Chapter 3

Later everyone, bye-byeee!

Make sure you rest well. We’ve got another big day ahead!

I’ll head out to pick up the supplies I mentioned this morning before heading home.

You sure you don’t need help? You’re not buying something huge again, are you?

No worries. I don’t plan to this time so I'll be fine on my own.

Besides, I can’t have our leading actress carrying heavy stuff and getting hurt now, can I?

Says the guy who makes me do stuff way harder than carrying boxes.

Fufu. Well then, I’ll be expecting another great performance from you tomorrow.

Mm. See you.

Alright... I should review today’s practice once I get home.

(There’s still a lot I can fix in the later half. I’ll check the video and refine it.)

(It all comes down to the climax, after all. I have to think more about how to make it more powerful...)

....Hehe.

(This is really fun.)

(Just thinking about standing on that stage still makes my heart race, but....)

(That exact feeling’s what keeps me going.)

(Okay. I’ll carry this momentum into tomorrow—)

…Nene-chan?

Huh?

I knew it! It is you, Nene-chan!

Um, you are.....?

Hehe, maybe you didn’t recognize me ‘cause I cut my hair short?

It’s me, Miyako Hirohashi—we were in the junior division at Yumemi Troupe together.

Ah—!!

Kusanagi-san still has the guts to come after that blunder…..

No one’s saying a word to her. Can’t say I blame them.

After all that group practice, and she screws up that bad—

Cut it out already!

Let’s stop talking about what’s already happened and focus on what’s next. We’re in the same group, aren’t we?

…Miyako-chan…!

Are you sure this bench is okay?

Yeah! The café was packed anyway, and honestly, I’m happy to talk with you anywhere.

Hehe, thank you. Me too.

Still, it’s been forever, huh. I stopped going to rehearsals after that day.

…I’m really sorry about back then.

Geez, don’t beat yourself up! You said sorry enough times, and that was ages ago.

More importantly..... you’re still acting now, right?

Eh?

I was looking at the cast list for the new ArcLand show, and there it was! Your name! You’re the lead, right?

Wh-What!? You knew!?

Yep! I'm still doing theater myself, so I always check out shows that catch my eye ♪

Oh, I see… that makes me feel kinda shy now.

Ahaha, no need to be shy! You earned it with all your hard work!

Seeing that made me think, “I can’t fall behind!”

…I see.

So, which troupe are you with now?

I’m a trainee with the Rikka Theater Company right now.

Wow…! You actually made it into Rikka!

I’m still a trainee, so I’m not an official member yet but I’m aiming to pass the next audition.

You’ll make it, Miyako-chan. You’ve always been hardworking, and your acting was amazing even back then.

Thanks! Though you weren’t exactly slacking either, you know~

Talking like this, it almost feels like it all happened just yesterday, when we were performing together.

…By the way, do you know what happened to everyone else?

Huh?

I’ve always wondered what happened to everyone from Yumemi after that.

.....Are they still in the troupe?

Oh… well…

…Sorry. I don’t really know.

What?

That show turned out to be our final performance together, somehow......

…Wait, you mean…

—Was it because of my mistake…?

Ah…

…I don’t really know. I can’t speak for everyone else.

But… at least for me, I didn't leave because of you, Nene-chan.

So please... don’t let the past weigh you down. Keep looking forward.

And give this next show everything you’ve got!

…Okay. Thank you.

But… at least for me, I didn't leave because of you, Nene-chan.

(That’s what Miyako-chan said, but—)

(…I wonder if that’s really true.)

(…I mean…)

(…That’s how heavy one mistake can be.)

(—Back then… it felt like everything we worked so hard for just vanished in a blink of an eye.)

(We’d been giving it our all for weeks… and just like that, it all came crashing down.)

(…If I hadn’t messed up that time...)

(…No. Thinking about it now won’t change anything.)

(You can’t turn back time.)