Hino saw the look in her eyes and paused. 'I guess she is concerned too, but doesn't show it.'

What a strong girl.

...

Saturday, 23rd March 2015

Since that day his relationship with the young girl called Ibuki Sumire has changed somewhat.

He meets her by chance and speaks to her. But other than those brief conversations, Hino has not had much of an opportunity to get to know her better.

Yuhi is far too over protective of her. During those brief conversations, Yuhi is watching his every move.

While everybody is most-likely still fast asleep. Hino was running around town with heavy bags in his hands.

Currently he was in town and running some errands. How could they make the president do such things? A deep sigh crossed his lips as he checked what else was left on the list. Materials for the costumes in the prop department, supplies for the kitchen. Hino frowned the more he read. None of this has anything to do with music geez.

He decided to stop by the park and take a break.

His thoughts broke off when he heard a familiar voice. Huh? This is---

Hino followed the source and found the source of the voice, it was Ibuki. The girl wore a off shoulder white dress with black tights and a black side cap on her hair. Judging from her surroundings there was nobody around. Is that why she can sing?

Her voice is very good, it is exactly like he remembered.

"Who is there?" The girl seemed frightened.

Hino immediately stepped up from his hiding spot. "Easy there, its just me."

"Hino-san.."

"Yeah, good morning."

Sumires gaze softened. "Yes, good morning."

In the end he sat down on the bench where Sumire placed her belongings. He glanced at the table and saw the music scores and a guitar. He raised his eyebrows. "I thought you.."

Sumire sighed. "It is difficult when I am around other people. But when I am alone I can manage."

"I see. So is it fine in front of me?" Hino asked. He wants to hear her sing again, but if he cant then watching her compose something is good too.

"I suppose so." Her gaze fell on the bags. "That looks heavy."

Hino sighed. "Tell me about it…" He then explains to her how he ended up in this situation. To his surprise she did not laugh. The expression on her face was tender and it made him feel slightly strange.

"You're a kind person." Sumire concluded. "If it were anybody else, then I am sure things would have ended up differently."

"Well I don't know if it is kindness or not. But I treat the people in the agency as my family."

While there are many people who are older than him there. Hino felt like he was the father taking care of a bunch of little kids.

"I see."

"Where is Yuhi?" Hino asked. It is unlike him to leave her alone, especially on the weekend.

"Ah, he said he saw a friend and went over to say hello."

A friend? More like a woman.. Hino understood that Yuhi was in the process of breaking up with all of them but at this rate he will never get it done. "Do you know what he is doing?"

"I know." Sumire nodded. "It still surprises me even now. Yuhi does not appear to be the type that would fool around."

"Yeah, I understand that too. But when your lonely and feel like nothing, you start to crave for human warmth. It does not matter who, as long as the empty feeling vanishes even for a moment."

"Are you the same type too?" Sumire asked.

"I guess."

For the next few minutes nobody spoke and he watched as she went back to composing. The girl not only sang well, but she played the guitar very well too. It seems like she is talented in everything she does. But despite being so talented, Sumire does not boast. A strange woman, he has never met anybody like this before. All the people he has met so far, especially the ones of the opposite gender are fickle and shallow.

Ibuki Sumire is not like that at all.

She is honest and kind. There are many people in this world who have those qualities but there is indeed something different.

"Say Hino-san, you can read music too right?"

Hino nodded. "Yeah, do you want me to look over something?"

"If you could." Sumire passed him some score sheets and Hino examined it.

He only looked at it for a few minutes before he made his mind up. Why did she want him to look at this? There is nothing wrong with it. It is amazing that she can come up with a song this good despite being in a slump. According to the results of his investigation, Sumire is traumatized when it comes to anything related to music. After that time she did try to go back on stage but she froze up and she could not sing at all.

Nobody could blame her once they saw that. Everybody attending that event felt very bad for her. But just because there are people who sympathized with her does not mean everybody is the same. The majority of people used this chance to bash and insult her more.

Some people even said this was her real ability, that she simply used a stunt double or her previous concert was pre-recorded. The entertainment industry is a ruthless place especially for the talented. Even if a person has talent, those jealous individuals will twist it until it becomes something bad.

Ibuki Sumire's first stage was truly amazing. She sold out her tickets in a matter of seconds. Hino remembered being one of the first ones to buy. Her company did not advertise much and he only heard snippets from the radio.

But it was enough to get the message across. The lack of advertisement made people curious why the final turnover was so large.

Even now Hino could not forget the feeling when he first heard her sing.

"Say Ibuki--" Hino paused when he saw that the girl was dozing off. He hesitated but brought his arm around her, and she rested his head on his shoulder.

It seems like I am getting too attached to her.

But that is normal.

During his many years in this industry, there is only one person he has respected so much and that is Ibuki Sumire. No matter what happens, he has to find a way to bring her back to the stage

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