After their meal, the first night begins. Regarding the room allocations... The culprit's intentions didn't have any particular impact on them. So don't worry about it.

 

After their meal, the first night begins.

Regarding the room allocations...

The culprit's intentions didn't have any particular impact on them.

So don't worry about it.

After Zaino left, Iwagishi spoke again.

“So, what should we do about the room allocations? You're all free to stay wherever you like.”

“Since it's so cold out, I'd rather be close to this building,” said Akane.

“I see, then Ms. Kusabuki can take the lodge closest to the front entrance. Then the lodge closest to the back entrance – ah, this is getting confusing. There are two paths in the snow, so let's give them names for convenience's sake. Let's call the path from the front entrance “the right path” since it's on the right when viewed from here. Then, the one by the back entrance will be “the left path”. Therefore, Ms. Kusabuki will be in the one closest to us on the right path. See? Easy! Ahahaha! Will that be alright, ma'am?”

“Sure.”

Akane nodded as though she didn't really care.

“I'd like to be near Mr. Hoshizono and Ms. Kusabuki!” said Yumi.

“Ah, that's not fair! Me too!” said Mikiko.

After a bit of debate, it was decided that the lodges on the right path would be assigned to Akane, Yumi, Mikiko, and Hoshizono, while the ones on the left path went to Asako, Iwagishi, and Sagashima. [See Fig. 3, Lodge Room Allocation] Zaino would stay in the staff room in the administration building, which was where employees were assigned to sleep originally. As for Kazuo...

“Oh, you can sleep in the mattress room.”

He was quickly dismissed.

The mattress room! What was he, a shameful guest from the red light district? Kazuo never expected he'd end up sleeping in a place like that. Even though there were lodges left open, it seemed the system was going out of its way to discriminate against him.

Zaino came back.

“You'll be bathing soon, so if at all possible, please attempt to act in orderly turns,” he said with no more expression than usual.

 

They heard the sound of a car engine outside, getting further and further away. It seemed the men in chefs' uniforms had finally been released.

“Then, shall we all go?” Iwagishi asked with a clap of his hands.

“Enjoy your evening to the fullest. Tomorrow morning, let's all have a quick meeting and then leave at noon. Breakfast will be at 8:00, does that work for everyone?”

“Yes!”

Yumi raised her hand like an elementary school student as she answered. As though that were the signal, everyone suddenly started moving. Yumi and Mikiko both immediately clung to Hoshizono.

“Hey, will you sign this for me? My friend asked me to get them something.”

“Mr. Hoshizono, tell me something interesting!”

They both started their fangirlish squealing. Hoshizono kept with his stupid poses even with them hanging off both arms.

Iwagishi's loud voice rang out.

“The lodges have bunk beds, so it's better to sleep at the top. Warm air will gather up high.”

Sagashima walked out with a book under his arm. Zaino approached Iwagishi with a ninja's steps and told him something. Iwagishi brushed him off and approached Akane, who had just gotten up.

“Ms. Kusabuki, how about it? I've got some Ikkon sake, want to share it?”

“I'm sorry, but I have a deadline tomorrow, so I have to work on that.”

Akane flatly refused him. Iwagishi gave a sheepish smile.

“Well, you're quite busy, and the truth is, I've also got work to do. Well, I guess drinks can wait until we get back to Tokyo – I'm sure you'd love the break.”

He was persistent. Akane completely ignored him. 

“Girl, get my bags. My word processor is so heavy...”

“Yes, ma'am.”

The master and servant pair left. Kazuo remembered his role.

“Uh, do you need anything?”

He mumbled to Hoshizono. Unlike Asako, he couldn't bring himself to call him “sir”.

“Yes, could you please come by my lodge later?”

Hoshizono struck a pose. Yumi, who was still wrapped around his arm, looked at Kazuo with a face that said “Who are you?”.

“As you can see, I'm a bit busy right now talking to these fine ladies.”

