"It's done."
After the final inspection, Chihaya Tetsuya shakily stood up and handed the finished garment to Hasegawa Kokoro, who had been standing in front of his workbench since just now.
"I'll leave the ironing and packaging to you, Director."
"Mhm."
Hasegawa Kokoro took the finished garment from Chihaya Tetsuya.
"You should take a good rest for the next few days."
Hearing this, Chihaya Tetsuya shook his head slightly:
"But if I'm not here, there will be no one to look after Toyokawa—"
"I'll make arrangements for her in advance."
Hasegawa Kokoro cut Chihaya Tetsuya off.
"You're not allowed to come to work again until after Golden Week. That's an order."
The usually gentle Hasegawa used an incredibly stern tone, a rare occurrence.
"Do you understand, Chihaya Tetsuya?"
"...Yes, I understand."
Faced with the director's forceful attitude, Chihaya Tetsuya instantly lost any intention of arguing back.
Then, as Hasegawa took the garment to the product room for final processing, Uika, who had been silently watching from the side, finally found the right moment to approach Chihaya Tetsuya.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Chihaya-san."
Uika bowed politely to Chihaya Tetsuya:
"My name is Uika. I'm a member of the idol group that commissioned this work."
"...Ah, I know you. I saw your promotional photo before."
Hearing this, Chihaya Tetsuya first glanced at Uika, then nodded.
"It's a pleasure to meet you... I'm sorry, I was focused on my work just now and didn't notice you."
"Not at all. It's our honor that you were so focused on our outfits..."
Then, after finishing the business pleasantries, Uika suddenly thanked Chihaya Tetsuya once again:
"And, thank you so much for your help with Saki-chan."
"Saki-chan..."
Hearing this name, Chihaya Tetsuya, whose consciousness was still a bit hazy, suddenly became a little more alert.
"You're talking about Toyokawa... You know her?"
"Yes, we're childhood friends."
"...I see."
Hearing this, Chihaya Tetsuya immediately rubbed his brow, then forced open his eyes, which were slightly narrowed from being too sore:
"So, you're the idol Toyokawa mentioned, the one who gave us the design ideas."
"Mhm, that's about right."
Uika nodded.
"I never would have thought that the place Saki-chan was working was the very studio designing our clothes."
"I never would have thought that my research this time would lead me directly to the client."
Chihaya Tetsuya shook his head with a wry smile.
"No wonder it even had the rough storyboard for the MV... What a coincidence."
"Yes... it really is too much of a coincidence."
Uika said as she continued to discreetly observe Chihaya Tetsuya.
At this moment, Chihaya Tetsuya no longer had the intimidating and serious presence he had when he was embroidering. Although his complexion was poor, the smile on his face still revealed a bit of the immaturity of his age. Coupled with his slightly thin frame, delicate features, and this slightly gloomy and deep temperament...
Mhm, he has quite the dangerous potential.
After a simple evaluation of Chihaya Tetsuya in her mind, Uika finally decided to move the conversation forward—
"I heard from Saki-chan before that you seem to be designing clothes for 'someone from your past' this time, Chihaya-san. That is, Hoshino Ai, who is in the same group as me."
At this, Uika locked her gaze directly on Chihaya Tetsuya's face.
"Excuse me... what is your relationship with Ai?"
"...Ah, as a fellow member of the same group, I suppose you would be curious about that."
Faced with Uika's question, Chihaya Tetsuya nodded as if he had expected it.
"Actually, Ai and I were companions in the same orphanage."
(I knew it!)
Hearing this answer, Uika secretly nodded to herself.
If there was anyone who could be called "important" to Hoshino Ai, who came from an orphanage, then this had to be it!
"So, it's a relationship like brother and sister—"
"No, it's not like that."
Before Uika could finish, Chihaya Tetsuya immediately shook his head in denial:
"We are not family."
"Eh..."
Faced with such a firm and decisive denial, Uika hesitated for a moment before quickly deciding to move on from the topic.
