The unknown man had taken a card out of his pocket. Because he had a sturdy appearance and an unpleasant expression, I thought he was about to pull out a knife and attack my mother—but that wasn't the case.
The card had something written on it:
"Stardust Promotion."
Seeing that name, a Japanese actress came to mind—Suzu Hirose. She was part of that company, wasn't she? I'm pretty sure it's a company that manages idols, actors, actresses, and people like that.
Why is this man suddenly giving a card to my mother?
"My name is Akihiko Inoue. I'm a recruiter from Stardust Promotion," the man said to my mother.
My mother looked at the card he handed her and then said, "My name is Haruna, nice to meet you. But why are you giving me this? I'm not young anymore, you know? I'm not interested in becoming a celebrity or anything like that."
The man raised his eyebrows and said, "I think there's a misunderstanding."
"Hm?"
"I'm here because of him." He looked at me. "He's your son, right?"
"Yes, he's my son. His name is Kyo."
"Great. Do you have a few minutes? We can go to that café and talk."
"No, no, we're in a hurry. I'm sorry. We're not interested in something like that."
"Wait a second! Your son is perfect! I'd like him to audition for a commercial at our agency. Please." The man looked desperate to find someone.
Well, that's not really my problem.
But it's surprising that he's actually after me. Is my appearance really that good?
Well, it is quite eye-catching. My hair is black like my mother's, but my eyes are blue and beautiful like my father's.
On top of that, my mother is also beautiful—her proportions are perfect. And my father is handsome too, with a very athletic build.
Thanks to the genes of two good-looking parents, I ended up with an S-rank appearance. I got really lucky.
"I'm sorry, but we're not interested in that. Please don't bother us anymore." My mother grabbed my hand and pulled me away. The man looked at me, as if begging me to say something.
Sorry, man, but I can't speak.
I just gave an awkward smile, and we left him behind.
Not long after, he approached another mother with a child. I guess he'll be fine.
'Actually, if he keeps approaching mothers like that, he might end up being accused of harassment.'
I squeezed my mother's hand, and she looked at me. That was our signal for when I wanted to say something.
"What is it? Did you get scared?"
I shook my head.
"Don't think too much about what that guy said. People like that are everywhere. They see someone good-looking and immediately want to recruit them for their agencies." She laughed and quickly changed the subject.
"Before we go buy your present, why don't we go in there and try on some clothes? Don't you want new clothes?"
I nodded.
Then we went into the store to buy me new clothes.
While I was trying things on, the store employees gathered around me, complimenting me nonstop. It was a bit embarrassing, but I didn't dislike it. In fact, I was pretty happy.
Who doesn't like being praised?
I even made sure to "put on a show" for them.
It was really fun.
The problem was that when we left the store, another recruiter from an entertainment company showed up.
What is this? Did the system put some kind of magnet inside me that attracts these people?
####
Now my mother was carrying several shopping bags, so she couldn't hold my hand. As we walked down the street, I noticed a lot of people staring at me, which made me a bit uncomfortable.
The attention from the store employees wasn't unpleasant, but walking around while strangers stare at me isn't great.
I grabbed my mother's shirt and kept following her.
After walking for a while, we stopped in front of a store called Tsukumo. The first thing I noticed was the image of computers on the storefront.
I looked at my mother, and she looked back at me.
She smiled and said, "Let's buy your present, shall we?"
We went into the store, and it didn't take long for me to find the perfect laptop. It had a Ryzen 7 and 32GB of RAM. It didn't have a graphics card, but I don't really care about gaming.
My mother paid for the laptop while my eyes sparkled.
When she handed me the box—far too big for my hands—my eyes filled with tears.
I wanted to thank her, but I couldn't speak.
"Than…"
"It's okay, you don't have to force yourself." My mother ruffled my short hair and smiled. "You're a very sweet and talented boy. You deserve a gift like this. But don't use it just for fun, okay? You have to study too!"
I nodded.
When we got into the taxi to go home, I placed the laptop box on my lap and kept staring at it. My mother noticed and said, "Wait a bit, we'll be home soon."
I nodded, and then I saw a piece of paper sticking out of my mother's pocket.
Only part of it was visible.
She noticed me looking and said, "Oh, I forgot to throw this away." But before she could tear up the card from that man named Inoue, I grabbed her hand.
"Hm? What is it, Kyo?"
I shook my head.
"You don't want me to tear it?"
I nodded.
"Don't tell me you're interested in what that man said."
I can't lie to myself.
Even if I don't like attention that much, I do want to try doing something on TV.
That creature told me to become the biggest star in the world. If I pass that audition, it would speed things up a lot.
If I appear on TV even once, it might be enough to become a star.
After all… people love beautiful kids, right?
But…
"Don't even think about it. You're not doing that audition."
My mother rejected the idea immediately.
####
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