My Stepsister Is the Idol Everyone Wants to See novel · Chapter 23 of 24

Chapter 23: After the Flash

Daigo walked down the center aisle with the two security men a pace behind him.

Two hundred people parted for him without being asked.

He stopped at the foot of the stage.

"This is a private matter between a talent and her agency," he said, pleasantly, to the cameras. "The girl is upset. She has been influenced."

"By whom?" a reporter called.

"By a person with an unhealthy attachment."

"Kokone has a contract."

"She doesn't," Kokone said into the microphone. "You never got it signed."

"The renewal is a formality."

"There are three of them, sir," said the reporter who had stood up before. She held up the printed pages from her desk. "Three emails. All from your private address. All about a car park."

Daigo glanced at the page.

"Forgery."

"The metadata matches your server."

"Anyone can alter a header."

"Not this one," said a new voice from the back.

The lawyer in the square glasses had moved to the aisle with her briefcase open, and she held up a single sheet.

"I filed a preservation request at nine this morning with the court," she said. "Your server is under a hold, Mr. Kitamura. Anything deleted from it after nine o'clock is a crime."

Daigo turned his head slowly.

For the first time, Emi saw his smile fail properly.

It did not crack.

It slid, like a mask that had been stuck on with water.

"Who are you?" he said.

"I'm a fan," the lawyer said. "I bought your CD four years running. I never missed a single."

A ripple of laughter ran along the rows.

"Mr. Kitamura," the reporter said, "did you pay a man to wear a yellow jacket?"

"I decline to answer."

"Did you tell the staff that Kokone Arai had broken the no-dating rule?"

← Chapter 22 · All chapters · Chapter 24 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend