Chapter 2

# Chapter Two — "An Idol in a Haystack"

### 2.1 Rinko

The search for my glamorous friend started in the dorm's common area, which was located on - and took up a sizable portion of - the building's third floor. It had a few desks with computers for studying situated in its quietest corner - the most boring way to study, in my opinion - a small dining area with a large fridge and plentiful cupboards took up most of the other side, and in the middle was a lounge area with some television sets and comfortable, well used furniture that had seen plenty of talent fall asleep after a long day of grueling rehearsals. I personally preferred the floofy, oversized couch against the back wall that you practically sunk into when you sat down on it, and had dozed off in it with Junko more than a couple times during our training. Well, I snoozed while she read, but it all worked out.

    The most standout feature of this floor, even moreso than the common area, was that it had its own extra-large bath facilities. Though there was a smaller communal bath on each residential floor of the dormitory - so three more in all, including this floor's - this newer one was installed here years ago in response to girls complaining that the baths were always full when they needed to use them. There isn't anything quite as perfect as a long, hot soak to soothe tired muscles, and those have always been one of the things that I MY ME produces in abundance, so the baths were *always* in demand. As for myself I prefer the baths on our floor, which are smaller but deeper than the newer tubs, but I tend to like bathing later than most people so it's usually practically empty when I go. It's also rare that I go to bathe with more than one or two other people - usually only Junko or Dam-Bi - and it's easier to find space for a duo or a trio than some of the large cliques of idols who do practically everything together.

    *I wonder if the group is going to be like that? Seven - just to start - would be hard to fit into our usual tub…*

    It was currently around most people's dinner time, so quite a few girls were settled around the lounge in clumps when I ran out of the stairwell to search for my friend and first recruit. Much to my disappointment she wasn't anywhere to be found in the public spaces - she wasn't hiding in the kitchen or the lounge - and I had no choice but to check the bathing area just in case.

    I popped into the shower room - just for a minute - then peeked fully clothed into the baths to look around and see if she was in there… an initiative which wasn't appreciated by the girls bathing at the time. After checking the lounge a second time, just in case I'd missed her in passing, and concluding that Dam-Bi probably wasn't on this floor, I continued my search upstairs on the top floor of offices. A long dash up a couple flights of stairs brought me to a long, brightly lit hallway. Unlike the dorms which were devoid of much decoration in the halls and common areas, the parts of the building where business was conducted was setup to showcase the company's many famous and enduring idols. Lit frames were mounted at eye height between each door, each one housing a signed poster, photograph, or other memorabilia from some of I MY ME's most successful idols. I checked this floor room by room, peeking through the windows in each closed door and garnering confused glances from the people inside, but came to the conclusion that Dam-Bi wasn't anywhere I could locate on this floor either and walked - slightly out of breath by now - to wait for an elevator at the far end of the hall. The doors to this floor's elevator were decorated with a life-sized poster of the label's star idol.

    So pretty…

    Staring at Eimi Inagawa's baby blue eyes and full, luscious, smiling lips made me feel reinvigorated, like hot coffee was being poured directly into my soul.

    *Just you wait, Eimi! We're going to be the best idols ever! I know we will!*

    Glancing quickly down the hallway to make sure I was still alone, I did something that would have been really embarrassing if anyone saw me. I stood straight against the elevator doors, then struck the same pose Eimi was making. I quickly placed my hand against the door above my head, then twisted my neck so I could see how we measured up. What I saw amazed me. I was at least a good two inches taller than Eimi - something about which I felt both proud and, in regards to certain other differences between us, slightly disappointed. I was still standing there, directly in the middle of the doorway, when I heard a distinctive chime and the doors parted in front of me.

    Embarrassed at being caught - though hopefully nobody knew why I was so rudely standing exactly where I was - I let out a stuttered apology and hopped to the side, bowing slightly at the man who exited past me. Lifting my view from the carpet once I saw his highly-shined shoes move past, I locked eyes with an unexpected second rider as they stepped out of the lift.

    They were green.

    *Really* green.

    And they shined like emeralds…

    *…Megumi?*

    As she glided past with impossibly soft footsteps, the girl kept pace behind the man I now recognized as one of I MY ME's producers. As I pictured the photograph I'd seen earlier, it was impossible to not see that this girl was wearing a much more somber expression now than I imagined she usually did. It only took a moment to realize why.

    *Oh no!*

    It took until they were around a quarter of the way down the hallway before I decided I needed to follow the pair now. I kept a slow pace, walking close to the wall, trying not to make my tailing too obvious. The producer walked into the office of Mr. Daisuke Shishito, the CEO of all of I MY ME, and was followed reluctantly by the sandy-haired beauty.

    *Nononono!*

    I rushed over as soon as the door closed and pushed my ear against it. Even when a few passing idols gave me some weird looks from down the hall, I kept at it. This was important! Our group's future depended on it! What I heard was as bad as I feared.

    "Ms. Aihara, we're sorry but you just aren't profitable for the company. As you know, your debut didn't go well and Mr. Kumasawa isn't willing to devote any more effort at the expense of his other talents. I know this must be heartbreaking, but none of our producers want to manage a traditional style idol at this time. It just isn't what audiences want right now."

    "Please, Mr. Shishito, if you'll just give me the opportunity to make my case. I'm sure that with just one more chance to-" Megumi - I had been completely correct as to the girl's identity - sounded desperate. It seemed she wasn't going to go down without a fight. That sort of attitude was something I could understand, and it was going to be essential to making our group as amazing as I know we're going to be. I knew immediately that I was making the right decision.

    "Ms. Aihara, this is non-negotiable. Mr. Kumasawa reached out to our other producers multiple times, and none of them were interested either." The conversation may have just started, but they weren't even giving her the opportunity to defend herself. I didn't like that - not one bit - and decided that if I was going to act, this would be the time.

    I threw the door open, wearing the biggest idol smile my muscles would allow.

    "Gooood afternoon Mr. Shishito, how are you? Oh, goodness, Megumi Aihara, is that you? It's me, Rinko Hanazawa! Remember my producer, Lina Fujimura, and how we talked about adding you to the group we were going to be forming?"

    Megumi flashed a look of surprise, as I would expect, but quickly caught on to what I was doing. She stood up, walking gracefully over to my side.

    "Why, yes, of course I remember you, Ms. Hanazawa. I was just about to tell Mr. Shishito and Mr. Kumasawa about the conversation we had, but since you're here, why don't you explain?" She had a sweet smile on her face as she invited me to take over on her behalf. That was all the invitation I needed.

    "Yes, of course! See, our producer, Lina Fujimura, is forming a new idol group! I'm the leader, but the moment we- er, *she* saw Megumi's name, she knew she just had to be in it! Won't you join, Megumi?"

    "Why, yes! Of course I will, Ms. Hanazawa! Thank you very much for thinking of me for this opportunity."

    "Then it's settled! Come on, Megumi, we've got to get right to work! Have a nice day, Mr. Shishito! Mr. Whatsurname!" I grabbed Megumi's hand and immediately rushed us out of the room, pulling her behind me. It was no time to be standing around idly in the CEO's office. Both men stared at me in shock as I waved one more time, closed the office door behind us, then hurried toward the elevator.

    "What a splendid performance, Ms. Hanazawa! Thank you so much." Megumi gave a slight bow in thanks as we waited for the elevator.

    Only now was I able to get a really good look at her, and I was positively overtaken with what I saw. Vibrant green eyes popped from the pale ivory of her face. Beautiful tresses several times the length of my own flowed all the way down her back. How does she even manage hair that long? Her promotional pictures hadn't done her justice. Megumi really looked as if she walked right out of a history book - she had that sort of classic beauty you don't see too often nowadays. All I could muster was a simple "wow" as I stared at her for a bit too long. Megumi shook her hand, freeing it from my grip now that we were standing still, causing my face to feel warm with embarrassment over it having completely slipped my mind.

    We spoke for a few minutes - about the group, why I had shown up out of the blue looking for her, and about the other girls we'd earmarked for recruitment - and agreed to meet up in Lina's office in a little while. We parted ways at the elevator and I moved on in my search for Dam-Bi, filled with a newfound reserve of motivation thanks to securing the first member of our group. As the doors closed and the soft buzz of the fluorescent lights hummed away, I had one thought more prominent in my mind than all others.

