CH 6

When I finished buying some drinks from the vending machine and was about to return to Saika, the old man muttered to himself again, in a troubled tone.

“Oh god, where was the restroom… what a pain. Japanese people are extremely poor at English, so hardly anyone understands me…”

“If you’re looking for a restroom, it’s over there.”

I could understand simple English, so I pointed to the man and told him where the bathroom was.

That old man, who looked surprised for a moment when he saw me, smiled and thanked me.

“Thank you. You understand English.”

“But it’s still at the student level… well then.”

As I was about to leave, he said, “Wait.”

Then he stared at my face and body for some reason.

“…You are fat. Your face is swollen, and to be frank, you are far from being an idol.”

“Umm… I can understand that much English, you know?”

I said that, dumbfounded, but the old man kept staring at me with a serious expression on his face.

“— But you’ve got some beautiful eyes. It’s hard to tell, but you have a good bone structure, and above all, there’s something in you that attracts people.”

“That’s right, if you’re this fat, you’re going to attract people’s attention… in a bad way, and that’s the reason someone would bully you.”

“I see, so you get bullied, kid. Must be tough! Ahahaha!”

I was fed up and tried to leave the place already, but the old man grabbed my arm.

“Yeah, there’s something. I can feel something shining in you. My intuition, which has been producing idols for 25 years, tells me so.”

“Huh… I understand, can I go now?”

“I’m sorry, can I have your contact information? Ah, I’m kind of like this…”

Then he handed me his business card.

I put it in my pocket without even looking at it.

“Okay, I’ll give you my contact information, so after this please let me go now. My sister is waiting for me.”

I reluctantly decided to give him my cell phone number.

It was hard for me to refuse because I thought this old man might be having trouble living in Japan because he couldn’t speak Japanese.

Although he has a difficult personality, I want to help him if he’s in trouble.

“I’m sorry to have bothered you. I’m going back to the States tomorrow, but if you’re interested, give me a call. I’ll send a private jet to pick you up. Well then, I’m going to the restroom, boy.”

“Huh… goodbye then.”

The old man laughed and left, making a funny joke to the end.

◇◇◇

When I came back, the concert was just at the intermission.

“Here you go, Saika. Your drink.”

“Welcome back, Onii-chan! Why did it take you so long? I was worried~”

“Ah, I got tangled up with a weird foreigner, and he gave me this business card.”

Looking at the business card, Saika spurted out the juice that she had just started to drink.

“Gehogeho! — Ah, R.K. Robert!”

“You know him?”

As I wiped the drink that Saika spewed out with a towel, she began to talk excitedly.

“R.K. Robert is a very successful producer who has created some of the top idols in the world!　His identity is shrouded in mystery, but the idols that have come to his attention have been absolutely successful!”

When I heard Saika’s story, it hit me right away.

“I see. So that’s why that old man made fun of me.”

“Ah, hahaha~ … I knew it~”

“With due respect he said a lot. He also said that he will be going back to America, so I doubt we’ll ever meet again.”

“… America, huh?”

Saika muttered and looked up at the sky.

“…The medicine for Onii-chan’s illness, if you were in the U.S., it would’ve solved that.”

Saika began to talk about the “juvenile hypertrophy” special drug, “Botronize”.

Apparently, the drug causes the fat and skin to shrink and the patient can return to their natural state.

“Yeah, but it’s pretty expensive. And because it’s a new drug, they’ll have to keep you under observation over there for a year or so.”

“I see… I’ll certainly miss seeing you for a year, Onii-chan.”

“In a year, Saika will be a high school student, so don’t expect me to spoil you forever~”

“Ehh~ No way! I want to be spoiled forever~!”

Saying that, Saika hugged my arm.

Saika gets along well with me now, but if we enter the same high school and the environment changes, she will probably hate me.

The fact that I am the pathetic older brother who is bullied by everyone will be exposed, and if that happens, even Saika will feel ashamed of my existence.

(So, just for now… as long as Saika is friendly with me, I want to have fun with her like this…)

With these thoughts in mind, I began cheering along with Saika for the idol performances that had begun once again.