I Was Falsely Confessed to and Exposed in Front of Everyone, so I Jumped off the Roof - Chapter 20

Ever since I saw Shibuki-san on TV, I couldn’t shake the fear. I was taking the maximum dose of my anti-anxiety pills just to keep myself together.

“You still can’t sleep?”

“The sleeping pills are working. So, I’m fine.”

Kagiroi-san noticed when I was feeling unstable. That’s why she stopped going back to her apartment and started staying over at my place. Right now, we’re sleeping together. Maybe that’s why we naturally got closer. But there’s a line we can’t cross. Even if we tried, it wouldn’t work. Today was the same. I glanced at Kagiroi-san lying naked beside me and went down to the living room.

“Ahaha, Ruika-chan is so funny!”

“It’s not that funny♡”

Shibuki-san had become popular. I couldn’t go a day without seeing her on TV, and she was on posters everywhere. Even online, if I weren’t careful, the recommendation system would show her to me. It was frustrating. Out of morbid curiosity, I searched for “Ruika” and found lots of images. Most of them were her striking, stylish poses. She looked different from when she had blonde hair. In a way, that made her less threatening to me.

“Wow, even swimsuits.”

“Ruika’s” gravure photos popped up on my phone. Very sexy. I knew she had a nice figure, but not like this.

“What are you looking at?”

Kagiroi-san’s voice came from behind me. Wrapped in a towel, she looked at me with concern.

“Nothing.”

“But.”

She sounded a little unhappy. Her eyes were on my pants.

“It’s nothing. Come on, let’s sleep.”

I tried to change the subject. I grabbed my cane and went back to her side. She quietly hugged me, but didn’t say anything. I felt broken inside.

♢ ♢ ♢

To me, Ruika-chan was a true hero. That’s why I hated seeing the dark side of her face. The side she never showed on TV or at events. It only appeared when the staff left the waiting room.

“Sumire. You can come forward more.”

“Huh? Um. But talking is still hard for me.”

“I’ll back you up. Just step forward, okay?”

Ruika-chan was very active in giving advice and criticism. But it wasn’t to crush me, it was to help me become more popular. That felt fair. Still, I couldn’t shake a little unease.

“Sazanka-san, make Sumire the focus of the next talk.”

“J-just don’t glare at me!”

I always thought this group was strange. I could understand if the three newcomers were popular, but Sazanka-san was popular even on her own. Somehow, it felt off. But Ruika-chan had planned this. Everything was under her control. Not that I disliked it, what I didn’t understand was why she wanted to do it. That uncertainty scared me and made me sad.

“Ruika-chan.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s go to Akihabara sometime.”

“Alright. But then we should plan an SNS scenario first. It should look accidental so the fans don’t notice. I’ll have the staff arrange it.”

“No, I mean just for fun. Not work.”

“Mixing work is more efficient.”

Did Ruika-chan even know the meaning of just playing? Even in the waiting room, she was always reading books about acting, dancing, or talking skills. She was constantly taking lessons in many fields. Recently, she even learned to speak English.

But sometimes, she did strange things.

“Hey, why Portuguese? Do you want to go to Portugal?”

“…Did you know? Brazilian Portuguese doesn’t use the second person like Portugal’s Portuguese. ‘You’ is expressed in the third person.”

“Isn’t Brazilian Portuguese just Portuguese?”

“That shows you know nothing about history. You should study more.”

She said it a bit scornfully. Seeing that little personal emotion made me feel relieved. Ruika-chan also had things she liked. That was comforting.

Then, after doing a live show for a TV program, when we walked down the TV station hallway after recording, I saw a very beautiful girl at the end of the hall. I thought she must be some other idol or actress. She had reddish-brown hair and amber eyes; she was truly beautiful. She looked at me without any expression.

“You changed your hair color?”

Ruika-chan stopped. Sumire and Sazanka-san also stopped, wondering what was happening.

“Shameless. I should be ashamed for even thinking you looked beautiful for a moment.”

I didn’t understand what she meant. But Ruika-chan’s face… There was no emotion at all.

“How can you even appear in public like this?”

Ruika-chan didn’t say anything. The woman looked terrifying. Then she stepped closer to Ruika-chan.

“You bitch!!”

She hit Ruika-chan hard in the stomach. Ruika-chan fell to her knees and vomited. I hurried to rub her back and panicked.

“It feels good, doesn’t it? Shaking your butt in public, showing your skin, flirting, stirring desire. Do you know? The entertainment world started as a side job for prostitution. Ballet was famous for it, too.”

“Being an idol isn’t shameful!!”

I shouted. This reasoning, this violence, it was all wrong. And Ruika-chan was my friend.

“Then why can’t I be useful?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

The woman looked down sadly, then grabbed Ruika-chan by the hair and forced her to stand.

“Stop! What did Ruika-chan do?!”

“But it stood up with this girl!! It wouldn’t be with me!!”

“Huh?! Stood up? What do you mean?”

I didn’t understand what she was saying. But Sazanka-san muttered, “Ah, I see…”

“Thanks to you, he’s still a virgin! All because of a bitch like you!!”

The woman drove her knee into Ruika-chan’s stomach again. But since she was holding Ruika-chan by the hair, Ruika-chan couldn’t even crouch. And yet… Ruika-chan was smiling and looked very happy.

“I see. Ah. I’m glad.”

“You rotten slut!!”

This time, she hit Ruika-chan’s temple with the side of her hand. Still, Ruika-chan smiled.

“I’m not a slut. I’m an idol and I’m a virgin♡”

“Then go ahead and give it up to industry people right now!!”

The woman pushed Ruika-chan down and straddled her. She was about to punch Ruika-chan, who was clenching her fists tightly. I rushed forward and shoved the woman away while pulling Ruika-chan free.

“Stop! Please, stop!!”

“Let go! I don’t want to hit anyone innocent! Just let me hit her!!”

“I won’t allow that!”

The woman was incredibly strong. I couldn’t hold her off for long. But then, Manwa-san arrived with security guards. The woman was grabbed and restrained by the guards.

“Let go!”

“Hah. I may feel some sympathy, but I won’t show mercy. Ruika, get out of here immediately. That’s an order.”

“Understood.”

Ruika-chan quietly left the scene. The woman was still struggling. In fact, she shook off the guards and glared at Manwa-san.

“Are you the one who raised this monster?!”

“It grew on its own.”

“Then you’re an accomplice!”

“Yes. A flower doesn’t bloom if it doesn’t do work that hurts someone.”

The woman glared at Manwa-san for a while, then straightened her clothes and disappeared.

“Manwa-san! Shouldn’t we call the police?!”

“No. That would cause trouble. Just pretend nothing happened, understand?”

Manwa-san had a rare, scary look on her face. What had just happened was wrong. I realized there was nothing I could do.

“Are we even friends?”

My whispered words faded into the air, and it was unheard.