Kays Translations

Chapter 4: [Ex-Family Side] The Night He Was Banished and New Support

The night Atsumu Go was kicked out.

“Man, the look on his face when we disowned him—priceless!”

Mutsuki laughed as she stuffed her face with steak, recalling the earlier events.

“Totally! Mutsuki-chan, it was better than a prank show. And the best part? It wasn’t a prank.”

“Haha, I know, right? I wish I had recorded it.”

Futaba nodded in agreement, while Shiki burst into laughter.

“Don’t you think the air has gotten cleaner now that he’s gone? And finally, we can eat whatever we want without being nagged.”

Mika aired her long-standing grievances.

“Right, Mika-nee! I’m a voice actress and he always said I shouldn’t eat spicy food. He was so annoying!”

“You too, Shiki-san? As a model, I don’t gain weight easily, so I never had to worry about food. But the stress he caused was unreal.”

Thus began a full-on roast session about Atsumu Go, started by Mika.

“I had it the worst with all the restrictions on Fotostagram! No matter what I posted, it had to go through him first. If I tried to post a selfie, he made me retake it over and over. I always look great, no matter what!”

“I wasn’t even allowed to use Tsubuyaitter! I’m a multi-talent—how can I not have a presence there? People need to know what I’m thinking!”

“He restricted the kinds of roles I could take. I once saw him turn down an offer from a famous film director on my behalf.”

“What!? You, Ichika-nee, could’ve been in any movie! What was he thinking, ruining your chance like that? Hey, Nana-chan, what do you think?”

Shiki turned the conversation to Nana.

“I don’t care what happens to me. As long as I can sing songs written by Five-san, that’s enough for me to live.”

“There she goes—Nana-chan and her Five-san obsession. But that last song you released went viral! Your voice really fit it perfectly.”

“Heh… Five-san is the one who understands me the most.”

Usually disinterested in everything, Nana now wore a blissful expression as she thought of a certain someone.

“Ah, she’s gone into her world again. Once Nana gets like this, there’s no pulling her out.” 

Shiki said, throwing up her hands.

Futaba turned to Yachiru, who had been quiet in the corner.

“Yacchan, what about you? What do you think of him?”

“I think… Atsumu should never come back to this house again.”

“Right? I seriously never want to see his face again.”

“Haa… Seems like he caused a lot of stress for all of you. But now you don’t have to worry anymore. You’re all rising stars now. As long as you don’t stop aiming for the top, you can be free in your work, your social media, and your private lives!”

Reina looked around and declared confidently to her sisters.

“Hmm… From now on, I’ll reject lame projects and only take roles I actually want.”

“Seriously? That’s awesome. I can go clubbing all I want!”

“Ahh, now I can eat all the delicious food I want!”

“I’m going to play games all day!”

“Ha! Finally, I’m free!”

“Gufufu… Five-san…”

“Yay! Yachiru can live doing what Yachiru loves!”

And so, the insults toward Atsumu Go continued deep into the night—
All while they remained completely unaware of what was coming next…

○ ●

The next day, in the president’s office.

“President! Why did you kick Atsumu-kun out!?”

“Oh my, Yuki. I don’t think I need to explain myself to you.”

Her name was Yuki Kami.
Tall and slender, with her hair neatly tied and glasses giving her a strict, intellectual appearance.

She once owed a great debt to Momono, the grandmother of the Go siblings and mother of Reina.

Out of gratitude, she now served as the president’s secretary at the Amagasaki Agency.

She had come to the president’s office to confront her about something.

“No. I distinctly remember telling you to consult with me when making major decisions regarding company policy.”

“Yes, you did say that. But this was hardly a major issue, was it? I saw no reason to bring it up.”

“Removing Atsumu-kun from the agency is not a minor issue! He handled almost all of the behind-the-scenes work. His absence will severely affect operations!”

Yuki was furious, pressing her argument forcefully.

