Static Worries

I sat a cupholder of several coffee cups down on a table. On a nearby television screen was a live interview featuring Sunayomi and Manager Na. If I hadn't known any better, I would've assumed that this was just a recording, but I could literally hear their muffled voices coming from the other side of the wall.

After picking up one of the cups, I took a seat and watched. The girls were sitting on a long couch, while Director Na was sitting on his own sofa. They were being interviewed by a man sitting behind his desk while a live audience was watching.

"Moving on! As we all know, Sunayomi's latest album was a total success!" he said. "Congratulations, by the way."

Sunayomi cheered amongst themselves while the audience roared in applause.

"Now. We know how everyone clearly feels just based on the record-breaking number of streams across the nation, but how do yourselves feel about it?" the host asked.

"Obviously, we're super happy about the response, and we're also excited to announced that because of the positive reviews, we'll be going on tour soon," Yoshino replied.

Again, the crowd cheered.

"That's great news!" the host exclaimed. "Are we expecting to see a concert held here in Tokyo?"

"Oh, yeah. A hundred percent," Yoshino agreed.

For a while longer, they went back and forth. Yoshino took on most of the public relations questions. Make sense since she's the leader. Other questions, which were more for fun and entertainment, were directed towards the group as a whole.

Finally, after what felt like hours upon hours, they were done. The host showed them offstage, and that's when the television went static. Moments later, Sunayomi walked into the waiting room.

"Huh? Where'd you get that, Yozora?" Natsume asked.

"I got tired of sitting around, so I decided to go for a walk. Found a coffee shop around the corner."

I slid the cupholder across the table.

"Here. That's for you guys. I labeled them with your names."

"Wahoo~!" Suguha cheered as she reached for hers. "Thanks, Yozora! You're the best!"

"You really didn't have to, Yozora," Natsume smiled. "But... Thank you."

"It wasn't a big deal," I scoffed. "Besides, I knew that if I returned with only one coffee cup for myself, you guys would burn me alive."

Yoshino let out a giggle as she picked up her cup.

"Why are they labeled?" she asked. "Are they different?"

"Yeah. You guys usually get one type of coffee each, so I just bought those."

"Hm? You remembered?"

"At this point, I'd be more shocked if I didn't. Grabbing coffee for you guys has become one of my morning tasks, after all."

"Whoa~" Suguha awed.

"That's really thoughtful of you, Yozora," Natsume said with a bow. "Thanks again."

While the girls drank from their cups and talked about the interview, I saw Mitsuki standing in the back with her eyes glued to her phone. She seemed heavily invested, so I picked up the cup with her name on it and walked over.

"Here," I said.

"Oh. Thanks," she replied as she took it.

"Is everything alright? You've been looking at your phone for a while."

"Ah. Well..."

For a moment, she turned her head, and her eyes finally strayed to look at something else. However, she quickly turned back with a sudden attitude.

"Hmph. None of your business."

"Wha... Hah. Fine."

Mitsuki took a sip of the coffee and let out a satisfied breath.

"Not bad. Where'd you even get this?" she asked.

"There's a little shop a few minutes from here."

"Wait, you walked?"

"Yeah. It's not like I was doing anything productive, so it's fine."

Whatever she was looking at must've been important for her to miss the entire conversation just then. In fact, when she turned her head, I could've sworn that she was looking at Yoshino, but that could've been my imagination.

"Hah. You? Doing something productive?" Mitsuki scoffed. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"Oh, come on. I was practically forced to be productive when you guys 'promoted' me to an assistant."

"You still make it sound like you don't enjoy it. There's no way that's still the case after a full month, is it?"

"I wonder about that."

Mitsuki poked her chin and leaned forward to catch my gaze. "Not really much to think about, is there? A young boy like you would surely think that it's nothing less than a golden opportunity."

"I'm pretty sure you've said that before," I sighed. "Again, you're not even that much older than me. Mind you, I'm not ignorant enough to think that I'm unlucky to be in this position. I just don't think I deserve it. That's all."

