[ES!!] Fuyume Hanamura – Idol Story 2
You can see Fuyume Hanamura’s profile on the Wiki.
Season: Spring
Location: Inside ES, Simple Studio
2nd year of ES’s establishment…1
…………
…………
(What do I do…)
(The new model… Hanamura-san, I think? The work staff told me, “Takamine-kun, as his senior, give him some pointers about this job”…)
(And now it’s been twenty minutes of silence since they’d asked that from me.)
…………
(I-I have to teach him what to do, just like I was told to… Even though I’m not good at that sorta thing, I am still the senior here…)
(But it’s just way too impossible for me. I can barely stand it.)
(This kid is giving off huge “don’t talk to me” vibes… Like, he’s been mumbling to himself here and there while on his phone…)
(And sometimes he takes selfies and posts them on social media… I think?)
(It’s like he’s making his own world.)
(It’s way too scaryy~… I don’t wannaa~… I don’t wanna talk to hiim~…)
(And anyway… This kid heard the staff say that they’re entrusting me to guide him, so I know he’s aware of it.)
(So shouldn’t he be the one to approach me and say, “Please guide me, Senpai!” or something? Isn’t that common etiquette?)
……Ah.
…!? W-What? What’s wrong…?
…They’re calling.
(Huh, what? Is he the kind that can hear voices you’re not supposed to hear? Like, someone who hallucinates voices coming from above?)2
It looks like it’s Yume’s turn.
(Ah— He’s right. The staff are calling for him. The photoshoot’s about to start.)
(What am I gonna do… I didn’t guide him at all.)
(But from what I’ve heard, this kid is a famous non-professional model…? Like, a cos…player, or something? So…)3
(I don’t really need to give him pointers like some arrogant know-it-all or anything, right?)
(I’m sure he knows how to do this job, right? I mean, he seems to have way too much confidence in himself, so…?)
Fu-fu-fu. Yume will do Yume’s very best.
Yume will gladly invite everyone into Yume’s world today, too.4
Location: Drink Stand
Sob, sob… sob, sob sob…
(What do I do now…)
(This kid had way too much confidence and pretty much nothing else~…)
(Like, it’s not that he doesn’t know what he’s doing, but rather — it’s like he’s trying to get through this whole shoot with the way he’d do things in his non-professional modeling days…)
(And I dunno what set him off, but he just kept snapping at one of the staff members throughout the entire session. The moment I thought he went quiet, he suddenly starts cursing like hell at the person, practically denying everything the person stands for, even their humanity—)
(On top of all that, he then went on to complain about the lighting’s position, the outfits, and everything else…)
(And instead wore an outfit he brought, demanding the staff to take a good picture of him in the cutest angle…)
(Since it was just argument after argument, the photoshoot had to be put to a stop… Then when he realized his point of view won’t do, he started crying.)
(I was told to motivate him by persuading him somehow, but is that even supposed to be my job…? Isn’t that more of a manager’s role or something?)
(Actually, no— If I had taught him how to do this job from the very start, this whole mess probably wouldn’t have happened.)
(I’m also at fault here, so maybe I do have to do something, but…)
Midori-sama.
Huh? Um, what is i—… Wait, “Midori-sama”?
Yume saw you, right there in a magazine. Yume thought, “so beautiful”, “just like a prince”. Fufu.
So, it’s “Midori-sama”. Because of oujisama — A prince.5 Fufufu.
Of course, Yume only has one prince, so you aren’t qualified to be called that—
But there’s no sin to being beautiful, so. Fufufu.
(Whaat~…? What does that meaaan~…? I dunno what he’s saying at all, are all young kids like this nowadays…?)
(Hey, wait a second— I thought he was sobbing with his face covered, but he actually seems to be doing just fine? Was he fake crying…?)
Melon soda, ume kelp tea, roasted coffee.
…? Huh? What’s that, an incantation?
What else… There was more in the drink Esu said he found at the end of his adventure…
I-If you mix all those random things together, you won’t be able to bear the taste of the drink, y’know?
Yume can drink it. Yume will drink it. Yume wants to experience Esu’s tale first-hand.
Time to drink. (Gulp, gulp)…
……— ……
…………
Ahh, see, it really did end up tasting awful… You can’t drink something like that. Just the way it looked was bad enough.
Come on, spit it out in this paper cup.
Huh, what? I don’t get how we got to an apology…?
Yume did it again. Yume acted selfish. Because of that, this job isn’t going well, and even Midori-sama got scolded.
That’s why, sorry.