“Almost all of it, huh? Sure, my daughters are getting famous, but this agency only has the seven of them. Supporting that shouldn’t be so hard, right? Especially when it was him doing it. It can’t be that difficult if he could manage.”

Reina responded while admiring herself in a mirror, only half-listening.

Certainly, the Amagasaki Agency was a small one with only seven talents,
But their growing fame brought increasingly more work—
And managing it all alone was no small task.

“Enough of this talk. Go get the car ready. It’s almost time for dinner with the producer.”

“‘This talk’? Really…?”

Reina’s beauty had opened doors for her in many industries,
Winning her favor with influential people and scoring work through high-level networking.

Indeed, the mother who produced these famous daughters was undeniably stunning.

Yuki also participated in those business dinners.

This was partly due to the company president’s policy that having more women present made it easier to make the other party let their guard down and secure deals. But more importantly, Yuki would impersonate the president after the dinners and handle all subsequent correspondence with the client.

She had to be present during the dinners to remember the conversations; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to carry on the communication afterward.

When the agency was first established, Yuki had worked with Atsumu handling managerial duties and various support tasks.

However, in recent years, the number of business dinners with TV producers and company presidents, and the follow-up communications afterward, had increased so much that even someone of Yuki’s capabilities couldn’t keep up.

Seeing her struggling, Atsumu had said to her, “Yuki-san, just focus on your side of things. I’ll take care of everything else.” Since then, Yuki had been able to concentrate solely on her work as the president’s secretary.

(At that time, Atsumu looked like an angel to me—an angel sent to save me from hell. If he hadn’t reached out to me back then, I wouldn’t be here now.)

But… now she regretted it.

Because in the end, she had pushed all the work onto Atsumu, who was still just a student.

Realizing that, Yuki had tried to propose hiring additional staff to the president, but her suggestion was rejected with a dismissive, “If things are running smoothly, there’s no need to increase staff.”

It was exactly the kind of thing a penny-pinching woman like Reina would say.

Reina spent lavishly—dining at expensive places, going to beauty salons for self-care, and indulging in brand-name shopping sprees.

Having dinners with important people is part of the job. Maintaining my beauty is part of the job. Dressing appropriately as the president of the agency is part of the job.

She genuinely believed that.

She prioritized spending money on herself and her daughters, and didn’t want to spend a single yen more than necessary elsewhere—a true miser.

This was a problem, yes—but not one that could be solved right away.

“But who’s going to support everyone from now on!?”

That—right now—was the real issue at hand.

Just then, there was a knock on the president’s office door.

“How timely. Come in.”

“Excuse me. I’m Rima Harima, from the Support Department of Yumekoshi Academy. I’ll be working with you from today. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

A small girl wearing glasses introduced herself and gave a neat, graceful bow.

Yuki, seeing this, thought, She seems extra serious, but at the same time, a question arose in her mind.

“Why is a student from Yumekoshi Academy here?”

“Oh, I didn’t mention it? She’s come here as an intern to support the talents of Amagasaki Agency. Unlike a certain someone, she has excellent grades, so I expect she’ll more than fill the gap. …And being an intern, her salary is low, which is a definite plus.”

Yuki was exasperated—Why does she always move ahead without discussing anything?

And she was sure the last part, muttered under her breath, was Reina’s true intention.

“Yes! I’m honored to have the chance to work at the rising Amagasaki Agency! I’ll do my best to meet your expectations!”

“Good, that’s what I like to hear. Here’s the handover document, it’s all compiled right here—go ahead and review it. We’ll be heading out now, so we’re counting on you.”

“Yes, understood!”

After pointing to a thick file—clearly prepared by Atsumu just yesterday—Reina and her party left the room.

But Reina didn’t know.

She didn’t know just how much work Atsumu had actually been doing.

She didn’t realize that things had run smoothly because it was he handling everything.

She didn’t understand that the flood of incoming jobs was thanks to his efforts.

The collapse of the Amagasaki family was still a little ways off.

But even if they realized what was coming—it would already be too late.

Atsumu was never coming back.

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