Club Rainbow ⑬

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　The prototype of the ice sculpture that Rui had painstakingly finished was introduced to the members of Club Rainbow a step ahead of everyone else.

　There were two days left until the Snow Festival. Along with the start of the ice sculpture contest, the club would also begin its Snow Woman show. The ice sculpture that would grace the first day was finished so beautifully that everyone sighed in enchantment.

　It was a statue capturing the fleeting moment of a woman dancing. The body, expressing grace with both arms spread wide, was thin and fragile, reinforced by incorporating background decorations to prevent it from collapsing. The goddess statue, sculpted with such attention to detail that even the angle of the fingertips looked as if she were blowing a kiss, was draped in thin fabric that revealed the lines of her body, creating drapes so delicate it was hard to believe they were carved from ice.

　Traces of the stacked ice remained, but they served to reflect the lighting and make the sculpture shine. Rather than the inorganic white light of a construction site, the colorful neon lights would surely make the goddess statue stand out even more.

“It’s wonderful.”

　Aguri even had tears in her eyes from being so moved. Rui bowed deeply to her.

“Thank you for giving me this precious opportunity to participate in the contest. I will finish it even better than this on the day of.”

“At this rate, the grand prize is guaranteed, it’s truly wonderful! It was worth it for Satowa-chan to be the model, too.”

　Leaving the others who were showering him with praise, Satowa stared at the ice statue.

“Was Satowa the model for this statue?”

“Now that you mention it, it might look like her.”

“Rui, you were always looking at Satowa, weren't you? Oh my, I’m getting a little jealous.”

　She smiled weakly at the cast members who were egging him on while breathing out white mist.

　Perhaps the cold was biting into her thinly clad body, as she was hugging herself and shivering. Noticing this, I wrapped my scarf around her neck.

“It’s well done.”

“...Yeah, it is.”

　Burying her face in the scarf, Satowa nodded. Whether it was to hide her shyness or not, when I patted her head, she let me do it quietly.

　Rui went home early to prepare for the big day. We also had the club’s business waiting for us. Aguri was reluctant to leave the goddess statue, but after instructing the staff in black to transport it on the day, she returned to the club.

“I heard about it. You’ve been asked out to dinner after the Snow Festival ends, right?”

“...Yeah.”

“Why don’t you go? I think Rui is a good kid.”

　She, too, was having a hard time leaving the goddess statue. When I tapped her back lightly, she began to walk as if dragging her heavy feet.

“It’s okay. Rui isn’t the kind of man who would run away even if he knew about your body. He likes you enough to have made a sculpture like that.”

“...Yeah.”

　There was no spirit in her reply. I was worried about that, but as soon as the club opened, customers poured in, and I couldn't even talk to Satowa, who was washing dishes in the kitchen.

　The Snow Festival begins on the first Saturday of February and lasts until the final day of the three-day weekend the following week, attracting many tourists from both Japan and abroad. Because the large snow sculptures are at risk of collapsing, they are dismantled by heavy machinery the next morning, and there are even tours specifically for that.

　The club’s Snow Woman show seems to be a rumor among the regulars, and the topic was coming up at various tables today. Since I wouldn't have a turn during the show period, I was out on stage singing live all day today.

　I could see Daisy at the counter seat. The venture company president she was dating was a big spender who stayed until closing time regardless of the showtime rotations. The dress with cute puff sleeves was her best outfit for special occasions, and an intimate atmosphere that no one could disturb drifted between the two.

　Taking advantage of the fact that eyes were on the stage, Daisy was clinging to her lover. It was to the point where they might kiss right in front of me while I was singing. Coincidentally, the song I was singing on stage was “Hymne à l'amour” (Hymn to Love), which only added to their mood.

　The fear of singing on the pedestal had disappeared before I knew it. We had promised not to turn on the power for the rotating device, but there were performances in the Snow Festival show that used it. If the history of the women who once danced on this pedestal was to be rewritten by the cast of Club Rainbow, then perhaps that was fine.

　I always sang Hymne à l'amour with the French lyrics.

