A guide to survival in a heavy girl's world

As soon as he thought of this, Sankaku Hatsuhua immediately turned his gaze to the cloth bag in his hand, and quickly found the pajamas that were also designed by Chihaya Tetsuya.

When she looked at the cuffs of the pajamas, an extremely familiar pattern instantly caught her attention.

(This is... a six-pointed star?!)

Three years age difference, important person.

Clothing designer, same pattern as towel.

The fragments of many speculations have now gradually been connected into a fact that is about to come out.

This pattern, which she had seen on Hoshino Ai's old towel, instantly made her clear what she was going to do next.

(After he finishes his work...definitely have a talk with him.)

Sankaku Hatsuka took a deep breath and began to wait quietly for Chihaya Tetsuya to complete his final work.

Chapter 17: Keep your language concise when delivering work

"finished."

After the final inspection, Chihaya Tetsuya stood up unsteadily and handed the ready-made clothes in his hand to Hasegawa Shin who had been standing in front of his workbench since the beginning.

"I'd like to trouble you with the ironing and packaging, Director."

"kindness."

Hasegawa Shin took the wedding dress handed to her by Chihaya Tetsuya.

"You should take a good rest for the next few days."

Chihaya Tetsuya shook his head slightly after hearing this:

"But if I'm not here, there's no one to take care of Toyokawa—"

"I'll make arrangements for her in advance."

Hasegawa Shin interrupted Chihaya Tetsuya.

"You are not allowed to come to work until Golden Week. This is an order."

Hasegawa, who was usually gentle, used an extremely stern tone, which was very rare.

"Do you understand, Chihaya Tetsuya?"

“………………Yes, I understand.”

Faced with the director's strong attitude, Chihaya Tetsuya immediately lost the intention to refute again.

Then, when Hasegawa took the finished clothes to the product room for final processing, Sankaku Hatsuka, who had been silently paying attention to this side from the beginning, finally found the right time and came to Chihaya Tetsuya.

"Nice to meet you, Chihaya-san."

Sankaku Hatsuka bowed politely to Chihaya Tetsuya and said:

"My name is Sankaku Hatsuka, and I'm a member of the idol group that's serving as the client this time."

"...Ah, I know you. I've seen your promotional photos before."

After hearing this, Chihaya Tetsuya first looked up at Sankaku Hatsuka, then nodded.

"Nice to meet you... Sorry, I was so focused on my work that I didn't notice you."

"No, no, it's our honor that you are so devoted to our clothes..."

Then, after finishing the business pleasantries, Sankaku Hatsuka suddenly thanked Chihaya Tetsuya once again:

"Also, thank you very much for helping Xiaoxiang."

"Xiao Xiang..."

After hearing this name, Chihaya Tetsu, who was originally a little fuzzy, suddenly became a little more sober.

"Are you talking about Fengchuan? Are you acquainted with her?"

"Yes, we are childhood sweethearts."

"………………I see."

Chihaya Tetsuya immediately rubbed his brows after hearing this, and then tried hard to reopen his eyes that were slightly narrowed due to the pain.

"So, you are the idol that Fengchuan mentioned who provided us with design ideas."

"Well, that's probably what it is."

Sanjiao Chuhua nodded.

"I didn't expect that Xiaoxiang would actually work in the studio that designed our clothes."

"I never thought that I could get the materials directly from the client this time."

Chihaya Tetsuya laughed and shook his head.

"No wonder there's even a rough outline of the MV storyboard... What a coincidence."

"Yeah...it's really such a coincidence."

Sankaku Hatsuka said this while continuing to observe Chihaya Tetsuya inconspicuously.

Chihaya Tetsuya, who had previously embroidered, no longer possessed the intimidating and serious air he exuded. Although he looked pale, the smile on his face still revealed a hint of childishness befitting his age. Add to that his slightly thin physique, delicate features, and slightly gloomy and deep demeanor...

Well, it has quite dangerous potential.

After briefly evaluating Chihaya Tetsuya in his heart, Sankaku Hatsuka finally decided to continue the conversation.

"I heard from Xiao Xiang before that Chihaya-san seems to be designing clothes for 'someone involved in your past' this time, that is, Hoshino Ai, who is in the same group with me."

Having said that, Sankaku Hatsuka fixed his gaze directly on Chihaya Tetsuya's face.

"Excuse me...what is your relationship with love?"

"...Ah, as a teammate, I guess I'm curious about this after all."

In response to Sankaku Hatsuka's question, Chihaya Tetsuya nodded as expected.

"Actually, Ai and I were once companions in the same orphanage."

(really!)

After hearing this answer, Sanjiao Chuhua nodded secretly in his heart.

If there is anyone who can be called an "important person" for Hoshino Ai, who was born in an orphanage, it can only be this!

