It was an idol photo that was completely different from what Chihaya Anon had imagined.
Although they were members of the same group, the two were not wearing the same outfits... in fact, their styles could be said to be completely different.
Standing on the left was a girl with blonde hair and violet eyes, delicate and proper features, and a tall, well-proportioned figure like a model's, dressed in a black, belted long dress and black ankle boots. Aside from being stunned by her figure and beauty, what shocked Chihaya Anon the most was her poised and elegant aura, an air like that of an adult. If her age hadn't been listed above, Chihaya Anon would never have believed she was the same age as her.
Well-rounded, confident, flawless.
[Summer Triangle—Uika] was the caption the magazine gave her.
As for the one standing next to her... Chihaya Anon found it incredibly difficult to describe her clearly with words.
Pure, lovely, youthful, sparkling, grand, bewitching...
A miniskirt that wasn't overly provocative, a vest that didn't even expose her navel—though there were no sexy elements, it still made one's heart stir.
The perfect curves, the perfect proportions, the perfect smile, and a face that, with just one glance, was hard to look away from, a face that with just one glance would make one involuntarily think of the word "goddess."
Without any need for extra embellishments, the evaluation written above her name was the most perfect summary of her.
[First-Magnitude Star—Hoshino Ai]
"The most brilliant star..."
Chihaya Anon murmured in a daze.
"Is this the person Brother has been searching for all this time?"
"...Hm?"
At that moment, Chihaya Tetsuya, who had just finished ordering takeout, suddenly noticed that his sister seemed a little strange.
Out of concern, he quickly asked:
"What's wrong? Did something happen, Anon?"
Hearing Chihaya Tetsuya's voice, Chihaya Anon looked up and asked with a blank expression:
"Brother, you've seen [Summer Zodiac]'s promotional photos, right?"
"I have."
Chihaya Tetsuya replied.
"After all, I'm designing their custom outfits this time, so of course I had to research them beforehand."
"This Miss Hoshino Ai... is she the one you were trying so hard to find, the one who grew up with you in the orphanage?"
"...Mhm."
Hearing this, Chihaya Tetsuya hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding.
"Yes, that's her."
"SHE'S WAY TOO CUTE, ISN'T SHE?!"
Chihaya Anon finally couldn't hold back the shock in her heart and cried out.
"Can a girl this cute really exist in this world? Huh? It's too unreal, isn't it? Someone like this was born to be an idol! Even I, a girl, couldn't help but stare at her photo for a full half-minute!"
"...?"
Hearing Chihaya Anon's overly excited exclamation, Chihaya Tetsuya looked slightly perplexed.
"I-Is that so? I'm glad she's to your liking..."
"No wonder you wanted to find her so badly, and why you're taking this job so seriously... So this is why!"
Faced with such a beautiful girl, and her brother's long-standing "chaste" lifestyle, Chihaya Anon naturally came to a conclusion.
"Brother, you're in love with this Miss Hoshino, aren't you!"
"...Huh?"
Hearing this, Chihaya Tetsuya's eyes first widened in a daze for a while, before he rubbed his chin and muttered under his breath:
"...I see. So that's how people would normally interpret it?"
Faced with Chihaya Anon's baseless and bold speculation, Chihaya Tetsuya's reaction remained incredibly calm, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with him at all.
"But that's to be expected. Looking at her now, Ai has certainly grown into a very charming girl."
"It's far beyond just 'charming'! This charm has long surpassed 'cute' and reached the level of 'divine'!"
Chihaya Anon very logically assumed that under this charm, which could stun even girls, any boy would definitely fall for this "First-Magnitude Star" who possessed absolute beauty... even her usually cool-headed brother would be no exception.
However, Chihaya Tetsuya's next words suddenly reminded her of something very important—
"But, back when we were still living in the orphanage, I was only eleven, and Ai was just an eight-year-old child."
Under Chihaya Anon's somewhat stunned expression, Chihaya Tetsuya said calmly:
"The clothes we wore were nothing but ill-fitting hand-me-downs, our hair was just crudely cut short with scissors, the only food we had were a few slices of bread and tasteless soup, and not only did we have to do manual labor unconditionally every day, we were also often beaten and scolded by the adults at the orphanage..."
"Under those circumstances, do you think Ai and I really had the luxury to think about anything other than survival?"
"...Ah."
Hearing this, all the fluttering pink sentiments in Chihaya Anon's heart instantly vanished, replaced by deep remorse and heartache for Chihaya Tetsuya's tragic memories.