　〈The blue sky above us can collapse〉
　〈And the earth can well crumble〉
　〈I don't care if you love me〉
　〈I don't care about the whole world〉

　〈Even if the sky falls, even if the earth crumbles, I don't care.〉
　〈If you love me, I don't care what happens to the world.〉

　Unlike the Japanese version of the lyrics, which passionately sings of the love between a man and a woman, the French version has many extreme expressions. For you, my love, I would dye my hair blonde, I would go to the moon, and if you asked, I would even steal a fortune. Every time I sang of such mad love, my eyes would wander to Daisy, and I noticed a staff member in black walking on the floor.

　Satowa entered the counter. She must have come to bring freshly washed glasses because they were running low. She handed them to the staff member in black acting as a bartender and tried to return, but I could see he was holding her back and talking to her.

　The bartender was clearly looking at Satowa as a woman. I felt that idle chatter should be avoided during work, and that anger made my French pronunciation stronger. Noticing my gaze, Satowa scurried away like a scolded child.

　I knew better than anyone that it was jealousy.

　Rui was likely not the only one who had asked her out to dinner. I had started seeing her chatting with the cast and staff in black during work. Even though she had wanted to return to society so much, there was a part of me that wanted to hold her back just as she was about to leave my side.

　I had wanted her to remain the cat sleeping in my room just like that.

　I finished singing Hymne à l'amour, and the first half of the showtime ended. Weaving through the store, which was noisy with customers changing seats, I headed toward the counter.

“Hey, Daisy.”

　She was leaning on her lover, stuck to him like a magnet, and wouldn't let go. Customers leaving the store were whispering as they watched. Perhaps she had drunk quite a bit, as even when I stood tall, Daisy only looked up at me with glazed eyes.

“You’re at work. There are customers who always request you, and it won’t make them feel good if you’re clinging to him like that.”

“But I always want to be with the person I love.”

　Intertwining their fingers, the two stared at each other. The man she was with also seemed to have had quite a bit to drink. When I glared at the bartender who hadn't exercised restraint, he shrank back and bowed his head.

“Go home for today. You can’t work like this.”

“I just ordered fruit, so can’t I stay until I eat that?”

　At a time when the store had a high turnover of customers, there would be that much leeway. I reluctantly nodded, vacated the seat, and sat at the counter.

“Whiskey, on the rocks, please.”

“That’s rare, wouldn’t you prefer it with water?”

　Glared at by me, the staff member in black hurriedly took out a rock glass. There are days when you can’t get by without drinking, and I almost cursed, but I swallowed it deep in my throat.

　The two had been flirting without regard for others, but the lover’s smartphone announced an incoming call. He, whose tone had become stiff as if it were a work call, stood up as soon as he hung up.

“Sorry, I have urgent business, so I’m going home today.”

“Why? You promised you’d stay until closing.”

“Go back to the apartment first. I’ll be back soon.”

　The lover sealed the mouth of the pouting Daisy with a kiss. It was as smooth as a foreign drama. She, with her cheeks flushed in enchantment, watched his back as he left, then drank the remaining alcohol in one gulp.

“He’s a great guy, right? He even bought me this ring the other day.”

“Yes, yes, good for you.”

　While showing off the ring with a large diamond and giving perfunctory responses to her endless bragging, I licked the whiskey. Cheap alcohol doesn't have the same kick as Aguri’s prized stash, but once you learn the taste of good liquor, you can’t get drunk the way you want.

　Perhaps because she was enjoying the conversation, Daisy didn't move from her seat. I felt a sense of discomfort as she sat there idly drinking water without ordering new drinks.

“Hey, aren’t you going home?”

“Once the fruit comes.”

　She must be tired of eating the snacks at this store. When I looked around at the discomfort, it was Satowa who had brought the order.

　She must have been asked when she brought the glasses; it couldn't be helped that she came out to the floor when she was busy. Daisy stopped her as she placed it on the counter and tried to leave in silence.

“Wait a second, I’ll treat you, so why don’t you have a drink with me?”

“I’m still at work.”

　It was the first time I had seen the two exchange words. Satowa must have been aware that she was disliked, and as she replied with a cold attitude, Daisy thrust her smartphone screen at her.

“Do you know this photo?”

　Seeing that, Satowa’s Noh mask face froze.