"In any case, Ai must be a very important person to you, right?"
"...Also?"
Hearing this question, Chihaya Tetsuya didn't answer right away, but showed a thoughtful expression—
(Come to think of it, while I was studying idol culture these past two days, I saw that the idol industry seems to have an unwritten rule that idols absolutely cannot have overly intimate relationships with the opposite sex in private, or it could cause dissatisfaction among fans...)
(As her fellow group member, she's probably worried that Ai will be implicated because of this.)
Thinking of this, Chihaya Tetsuya finally looked up and answered with a smile:
"Please don't worry. The relationship between us is not what you're imagining. Although we were indeed companions in the same orphanage, we were separated for seven years after that. At this point, I'm simply acting as someone repaying a debt of kindness for her care back then, providing her with what support I can."
"Repaying a debt of kindness...?"
Hearing these words, Uika tilted her head slightly.
Remembering the expression on Hoshino Ai's face as she stroked that old towel, and the six-pointed star pattern she had just seen on the pajamas, Uika felt that the relationship between the two was by no means that simple.
And... separated for seven years?
Thinking of this, Uika couldn't help but ask:
"Then after this, do you want to reconnect with Ai, Chihaya-san?"
"..."
Hearing this question, Chihaya Tetsuya immediately hesitated.
After nearly ten seconds of silence, Chihaya Tetsuya finally shook his head lightly.
"We've been separated for seven years. To be honest, I'm not even sure if Ai still remembers me. And aren't you idols not allowed to have private contact with men outside of work?"
"Eh?! Why would you think that?"
Hearing Chihaya Tetsuya's pessimistic response, Uika quickly retorted:
"Ai definitely remembers you, I can guarantee that! As for private contact with men, while it's true it's a bit inconvenient if the public finds out, as long as we take good precautions, it's not a problem to meet—"
"If I remember correctly, the shooting date for your MV this time is during Golden Week, right?"
Before Uika could finish, Chihaya Tetsuya immediately cut her off:
"That means it starts in another day. Before that, shouldn't you be focusing on the shoot?"
"W-Well, that's true..."
"I took on this job to support Ai's dream, so I will absolutely not do anything that might disturb her."
Chihaya Tetsuya first glanced at Hasegawa Kokoro, who was walking out of the product room with a cloth bag, then he slowly stood up and picked up his own jacket from his seat.
"However, it's rare to hear her name again, so I can't just cut off contact without a word... So, after your shoot is over, could you please pass a message to Ai for me?"
"What is it?"
Uika asked hurriedly:
"I will definitely pass it on exactly as you say."
"Then, could you please tell her... 'I wish you all the best'."
"Alright, Uika-san, with this, all the clothes have been handed over."
At the same time, Hasegawa Kokoro arrived beside them with the already packaged clothes.
"Please try them on as soon as you get back. If there are any problems, you can have Higuchi-san contact me at any time."
"...Eh? Ah, yes..."
Uika first fumbled a bit as she took the cloth bag, then she quickly turned her head, intending to say something more to Chihaya Tetsuya.
However, by this time, Chihaya Tetsuya had already left the studio and entered the elevator at the entrance...
(Just...[I wish you all the best])? Is that all?!)
Staring at the slowly disappearing back, Uika thought in disbelief.
He actively took on the job of designing the clothes, recreated the pattern from seven years ago, and did handmade embroidery... and in the end, that's all he has to say?
(Something feels a little strange... What is the relationship between these two?)
Although she didn't know what kind of past the two of them shared, as an outsider, there was only so much she could do...
"After the shoot is over...?"
Uika murmured as she picked up the paper bag containing the clothes again.
"...Let's just leave it at that for now."
Although it was just a gut feeling, Uika felt that this matter would definitely not end so hastily.
Shaking her head, she temporarily pushed aside the image of Chihaya Tetsuya engrossed in his embroidery. Uika, carrying these clothes that would decide the future of both of them, began her journey back.