*P.O.V SWITCH - SHIZUKU*
It all started when I was born.
Fate had blessed me to be born into a wealthy family from Kamakura.
I'm an only child, so I mostly kept to myself at home. Often, I would engross in my Mom's collection of old movies and my Dad's collection of classical novels.
Most of the time, they focused on themes that were above my age. So naturally, I became more mature than other children.
Learning to read at a high level helped me to become an honor student.
Mature and articulate are two traits that every refined lady must have.
But I wasn't a lady; I was a girl—a young girl who wanted to fit in.
However, I was different from the others. At first, I was too naïve to realize that. So I engaged in playing house with the other kids.
But my stories were always too complex for them. Every time I asked to play with them, they would run away.
I was alone.
Then there was my interest in classic movies and literature. Nobody understood me. Everyone looked at me like I was weird, and...
...they bullied me.
They would push me down, pull my hair, and call me names. All because I had different interests from them.
It happened all the way through Kindergarten.
In Elementary School, all sorts of horrible rumors were spread about me. So I didn't have any friends and would spend my free time crying alone in the classroom...
When Seiran Middle School came around, I was paranoid. But, because it was a private school, I was finally free from my bullies.
Though I couldn't help but think...
What if I make the same mistakes again?
What would I do if someone thought I was weird?
What if they hate me?
I was always so scared; it was enough to make me sick.
If Middle School was going to be a repeat of Elementary and Kindergarten, I...doubted that I would survive.
That's when the lie began when I started hiding my true self.
It was cowardly, but I was scared of anyone seeing me as different in any way.
What if they hate me?
I don't want to be hated.
If being myself makes me hated, I don't want to be myself!
I'll become...someone else.
That's why I started acting.
Rather than being the authentic Shizuku Osaka who was mature, articulate, and loved classical entertainment.
That was hidden away, and I put on the mask. The mask of a good girl everyone liked, who shared the same interests as other kids her age.
When I saw the fake personality I had created was allowing me to fit in, I felt a little better.
Ever since Middle School, I've been living a lie.
During my time there, I became friends with their School Idol Club.
Though back then they were the Seiran Middle School Idol Club.
They welcomed me as one of their own.
But deep down, I was jealous that they could present their true selves to an audience and not be judged for it.
Meanwhile, I had to keep everything about myself hidden.
Those girls were fantastic, but I knew I had no place with them.
Because if I had to show my true self, everyone would hate me.
So I didn't choose Seiran High School.
I transferred to Nijigasaki.
There, I planned to join the popular Theater Club and disguise my true self through acting.
Nobody would know the real me if all I did was become different roles.
I'd live peacefully; I wouldn't be hated.
That's when I met Kasumi.
I was shocked.
A girl who was so proud to be herself and would openly state how cute she was.
The complete opposite of me.
She's the one who dragged me into the School Idol Club.
It was complex; I wanted to become a school idol. I wanted to sing, yet I didn't want to expose my true self.
So I thought about acting as a school idol. Since Setsuna was my image of an ideal school idol, I tried to become her.
That's why I wanted to put my idol experience to use in acting, but under Setsuna's lead, I could never freely express what I wanted to do.
So, I took a leave of absence and trained with the Theater Club to become expressive enough.
Expressive enough to take on any school idol acting role.