Chapter 51 Decision

Decision

The old tea ceremony clubroom after school is a precious place where Kanade and I can be alone together without worrying about prying eyes. In this quiet space, I confided something important to Kanade.

“There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“What is it? You sound so serious…”

“It looks like someone’s been trying to take pictures of us when we’re together.”

When I said that, Kanade furrowed her brows slightly.

“Eh? You mean… like a scandal? Have we done anything weird outside?”

“No, we haven’t done anything. But just being together is enough to make people speculate.”

I let out a small, wry smile, but inside, I felt the weight of the situation.

Kanade is an active idol, and as her boyfriend, I have to be extremely careful.

After a brief silence, Kanade spoke in a lighthearted tone.

“I see. Then we’ll just have to be a little more careful from now on. Being together outside might still be fine, but holding hands and stuff… probably not. I don’t mind, but I don’t want to cause trouble for you, Sou-kun.”

“Yeah. I’ll be careful too. I care about you, Kanade, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Hearing you say that makes me really happy, Sou-kun. Let’s save our flirting for this room, okay?”

“U-uh… yeah…”

Well, I guess it’s safe in here…

“Oh, right, Sou-kun! Next week, they’re announcing the formation for the new song during the recording, right? I’m really excited to see who’ll be center~”

The conversation shifted as Kanade brought up a new topic. For some reason, her face lit up with excitement.

“Kanade… do you want to be the center for the next song?”

When I asked that, Kanade paused, looking thoughtful for a moment before quietly shaking her head.

“No, I don’t really care about being center right now. To be honest, I used to, though.”

Her answer took me by surprise. And then, she continued.

“Right now, rather than standing out as the center, I think it’s way more important for all of us to be on stage together and make our fans happy. Besides, I have Sou-kun now, so that’s enough for me.”

“I see…”

Hearing those words, I felt a sense of relief.

Because I’m the one who has the authority to decide who will be center.

Of course, even as her boyfriend, I never intended to play favorites, but if she had told me she wanted to be center, it would have put me in a complicated position.

Thanks to what Kanade said, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.

In that moment, I made my decision about who to push as the center for the next song.