“Wah, I'm so happy!”

“Hey, hey, Mr. Hoshizono, let's go somewhere we can see the stars!”

Idiots... Kazuo left the dining room without another word.

The mattress room was right in front of the stairs.

Yep, that was a mattress room, alright. Kazuo felt that at once. The emphasis was definitely more on “mattress” than “room”. It was a room to keep mattresses in. It was a narrow passage of about six tatami mats in length, with the sorts of racks silkworms were reared in on either side. The plywood had been peeled off, leaving the room as essentially a large closet. It seemed most of the mattresses, the room's selling point, had already been removed, so there wasn't much left of note. Apart from the one Kazuo used, there were only two or three blankets left. That made the room's cold, miserable nature even more apparent. At least it had its own stove...

After putting his luggage on a shelf and turning on the stove, Kazuo sat on the top shelf. He felt deeply sorry for himself. He'd expected to get a stay in a mountain lodge, but he'd been stuck with this.

What was he even doing here...? It was so pathetic, he couldn't help but laugh. He'd been doing a job that held no pride or dignity, and now he was sleeping in a closet. He was being treated like a dog. Yes, a talent's watchdog...

Yesterday, while they were on the train to the TV station, Director Kawasaka of the Culture and Creative Department had given him a secret mission.

“Mr. Hoshizono's popularity among women is large, but to tell the truth, he isn't yet at the level where he can justify his own manager. But we expect in the future, he'll be a major money maker for us. You know what the biggest concern for a talent in his position is? Scandals. Especially scandals involving women. That's what we he needs to be careful of. But you know, that man is single, and women come to visit him constantly, so he's in a position where he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. For the time being, it seems he's controlling himself, but he's only going to become more prominent in the future. If the press get their mitts on him, all the hard work we've put into building him up until now will have been in vain. You know, the president told us to bring you on, so I'm sure he was afraid of this as well. But please, don't tell him I said all this; there's no point if he knows you're watching him.”

In other words, Kazuo's job was to keep an eye on this playboy idol talent and make sure he didn't do anything his employers would regret. He was a human mosquito coil... He didn't think this was the sort of job you gave to a young person.

Even though he was still upset, Kazuo hopped off the shelf. Worthless as it was, work was work, and there were two dangerous little flies buzzing around. And if he was able to get the work to go smoothly, he might be allowed to return to his real job sooner.

He left the mattress room and went to the parlor. However, it was empty, with nothing but a few belongings left on the sofas. There was also Hoshizono's familiar Boston bag, as well as Yumi and Mikiko's bags. They probably hadn't gone far.

He went to the bathroom, but it didn't appear to be in use. There was no one in the dining room, either. When he looked into the kitchen, he saw Zaino washing lettuce.

“Um... What are you doing?”

Zaino glanced back at him and said “Preparing tomorrow's breakfast.”

He was as emotionless as ever. He was a hard man to talk to.

“...Do you want some help?”

“No, it's fine.”

“I see... Do you know where Hoshizono went?”

“To the second floor, I believe.”

“Ah, I see. Sorry to bother you.”

Kazuo bowed his head and walked away, but the other man just kept looking at him in profile with a sword-sharp glare and didn't respond.

Midway up the stairs to the second floor, he heard Hoshizono's voice.

“In winter, you can see the constellations clearly through the cold, clear air. The winter turns the stars into jewels scattered across the night's canvas. Just standing under them fills you with pure, honest feelings, cleansing the deepest depths of your soul.”

He was speaking in his usual melodramatic manner.

Kazuo quieted his steps and quickly made his way up. There was an entrance with no door, just an opening in front of him, and in the back of the room, Hoshizono and the girls could be seen. Hoshizono was touching the window glass and looking up at the night sky, with Yumi and Mikiko on either side of him.

“How romantic...”

Yumi spoke with a sweet sigh. Kazuo silently watched from the entrance so they wouldn't notice him.