    *I hope Junko's having an okay time looking through the dorms…*

### 2.2 Rinko

    Dam-Bi was similarly nowhere to be found on either of the remaining floors of producer offices, nor were any more convenient surprises like Megumi waiting for me, so my next sweep was of the practice rooms. Once more I peered into each door one by one, hoping not to disturb anyone too much - practicing is important, much more than whatever it is that producers do all day - going through the vocal practice rooms until I arrived at the gym. I MY ME has one giant gymnasium with several foldable walls to let many people practice routines or workout without wasting more space than was needed on a bunch of rooms that may be bigger or smaller than was needed at any given time. I opened the first door, peering inside for Dam-Bi but instead encountering three girls doing their stretches against the mostly solid outer-wall of their small alcove.

    "Umm… good evening ladies!" All three girls - one auburn, one raven, and one redhead - turned to look at me, which was understandable. They were slightly familiar, but with the number of girls signed to I MY ME I couldn't possibly be expected to keep them all straight.

    "Bonsoir, Mademoiselle!" The auburn acknowledged me and said…

    "Uh…" No idea.

    "Wait you're - uwah! Isn't it too early…" A super fit girl with bright reddish hair looked back and forth at her friends. "Can't we practice until lights out?"

    "Have you seen my friend Dam-Bi?! I need to find her! It's SUPER important!" The third girl - a teeny thing with long black hair - pointed a thin finger in the direction of where the elusive subject of my fetch quest had last been seen, not even pausing her leg stretches. She clarified in a cute, high voice.

    "I saw her going into the room three down!"

    "Thank you! Have a good practice! Do your best!" I shouted this to them as I made my exit, running down the hallway to the fourth dance room and flinging the door open, finally laying eyes on the girl I'd just spent a significant amount of effort on locating.

    "Dam-Bi!" I shouted the name loudly enough in my excitement that I was sure it was heard through the practice room's cheap, thin walls - if I could hear a half dozen different pieces of music from here, then at least that many people were likely to have heard me - then quieted my voice so as to not bother the others rehearsing. Er, again. "How are you?"

    "I'm well, thanks, Hanarin! I couldn't wait to see you!" Dam-Bi smiled at me warmly, being obviously as happy to see me as I was to see her.

    "Ehh? See me?! How did you know I was coming?" Dam-Bi flushed a very pretty shade of pink for a second, then looked away from me briefly before regaining her composure. "I mean, I could hear you talking to those girls from all the way over here, so I *knew* you were going to come over! Why else?"

    "Oh… that makes sense." I clapped my hands together - an indication that I had accepted her answer and was ready to get down to business - followed by me quickly thrusting my hands down at my side, embarrassed again by how loud I was being. "So, I'm starting an idol group! So far, I have Junko - of course - Megumi Aihara, and myself. There are a lot of other girls I wanna ask, but you had to be one of the first! I know it's sudden, but won't you please join us?"

    I drew out my "please" into an overly long and sweet sound, hoping that a more impressive recitation would emphasize just how badly I wanted to sway Dam-Bi to my side. It works sometimes with Junko, so I was hopeful it would work in this as well. Dam-Bi's smile got even bigger at this, matched only in intensity by the sudden pinkness returning to her face, as she giggled lightly.

    "Hm… I'll have to think about it. I wasn't even your first recruit?" Her lips puckered into a slight pout and she batted her long eyelashes at me, but I'm pretty sure she was only teasing.

    I think…

    Maybe?

    "You were! I was looking for you, and… Please! Um… Did you know that my mom's Korean? I spoke it all the time at home so we can talk together sometimes and maybe even sing Korean songs! Who else here could do that?!"

    "Well then, how could I possibly say no to that?" The ravenette's lips returned to their natural state - a rosey smile, if you were curious - as she said something else to me quickly in Korean.

    *I may need to brush up on that…*

    She took pity on me and translated it into something I was a little more familiar with.

    "I'm in!" Dam-Bi threw her arms around me in a spontaneous hug. I guess she's as excited about the group as I am!

