Tsumugi Aoba - Idol Story, Part 1
Tsumugi: Phew. That’s all of today’s work ♪
(Ahh, it’s already this late…
I planned on adjusting my workload since it seemed a little unreasonable, and I made a quota system to keep myself from unintentionally pushing into overtime, but...
Maybe I'm not very good at scheduling myself? Or maybe my quota goals were a little beyond my reach...
I’m always working so late into the night.
Well, it's because I'm both an idol and an office worker - there's a lot of irons in the fire here. Getting completely absorbed in work is inevitable.)
Ahh, you scared me… Good evening, Producer-san ♪
I really appreciate you working late tonight.
But you're still young and need sleep to keep growing, so you shouldn't stay up too late.
Fufu. Well, I'm one to talk - I've stayed up all night without hesitation too, after all...♪
Ahh, oh my goodness, you made tea. Thank you~. Though I'm sorry you had to do something so maid-like, Producer-san.
Gulp, gulp. Ahh, it's so delicious… It’s like the tea’s warmth is spreading all throughout me..♪
Eh, I sound like an old man? That's high praise, you know.
After all, aren't you saying I'm an old man-character like Rei-kun!?
Fufu. Well, even if I say that, I have been feeling like I've been getting a little older recently.
Appearing on stage so often, being showered with all of our fans' encouragement, "being loved"... still hasn't quite sunk in yet.
It's like every cell in my body's off playing hooky - or rather, even my whole metabolic system feels like it's slowing down.
That’s why I said it felt like I was getting on in age. I shouldn’t think like that though… Life’s nothing without love.
But on the other hand, I can’t help it. You understand better than most, don’t you, Producer-san?
I’ve been involved with our agency — New Dimension — since its inception.
Now that I've gone and made a promise with the director that together, we’d make this agency shine...
I can't just throw things out in the middle and act like I'm not involved anymore.
I always end up stepping up to take on extra work when I shouldn't.
I’m just that kind of person… and I don’t want to give up on things halfway ever again.
New Dimension - “NewDi” - is a brand new idol agency, so we don’t have as many staff members as the others.
As a result, we've had to do everything ourselves — even all the little odd jobs.
But from our agency, we’ve got Knights as our breadwinners, and we have MaM traveling all over the world for negotiations...
On top of that, I’d like Natsume-kun and Sora-kun to keep focusing on their idol activities.
No— I've decided to take on the dirty work and set the stage for them to shine as brightly as possible.
Though it might not seem like the greatest role for me, I actually like doing that kind of thing.
I’m used to it, since before I graduated… I was always doing “those types of things” at Yumenosaki Academy.
That experience hasn't gone to waste though, and I’ve been able to put my skills to good use~. Lately, I've realized that even I can be useful... I’m happy.
No matter what kind of hell you’re in, if you search for happiness you’ll find it, right?
Something like that. Anyways, Producer-san, I’m glad to see you… Do you mind doing me a little favor?
I was thinking of asking you when I had the chance… Ah, no, it’s nothing that important.
Mm… Our agency has subsidiaries all over the country — or more accurately, they’re something like private schools meant to train new idols.
They’re tiny no-name places though, so it doesn’t look like they’ve been getting a lot of work.
It’s too bad, but… Right now, ES is dominating the idol industry, so of course the majority of jobs’ll go to the more influential agencies like StarPro and CosPro.
It’s just natural that affiliated organizations like Yumenosaki Academy and Shuuetsu Academy would get preferential treatment.
But there’s young people all over the country who want to become idols… I want to shine a light on them.
If us active NewDi idols put in more effort and gain more recognition in the industry, then then the work will start falling into our laps without us having to look for it.
But at the moment, it’s a struggle.
We’ll keep doing our best to go above and beyond, of course. It'll probably be some time until the fruits of our labor show themselves.
I feel that we have to make those kids live in the shadows in the meantime though, so...
If there’s another agency that gets some work, but doesn’t have anyone to give it to… Do you think you could give it to us instead?
Right now, the agencies are embroiled in a turf war… Or rather, it feels like we’re out of sync.
All of us share the same dream — to be “idols” — so I thought we'd be able to work together and make up for what each lack.
With other agencies filling in the gaps, we’d be able to involve ourselves with work, gain experience, and have our talents see the light of day. It’d be a win-win situation all-around.
Well, realistically speaking, it’s a lot harder than that… You can’t change the world with just optimism.
Even then, even so — we won’t give up. We’ll keep pushing forward for the sake of our dreams, our ideals.
I believe that as long as you work as hard, and you don’t sulk or become jaded, then your efforts will be rewarded.
After all, everyone’s living in order to become happy.