Chereads / A Glittering Star / Chapter 5 - Chapter 5: Challenge

Chapter 5 - Chapter 5: Challenge

"For now, what's our plan this time?" Suta asked Kira.

And once again, Suta got close to Kira even though Kira was enjoying his lunch in the school garden. Kira did not feel bothered by Suta's presence. Although Kira initially wanted to eat by himself, if it was Suta, what else could he do? Kira would not be able to resist him. It was just, "Hoshi, can you wait for me to finish my meal first?"

"Why?"

Kira looked at Suta with a cynical and annoyed gaze, as if her gaze alone was enough to inform Suta to respect and observe one's manners while eating. But alas, Hoshi Suta was the one in front of him. He was not the one who cared about that. Instead, he tilted his head innocently.

And finally, Kira gave up, after chewing his food, Kira shook his head with his eyes closed, "I also still don't know, I have to be careful in taking steps. So do you."

Hearing Kira's mature decision, Suta looked happy until he approached Kira once again who was eating beside him, "Alright! I understand!"

"But from yourself, do you have any goals or desires?"

"No-" Actually, Suta wanted to joke a little with Kira, but when she saw Kira who looked severe, she abandoned her intention, "To be honest, I still don't know."

Kira then took another bite of rice and swallowed it while thinking. He did not feel upset even though Suta did not have a goal for now even though her desire to become an Idol was very great. There was nothing in his mind that said 'Doesn't she intend to become an idol?' or any other words that might hurt her heart.

In fact, he was relieved because then he could start from scratch and make a schedule that suited Suta. It was just that he needed time to adapt to Suta for a while.

"But, as I said, I'm taking music and dance classes!" Suta informed Kira.

"Oh, that's not bad. How many times a week do you take those lessons?"

"Hm? I only take it on the weekends, because I think it will interfere with my school activities"

There are many students who spend their time taking lessons from their hobbies, but can it be compared to people who want to make their hobbies into jobs?

"Hm..." Kira mumbled while chewing his food. He was thinking of what he should say to Suta without burdening her, "So, Hoshi... How long do you spend on your lessons?"

"Maybe 3 hours for singing lessons and 3 hours for dance lessons"

"Are you sure that's enough? I still don't know anything about it."

"That..." Suta paused for a moment. She was unsure of the answer she would give, as it would affect her future activities. "...maybe... no"

"Of course not, you're going to be an Idol after this. 3 hours of practice and only weekends will not be enough."

Suta hesitated a bit, "I-I see..."

"Actually it is your obligation to manage your time well. Just like other students who work as part-timers. And I know the money you spend will be a lot, but it's your investment if you make it to Idol, you'll know that your hard work is worth it."

Heavy words must be said if you want to change someone. You can't give soft words and hope that someone will change because of your words. They won't. One must know when to be firm.

"But, my parents don't allow me to spend more time singing and dancing."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Just seeing Suta's expression, Kira knew he shouldn't dig deeper into Suta's privacy and life. After all, business relationships could be limited without knowing one's private life.

"Well... Let's leave that aside."

"Eh?" Suta looked surprised.

"I think I have one suggestion for you."

Suta listened to Kira intently, her gaze fixed on Kira who did not even look back at Suta, and looked at the roof of the school as if he was thinking.

"What if you join the club at our school? With that, maybe you can gain experience in singing and dancing from a teacher or from a friend" He explained while trying to finish the rest of his food, "...You can learn from your lessons, and gain more experience from school club activities? What do you think? That way you don't have to spend more money"

"Club activities..." Suta looked satisfied with Kira's suggestion, "...Manager, you are very smart!"

Suta's expression changed real quick and after seeing that expression, Kira sighed with relief. 'Looks like she's someone who is easy to manage. Thank goodness' Kira thought.

On the other hand, Suta immediately took out her smartphone and typed something on it while humming cheerfully.

Kira actually wanted to ask what he was doing, but he was afraid of digging into her privacy again and bringing down Suta's mood again, so he preferred to ignore her and decided to finish the rest of his meal.

"So, the weekend is for tutoring, and at school, I'll join a club activity, good idea~," she said as she continued typing on her smartphone.

Suta showed her smartphone not long after, "Like this, manager?"