    "Yes! Thank you! We're going to look amazing since we have you! I gotta go meet Junko, so why don't you come with me?"

    With that, I dashed off to the sound of excitedly shouted Korean, too excited about how great everything was going to wait for our newest recruit to follow.

### 2.3 Junko

    Back on our floor, which was the designated spot to meet after our search was done, I had been waiting for Rinko for awhile. Searching the first two floors of dorms had been incredibly brief, given that most of the space is living quarters, and the odds of Dam-Bi being in any bedroom other than her own was fairly low. So my search consisted of: checking the building's lobby, knocking on Dam-Bi's door, walking two long hallways, and standing outside two bathing areas to ask the first girls I saw leaving if Dam-Bi was inside. If Rinko were with me, it was likely that she would have wanted to go door to door "just in case", but that seemed rather pointless.

    Don't get me wrong. It isn't the effort that I object to, but rather the practicality of going door to door. There's an English expression that sums it up pretty well, I think. "Like searching for a needle in a pile of straw." Given the size of the building and the relative smallness of a single idol, a quick but targeted search just made more sense. If that were to fail, then there's always texting, or email, or even an old-fashioned phone call to get ahold of her - if not immediately, then at least quickly enough. It also let me do things with the time that may help us soon enough, such as looking up the room numbers of the other idols Rinko wants to talk to, and starting to figure out exactly how we would explain all of this to Lina when she - eventually - demanded answers.

    Leaning against the beige wall of our hallway, a small double ding heralded the arrival of the elevator, whose doors quickly parted to reveal two familiar silhouettes. Before the doors had even finished opening, Rinko made eye contact with me from across the small lobby, the smile on her face showing even in those bright chestnut eyes of hers. She skipped somewhat clumsily to join me next to a tall green plant - almost certainly fake - and prompted me for a high five, celebrating the good news which was already partly obvious simply from Dam-Bi's presence.

    "So, you said yes?"

    "Of course! How could I say no to Hanarin?" Dam-Bi, it seemed, was as incapable of letting down Rinko as myself.

    "And I found Megumi too! We only have one more girl to get, and then we have to tell Lina!" Dam-Bi and I exchanged a glance as Rinko started dashing down the hallway before she had even finished her sentence. Our excited leader disappeared sharply around a corner, prompting a small laugh and smile from each of us.

    "Wrong way! I looked it up!"

    Dam-Bi giggled as Rinko came sprinting back to us as though the past minute hadn't happened, and we each took hold of one of her hands. Wordlessly, we both doubtlessly shared the same thought between us: *This is probably just easier…*

    After taking the elevator up a floor and walking a short distance, our trio came to the dorm room labeled "Chiyo Watanabe *second on its name placard - the first name being an unreadable mess of black squiggles, no doubt belonging to a prior roommate who'd hit it off with another idol-in-training or flunked out of I MY ME's training regimen. Without consulting either of us - one would assume that this would probably go better with a plan, but that wasn't exactly her style - Rinko reached out and knocked, rather loudly, on the door. Dam-Bi and I both cringed slightly at the volume, worrying that it may come off as abrasive or hostile, or even just as bad news instead of the opportunity we were here to offer. Surprisingly - at least to me - the door opened ever so slightly and a young girl with unusual green hair put up into two round buns peeked out from behind the crack.*

    "He-Hello…?" Her voice was more of a nervous chirp than a clear greeting.

    "Hi! You're Chiyo Watanabe, right?!" Rinko tapped several times at the sign beside the door that stated exactly this. "Can we come in?!"

    The door was pushed fully open and Rinko was walking through it before the petite girl could answer, doing her best to put the anxious girl at ease with a flash of her carefully practiced smile. Chiyo looked how one would expect in this situation, her eyes darting quickly between the friendly intruder waltzing into her room and the mess it contained, unsure of what exactly was happening.

