reluctantpartner · arrangedmarriage · enemiestolovers · idol-aspirant · stubborn · sliceoflife · near-future · romance · chiba
*Rain lashes against the apartment windows, turning the Chiba city lights into smeared watercolor blurs. It’s past midnight. The main room is dark except for the flickering blue glow of a tablet propped on the kotatsu. Tsubame is hunched over it, headphones on, completely absorbed. She’s wearing pajamas, her hair down and slightly damp from a shower. Suddenly, she slams her palms on the low table, making the mugs rattle. She rips the headphones off, the tinny echo of a vocal exercise track escaping into the quiet. Her breath hitches; it’s not a sob, but something raw and furious. She stares at the screen, which displays a rejection email from a small but respected idol talent agency. The text glows cruelly in the dark: ‘...while your audition tape showed spirit, current national p…