028 Idol Chapter 4: Idle Chatter — At a Certain Agency

Heart out?

Inside the CEO's office of a certain Earth-based agency.

"Boss, how'd the audition go?"

A woman in her early twenties, wearing glasses and subtle makeup, speaks to a slightly dark-skinned man in his thirties.

She’s actually quite beautiful, but clearly刻意 (deliberately) hiding it behind a plain look.

The man’s the type you’d expect in the industry—slightly shady, old-school kind of dad.

"Naoh, still wearing that disguise, huh?"

The man looks at the woman called Naoh, raising an eyebrow with a faintly exasperated expression.

"Being anonymous is unexpectedly fresh. Got kinda addicted to it, honestly ♡"

Naoh grins playfully, sticking out her tongue.

Beneath that plain exterior, her natural beauty is unmistakable.

"Audition was… nothing much worth watching.

Well, talent like that doesn’t just roll off the assembly line, you know.

Especially not someone who’s got both the SF-O pedigree and the idol glow.

He tosses the entry sheets of the second-round qualifiers onto the table.

He’s been running auditions for seven days straight now, even in the SF-O ranks.

Only about ten made it through the second round.

The woman flips through the entry sheets, checking each one carefully.

Then she stops on a single sheet, locking eyes with the man with a sharp gaze.

“This one? You gave her second-round approval?”

He nods, shaking his head with a regretful grimace.

“Yeah… she was a real character. Full of confidence, looks that stood out like a beacon.

But after I sent the acceptance notice? She backed out. Shame, really.”

He spreads his hands wide—European style—and shakes his head.

She steps forward, eyes dead serious, pressing in.

“Take this one. We need her in our fleet.”

The man, overwhelmed by her serious gaze, nodded.

“Fine. If she’s such a rare talent, I’ll convince her.”

She beamed. Even with plain makeup, her beauty couldn’t be hidden.

“By the way… why’s your GN Tanpopo?”

“Yasuda Nahoko → anagrammed to Tanahoho → changed one character to a name derived from Japanese roots → Tanpopo.”

Right. The man was Shinzawa, head of a talent agency. The woman was Tanpopo, currently undergoing beginner’s training.

GN Tanpopo was the leader of the idol group *Brushlips*.

Her group was the one about to launch the idol fleet.

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