    "Su–Sure?" It was more a question than an answer, but that distinction was lost on the brunette who made herself at home, sitting daintily on the corner of Chiyo's unmade bed. Not knowing quite what to do, Dam-Bi and I filed in from the hallway awkwardly, bowing our heads slightly in apology as we passed our hostess in turn. I settled on standing in a dark spot next to the bed beside my roommate, while Dam-Bi stepped around a pile of… miscellaneous stuff near the middle of the floor and busied herself examining the yellow curtains covering the room's single tiny window.

    "Wow, it's so dark in here, do you mind if I open this?" Dam-Bi figured she'd try to lighten the mood, and the room, at once.

    "N-No." Chiyo chirped, as she took a seat nervously on her bed next to the strange girl who had invited us in. "Go ahead…"

    Dam-Bi pulled at the fraying cord dangling against the wall, then raised up the glass panel. Evening sunlight trickled into the room along with a cool breeze, covering everything in a beautiful brightness but Chiyo, whose bed was placed such that the light didn't come anywhere near the pillows at the head of the bed. The diminutive girl draped a worn yellow blanket over her shoulders, almost as if trying to hide from us, the girls who had invaded her room.

    "So… what can I do for you?" Chiyo's voice seemed somewhat disconnected from the rest of her. While her tone was chipper and melodic, I noticed Chiyo's puffy red eyes now that the room had enough light to see… well, anything really.

    "My name is Rinko! Rinko Hanazawa! These two are Dam-Bi Han and Junko…" She stopped for a second, during which my lips curled into an involuntary smile. "I wanted to tell you about the group we're forming!" Chiyo seemed to perk up, but all too soon the shimmery look in her eyes faded back to a dull sheen.

    "…a-are you here to taunt me?"

    "Taunt you…?" All three of us exchanged glances, confused by this accusation.

    "Everyone's heard about it, haven't they?! How I MY ME abandoned me and how I wasn't even good enough to get assigned a producer…" She seemed to sink lower and lower into her blanket the longer she talked. "Did you come here to point it out? To brag about your group? I d-don't even know you…"

    A few thick droplets wet the diminutive girl's cheeks as the frustration we had inadvertently triggered overflowed out of her. Suddenly the redness around her eyes made sense.

    "No…"

    Rinko, for the first time today, had hit upon an unexpected obstacle. From the moment she'd set her plan in motion, it had never occurred to her that any of her desired girls could even want to say no to her invitation, let alone accuse her of having a less than noble intention. Rinko was too sweet to even think those sorts of thoughts in the first place, so it's no wonder that she'd be thrown by that sort of response.

    "That's not it at all…"

    There was a moment of silence before Chiyo looked up at the three of us surrounding her. The low angle of the setting sun was hitting us just right to make us shine like jewels, the colors of our clothing bathing the room in a symphony of hues. Our room had a great view of the rising sun in the morning, but the light never played tricks like this on us, which at the moment made me as sad as I was stunned. Rinko shimmering like a diamond was a sight it simply didn't seem fair to only get to see once.

    She instead found something more inspiring in the light surrounding us.

    "We're here because we want you to join us, Chiyo." Rinko stared directly into Chiyo's amber eyes as she extended her invitation. She couldn't afford to be misunderstood, not even a little bit, and she was laying it out simply. Not only her future but Megumi's and Dam-Bi's and mine as well were all tied up in this meek girl's answer. Both of their smiles shone brightly, second only to the sun's illuminating rays, as Rinko offered Chiyo her hand. "I don't know a lot about you, but I know that you'd be a wonderful addition to our group. It'll be a lot of fun! We'll bring lots of snacks, and we'll all work together - as a team. Plus, I want to hear all about your hamster! So please, won't you join us?"

    Chiyo's eyes glittered as a gust of wind came through the window - making the blanket she was huddling under look like a well-informed choice - and lightly tousled everyone's hair and clothes as we all looked at her intently, awaiting her answer. The verdant girl reached her hand out, touching her fingers to Rinko's, who immediately took her hand firmly. There were smiles all around. Even if everything didn't go to plan, five idols was still a solid enough start for this to actually be happening. Rinko had once again, through sheer determination, willed her desire into reality.

    Dam-Bi was the first to break the pleasant silence.

    "Ok, it's a little too cold. I'll close the window and just leave the curtains open…"

    A sigh found its way past my lips as she struggled with the old, warped window frame. The moment had been broken.

