Prologue

As the sun began to dip below the horizon, Yoruno Maya came to a sudden, dead halt, a dazed look on her face.

“My legs are tired.”

We were on our way back from the studio, cutting through a sprawling park toward the station.

“I can’t walk another step,” she insisted, looking up at me with the pouting expression of a young girl. “Give me a piggyback ride~!”

“No,” I replied, my tone as flat and ordinary as humanly possible. “We haven’t even been walking for five minutes.”

Yoruno went silent for a moment, appearing to be in deep thought. Then, she kicked off her shoes—plop, plop—right there on the path.

“My heel broke.”

“Those are sneakers, Yoruno.”

I sighed, picking up the adorable little shoes she’d scattered across the pavement and lining them up neatly at her feet. She made absolutely no move to put them back on.

“Give me a ride!” she whined.

“I’m not going to spoil you that easily.”

“But I want to cling to you and be pampered!”

“Wow, you’re really just going to throw your desires out there, huh?”

“I want to snuggle up and smell you, too!”

“Are you a dog?!”

“Ride! Give me a ride!”

Yoruno started throwing a full-blown tantrum, flailing her arms. This was the girl everyone called...

The dignified, beautiful idol...

“Or you could just pat my head! That works too~!”

The cool, perfect center...

“Come on, it’s just a little ride! You’re so stingy! You big dummy! You... you numbskull!!”

The stylish, ultimate fashion icon...

The world had a very specific image of Yoruno Maya. The reality, however, involved a slight gap in expectations.

“I’ll roll! If you don’t give me a ride, I’m going to roll around on the ground right here!”

Yoruno crouched low, spreading her arms wide. Now, Yoruno was absolutely not the kind of girl who should be rolling around in the dirt. But I knew this woman. If it meant getting a piggyback ride, she was just crazy enough to actually do it.

“Dammit...!”

In the end, I was the one who broke. I scanned our surroundings to make sure no one was watching, then crouched down in front of her, offering my back.

“Just until we’re out of the park, okay?!”

“Yay!”

The moment she clung to my back, she turned back into a sweet, obedient girl. She made the most of the opportunity, pressing her face against me and squeezing tight as she soaked in the attention.

When she was like this, she really was just a beautiful girl. She smelled incredible, and the feeling of her soft hair and smooth skin against me made me feel... well, pretty damn happy. But still—

“I really don’t think this is a good idea, you know!”

I said the words, but of course, she wasn't listening.

“Hananome, you’re my manager, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“You’re only my manager. Remember that.”

“I’m everyone’s manager!”

Usually, we’d keep bickering like this, trading playful barbs. But because so much had happened today, Yoruno eventually went quiet, simply surrendering her weight to me.

I walked through the twilight park, shoes in hand, with the center of the nation’s favorite idol group on my back. The streetlights flickered to life as a breeze swept through the trees. It smelled like a summer night.

Suddenly, Yoruno’s slender, white arms tightened around me. It felt as if she were clinging to me for dear life. I heard her delicate, rhythmic breathing. Then, in a voice so tiny I would have missed it if I wasn’t listening closely, she spoke.

“Please... stay my fan forever.”

I adjusted her weight, making sure I had a firm grip on her, and gave her my answer.

“Leave it to me.”

I am currently the manager of an idol group.

As for how I ended up in this situation... we have to go back a few weeks.