |
| But these letters are by someone else.... |
| |
| Sakoda | Azami, I brought the goods. |
| Azami | You didn’t have to bring it today.... |
| Sakoda | The earlier the better, right? |
| Azami | Thanks, Ken-san. |
| Sakoda | Also, this too. |
| Azami | ...Eh? |
| Why’d you bring this.... |
| Sakoda | ...Hey, Azami. You should really talk to aniki. |
| Azami | No. |
| Sakoda | Deep down, you know how much aniki always treasured you, right, Azami? |
| Azami | ...I don’t know about the past, but he doesn’t care about me now. He’s just doing whatever he wants; he’s not paying any attention to me. |
| Sakoda | That’s not true. |
| ...He told me to keep quiet about this, but. Azami, you always buy your makeup stuff online, right? |
| Azami | Well, yeah... I can’t buy that stuff in stores. |
| Sakoda | The Chairman was always suspicious about what you were ordering, so he’s had some guys looking into it for a while. |
| Azami | What? |
| Sakoda | And every time, aniki managed to fool them. |
| Azami | ——. |
| Sakoda | He’d be like, Azami is a young man, after all~. Guess the Chairman thought you were ordering porn or something. |
| Azami | Haah!? What the hell—! |
| Sakoda | Hey, well. It’s thanks to him that the Chairman didn’t find out till now. Even now—there’s no way aniki doesn’t care about you, Azami. |
| Despite everything, he’ll watch over you and nag you during practice, right? That’s all for your sake, Azami. |
| Azami | .... |
| Sakoda | So you should talk to aniki—. |
| Azami | Even if that’s true, I still can’t forgive him. |
| Sakoda | Azami.... |