“Look, there's Orion, and beyond that is the Hyades star cluster, Aldebaran, and the Pleiades in the constellation of Taurus. There's a poem by the French poet Tenior:

 

Do you look up at them too, those three stars of Orion?

I shall not gaze 'pon their fierce, brilliant shine.

As I lie down to sleep, I give you my wish,

In the name of the stars of Orion.

 

Tenior also looked up at this same winter night sky, and it moved him to write a poem.”

Hoshizono's lilting voice echoes through the room.

“Hey, Mr. Hoshizono, what's that star below it?”

Mikiko sounded excited. 

“Which one?”

“Look, that big star next to the Milky Way, a bit below Orion.”

“Oh, that's Sirius, Canis Major. There's a sad but tragically beautiful story about the origin of Canis Major. Once upon a time, a young shepherd and his dog were lost in a forest. As the sun set, he saw a beautiful woman on the shore of a lake, deep in the woods. The young man fell in love at first sight and tried to take her back to his village. However, the girl suffered under the curse of the wicked fairy of the lake. She would melt into the water of the lake, emerging only when the stars were clear. She could only maintain human form, only be seen, under a starry sky. So, the young man tried to break the curse...”

As he listened to Hoshizono's smooth speech, Kazuo was thinking of something totally unrelated. He wondered what would happen if he told the girls Hoshizono's real name.

Of course, Shiro Hoshizono, the dubious name that sounded like it belonged to a lounge singer, was a stage name. Director Kawasaka had told him in the strictest confidence “Don't say his real name in front of him. It'll just make him feel bad”.

However, in this situation, even if he did reveal his secret, the girls would probably just reply “cute!” In front of the real man, the name was an insignificant thing. After all, a Greek statue was still a Greek statue no matter what you called it.

Incidentally, his real name was Tomekichi Oketani.

“...And then, the goddess Artemis took pity on the dog, and invited it to heaven to become a constellation. Thus, the dog would forever watch over the two unfortunate lovers from the heavens above.”

“The poor dog... I can't believe he died in his master's place...”

“But... it was a wonderful story.”

Yumi and Mikiko were both crying.

“Miss Yumi, what is your zodiac sign?”

“Me? I'm a Gemini.”

“Well, well. Gemini is quite clear at this time of year. Look, there are Castor and Pollux over there-”

“Ah, Mr. Hoshizono, look! A shooting star!” Mikiko cheered.

“I see it. Shooting stars are also sometimes called 'falling stars'. And in Japan, we also know them as 'wedding stars'.”

“Wedding star is such a beautiful name...” mused Yumi.

“Yes, that is why people in the olden days made wishes on shooting stars. They say that if you manage to say your wish three times before the shooting star disappears, it will come true.”

“I know that.”

“Okay then, next time the stars start to fall, let's all make a wish together. So, what do you wish for?”

Kazuo was sorry to Director Kawasaka, but he couldn't take this anymore. He quietly turned and left. He was so creeped out his entire body itched. He didn't think he'd ever get used to that.

Well, if there were two of them, they'd keep each other in check. Nothing was going to happen. He was about to go back downstairs when he noticed another door. Curious, he silently moved over to it without disturbing the three in the back. He secretly opened it and slipped inside... Then he jumped. Asako was standing there.

“Ah, Mr. Sugishita.”

She turned around, a bit surprised to see him. She remembers my name... he thought as he shut the door behind him.

“What are you doing here?”

Asako tilted her head when he asked, making the tips of her short hair flutter attractively.

“I was looking up at the stars. I'm not an expert like Mr. Hoshizono, but I thought while I was here, I'd get a chance to see them clearly.”

“Don't you want to listen to him, then? He and the girls are workshopping his speech for the natural planetarium over there.”

“I-I don't really like that sort of thing.”

Asako smiled at him. She was a breathtakingly charming young woman. She was completely different from those flighty coeds. Reaffirming that, Kazuo became a bit happy.