"In other words, it's a relationship similar to that of brother and sister—"

"No, that's not the case."

Before Sankaku Hatsuka could finish his words, Chihaya Tetsuya immediately shook his head and denied it:

"We are not family."

"Eh……"

Faced with such a firm and decisive denial, Sanjiao Chuhua hesitated for a moment, and then immediately decided to avoid the topic.

"Anyway, love should be a very important thing to you, right?"

"……also?"

After hearing this question, Chihaya Tetsuya did not rush to answer, but showed a thoughtful expression -

(Speaking of which, I've read recently while studying idol culture that there seems to be an unwritten rule in the idol industry that idols must not have overly intimate relationships with the opposite sex in private, otherwise it is likely to cause dissatisfaction among fans...)

(As a member of the same idol group as her, I'm probably also worried about whether Ai will be implicated.)

Thinking of this, Chihaya Tetsuya raised his head and replied with a smile:

"Please rest assured, the relationship between us is not what you imagine. Although we were indeed companions in the same orphanage, we have been separated for seven years since then. Until now, I am only repaying her care and providing her with the best support I can."

"The one who repays the favor...?"

Upon hearing these three words, Sanjiao Chuhua tilted his head slightly.

Recalling the expression on Hoshino Ai's face when she caressed the old towel, and the hexagonal star pattern she had just seen on the pajamas, Sanjiao Chuhua always felt that the relationship between the two was not that simple.

And... have they been separated for seven years?

Thinking of this, Sanjiao Chuhua couldn't help but ask:

"So after this, Chihaya-san, do you want to reconnect with Ai?"

"…………"

Hearing this question, Chihaya Tetsuya immediately fell into hesitation.

After nearly ten seconds of silence, Chihaya Tetsuya gently shook his head.

"We've been separated for seven years. Honestly, I'm not sure Ai still remembers me. Besides, you idols aren't allowed to have private contact with men outside of work, right?"

"Huh? Why would you think that?"

Hearing Chihaya Tetsuya's negative response, Sankaku Hatsuka quickly retorted:

"I definitely remember you, I can assure you of that! As for private contact with men, although it is indeed a bit inconvenient for the outside world to know, as long as confidentiality measures are taken, there will be no problem even if we meet—"

"If I remember correctly, the filming date for your MV is during Golden Week, right?"

Before Sankaku Hatsuka could finish, Chihaya Tetsuya immediately interrupted:

"That means it's going to start in a day. Before that, we should focus on filming first, right?"

"That's what I said..."

"I took on this job to support Ai's ideals, so I would never do anything that might disturb her."

Chihaya Tetsuya glanced at Hasegawa Shin who was walking out of the product room with a cloth bag, then he slowly stood up and picked up his coat from his seat.

"But, now that I finally get to hear her name again, I can't just cut off contact without a word... Well, after you finish filming, could you please tell Ai a message for me?"

"What is it?"

Sanjiao Chuhua hurriedly asked:

"I will definitely convey it truthfully."

"Then, please tell her... 'I wish you all the best.'"

"Okay, Miss Chuhua, now all the clothes have been delivered."

At the same time, Hasegawa Shinya came to the two of them with packed clothes.

"Please come back and try it on as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please feel free to let Ms. Higuchi contact me."

“…Huh? Ah, yes…”

Sankaku Hatsuka took the cloth bag in a hurry at first, then she quickly turned her head and planned to say something to Chihaya Tetsuya.

However, at this time, Chihaya Tetsuya had already left the studio and entered the elevator at the door...

(Just… [I wish you all the best]? Nothing else?!)

Staring at the slowly disappearing figure, Sanjiao Chuhua thought in disbelief.

She had clearly taken the initiative to take on the job of designing the clothes, recreating the patterns from seven years ago, and doing the hand-embroidery... but in the end, she only had this little to say?

(It seems a bit strange... What is the relationship between these two people?)

Although she didn't know what kind of past the two of them had, as an outsider, this was all she could do...

"Wait until the filming is over...?"

Sanjiao Chuhua muttered to himself as he picked up the paper bag containing the clothes.

“…Let’s leave it at that for now.”

Although it was just an intuition, Sanjiao Chuhua always felt that this matter would definitely not end so abruptly.

Shaking her head and temporarily putting aside the image of Chihaya Tetsuya concentrating on embroidery, Sanjiao Chuhua set off on the return journey with these pieces of clothing that would determine the future of both of them.

Chapter 18: Golden Week Holiday Begins with Compensation

After returning home, Chihaya Tetsu completely lost the strength to open his eyes almost the moment he touched the pillow.

Although he didn't count carefully, he seemed to have only slept about six hours in total during the three days of making the performance costumes.