Kana Arima sat at her small dining table, absentmindedly stirring a spoon through her untouched cup of tea. The apartment was quiet. Too quiet. She had gotten used to the silence, but sometimes, it still pressed down on her. Annoying...

She glanced at her phone, scrolling through notifications. A few messages from Ruby about practice, with little doodles on the images she'd send. She snorted, shaking her head.

— Ugh, seriously… what am I even doing?

She leaned back in her chair, tilting her head up toward the ceiling. It wasn’t like she hated being an idol. She just… never thought she was fit for it. Pretty enough. Sparkly enough. Not like Ruby, who had that natural, almost painful glow of someone destined to be loved.

Her eyes flickered to the framed photo on her shelf: her younger self on a film set, a wide, confident grin on her face. The "genius child actress." The one who shined like the sun. The one people abandoned when her light started to flicker.

— 'Pathetic.'

Her grip on her phone tightened for a second before she let out a breath, forcing herself to relax. She shouldn't be dwelling on such things. Not right now at least.