An idol group with young, talented, and princely-charming men had gained a huge number of fans in the span of one year. On stage, their centre shone as brightly as a refined jewel under the bright spotlight.

Nanase Tenn's beauty was second to none. He might not be as cool-looking as the group leader, Yaotome Gaku, but that did not mean he was any less superior. On the contrary, he assumed the role of a commander, fighting alongside a paladin and a strangely tamed beast with a vicious look, Tsunashi Ryuunosuke.

Despite him having strong a sense of professionalism, the youngest wore his heart on his sleeves. He might be sensitive, but his purity was to be adored. Tenn would get emotional on stage, though he would never cry in front of his fans. If only they could see him once he stepped down from the stage.

"Thank you all for coming! We are TRIGGER!"

~~

Dubbed as the "Icy Prince", Izumi Iori took the stage along with five other members. True, they might be new to the harsh entertainment world. Regardless, IDOLiSH6 made their appearance with pride.

Each person in the group possessed a unique personality. It was quite surprising how they came together as one on stage. They were said to be the literal definition of stars, which only shone the brightest when they were grouped together.

Being a young high school boy, Iori knew he was bearing a lot of weight on his shoulders. Not that he hadn't come prepared. His mental wall of ice wasn't going to be shattered so easily.

Izumi Iori, Nikaido Yamato, Izumi Mitsuki, Yotsuba Tamaki, Osaka Sougo, and last but not least, Rokuya Nagi made a flawless team with a promising future: IDOLiSH6.

~~

"This is it, the moment of truth."

And so he stared into his father's eyes. He saw nothing but a reflection of a golden crown. He had none but one purpose: to be crowned king of the entertainment business.

A smile crept onto the older man's face. The very action used to express happiness seemed insincere, almost evil. "You know what you must do, my son." The man lifted his hand and placed it lightly on the red-haired boy's shoulder.

"I understand, father." Kujou Riku said as he grabbed his father's pale hands, lifted them up, and replaced them where they had been. Without saying anything else, the boy turned around and headed towards the plane. No such thing as hesitation lingered in his mind.

The instant Kujou Riku landed in Japan, the gameplay of the entertainment business would forever be changed.

———####################################————

"Tenn-nii."

No one would notice him even if he was not dancing, signing, or waving the light sticks along with the music. No one would question why he was there, not when they were living in a reality that seemed almost unreal. The whole world consisted only of the three famous idol boys: TRIGGER, the main stage and the fans.

Oh, and Kujou Riku.

He wasn't a fan of TRIGGER.

He was an enemy.

Riku's gaze fixated on his twin brother, whom he hadn't seen for several years. He kept staring at that pretty face. He wasn't exactly drawn to the idol's angelic voice or his princely appearance. He felt like he should be looking at his other half.

Riku had seen it several times in a movie: couples who finally reunited after a decade. They always smiled and jumped into each other's arms.

And so Riku smiled.

It was what people were supposed to do.

~~

Even when they were exhausted from performing on stage for the last three hours, they smiled, feeling fulfilled. The way their fans screamed for them and danced to their music left their hearts racing. TRIGGER had yet again created another irreplaceable memory in their fans' minds, and of course, their own as well.

Quietly, Tenn brought his hand up to the corner of his right eye, flicking away a single drop of tear. As much as Tenn hated for his teammates to see him in a vulnerable state, they did notice.

Gaku laughed. "You're such a big softy, Tenn, always crying after our performance."

"Now, now, Gaku. You know how much Tenn loves his fans." Tsunashi Ryunosuke tried hard to protect Tenn, but failed miserably as he couldn't help giggling himself. "Everyone gets emotional sometimes."

"I am NOT crying!" The youngest strongly denied it. That just added even more to his cuteness. His face turned pink. "My makeup got into my eyes, that's all." If Tenn were a little more honest, he would admit that he got emotional. After all, the concert they just did was one of the biggest since their debut.

TRIGGER had become well-known throughout Japan one year after their debut, making them one of the most successful male idol groups in the country. Tenn was proud to be able to sing and devote his life to his fans, along with his precious friends, Ryuu and Gaku. However, his heart remained half-filled as one of his biggest wishes had not yet been granted.

Tenn wished to see his younger twin brother, Nanase Riku, who left the family with a certain man years ago. Since then, Tenn had never heard Riku's name, let alone seen his sweet face. Riku can't be dead, Tenn always told himself, even though he didn't really believe that now.

If I can't see you, then hear my voice, Riku. I'll sing and dance for you, just like in old times.

~~

Tenn hated nightmares, especially when they were surreal, and most of the time they were, unfortunately.

"Riku!"

The night before TRIGGER's successful concert, Tenn had the same dream that had been haunting him for years...

"Don't take Tenn-nii!"

A young, red-haired boy cried while charging towards a tired-looking middle-aged man. "If you w-want one of us then take me!" He was breathing heavily. The words hardly came out , and the boy wished they wouldn't go unheard.

"Fine." The man smiled mischievously. "You will do." And so he threw the redhead into his black car.

"No! Give Riku back!" Young Tenn rushed towards the shutting door, but he was too weak and small to stop the man physically.

The car took off before Tenn could touch it. "Stop! Give him back! Give my little brother back!" He knew how hopeless it was to shout and run after a moving car. Couldn't blame him. He must have been feeling pretty desperate enough to shout the name of the man he hated out loud.

