Mei’s storyline had all the classic tropes. Unlike the other members of Impatiens and the majority of grown adults, “giving up” was not a concept she understood. Like the protagonist of a sports manga, she believed that as long as she had faith and never stopped trying, her dreams would come true. Because of that, success made her weep and cruel words made her rage, both with the dial cranked up to eleven.
That said, paired with talent and hard work, her naive idealism was more charming than cloying. Those who stanned her wholeheartedly shared in her tears and her triumphs. As an idol, she was the type who emotionally resonated with people. One might think she fit the theme of this program best of all…and yet, there was a reason Julia was saved for last.
As a punchline.
Once Mei’s time in the spotlight was done and it came time to introduce the third and final guest, the female cohost looked down at the easel pad in her hands and donned a look of surprise, just as scripted. “Um…well, lastly we have Gotou Julia-san. Originally a regular working adult, she’s respected as an authority figure by staff and fellow group members. But…it appears they weren’t able to make a video for her.”
“Why not?” The male host turned and shot a dubious look in Julia’s direction.
She looked back at them, gleaning everything she could from the two hosts. “The truth is, I don’t have any photos or videos from before I joined Impatiens.”
“How is that humanly possible?! Digital files are one thing, but surely you must have old purikura photos with friends or something!”
“Barely. And the little I did have ultimately got tossed out, because back when I first started as an idol, I figured I wouldn’t need it anymore. I never thought it would cause problems later on down the line.”
Using this ambiguously coldhearted statement as a springboard, a staff member handed a memo to the female cohost, who leaned forward as if rapturously interested. “So you burned all your suits and school uniforms?!”
“No, I just put them in the trash. I did think about it, though.”
As a professional reactor, the host laughed hard at Julia’s casual joke. “What if you get invited to a friend’s wedding or something?”
“Good thing I don’t have a lot of friends.”
“That doesn’t answer the question,” Ao cut in.
“If I have to, I’ll just wear a stage costume.”
As a consolation prize, they showed the childhood photos she got from her parents, as well as the driver’s license photo that was taken after she became an idol. Meanwhile, she gave a brief retelling of her history leading up to Impatiens, culminating in “I’ll be burning these after the show.” Based on the vibes she was getting, she was indeed performing the role expected of her, which was a relief.
“Okay, now that we’ve learned which member of Impatiens should be kept away from lighters and matches, please give our young viewers the encouragement they need to pursue their dreams!”
Once again, the camera was directed at the three of them. As directed in the script, they spoke in reverse order from their intros.
“Well, I may have incinerated my past, but as you can see, I’m doing just fine. So for those of you having a rough time right now, just keep your head up and one day you’ll get to burn it all down.”
“When you’re putting everything you’ve got into chasing your goals, it can be really hard sometimes. But if you can make it through, you’ll see things you never dreamed of, so just do your best!”
“Don’t sit around on your asses! Make it happen!”
“And that’s all from Impatiens!”
They waved into the camera, and at the signal, exited out of frame while bowing. As the two hosts remained on set to give their overall thoughts on the Impatiens segment, Shinogi led the three out of the studio and into the green room, where they could watch the rest of the livestream on a monitor. In the hall, they encountered another band and exchanged pleasantries.
“Nice job out there! Really captured your good points. People online are loving it.”
“I knew about Jul’s thing going in, but I still just had to say something, you know?”
“That was great! And so was her response. I did a search and saw a bunch of folks who had no idea you were Bluuu at all.”
“It’s literally the same singing voice, people!”
Julia retrieved her wallet and phone from storage, sat down on a green room chair, and started checking social media. There was going to be a group photo at the end of the stream, so she couldn’t change clothes just yet. Following a namesearch on Twitter, she was met with comments flying left and right.
“The new fans must be SO confused after that stream, like, ‘I don’t know much about Impatiens but I guess Gotou Julia is a nutjob!’ lol”
“So much for being a trusted authority figure, huh, Jul? ”
“Ao was running her mouth, Mei was a total sweetheart, and…Jul gonna Jul…”
She scanned over their opinions, both positive and negative, until she had combed all the way back to before the livestream started. There, she found a certain tweet from Sakuna with a photo attached. On the beach, she had drawn a big heart in the sand with all of their initials inside.
“Promise me we’ll get married someday #idol #WakayamaRan #GotouJulia #KatanoTowako #EmukaeMaki #HashimotoAo #IizukaMei”
Julia had planned to comment on it after the stream, but she saw that Towako had already replied “I’m afraid polygamy isn’t legal yet, Takatsuki-san,” to which Maki had chimed in with “TIL our leader is a serial cheater. (*_*)” Though they weren’t on the show themselves, they were still hard at work, and it put a smile on Julia’s face.
“Jul?”
Just then, someone called to her, and she looked up sharply. It was Mei, and she had that familiar look on her face again, her eyes wide in visible panic. But the stream was over now, and she hadn’t messed up, so what could it be? Julia tilted her head in silent inquiry, and Mei quickly held out her phone.
“Is this…bad?”
There was an entire table between them, so Julia rose to her feet to get a better look. Moments later, her own eyes widened, and she looked back at Mei, but the other girl was already glancing around for their manager.