Hakuto lets out a long sigh, his thoughtful gaze fixed on the ceiling for hours.
It's almost two in the morning, and Irina and Claire are sleeping peacefully beside him.
But he still hasn't managed to get a wink of sleep.
That afternoon, Hakuto spent almost an hour on a video call with Aoi, and she'd been crying from the moment they connected.
She confided in him that she was having an emotional breakdown, the kind of depression that can hit international stars.
She told Hakuto that she wanted to leave everything behind, that she just wanted to live the normal life of an fifteen-year-old girl, and that she couldn't take being unable to even step outside the hotel for a simple walk without being mobbed by dozens and dozens of fans anymore.
But she couldn't.
Her family had always been poor, and things had only gotten worse after her father died in a workplace accident. Her career as a star had managed to secure a future for herself, her mother, and her two younger sisters.
