─── 003: Michael Kaiser.

One day, while practicing on the cold grass, Isagi asked when he bent down to pick up a water bottle.

—"Did you break up with ___?".

Kaiser froze. He didn't say anything for a moment. How long had it been since anyone had asked him a question like that? It pained him deeply to say those words.

—"Yes, so?".

—"That doesn't matter now."

The conversation ended there. Sustained in the air of the casual but sudden training session.

From the time they broke up, nothing was the same. He acted indifferent. But when he heard your name mentioned among important people, he'd look up absentmindedly, as if his indifference meant nothing to others.

And his girlfriend was a complete disaster. You and your friends would laugh at expensive dinners about how she'd pose next to Kaiser, as if she were the most important person in the world. She was totally ridiculous.

Even with all the overwhelming evidence, you couldn't understand how Kaiser could change you so drastically. She wasn't even close to your level in a thousand years.

Although... Just remembering that scene where you discovered them one night after returning from your photo shoot broke your heart to the core. Precise. Slow. Heartbreaking.

That memory wouldn't let you fall asleep.

What the hell had Michael bought her again?

You'd think when your phone buzzed with his latest stories, mentioning her in the right half of the screen. It was silly, stupid stuff he bought her. It was all just to maintain his image as a good partner in the media.