Akane Kurokawa - Oshi no Ko (My Star) - Illustrations

A Late-Night Rehearsal Blurs the Line Between Performance and Passion, as Akane Kurokawa and Aqua Hoshino Finally Surrender to Their Deepest Desires

The rain was a persistent whisper against the large windows of the rehearsal studio, a soft, rhythmic drumming that seemed to count down the seconds of the heavy silence hanging between them. It was well past midnight. The rest of the cast and crew for the new stage play had long since departed, leaving behind the stark, cavernous space, the scent of dust and old wood, and the two of them, locked in an orbit of unresolved tension.