“Isn't it cold in here? Do you want to go take a hot bath?”

“Ah, no, it's fine, I don't really feel like using the bath here. I think the other girls, Miss Yumi and Miss Mikiko, feel the same. We all talked about it earlier.”

“Uh-huh, right.”

Nodding, Kazuo casually moved next to Asako. She was wearing the same puffy red sweater she wore at dinner. Her petite figure was so cute he wanted to wrap his arms around her then and there.

Out the window lay a snowy field dotted with a few shining lights from the lodges. The mountain towered over it all in a black silhouette under a sky full of stars. The vast array of twinkling stars looked like a bird's eye view of a city at night, or like countless golden beads scattered on a midnight blue canvas. It was so breathtakingly beautiful it was almost frightening.

“Amazing... It's beautiful,” Kazuo muttered.

“Yeah...” Asako responded after a moment.

For a while, the two of them stood there, looking out at the heavens. Distracted by the the woman next to him, Kazuo couldn't believe he'd been given such an opportunity.

“Miss Asako...”

After a time, he spoke to her. Maybe the reason he was able to talk to her so easily was because they were there, just the two of them, under the starry sky. He was a bit annoyed to be validating something Hoshizono said, but they were quite romantic.

“How long have you been Ms. Kusabuki's assistant?”

“It's been five years.”

Asako answered without ever looking away from the window. Her response was completely natural, without any of the pretense you'd expect from a woman alone with a man. That may have also been the work of the stars.

“Five years... that long, huh?”

“I took the position right after I graduated from college.”

“So... wait, you're 25?”

“Yes.”

“Huh, you don't look it. I thought you were a bit younger.”

Asako's small stature made her look quite childish.

“Everyone tells me that.”

Asako turned to him with a mischievous smile.

“I don't look like an adult like Ms. Akane.”

“No, no, it's not like that at all!” Kazuo stammered.

“It's more that you're, uh, so youthful and vibrant. You seem quite lively.”

His excuses made Asako laugh deep from her throat.

“It's okay, I'm used to it.”

“I-I'm sorry.”

Kazuo scratched his head. She was two years younger than him, which, for a man his age, was just fine.

“Ms. Kusabuki seems quite busy.”

He changed the topic. Asako nodded, looking serious.

“Yes, she's extremely busy, and I've been quite worried about her health.”

“Yeah, she looks like she's been writing a lot.”

“Ms. Akane is a workaholic. She made her debut at the age of 20, and apparently, she didn't get much work to begin with. That's why she says she has to keep working now. She's afraid that if she slacks off, she'll fall back into that time in her life when she wasn't getting published anywhere.”

“But, I don't think that'll happen again. She's famous now.”

“I always tell her the same thing and that she needs to take a break, but she doesn't listen to me at all. She's totally addicted to her work. Even now, she's still writing.”

Asako looked in the direction of Akane's lodge.

“She must have already been exhausted by the time we arrived. She worked all night yesterday and only got a bit of sleep on the train over.”

“Wow, that is a lot. But why did someone like that take on this job? She shouldn't need to help promote leisure facilities.”

“It was her obligation. However she may come across, Ms. Akane is very loyal. When she debuted, she worked for a small publishing company that had some sort of advertising connection to Yamakanmuri, so they asked her to help. That's why she couldn't refuse.”

“Hmm, sounds like things are tough,” said Kazuo.

“Oh, by the way... Ms. Kusabuki just calls you 'girl', why is that?”

“Oh, Ms. Kusabuki's real name is also Asako; 'Akane' is just her pen name. My name is written like the plant, while Ms. Kusabuki's is spelled with the characters for 'morning' and 'evening'. That's why she calls me that, because it would get confusing otherwise.”

“Ah, I see... so, being her secretary must keep you busy.”

“It does. I don't know how things are usually, but I do most of the external work.”

“External work like...?”

“I'm responsible for meetings, communicating with editors, accounting, adjusting her schedule, research, and recently, I've even been doing her proofreading.” 

