Early Leaks

Buzz buzz… Miyuki laid on the couch in her living room, waiting for Jin to show up.

Buzz buzz… She glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. It was almost three in the afternoon, and there was still no sign of Jin. He hadn’t responded to the texts she sent inquiring about his location and estimated arrival time.

Buzz buzz… Miyuki picked up her vibrating phone from the coffee table in front of her and answered the call “Hello?”

“Hey Miyuki, are you free right now?” Nanami asked from the other side of the line.

“Depends on what you’re about to ask me to do,” she said. “I’m waiting for Jin to arrive. It shouldn’t be long now.”

“Right, I forgot he was coming today. I was just wondering if you wanted to have a picnic at the park.”
“A picnic?” Miyuki’s thoughts went back to the occasional times she and Nanami would spend time at the park, chatting for hours and eating lunch together. “Not today, sorry. Maybe we can do that tomorrow? I’ll bring some extra desserts to make it up to you.”

“I’d appreciate it,” Nanami said. She could hear her smiling through the phone. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Nanami.”

“Oh, is there anything you need me to help with today?” Nanami quickly asked before Miyuki hung up.

“Nothing that comes to mind. Thanks for asking, though.”

“No problem. Talk to you later!

“Bye,” Miyuki pressed the red button to end the phone call and set her phone down on the table again. Her head hit the armrest of the couch, and she grabbed a squishy pillow from beside her, holding it to her chest. “I hope Jin gets here soon…”

A knock on the door brought Miyuki jumping to her feet. She threw the pillow off of her, landing it on the floor, and ran to the door. When she opened it, disappointment and surprise expressed themselves at the sight of Komi instead of Jin.

“Koizumi? How did you know where I live?”

“I have my ways,” she answered. “And please, call me Komi.”

“Okay… What brings you here, Komi?” She inquired.

Komi’s lips curled into a smile. “I thought you might want to see the list of participants in the Idol Awards this year.”

“The list of participants? They released that information already?” Miyuki marveled. Last year, the official list was released three weeks before the event started. There was still a whole nine weeks until it would begin this year.

“Not exactly,” Komi said. “The official list hasn’t been made public yet, but I got my hands on it anyway.”

Miyuki blinked in confusion. “Wait, if it isn’t public, how did you get it?”

“That’s a secret,” she winked. “Want to take a look? See who your rivals are?”

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to check it out…” She cracked the door open a little more to allow Komi to enter her apartment.

Komi looked around her humble living space and noticed that it lacked the creative decor she was expecting it to have. “This is definitely not what I’d picture a famous idol’s home to look like.”

“I’m still a normal girl, you know,” Miyuki shut the door and led Komi to the couch around the corner.

“Still, this place needs a little makeover. But back to why I’m here,” Komi pulled her phone out of her pocket and handed it to Miyuki after unlocking it. “The list is right here.”

She accepted the phone from Komi and looked at it. On the screen was a text thread between Komi and someone she referred to as Nia. The last text from Nia listed sixteen names, all of which Miyuki recognized with varying levels of familiarity. Besides herself, there was Luna Rihara, Erii Mitsui, Aki Machiko, Haru Nishihara, Tsubasa Iwamoto, Naomi Shimada, Ai Ozawa, Saki Tashiro, Risu, MikoPiko, AngelZ, Harmonee, MAiSHiN, LORiA, and KizaKira.

As someone in the industry, it was only natural that she knew of the other popular idols. She had only met about half of them in person, however, most of whom she was acquainted with from last year’s Idol Awards.

“These are for sure who are participating?” She questioned after a good look at the list. “I mean, it makes sense. But what if this Nia person’s intel is wrong? Who is she, anyway?”

“Nia’s a friend of mine that also has a habit of keeping up to date with the latest idol news. You can trust her on this,” Komi said.

She handed Komi’s phone back to her. “Okay, I believe you.”

“Do you want me to do some recon on the other participants? See how they’re preparing?”

“I don’t think that’s necessary, especially not at this moment. Half of them are probably not thinking about it much yet,” Miyuki said.

“Whether you want me to tell you what they’re up to or not is your choice,” Komi shrugged. “But I’m still going to look into what they’re doing regardless.”

“I’m not sure how you’ll get all that information, but knowing you, you’ll get it somehow.”

A knock on the door stole the two girls’ attention. “I think that’s my cue to leave,” Komi pushed herself to her feet. “Thanks for allowing me to stay. One piece of advice before I leave,” she stepped back into the hallway. “You should really decorate a little bit.”

“I appreciate the concern,” Miyuki smiled and followed Komi to the door. When she opened the door, Miyuki’s eyes met Jin’s. “You made it!”

“I’m not sure how you make the eight hour train ride every week. That’s a long time to sit on a stuffy train.” His attention shifted to Komi. “I didn’t come at a bad time, did I?”

“Not at all,” Miyuki assured him.

“I was just leaving,” Komi said. “See you later, Miyuki.”
“Talk to you on Monday,” she waved as Komi weaved around Jin and disappeared from Miyuki’s view. “Come in.”

“Are you sure you want a guy in your apartment?”

“We’ve been alone at your house before, haven’t we? It’ll be fine,” she said.

“Alright, if you say so…” Jin took a hesitant step into Miyuki’s apartment and removed his shoes by the door. “It looks like your friend group is expanding.”

“Oh, you mean Komi? I met her a few weeks ago. She came with me to Tokyo a couple weeks ago with Nanami, remember?”

“Yes, I remember. But before that you only talked about Nanami, so I assume you’ve only gotten to know her recently,” Jin said.

Miyuki led Jin farther into her apartment and sat back down on the couch, motioning for him to sit next to her. “The first time I saw her was about a month ago.”

Jin took a seat on the edge of the couch, leaving some space between him and Miyuki. “Did she move here from somewhere?”

“I’m not sure,” Miyuki admitted. “She doesn’t really talk about herself that much, and never gives us more information when we ask.”

“Sounds like she’s hiding something,” Jin noted. “Are you sure she’s trustworthy? She might be trying to gain something from being your friend.”

“Komi’s not like that. She may have her secrets, but she doesn’t have any bad intentions. Nanami would have noticed by now if she did.”

Jin shifted in his seat. “Well, it’s good that you’re gaining some more friends. You’ve never had many real ones.”

“I already had you and Nanami,” Miyuki argued with a pout.

“That’s not a lot of friends,” Jin said.

“Anyway, where are we going today?"