I Will Do Everything In My Power To Bring Happiness To The Enchanting Beauty Who Can No Longer Smile. - Chapter 24: I Was Alone.

I Was Alone.

“I’ve been growing quite a bit since my upper elementary school years. Even though I was still a kid, I became a reader model for a fashion magazine aimed at middle schoolers.”

“…That’s impressive.”

“It all started when I was out shopping with my mother. A scout approached me. My mother was really skeptical at first… but it turned out to be a proper, well-known entertainment agency. One of their junior model coordinators had scouted me.”

I listened attentively, nodding as she spoke. It was true—junior modeling could sometimes carry a certain risk.

“My mother accompanied me, of course. That’s how I started as a reader model for middle school magazines. Since she knew about my dream, she supported me wholeheartedly.”

“I see.”

“At first, I was just a reader model, but I gained popularity rather quickly. The agency soon asked me to sign an official contract as a model.”

Tsubame had dreamed of becoming a model since she was little. It seemed she had achieved that dream at an incredibly young age.

“Once I became an official model, the agency really pushed for me. Before I knew it, I was gaining nationwide recognition.”

“I know. People called you a once-in-a-millennium modeling prodigy.”

“You knew about me from the very beginning, huh? Yeah… After that, my workload skyrocketed, and I became even more famous. As soon as I entered middle school, they started calling me the ‘Nation’s Enchantress.’”

Hearing it all laid out like this, it really was an extraordinary rise to fame. And her influence didn’t just stop at Japan—it eventually reached global heights.

Yet, despite recounting all of this, Tsubame’s voice remained strikingly emotionless.

“Back when I was still a reader model, at the beginning of my career, I had friends.”

Her words made me hold my breath.

“No… Actually, I was the only one who thought we were friends.”

I couldn’t find anything to say. I had no idea how to respond. So, I simply listened.

“As a reader model, I worked with a lot of the same people. I had quite a few people I could talk to. Even when I told them I was joining an agency, they congratulated me.”

Her grip on me tightened.

“Some time after I became an official model, I had a chance to meet one of the girls from my reader model days again. It was her last shoot before quitting the industry. That was when she told me—”

—”Because of you, my dream was crushed.”

—”Friends? What are you talking about? …Do you enjoy looking down on your ‘friends’ that much?”

—”Just so you know, no one ever thought of you as a friend. To everyone else, you were nothing but an enemy—someone stealing their opportunities.”

“I truly believed we were friends. I looked forward to working with her again, hoping that one day, we’d get to do a shoot together, just the two of us.”

Before I realized it, my grip on her had tightened as well—like pressing down on an open wound, trying to ease the pain.

“That was when I understood. Every opportunity I got was just an opportunity taken away from someone else. I wasn’t fulfilling my dreams—I was crushing theirs.”

“That’s not—”

I tried to protest, but no words came out.

I bit my lip, clenching my teeth.

“Even after that, people still approached me. Some would say, ‘One day, I’ll surpass you,’ or ‘Let’s work together.’”

Those sounded like words that should have encouraged her.

But her next words shattered that illusion.

“The girl who wanted to surpass me? I found her crying in the waiting room after reading a magazine. There was a popularity poll in that issue, and… my votes were overwhelming. My manager told me later—nearly 90% of the votes had gone to me.”

“…”

“A month later, I heard she had quit modeling.”

“And the one who said they wanted to work with you?”

“We had a few photoshoots together. But during our last shoot, she broke down in tears and told me—‘I only agreed to this because it was work. But I don’t want to be a mere background prop anymore.’”

A sickening weight settled in my stomach. My chest tightened painfully.

If just hearing this was this painful, I couldn’t even begin to imagine how much it had hurt her.

“After that, the only people who approached me were those hoping to benefit from being associated with me. And if I ever thought I had found someone I could truly connect with, they would cut ties before I could get too close.”

“…That’s why you don’t want to get close to people.”

“Exactly. At school, no one talks to me. Even the teachers avoid me. If you weren’t there, Shigure-kun, it would be the same story.”

I closed my eyes. I had been holding her so tightly that my fingers had started to go numb.

“That’s why… thank you, Shigure-kun. Because of you, I’m not alone at school.”

“I stay by your side because I want to. Don’t thank me for that.”

“Even so… thank you.”

Her voice carried a warmth that hadn’t been there before. Hearing it, my grip slowly loosened.

And at that moment, a thought resurfaced.

That night, when she had trouble sleeping. When I asked her what she was afraid of.

“…Tsubame.”

“What is it?”

“Before, you told me you were afraid of losing work.”

Her earlier words didn’t quite align with that.

The message she had received earlier was likely about work. That must have triggered old wounds, making her feel like she had stolen yet another opportunity from someone.

But in that case, why was she afraid of losing work?

“There are two reasons,” she said, as if she had anticipated my question.

I paused for a moment, but quickly decided it was best to just listen.

“The first is… my mother’s health. I told you earlier, right? She had to quit her job when she got sick.”

“Yeah.”

“When she stopped working, we had no income for a while. It wasn’t a life-threatening illness or anything, but she wasn’t well enough to work. And during that time, I kept thinking—if only I had been earning more.”

I understood what Tsubame meant.

“From now on, there’s a chance my mother might fall seriously ill. She might not be able to work anymore. If that happens, I’ll have to support her.”

She paused for a moment, pressing her face against my neck before continuing.

“We have savings—quite a bit. But it’s not enough for two people to live on for a lifetime. If she gets sick, it’ll cost a lot of money. That’s why I want to earn as much as I can while I still can. Modeling isn’t something I can do forever. If my mother gets sick, I’ll have to take care of her, and continuing my career as a model would become difficult.”

“So that’s why.”

Now, I understood what she was afraid of.

…No, she had mentioned there was another reason.

I waited in silence for her to continue. After a brief nod, she parted her lips.

“The girl I told you about earlier—the one who said she would surpass me. Before we parted ways, she told me something.”

“What did she say?”

“‘Stay at the top. That way, I can accept that I lost.’”

Her words sounded like encouragement, yet they carried a heavy weight.

Too heavy for a single girl to bear.

“That’s why I have to keep working. …No, it’s not just that. Despite everything, I have no regrets about being in this industry.”

“I see.”

I murmured quietly, lost in thought.

I had always believed I understood Sakakibara Tsubame.

Of course, I knew about her as a model. And more than that, I had known her since we were kids—we used to play together often.

As we grew older, I thought she hadn’t changed much.

But Tsubame—

“—You’ve become stronger and kinder than before.”

“I’m neither strong nor kind.”

“No, you are. …Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to keep all of this inside you.”

I tightened my arms around her, embracing her fully.

Tsubame was strong and kind. She cared deeply for others.

But she wasn’t kind to herself.

“Have you talked to anyone about this?”

“You’re the first person I’ve told, Shigure-kun.”

“…I figured as much. You couldn’t tell your mother, could you?”

“Yeah.”

If her mother knew, she would have done something about it immediately.

But since she hadn’t… even Tsubame’s mother must not have realized it.

“Tsubame.”

“What?”

“Do you enjoy your work as a model?”

“I do.”

“Do you want to keep going?”

“I do. It’s so much fun being able to express myself.”

There was no lie in her words. That was precisely why this was such a complicated issue.

It wasn’t as simple as saying, “If you don’t like it, then quit.” I had no right to say such a thing.

But at the same time—there was no way I could just stand by and do nothing.

“Tsubame.”

I called her name again.

As I loosened my embrace, she did the same. Our faces parted just slightly, leaving us staring at each other from a close distance.

“Let me carry some of the weight you’re bearing.”