“Whoa, that's amazing.”

He was genuinely impressed. And somehow, a bit disappointed. It was probably an inferiority complex. This young lady was working out on the front lines, meanwhile here he was babysitting a man of marble.

“How long have you worked with Mr. Hoshizono, Mr. Sugishita?”

“Actually, I just started yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

Asako blinked at him.

“Yes – Don't you remember? We met in the hallway of TX TV yesterday. That was also the first time I met Hoshizono.”

“In the hallway of TX TV?”

Asako looked shocked.

“Yeah, I bumped into you in the hallway and made you drop your books.”

“Those were copies of the new book for a giveaway... Oh, that was you? I'm sorry, I didn't remember you at all. What a strange coincidence.”

Kazuo would have preferred to think of it as destiny.

“Yes, right after that, I was introduced to Hoshizono, and then I was sent here on my first job.”

“So, before that, you were doing something else.”

“Yes. Actually, the truth is...”

Kazuo explained the incident between himself and the assistant manager. He figured there was no point trying to put up a front for this girl. He was feeling especially honest. He wanted to just throw his entire self out there. Or was this also the magic of the stars?

“...He's always had a pretty bad reputation, and whenever we went out drinking, I'd threaten to punch him, but when I actually tried it, it didn't feel good at all. It left a terrible aftertaste. I feel so bad – I regret everything.”

“Uwah, that's amazing!”

Asako let out a voice of admiration. What about that did she find amazing?

“But, haven't you thought about quitting? Even if they let you back, things will be awkward.”

“Of course I thought about it, but it's all because of our president, that cockroach head.”

This time, he talked about the man he looked up to. He explained how much he respected the president and how he hoped that someday he could work directly under him. It felt like he was casting off all the worries he'd had since last week. He might have been taking advantage of Asako. He felt like she could absorb anything he threw at her, and he was depending on that. Was this what love felt like?

“So that's why I want to make it back to the Production Department someday.”

“Hmm, that president sounds like a great person.”

“You get it?”

“I do, because he broke away from a major company.”

“Yeah.”

“People at major companies often forget that when people bow to them, they're bowing to their titles and the strength of the organizations behind them. They believe that people come to them for them, and many of them come to believe that they can make it on their own. But the president of your company actually succeeded and expanded his business, didn't he? That's not an easy thing to do.”

Asako said it as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Once again, he thought about how smart she was. It felt like they were resonating together, and that made him like her even more.

Embarrassed with himself for thinking like that, Kazuo looked away from Asako and turned his eyes outside.

“Well, it seems certain presidents are quite vulgar.”

“Are you talking about President Iwagishi?”

Asako also looked out the window and giggled.

“But, even if he is a snob, he's pretty sharp. He bought these lodges for cheap, sprinkled a bit of celebrity spice on them, and made them into a business.”

“I can't deny that.”

People flock to things just because they have celebrity recommendations. Kazuo had poured his own heart and soul into creating such illusions, so he knew what made people happy. He thought Iwagishi's strategy would hit the mark.

“If he were to renovate this place, it would probably cost a lot of money. But he's taking a different approach and focusing solely on advertising, trying to profit without making anything new. I guess you could say he's clever like that.”

“Yeah, and what's more, he gets to satisfy his snobbery by meeting celebrities.”

“Thinking about it that way, I don't think we can underestimate him.”

“If he's so concerned about cutting costs, I guess that explains dinner, huh?”

Asako laughed from deep inside.

“Oh, don't be like that, he had to get a lot of food.”

“Of course, I'll have to thank the talented Mr. President for inviting me to such a feast.”

It's thanks to him I could meet you... It was too early to say things like that. Kazuo kept silent and looked up at the stars. They were incredibly bright; it looked like he could have just reached out a hand and touched them. Asako was also quietly looking up at the stars. As he glanced down at her face in profile, Kazuo thought things might not be all bad.

 

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