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Ena had often heard the saying, ‘the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’
As she saw it, this held true for mostly everything in life. Academics, sports, and of course, art. They were all uphill battles where people had to put in effort each day to improve.
And that was fine.
But one thing she had never expected that phrase to apply to, however…
…was fashion.
“I don’t get it,” Airi said, frowning. “Why are warm colors better than cool colors?”
Ena raised a hand to her mouth and laughed. “Not for everyone, just for you. Because of your palette.”
They were sitting on a bench outside of a dressing room in one of the many clothing outlets of the shopping mall. Between them were two stacks of clothes, and Airi reluctantly folded up the blue top she had been holding and placed it on one of them.
“What about that skirt from before, then?”
Ena tilted her head. “What about it?”
“You said it fit me, but it was blue.” Airi scrunched up her eyebrows. “Blue is a cool color, isn’t it?”
“Oh, but it was denim.”
“So?”
“Well, denim looks good on everyone.”
At these words, Airi buried her head in her hands in an overly dramatic fashion. “I don’t get it…”
“Airi… hasn’t being an idol taught you the basics, at least?” Ena blinked. “You’ve never had any issues before.”
“Um, well.” Airi scratched her head. “Usually there’s a costume manager who handles that stuff, remember? And when it comes to public appearances, I kinda just rely on the outfits I know are good…”
“Well, how do you know they’re good?” she asked.
“Shizuku tells me. Or my sister. Or, uh… you.”
“…Me?”
“Y-You know.” She rubbed her shoulders. “From when we used to go shopping like this… in middle school…”
Ena swallowed.
“Airi, are you telling me that you—“
“Enough of that!“ She looked away, cheeks flushed. “Point is, I don’t want my groupmates to find out that I have no idea what I’m talking about when we discuss fashion.”
“It couldn’t be that bad…”
“It absolutely would. Especially if it was Minori.” She shivered. “God.”
“…I see.” Ena gave her a reassuring smile. “Well we’re here now, right? So you can leave it to me.”
“I really appreciate it,” Airi said, tension draining from her face. “You know I’ve never really had an eye for this stuff, and… I dunno. It makes me feel self-conscious sometimes. Like I’m—“
“A fake?”
“Huh.” A curious glint sparkled in Airi’s eyes. “Yeah, exactly.”
Ena knew that feeling well. Even if you loved doing something with all your heart, there was no guarantee you would be good at it. Can you really call yourself an idol if you don’t have the talent? How about an artist?
Those were harsh questions that no one wanted to answer, but reality had a way of making you answer them anyway. She still remembered when Airi came to her one day, saying that her manager wanted to permanently slot her onto variety shows because she wasn’t cutting it as an idol anymore. The way she had cried…
God, Ena had been this close to going to the agency building and causing a scene.
In the end Airi had ended up forming a new idol group with her classmates, and went back to pursuing her dreams. She was happier now than she had been for a long time, and Ena loved to see it.
So many people had a tendency to make Ena irritable. Like Akito. And Mafuyu. And Mizuki. And Akito. But it felt impossible for her to be angry around Airi. In all their years of friendship there had only ever been one small hitch, and it was over something stupid.
“Imposter syndrome is dumb,” Ena said, shrugging. “Whenever you feel it, just remind yourself that it’s a dumb feeling and you don’t have to listen to it. Because no matter what anyone says, you are an idol.”
Airi laughed. “You make it sound so easy… you know, you’ve always been so good at skipping the fluff and getting right to the point. I really admire that about you.”
“You think that about me?” Ena smiled. “Weren’t you the one who liked to pick fights with other kids? That’s pretty direct.”
“I only did that to the jerks!” She huffed. “And I’ll have you know that’s all in the past now.”
“Aw, but I liked your tomboy era.” Ena leaned in and took Airi’s hand into her own. “Your hair and eyes are all pretty and pink, sure, but I think it’s that slight roughness that’s your real charm point.”
Airi frowned again. “You don’t think it’s… unfeminine?”
“Another dumb word.” Ena rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen you in a suit, and you look handsome. There’s a lot of truth behind contrast and warm colors and cool colors… but they don’t make someone pretty. It’s like art, they only emphasize what’s already there. And you’re cute to begin with, so you could honestly make almost anything work.”
The blush that rose to Airi’s cheeks was almost of a shade with her eyes. “You’re gonna flirt with me right here in this shopping mall?”
“I’m just being honest!” Ena rubbed her neck, feeling a little bashful. “You said you liked that about me.”
“Uh-huh, what’s next?" she asked sarcastically. "Are you gonna teach me the secret trick to applying lip balm?”
Ena furrowed her eyebrows. “What?”
“…You don’t know?” The corners of her mouth tugged upwards into a smile.
“I can’t say I do.”
“It’s really fun.” Airi reached into her purse, and pulled out a stick of strawberry lip balm. “I’m gonna show you, okay? Close your eyes.”
Ena did as she was told, wondering what the girl was up to. Something her groupmates showed her, perhaps? Oh, maybe it was the kind of trick where—
The kiss sent her thoughts into a scramble.
Whatever had been in her head evaporated, replaced by the sudden and pleasant realization that Airi’s lips were soft. And moist. And…
Ena felt her interlace their fingers together, pulling her closer.
…they tasted like strawberries.