Think about it

"Excuse me?" Is the only word I can mutter after hearing what Honoka just said. After all, I didn't expect her to offer me to manage all of them. Like 9 of them? When I was thinking about it, Umi butted in.

"Honoka! What are you saying?! We agreed to discuss this later!"

"B-but... He's the only one who applied! I don't want us to end up with no managers..."

"Even so..." Umi wanted to exclaim and lecture her friend, but even she ended up with no words. Now that I think about it, there are no one who waited besides me in the waiting room; it also seems like this is their first time interviewing someone; so I'm actually the only one who applied? Perhaps because they're newbie idols, that a lot of people just passed up the opportunity?

Thinking about it, I lowered my head.

Umi turned her direction towards me. "I apologize, Asai-san. But what Honoka said is correct. You're the only one who applied to us. Weeks have we been opening up the job offer, but no one ever contacted us. When you finally contacted us, we decided to interview you and then discuss it later, but..."

"...We're afraid that you're our last hope."

Even Rin and Hanayo, who were so cheerful before are sulking.

I breathed in. "Would you please let me think about it?"

Back at my studio apartment, I'm still pondering about the decision. On one hand, I would love to lead an entertainment group, especially an idol group to their fame. But on the other, the fact that they're rookies as well as having 9-members made me lose a lot of my confidence; if it was just managing 3-5 members, I might be fine.

But what bothers me is the fact that I'm the only one who applied. Is it really that uninteresting for others to apply as their managers as well? The fact that Honoka said I'm the only one who applied and Umi saying that I'm their last hope really puts a lot of pressure on my shoulders. It is the dream of 9 girls, all resting upon my decisions.

What if I deny them? Will they give up? Or will they try again next season?

But what if they can't try again? Perhaps this is their only shot at a chance.

In the end, my decision lays on my own confidence.

...

...

"I don't want us to end up with no managers..."

Those words by Honoka kept ringing on my mind. It's as if that one sentence is the one that kept pushing me. Even if she wasn't talking to me at that time, it's as if those sentences spoke to me directly. Honoka doesn't want to give up, even if it means hiring a newbie like me. Her attitude kind of reminds me of who I once was. A child with confidence in everything, which ultimately led to his own downfall. But Honoka's confidence is not for herself, but for her group. She's a leader at heart. In a way, I respect her for that.

"Ah, fuck..."

I picked up my smartphone and called her.

"Let's go, when do I start?"