“My boyfriend said he’s seen you before. Hey, hey, what is this photo?”

　Daisy was showing the image while being aware of that reaction. With a satisfied expression on her face at the sight of her speechless, she showed it to us as well.

“Look, look at this, Satowa’s n-a-k-e-d.”

　I had feared that a day like this might come.

　No one knew that Satowa had been a stripper. I had told Aguri about her illness, but I had kept the fact that she had stood on stage a secret. Even if Susukino was a city where bars and sex work coexisted, and even if Club Rainbow was a show club that lit up that city with neon, it didn't mean everyone would accept her as a person of the same world.

　However, somewhere in my heart, I had thought that if it were her, she would respond resolutely even if her true identity were exposed.

　However.

“...Satowa?”

　At her pale face, I snatched the smartphone away.

　The bartender who had seen the photo first was red to his ears. Anyone would have that reaction if they saw a woman’s naked body by surprise.

　Satowa’s naked body, which I should have been used to, captured on the square screen. I felt a sense of discomfort with it.

　The two round breasts that were there before the surgery. Thin, supple limbs. Skin as white as porcelain. It should have been no different from the her I had seen on the pedestal.

　Was it the hairstyle? Or was it the difference in makeup? Her face was young, retaining the traces of a girl.

　The photo was taken on a bed. The lamplight and the messy sheets were vivid, and she, in a frog-like pose with both legs bent, was hiding her private parts with her cheeks flushed in shame.

　It wasn't a pose she had intended. The expression in the photo was full of confusion. The her who danced on the pedestal had always looked at each customer as if they were her lover. When she opened her legs in an open show, she was full of confidence, and even when a Polaroid camera was pointed at her, she would return a friendly smile.

　It was a photo that anyone would think was taken during private sex.

“When was this photo taken?”

　The hand holding the smartphone trembled. Daisy curled her lips as if she had succeeded.

“It came up right away when I searched a little. It looks like a photo posted on some bulletin board.”

“We have to have it deleted right now.”

“It’s impossible, it gets posted on various sites without permission. Besides, the photo itself is quite old, isn’t it?”

　Even if we requested deletion from the bulletin board where it was posted, the cat-and-mouse game of it being exposed on other sites would continue. I peered at her face, who would know the truth, wondering where this photo was taken and who had exposed it to the public eye.

“When was this photo taken?”

“...A boyfriend I used to date...”

　Satowa said, with few words.

“After we broke up, he exposed it without permission...”

　Revenge porn. Posting naked photos of a woman you once dated on internet bulletin boards without permission. I had the knowledge in my head, but it was the first time I had seen the real thing.

　My mind went blank with anger. However, Daisy was laughing triumphantly.

“With photos like this spread around, you’ll never be able to get a boyfriend for the rest of your life. Rui is a boy too, you know, he might find it someday?”

　The high-pitched laughter pierced my ears. Customers who noticed the commotion gathered their gazes, and the store began to ripple with noise. I finally noticed that she was on her female hormone administration day, seeing the bandage slightly peeking out from her puff sleeves.

“Why is a woman like you in this store? When you’re here, we get compared.”

　Daisy stood up and closed in. Satowa remained pale and didn't return any reaction. That fueled her irritation, and Daisy raised her hand.

　What I thought would slap her cheek grabbed her chest instead.

“You have what I want, don’t you? A woman’s body, a family register... You were raised as a girl since you were a child, weren’t you? You’ve been able to be with the person you love without any trouble, haven’t you?”

　Satowa winced in pain. What Daisy had grabbed was her preserved right breast. When I pulled her away, the buttons tore, and seeing the bulge peeking out from her chest, Daisy raised her fist.

“You don’t know, do you, the hardship to get these breasts. The fear of surgery, the post-operative maintenance, the risk of putting foreign objects into your body...!”

　A fist trying to punch her face. As I held it down, I felt absolutely no restraint from her.

　The staff in black who rushed over grabbed Daisy. She was crying and kept screaming while in a frenzy.

“You’re an eyesore. Go somewhere else! Don’t take my place...!”

　Satowa remained standing still as before. Her shirt was disheveled, and her underwear was visible. I could only hug her and protect her from people’s gazes.