"Is it?"

No, it's not. Of course, there is more to the story and the reason for why I was so adamantly against being their assistant. To a certain extent, I still am. This kind of work and the responsibility that it requires... I'm not confident. I never was.

However, standing here and watching the girls go about their days gave me insight on who these idols really are. Behind the glamor and fame lies a group of friends who hangout, gossip, and laugh together, just like how anyone our age would. Well, with the exception of me.

Despite my reluctance to admit it, I found that my mood has lightened up just a bit. I lasted a whole month already, so I'm doing something right. At least, that's what I want to believe.

"Hey~! Yozora!" Suguha shouted.

Suddenly, her face appeared right in front of me, blinding me, as if I were looking at the sun itself.

"W-what is it?" I muttered.

"Do you have time today?" she asked.

"Huh? For what?"

"Tch. Were you not listening to what we were saying at all?" Mitsuki grumbled.

"Oh? And you're one to talk, are you?"

"What did you just say?!"

She moved closer with her fist held up, acting like she was about to hit me. Even though I knew she wouldn't, my body still moved back on its own.

"Relax. I was just kidding," I said.

And Mitsuki did just that. It wasn't just her. All of them had a strange look on their faces, as if I had done something out of the ordinary.

"What?" I asked.

"Y-Yozora... Did you just..." Natsume stuttered heavily.

"Did I just... what?"

"Smiled," Suguha said in awe. "You just smiled."

My eyes widened, as I lifted my fingers to touch the area around my mouth. Me? Smiling? Those two words don't belong in the same sentence. I certainly didn't feel myself smiling, nor did I know that I was even capable of doing that.

"I was smiling, huh...?" I whispered. "Oh, well."

"Eh?! Are we just gonna toss that aside?!" Suguha exclaimed.

"I mean... Is it that big of a surprise?"

"We've just... never seen you smile before," Natsume mumbled sheepishly.

"Well, now you have, so can we drop it?"

"Yozora," Yoshino called out sternly.

The girls looked at each other, before nodding their heads in agreement. Whatever they're thinking about right now, it's definitely has something to do with me, and that's never a good thing.

"Are you alright?" Yoshino mumbled.

"...Where is this coming from?" I scoffed.

However, my attempt to shift the mood was unsuccessful. They were still staring at me with those strange looks.

"You know... Over the last month, we've been observing you," Yoshino said. "You're our age, and that's pretty young to be our assistant. We know that. But, when it comes to doing your job, you're as diligent as anyone can get. Maybe even better. However, we know there's something off about you, Yozora."

"Off...? What do you mean?" I asked, but something tells me I'm not getting away from this.

"You always have those big dark bags under your eyes," Suguha muttered while rubbing below her eyes. "Every time we see them, they just get darker... as if you're getting less and less sleep every night."

"And every time we invite you to join us for lunch and dinner, you always refuse," Natsume said with a worried expression. "It's not like we're doubting you, but... it's almost as if you're not eating anything at all. At least... Not enough, and we can tell."

"Yozora," Mitsuki frowned. "How come your face is so empty every time we look at you? And all this talk about you not being good with people and wanting to be left alone... Nobody would wake up and decide to do that. There has to be a reason."

While they stared at me, I felt myself swaying.

"There... is no reason," I replied, my voice shaking heavily.

"And you expect us to believe that?" Yoshino scoffed. "I told you, didn't I? We've been observing you. We're not some dumb little girls who aren't able to realize that."

Dammit... I wasn't expecting this curveball. What do I even say to them? I can't just to drop my problems onto them, and I certainly don't want to either.

Suddenly, Manager Na poked his head through the door. "Alright, squad! It's time to roll... o-out...?"

He stopped when he saw all four of them still maintaining their piercing gazes. For a while, I debated on whether or not I should tell them, but I ultimately decided against it. And so, I walked past them.

"There's no reason for you to involve yourself in my issues, so don't worry. Just... don't."