Eternal Melody

SUMIRE

Sumire slapped her cheeks. After she made sure Mikaze was okay, she excused herself to wash her face in the bathroom. On the way out she ran into a staff member who was supposedly her fan. She watched the young girl who dashed away after receiving the autographs. Young fans really are pure. For them it's simply enough to listen to music from their favourite artists. They don't get themselves too involved in all the gossip. She supposes there was a time where she was exactly like that, but times have changed now.

She always knew there would be complications in the entertainment industry. She knew it wasn't all fun and games. After meeting Yumi-senpai, she too stressed how dark the entertainment industry could be.

It's not like she didn't know. She just never expected so much hate to end up being directed at her. According to what Toh said to her, her grandfather Suigetsu and Hijiri are the main causes of all the negativity regarding her. They were the ones who fueled the flames.

'You were a young fresh talent in the industry. There were plenty of others who were jealous. Suigetsu and Jian simply had to say a few bad things and those artists would be prompted to do the rest.'

Sumire exhaled deeply. Her grandfather aside, she doesn't understand why Hijiri has such resentment from her. From such a young age, what could she have possibly done to him? She spent most of her young years in a facility isolated from the world.

Forget it, even if he explains and apologizes to her. She will never forgive him. After all, hurting her isn't the issue. He hurt Yuhi-san, and for that she will never forgive him even if he had a thousand lives.

On her way out Arashi-senpai mentioned that Siena was here too. Sumire looked down at the hallway she came from and clasped her hands. She will spend some more time with them later. She really needs to speak with Siena.

After walking for a few minutes she arrived on the third floor, to see one of the practice room doors wide open. There in the center of the room was Siena dancing her part for their duo show.

"Bravo."

Siena rolled her eyes. "Now you're here to practice? The concert is three days away! Three!"

Sumire laughed. "Better now than never, right?"

"You're oozing with confidence, you must have been practicing secretly without me."

"Perhaps." Sumire walked over and glanced at the score. "Which part were you on?"

"Hmm, right about here."

If it's this part. Sumire started?to dance. Quite some time has passed since she let her body go like this. Although she sang quite a bit when amnesia her recalled she could sing. She didn't get many opportunities to dance like this. A while ago she had a discussion with Yuhi-san, who spoke about her being?only two levels lower than him. About her dancing not being on par with her singing because her singing standards are high.

He was right, that's why since then. She decided to just stop overthinking and just dance.

Siena suddenly exclaimed loudly. "Holy shit- since when could you do that?"

Sumire blinked. "Was it bad?"

"No, no, no." Siena shook her head frantically. "How can that be bad? You really must have been practicing."

Sumire sweat fell. If she tells Siena she hasn't danced in two months, her friend definitely wouldn't believe her.

"Now I'm fired up!" Siena exclaimed. "You have time right? You'll stay?"

Sumire nodded. "Of course."

After practicing for a few hours, the two of them collapsed on the ground.

"That went really well. I was worried but we will definitely be fine." Siena said.

Sumire laughed. "You were actually worried?"

"Of course I was! We didn't practice much before you got kidnapped."

"I really am sorry for making you worry so much."

Siena exhales deeply. "From getting pregnant, to getting stabbed, to getting kidnapped. The past few months have been way too difficult for you."

Indeed, there truly is never a dull moment with her. But, all this excitement in her life when she is so bad for an introverted person like herself.

"Takashi Yumi ended up having to step up. I know you didn't want her to interfere unless she absolutely had to."

Sumire nodded. "I heard. I guess Yumi-senpai judged this was the best time."

"I was there when she got angry at the entertainment board. It seems like she has been holding back those words for a long time."

Her sweat fell. Poor Yumi-senpai, she ought to bring over some snacks later on.

"I can't believe you were the one who put that crazy idea of not interfering in her head."

"Yumi-senpai has worked extremely hard to get to where she is today. It wouldn't be right of me to ask her to sacrifice her reputation to help me." Sumire trailed off. "Besides until I confirmed who was spreading rumors about me. I had no choice but to act docile."

"But you know now?"

Sumire nodded. "It seems even without memories, I still remembered there was something I had to do. I did a bit of snooping around in Lucifer's office, and found the relevant documents. My grandfather and Hijiri planted those rumors the moment I entered the industry. Previously they had been limited to slandering me in front of people I knew. But, their range increased because I entered the entertainment industry."

Siena frowned. "If they planted it that long ago, it won't be easy to remove it."

Sumire shakes her head. "It's okay, just leave it."

"But Sumire, those are all lies. You didn't do anything wrong. Now we know who started it, we should take action."