verdantgrove

Content Warning: Mention of sexual harassment in the form of a joke.

Location: ES Dorm Room (Yuuta, Kaoru, Nagisa)

<Same time. Aoi Yuuta’s dormitory in Starmony Hall>

Kaoru: Hmm. Looks like you’ve got a complicated situation going on again, Yuuta-kun.

Yuuta: …….

Kaoru: Huh? Hey, can you hear me? It’s kind of rude to just ignore someone and not even reply when you’re the one who started the conversation, especially if it’s your senior, you know?

Juuust kidding—

Yuuta: Aah, I’m so sorry, Hakaze-senpai! I was a little immersed in my thoughts, so I didn’t hear you! I apologize for my rudeness, hehe~! (kneeling in apology)

Kaoru: No no no, it was just a joke. You don’t have to go that far to say sorry~ We’re roommates, so in a way, we’re kinda like family, yeah?

Yuuta: Family—

I wonder, what is family, anyway...

Kaoru: Whoa, we’re getting deep now... Well, we’ve known for a long time that the whole traditional view of “family” has caved in on itself, so does anyone really know the correct answer to that question these days?

Juuust kidding—

Yuuta: Wow! I didn’t really understand what you just said, but I’m impressed! Only you’d be able to give me such great advice, Hakaze-senpai! You adults have so much life experience...☆

Kaoru: Um, hold on… This conversation’s moving strangely fast, don’t you think?

Maybe I’m going about this all wrong, I dunno~... I haven’t felt all that great about my communication skills lately, you know~?

Yuuta: ...Me too. I do feel like I’m the sort of student who can get along with anyone in my class, more or less, but...

As soon as I start fighting with Hinata-kun, all those communication skills go straight to the trash.

Kaoru: Ah, I get it~ My sister just got married, so I end up acting awkward whenever we talk. It puts this uncomfortable tension in the air.

I mean, obviously I don’t want to hurt her feelings—if anything, she’s as important to me as any treasure in the world. But, it’s like, we’ve been out of touch for so long that we still haven’t really got a hold on how the other acts.

Yuuta: Hmm. My situation is the other way around—the two of us have been stuck together for so long that now I feel like I get anxious whenever we drift even the slightest bit apart.

Kaoru: Mhm. Either way, it’s tiring to deal with—all because they’re so important to us.

Anyway, I’ve heard the gist of the situation, but—it really is just awful by anyone’s standards, huh?

Being a “two-in-one” package is 2wink’s whole selling point, and yet only one of you guys is gonna be allowed to perform… or something like that?

Yuuta: Well, it’s a very popular program, so it seems more like they just don’t have time slots for both of us.

Plus, the unit system still hasn’t really spread into the music industry at large.

No, no—the problem is more that the idol industry stubbornly refuses to let idols work solo—it’s so weird.

Kaoru: Hmm. I get the feeling that what they’re saying is common sense to them, and that maybe our idea of what’s “common sense” is different, huh?

I don’t think they meant any harm by it, did they?

Yuuta: Yeah, they didn’t seem to… I heard that Hinata-kun went and discussed the details of the job with the producer of the program directly.

Whether it’s for better or worse, it seemed to me that he didn’t think much of it.

The producer sounded like he’s stuck in the days where you could make a ton of profit just by airing a TV program without making any effort at all. Feels like the bubble economy days.1

Kaoru: Yeaaah, feels like that industry’s not really caught up with the times.

Or maybe it’s just that the higher-ups in the idol industry have been trained in some weird ways, because they like playing war and politics way too much.

I’m pretty sure the higher-ups in the general music industry could make a profit just by stealing market shares from the declining idol industry.

So I guess it does make sense that they don’t even bother to think up stuff anymore.

Things like this happen all the time, and us idols who are associated with RhythLin are no stranger to this either.

Yuuta: Yeah, I think I know what you’re referring to there. I can tell that you seniors in UNDEAD are starting to get your feet on the ground now, but I was pretty worried about how your unit was doing at first...

I was wondering if you guys were alright.

Kaoru: Well, we’re called UNDEAD for a reason. Don’t worry, everything’s alright. Even if we die, we’ll always come right back to life.

You guys have also learned a lot more from Rei-kun than I have. So you’re like half-vampire now; doesn’t that make the two of you undead too?

So that’s why I think everything will turn out totally fine. ♪

Yuuta: What are you talking about… Even if you’re trying to cheer us on here, it’s hard for me to understand. I’m starting to think that whole thing about you being popular with women is a lie, you know?

Kaoru: Huuuh? The girls loved me for my genuine caring side, y’know? I’d always keep asking them how they’re doing and comfort them no matter how vague I sounded~ Really, really. ♪

Yuuta: Alright, yeah. To be fair, talking to you has calmed me down a lot, Hakaze-senpai.

Kaoru: That’s good. I’m not really used to talking to guys, so I’ve got nooo confidence here—if you were a girl, I’d give you a kiss to calm you down right away. ♪

Yuuta: Noooo, Hakaze-senpai, you sex offender~♪

Kaoru: Don’t you think that’s going too far?!

Yuuta: It’s a joke, just a joke! ♪

Kaoru: Yeah, I know. ...Looks like you really have calmed down. That’s a relief. I guess we’ve got no hope of having a productive conversation here if we can’t understand each other’s jokes.

TL Notes:

1: “Bubble economy” refers to the Japanese asset price bubble of the 1980s, a time period in which real estate and stock market prices were greatly inflated due to excessive optimism about and high expectations for the future. The bubble “burst” in early 1992, and Japan’s economy stagnated afterwards.

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Translated by verdantgrove

Proofread by 310mc and meteorgreen