That was right. Under those circumstances, how could the two of them, still so young, have developed such "luxurious" feelings?
Remembering how submissive Chihaya Tetsuya had been when he first came to the Chihaya family, Chihaya Anon felt a sharp pain deep in her chest.
"I'm sorry, my way of thinking was too narrow... It's all my fault for making you recall such painful things, Brother..."
"It's okay. By now, the memories of the orphanage are already in the past for me. And for most people, it's difficult to understand the relationship and feelings between me and Ai anyway."
Chihaya Tetsuya's gaze suddenly became distant:
"Even though we knew full well that the other person wasn't our family, we both tried our best to play the role of family. Warmth, trust, cherish, care... In this false relationship, we sincerely sought these things we dreamed of. We accompanied each other, and at the same time, we depended deeply on each other... In fact, even if you asked me to describe our relationship, I'd find it hard to find the right words to summarize it. If I really had to say... Ai is something of a benefactor to me. Without her, I really can't imagine how I would have survived my days in the orphanage."
And that was precisely why Chihaya Tetsuya valued this job so much.
"It's been seven years since that orphanage was shut down... Maybe she no longer sees me as anything special, or maybe she's even forgotten me entirely. But no matter what, I must repay this debt of kindness to her, in my own way."
This was both his way of repaying her kindness and his apology to Hoshino Ai.
An apology for not being able to stay by her side after that, and an apology for never being able to find her after that.
"But even so, making two outfits from scratch in one week is still a bit too much, isn't it..."
Having picked up a thing or two about clothing production from being around her brother, Chihaya Anon was a little worried.
"I know you're very good at making clothes, Brother, but can you really handle it all by yourself?"
Chihaya Anon had never doubted Chihaya Tetsuya's abilities.
Designing, prototyping, cutting, sewing.
These tasks, which should have been coordinated by a team, Chihaya Tetsuya could do all by himself.
However, the difficulty of this job wasn't in the complexity, but in the one-week time limit.
For Chihaya Tetsuya alone, completing so much work within a week was simply too demanding.
What's more, Chihaya Tetsuya was still at the stage of not having even finished the designs. If he couldn't find a suitable design direction in a short time, then the deadline would become even tighter...
However, Chihaya Tetsuya also had his own preparations for this.
"Don't worry, I asked the director to help me recruit an assistant. If nothing goes wrong, we should have a result today—"
Ring ring ring!
As if hearing their conversation, Chihaya Tetsuya's phone suddenly rang.
And when Chihaya Tetsuya saw the name on the caller ID, he immediately stood up.
"Good morning, Director Hasegawa!"
Chihaya Tetsuya bowed to the empty space in front of him.
From the other end of the phone came a very gentle and mature female voice:
[Good morning, Tetsuya-kun. I just received a call at the studio. Someone wants to apply to be your assistant. As for the interview time, would this evening be alright?]
"This evening... you say?"
At this, Chihaya Tetsuya subconsciously glanced at Chihaya Anon, seeming to hesitate on whether to change the interview time.
However, Chihaya Anon simply pumped her fist at him, striking a pose to cheer him on.
"...I understand. Let's set it for this evening, then."
[Okay, I'll reply to her with that.]
"Yes, thank you for your trouble, Director!"
[How is your design work coming along?]
"For now... I don't have any particularly good inspiration yet."
[If it's really too much for you, maybe we should hand the stage outfits over to someone else—]
"I'll be fine! I will definitely finish the work within this week!"
Chihaya Tetsuya hurriedly said upon hearing this:
"I'm begging you, just this once... please give me this opportunity."
[Tetsuya-kun, you've always been very serious, but you seem to be pushing yourself especially hard this time... I understand. I'll trust you on this one for now.]
Faced with Chihaya Tetsuya's earnest plea, Director Hasegawa thought for a moment before agreeing:
[Getting back to the assistant, I've tentatively set the meeting place at the café across from the studio. Since this is an assistant you're hiring personally, I'll leave the salary and other details up to you... Is that okay?]
"No problem."
[Very good. Then I'll leave the studio in your hands for the next week. I have to go back to "EGAO" headquarters for the Spring Fashion Week meeting... See you next week, Tetsuya-kun—]
"Um, please wait! You haven't told me the interviewee's name yet..."
[Ah, look at my memory, it's getting worse and worse...]
Director Hasegawa chuckled, then spoke the name of the girl who was applying—
[Her name is Toyokawa Sakiko. Don't you forget it, now.]