It turned out that Suta was strategizing her 'strategy' to become an Idol. That's what was written on her smartphone, Strategy to become an Idol. 'Doesn't it look too dramatic?' was what went through Kira's mind.

But maybe that's what a person has to do to achieve their dreams, they must be able to organize everything in an organized manner, and not just say words with high ambition but cannot manage their time or schedule well.

"That looks good,"

Suta cheerfully saved the note in her smartphone, but after saving it, for a fairly short time, Suta was silent without words, making Kira curious and glanced at him.

And that was the third time Kira saw Suta's expression that could be considered less beautiful. It was like a star that was dying. Like a wilting flower. The first time was when he felt her pride was being undermined, the second time was when Kira almost dug into Suta's private life and this time, when she looked at her smartphone.

"What's wrong?" Kira asked.

She did not want to have an awkward atmosphere between them, so she tried to destroy that atmosphere by waking Suta from her reverie.

"Ah, it's nothing!" She then stood up, smiling again. And this time, Kira knew that the smile that was always present on Suta's face was just a fake smile. It was as if he was trying to get out of a miserable life and create a beautiful world for himself.

"Unngg~" She stretched her body, perhaps because she had been sitting for too long or simply because she wanted to hide her sadness. Because humans usually stretch their bodies when they wake up from sleep due to fatigue or trying to avoid topics that make them awkward as if hiding their emotions by stretching their bodies. "Then, manager. Let's start our plan!"

"Us? That's just only for you, though"

Then the two promised to meet after school. The two walked to the teacher's room and asked their homeroom teacher about the club activities.

"You two are so excited," Tanabe-sensei said proudly.

"I'm very excited, Sensei!"

"Um... It's just this girl, I'm not interested in any club activities"

The two were then given a paper to apply for club activities. It said that in order to create a club, it was required for each club to have at least 5 members and one accompanying teacher. Tanabe-sensei also explained to them that if the club had been formed last year, they could just apply to enter the club because it would have guaranteed activities.

"For club activities, does she have to go every day?" asked Kira.

"Of course not, she can only participate irregularly. But she must attend at least once a week," he explained.

Kira then looked at the paper and saw that several clubs had been formed. But he was a little disappointed that there was no club that suited Suta there. "Hm... This will be hard,"

"What happened, Manager?" whispered Suta.

"No, nothing." He then asked Tanabe-sensei, "Um... Sensei, how long is the period of time until the closure of club activities?"

"Huh? I don't understand..."

"You know... If I don't get enough members in the near future, shouldn't I start a new club or something like that?"

"Hey... Don't tell me you've never joined a school club activity before?"

Kira didn't answer and just stayed silent until his pupils were looking away since he couldn't fix his eye contact with the teacher. He was a little embarrassed and reluctant because he didn't know anything about club activities.

Tanabe-sensei then let out a long sigh, his hand on the table resting on his chin with a look on his face as if he thought Kira was a strange child, "You know... you should spend your youth in school before you get busy with the world of work or adulthood, you will realize that time in school is precious."

Kira also listened to Tanabe-sensei's advice carefully. He didn't think that other people's advice was low, instead, he accepted it happily, "Understood."

"There is no time limit until club registration closes. You can apply for your club at any time,"

"Alright, understood."

With that, Kira and Suta excused themselves from Tanabe-sensei. Tanabe-sensei was quite worried about Kira even though it was the first day he talked directly to him,

"He quite reminds me of my youth. That look with no future as if all the burdens will be carried alone... All by myself." He then prepared to go home as well, "Well... At least, I'm happy enough in my current life~"

On the other hand, Kira and Suta walked side by side out of the school. "Hoshi..."

"Yes, Manager?"

"Are there any clubs that interest you?"

Suta then looked at the paper she was still holding, "Isn't music enough? Or singing?"

"But what about dancing? If you join the singing club, I know you'll improve in your singing, but if you lose focus in other areas, it's just as well that you're not good at managing your schedule."

"You're right... But, isn't that better..."

Kira looked at the same paper, but in his own hand, "Do you think so?"

"I... don't know..."

Kira then stopped walking for a moment. His hand rubbed his forehead with his eyes closed because he always did that if he was in deep thought.

"Hey, Hoshi... I have an offer for you."

With some hesitation, Suta replied, "What is it, Manager?"

"We're going to create a new club, an Idol club," Kira explained.