LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 22_ Visiting Miyazaki
“You should take some time to think about it. Get back to me by next Monday, alright?”
“Thanks, I’ll consider this offer.”
“All good. I’ll speak to you again soon~! Just to reiterate, we’d be really happy to have you here.”
I needed to make some preparations.
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It was Saturday morning.
Making my way down the road, I saw Miyazaki-san estate in the distance. It was a large mansion which stood out even in the rich neighbourhood. With a protruding courtyard and fountain, just walking to the front door was a journey.
The ground was littered with exotic flowers of all different types—with Brazilian Peppers, Melaleuca and Pale Alyssum, along with many others that I’d only learnt about in textbooks. As I approached the grand oak doors, I could see some weirdly-shaped shrubs.
I knocked on the entrance.
After some loud footsteps, the door opened with the figure of a muscular, tall man. He looked down at me with somewhat of an intimidating stare.
“What do you need from us? Are you another one of those fans? Go away if you are.”
“Um… Miyazaki-san invited me over…”
He glared at me, slowly closing the door.
“I’ve had enough of you stalkers. Get out of here. I’ll call the police next time you come.”
Suddenly, I could hear shouting from the inside.
There were a series of frantic footsteps.
…
“Wait! Dad, I actually did invite him!”
Her dad seemed surprised.
Miyazaki-san ran over to us. She suddenly became flustered upon seeing me.
“Ah! I forgot to get changed!”
She was wearing some funny-looking pyjamas which made her look somewhat like a bear. There were some small stumpy ears on the top of her hoodie, which bounced around as she ran. Her hair also wasn’t tied in her usual style, being left to flow freely around her neck; there were also signs of bed hair as it fluffed up in some places.
“Sorry, Mizutaka-kun, I’ll be back in a second!”
The door was slammed in my face.
What on earth…
A short moment later, the door slid back open. It was her father again.
“Sorry about that. We’ve been getting a lot of her fans showing up at our front door recently.”
Celebrities must have it tough.
“It’s fine.”
“But still, who are you? Kaede doesn’t usually invite friends over. Are you her boyfriend?”
He had an unpleasant look in his eyes.
“No. I’m nothing like that. We’re just friends. We met on a television show.”
“Oh, are you also an actor?”
“I’m not an actor. Although I do have some connections in the show industry.”
“Aha, I see. That’s fine, then. It’s good to see that Kaede’s actually going out and making friends. She’s always been the type to try to do everything herself.”
He gestured for me to go inside.
“Come in. You can take a seat in the lounge room.”
“Thank you.”
Making my inside, the two of us sat down in their lounge room. He sat a decent distance from me, but he didn’t seem as unpleasantly surprised as before. Her mother also came over and joined us.
She made her way over to me and shook my hand.
“Hi, I’m Miyazaki Helen, Kaede’s mom. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
“What’s your name?”
“It’s Mizutaka Riku.”
“Ah~.”
She looked over at her husband.
“It’s nice that Kaede’s made a friend, isn’t it?” she said.
“It’s good, but make sure the two of them don’t do anything weird,” he replied.
“Ah, I’ll tell her to keep the door open then,” she said.
Ah.
Well, it didn’t really matter that much.
A few moments later, Miyazaki-san returned. This time, she was wearing some proper clothes, some shorts and an oversized shirt.
“Ah! Mom, you didn’t say anything weird to Mizutaka-kun, did you?”
“Ooh? Should I tell him about the stuffed octopus you sleep with?”
“Mom!”
“Haha, it’s a pain just trying to get it off you so I can wash it.”
“Aah, stop! Stop!”
Miyazaki-san grabbed my arm and pulled me away.
“Just don’t do anything weird, you two,” her mom yelled.
“We won’t!”
…
She pulled me into her room and slammed the door closed. A loud thump echoed through the area as it crashed into the frame.
“Ugh… why did my mom have to say that…?”
“It’s pretty funny that you sleep with a little octopus. I never knew that you had such a cute soft side like that.”
“Hey! I-I’ve just had it for a while, I don’t actually need it to fall asleep. I didn’t have it at your place, you know?”
She pouted at me.
Walking further into her room, I was brushed by the aroma of soft, flowery perfume. Her layout was about what I had expected. She was the example of a girly girl, with a pink bed and plants and plushies.
It also seemed true that she was a big fan of Karin-san. She had posters of her all over the wall—which were the only pieces of decoration that involved any other celebrity.
Suddenly, I noticed something.
Stuck under one of the Karin-san posters, there seemed to be another idol who I didn’t recognise. She looked somewhat like someone I’d seen before, but no specific memory came to mind.
I pointed at it.
“You like Karin-san, it seems, but who is this other idol?”
She walked over.
“Ah, that’s Hasegawa Mikan. She was Karin-chan’s senpai.”
Hasegawa Mikan… that last name seemed familiar. The main thing was I’d researched many popular idols and actors recently, and her name didn’t seem to appear a single time. To be Karin-san’s senpai, she must’ve had some level of fame.
In the photo, she looked younger than me.
“Was she very well-known?”
“She used to be really popular, but for some reason, she took a big break and hasn’t come back.”
“Ah, I see.”
Took a big break? From the past examples I’ve researched, that never seems to be a good sign.
I wonder what happened to her.
Maybe Karin-san might know something.