Ah, yeah, well— It’s true that all of it was your faul— I mean, um, I’m also sorry for not teaching you anything, even though I was supposed to…
I failed you as a senior, didn’t I…
It’s fine. Yume believes that, when there’s something Yume can’t stand — then no matter what Midori-sama could’ve said, Yume would’ve felt irritated and ignored Midori-sama.
Yume has always been like this. Always selfish. That’s the only part about Yume that’s like a princess.
But, still. Sorry. The staff member Yume was clashing with is the same person who came to one of Yume’s photography sessions before and acted very arrogant.
They handed out their business card and acted like they were the professional one. It was just the worst; the moment they started leading the place, the atmosphere became awful.
Even though a photography session is Yume’s very own world…
That frustrated and sickened Yume so much, Yume could never forget it. When Yume saw that person’s face again, Yume exploded.
Yume couldn’t stand the thought of being projected in that person’s eyes, being interpreted however they like in their head, as if Yume is their plaything… That’s why, um, sorry.
The truth is, Yume never wanted to trouble Midori-sama.
Yume wanted to get along with you… Yume wanted to talk to you, but it felt embarrassing and nerve-wracking… Yume didn’t know what to do.
Midori-sama looked like he was in a bad mood, after all. It was very clearly a “don’t talk to me” vibe.
(Ahh—)
(Huh, I see… This kid felt the same way as I did… Yeah, of course he’d feel nervous on his first real professional job.)
(And I was just like that on my first day at the job, too, so how did I ever think otherwise…)
(Nah, in fact, that’s probably exactly why I was entrusted with this role — ‘Cause they thought I’d understand how this kid feels.)
(I’m really just hopeless. I never, ever grow.)
Hanamura-san.
Yes.
If you feel a little calmer after drinking something, how about we go and apologize to the staff together?
Don’t wanna apologize.
Uwah—… Yeah, I get it. Alright, if you want, I could ask if they’d remove the staff member you said you hate from this job.
We have the right to make those sorta requests, at least. We don’t have to do a job we don’t want to do.
…………
But if we don’t do our job properly, then the other people that Hanamura-san doesn’t hate will be troubled, too.
We’ll be hated by everyone, y’know? Then they’ll be the ones thinking, “I don’t wanna work with those people.”
Don’t wanna be hated.
Then let’s make sure to apologize. After we’re done with that, let’s do our job the best that we can.
I know I’m late to this, but I’ll even teach you how to do this job. I’ll properly guide you through it — I’m your senior, after all.
Honestly, it’s a pain, though… I mean, I’m nobody special enough to act like a know-it-all mentor for others, not to mention that I’m not the best at talking.
Mm… Yume is also not good at it. Yume is just speaking normally, but everyone always looks confused. Strange.
Oh, you’ve been talking normally this whole time…? You really are just making your own world, huh…
(—Wait, crap, I said it out loud. Hanamura-san might get angry. He was probably pampered back in his non-professional world… So he probably loathes being rejected.)
Fufufu. Thank you, Midori-sama.
(Huh? Eh…? His reaction is surprisingly okay…? I really just don’t get this kid, huh…?)
You know, Yume wants to show off Yume’s world to everyone.
And, you recognized that “that” world exists.
That’s why Yume’s happy. So, thank you.
Fufufufu. Yume kiiind of feels motivated now~ Yume will mend Yume’s ways and work as best as possible. Yume will make sure this job is a success.
U-Um, sure… I’m glad to know you feel motivated now.
I’ll also reflect on myself today and work hard, okay?
Let’s work together to finish this job, Hanamura-san.
You should say “Yume”, not “Hanamura-san”. That has been irritating Yume this whole time. Yume doesn’t have any motivation anymore.
Ehhh…?
Translation Notes
- ↑ At the start of the second year of ES’s establishment, Midori is a third year in Yumenosaki, which means he’s 17 years old (and he becomes 18 on his birthday).
- ↑ Originally, Midori says “If I were to put it in older terms, a denpa-kei?” More on denpa-kei here. As Midori states in the Japanese text, it’s a pretty old-fashioned term.
- ↑ Midori says cosplayer in hiragana instead of katakana (the correct way to spell cosplayer), implying he isn’t very familiar with the term.
- ↑ “Yume” means dream, so it’s a wordplay of his nickname and the word “dream”.
- ↑ “Ouji” means prince, and “-sama” is a polite honorific attached to the word. In fairytales, you typically see the prince referred to as oujisama.
- ↑ Originally, Fuyume says ohimesama for “princess”, which matches with oujisama (prince). In fairytales, you typically see the princess referred to as ohimesama.