    It really had been a splendid moment.

    "Now then, let's go! We can't keep Megumi waiting too long!"

    "R-Right now?!"

    "Yup!" Rinko, still firmly gripping Chiyo's hand, hopped up and pulled the girl into the light before corralling her and the rest of us out of the dorm room. Once more, Rinko's schedule was leaving no room to bask in our successes.

### 2.4 Junko

    The three of us followed nervously behind Rinko as she led us to Lina's office. Waiting outside - as instructed - was Rinko's absent recruit, Megumi. Rinko ran ahead of us and happily grasped the girl's hands, bouncing lightly on her heels with her seemingly inexhaustible abundance of energy.

    "We're all here! Ahhh!" Her voice shifted upwards in pitch as her excitement took over until it sounded little like anything I could understand.

    Megumi immediately walked forward to meet her new group mates, introducing herself politely to the rest of us as Rinko opened the door to our producer's office, this time with much less force than she had earlier in the day. She went straight to Lina and cleared her throat in anticipation of doing a lot of very important talking. For the first time today, the producer glanced up at her with a tired look.

    "Yes, what is it?" She spat out the words grumpily. Her thumb kept tapping at the phone in her hands, likely playing one of those idol games that are so popular these days, utterly disinterested in putting effort into anything else.

    "We're starting a group, and we have these five members so far. I have a few more I wanna get… but c'mon!" Rinko seemed to transform back to her regular self quickly, gesturing wildly at the four idols standing quietly in a row behind her, our arms straight down to our sides as though we were awaiting Lina's inspection. I lifted my hand at the wrist, demurely waving in Lina's direction to show my support for what was happening.

    *Sigh…*

    *She's improvising her entire pitch…*

    "These girls?" Lina didn't sound sold on the idea in the least.

    "Yep! The group so far isss… Junko! Dam-Bi! Megumi! Chiyo! And of course!" She held out both arms and curled them back, pointing both extended thumbs right at her own face. "We don't have a name yet, but we'll get that to you A. S. A. P.!"

    Lina rolled her eyes slightly, put her phone down, and pulled a sheet of paper from her desk.

    "Fine. Write your names down here and once you decide on a name you can add it. Nothing interesting has happened around here in a while, so I guess I'll let this slide. Why not?"

    The rest of us - still lurking quietly at the back of the office - cheered at Lina's decision. Rinko was so excited she slapped the palms of her hands onto Lina's desk, narrowly missing her cellphone.

    "Lina, you're the best producer ever! I promise we won't let you down!" She reached across the desk and gave her a large hug, knocking into a stack of papers situated close to the edge. Lina wore an understandably annoyed look on her face as the resulting process occured in a tantalizingly slow chain. The stack of papers slid over the side, fluttering all over the floor and sending Lina's empty coffee mug - which had been acting as a weight to prevent exactly this sort of thing from happening - rolling into the side of the trash can with a dull thwock. She grumbled and retrieved the mug from the floor, and I almost thought I saw her smirking as she did so. Rinko, oblivious to this, bounded back to the rest of us, excitedly scribbling down her name before passing the form around.

    "Hey! I'm glad you're being friendly and all, but it's getting a little late for this. Why don't you come back after classes tomorrow and sort everything out?"

    "Sounds good, Lina! Have a good night!"

    "Have a pleasant evening, Ms. Fujimura."

    "Bye!"

    Rinko slapped the paper down on the desk - having learned nothing - and tipped over the coffee mug yet again, prompting me to grab her by the shoulders and usher her out of the office and back toward our room.

    "We'll see you tomorrow, Lina. Goodnight."

    ᛫    ᛫    ᛫

    "Uwah, I'm so exhausted!" Rinko complained as soon as her butt hit her mattress.

    "At least it's the good kind of exhaustion tonight." I teased, now finding Rinko's consistency of complaint sort of amusing. "Let's get some sleep. There's still a lot of work to be done tomorrow."

    "Right. See you in the morning, roomie!" Rinko yawned loudly as her head nestled into her pillow, and she immediately drifted off to sleep.

\_\_\_\_

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