Episode One Hundred and One

Of course, I didn’t tell Ibara about the social media.
Did Ibara notice?
Maybe, but I don’t think so.
Ibara fiddles with all sorts of social media settings to prevent information about ‘Charles’ from suddenly catching her eye. She doesn’t follow the official account either. To protect her heart and body, which had once nearly broken.
She does occasionally watch videos of the members, but she absolutely never looks at the comment sections. She’s strict about that.
Even if it went viral, it only trended for a moment. I think it passed by unnoticed.
At least, when Ibara woke up at Tokyo Station, I couldn’t detect any sign that she was bothered by it.

　Back from leave.
I arrived early to distribute souvenirs when Shindo-san let out a startled cry (?).

“Oh, you don’t care for manju?”

“Oh yes, I’ve always been afraid of manju… no, wait.”

Nibbling on a hot spring manju, Shindo-san gave a wry smile.

“Shirahodo’s share price has been falling. I was just debating whether to buy some now.”

Shirahodo is one of the two giants in the industry, a major advertising agency that seems like a world away for us small-to-medium design firms.

“Shindo-san, you dabble in stocks?”

“A little. My main focus is investment trusts, though.”

I hadn’t known. Perhaps I should try diversifying too. Hmm.
　Money matters. For the future, too.
Living as a graphic designer, you inevitably start pondering things.
Leaving the company. The path of becoming a freelance designer, a sole trader.
Quite a lot of designers aspire to this ‘independence’, or set it as a goal. Really quite a lot.
I, for one, am among those who think about it eventually.
　Of course, securing work is tough, and income is unstable, but the big appeal is being able to design at home at my own pace.
My skills and connections are still nowhere near enough, but someday.

As I pondered this, Momono-chan, arriving a bit late for work, approached with a beaming smile and an “Ah!”
Good to see you’re full of beans today.

“Thank you so much for your help, Senpai!”

“It wasn’t me, though.”

She was referring to Ibara’s social media post.
It was a hash-tagged tweet, so it would have been found anyway, but I’d told Momono-chan just in case.

“Going well?”

“Yes! I’ve gathered various bits and pieces, and it’s starting to take shape!”

“I see. Well done.”

I placed two hot spring manju sweets in her hands as a congratulatory gift. Momono-chan’s eyes sparkled as she bowed her head and said, “Thank you very much!” So soothing…
Seeing the ‘Charles’ bag charm (the one that doesn’t look like fan merchandise at first glance) swaying with the movement reminded me of the SNS matter.
It goes without saying that Momono-chan is a ‘Charles’ fan.

“Speaking of which, I saw something on SNS…”

I tentatively broached the subject.

“‘Charles’ was trending a bit, wasn’t it? Seems there was some sort of incident at a live show.”

“Ah, yes, there was.”

Peeling the wrapper off her manju, Momono-chan nodded.
So she knew about it after all.

“There are problematic fans, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to secretly film and post it online, right?”

“That’s true.”

“Well, there are quite a few, though. People who ask the members about Ibara-chan. That’s probably why they put out the warning.”

Nodding knowingly, Momono-chan turned back to her computer.
I didn’t want to give Shindo-san any opening to ask “Are you bored?” by continuing this idle chat first thing on the morning after the holiday break.
I launched my illustration software and started working too.

It was all very well, but I simply couldn’t concentrate.
It was on my mind.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
The woman I met on the Shinkansen. Her true identity.
The first candidate that sprang to mind was, needless to say, ‘Ibara’s mother’.
She looked quite young, but we only exchanged a few words.
　I didn’t scrutinise her closely, so I can’t be sure of her actual age.
Ibara is eighteen, so if she was young, her parent would be in their late thirties.
She looked younger than that, but that’s easily achievable with make-up. It’s possible.
But if that were the case, what did she ask Hiname-chan at the ‘Charles’ live?
Did she simply want to check on Ibara’s recent situation?
Hmm.
　Even if things were awkward with Ibara herself, she could have checked via Aki-san.
Surely her actual parents wouldn’t be unaware of their daughter’s whereabouts, would they?
I want to believe that’s impossible.
When Ibara developed insomnia, she said the agency contacted her parents. So there must be some minimal contact. Probably.
　What if it wasn’t her mother?
I don’t know. It could just be an overly enthusiastic fan, for all I know.
I loosely clenched my fist and tapped my temple rhythmically.
I’m overthinking this. Ibara had a slightly odd, troublesome fan. That’s all.
At least for now, it’s got nothing to do with me or Ibara.
I need to focus on work instead.

　While cutting roughs, checking colour proofs, and replying to emails, it became lunchtime.
As I nibbled a sandwich in the office, my phone buzzed. A message received.
The sender’s name made me start. Why?

‘Could I speak to you briefly now?’

The sender of the short message was Hiname-chan, Haibara Hiname, leader of ‘Charles’.