"Kujou!!!"

Tenn had thought nothing could be worse than his vivid dreams that kept reminding him of his painful past. He had never thought that reality would punish him too. Shattered by the image of the redhead on TV, the boy's face turned pale. Tenn swore he had never been this shaken in his life, ever.

The last thing he expected on TRIGGER's night out was to find his long-lost brother singing and dancing on stage, being broadcast on TV even. "Riku?" Tenn stared at the screen on the udon shop's wall in disbelief. He knew full well that this was no dream. His heart raced fast enough for him to feel faint. This probably would be his first panic attack.

"Eyes on me. It's Kujou Riku!"

Riku's catchphrase was followed by flames that lighted up the dark stage. Lifting his chin up, his red eyes emitted a strong glow, just like those flames. Never had Tenn seen such an angry expression on Riku's face before. "That can't be..." Tenn mumbled, breathing unevenly.

Something was very wrong, and Gaku was the first to notice it. "Oi Tenn, what's wrong?"

"I'm f-fine." Being so out of breath made him lose focus. He tried to keep his eyes on his little brother. He tried even harder to listen to the voice he used to know well, yet nothing made sense. The world around him was spinning. Lights seemed to be flashing. All he could hear were the voices of his teammates. Not that he could grasp what they were saying.

"Let's go outside, Tenn. Maybe getting some fresh air will help." It was Ryuu's voice. Tenn's vision became blurry, but he would recognise the softness in Ryuu's voice from anywhere. That kindness reminded him so much of his twin. "Riku..."

And everything went silent afterwards.

———####################################————

Young IDOLiSH6 centre, Izumi Iori, sighed for the third time today. Not to mention that the sun had just risen. His gaze was fixated on his phone screen. Clearly, he was doing some sort of research.

"Kujou Riku, Tsukumo Productions." Iori frowned, and he probably should have. The guy he was looking up was a new idol who became explosively popular overnight here in Japan. This concerned him very much, as he was secretly helping IDOLiSH6 manager, Takanashi Tsumugi, manage this growing idol group. To be brutally honest, IDOLiSH6's achievements so far felt like a joke when compared to Kujou Riku's grand entrance. Riku was a threat and one to be feared.

"Tsukumo Productions used to be known as one of the kings in entertainment business, but as time went by, trends changed. They stopped producing idols for several years." Tsumugi shared what she knew with Iori. "Even so, they still have a lot of connections and media power from back in the day, da-I mean, the president said."

"So they are pretty much as powerful as TRIGGER's Yaotome productions." Iori went into a deep-thinking mode. "Not to mention Kujou Riku seems to be extremely talented too."

"Please do not worry, Iori-san." Tsumugi gathered her inner confidence. "We've secured a spot in the live music broadcast event 'Music Festa'. I'm sure we can ride that tide to our debut!"

Iori smiled, of course. After all, Tsumugi was acting rather cute.

———####################################————

The boy was stoic everywhere but on stage. Even though he lacked emotions, he was a well-trained actor. So when he was told that he needed to convey inner anger to the audience while singing, he did just that. Kujou Riku's song lyrics were full of angst. Each line contained a hint of a dark, deeper secret. The composed melody, on the contrary, was not as heavy. The intention was to make sure people of all ages could enjoy it.

Riku gave his all on stage. It was where he felt most alive. Sure, he didn't understand why, but clearly, he loved to sing. Riku put all his power into the song, and people cheered for him. His dance moves were executed with precise timing. Never had he missed a single beat. Had he been programmed this way? Probably.

"Thank you, everyone." Riku gave his new fans a blank stare. Maybe this was 'gratefulness' he was feeling. The boy smiled a little. As exhausted as he was, he kept waving to the people in front of him. "I love you, Riku!" They shouted all sorts of things at Riku; most of them were compliments. "That was awesome!" Without noticing it himself, the idol smiled wider. People were happy. He could tell that much. That was the sight he wanted to see. Riku hoped these happy people would leave the concert hall feeling refreshed and energised.

It was probably the genuineness of Riku that captivated people's hearts. The idol had no idea how potent his smile was. The more he beamed, the louder people screamed for him. "Riku! Riku! Riku!" The cheers echoed even after he left the stage.

"*cough cough*" Riku fell to his knees as soon as he was offstage, wheezing and fighting for air. This was probably the only thing that couldn't be trained: his chronic health condition. Ever since he was a little kid, Riku suffered from a severe respiratory problem. And right at that moment, it hit him hard.

"Ha! I knew you would come begging for air." Riku's manager, Tsukumo Ryo, finally showed up. He wasn't watching Riku's performance. His reason? He was a busy man with far more important things to take care of. Ryo called for a specialised medic to tend to Riku. As the medic rushed to him, Riku grabbed hold of the mask and clung to it. After taking that needed dose, his attack stopped. That left him pretty weak.

"Manager." Riku looked up at Ryo who showed no interest in him whatsoever.

"Stop it with your expressionless eyes. It's creeping me out." Ryo made a disgusted face. "I bet you'd be overjoyed to hear that you are done for the day. Oh wait-" He smiled mischievously. "I forgot that you don't have any feelings. Anyway, bye." The manager laughed evilly while turning around and exiting the area.

Riku watched as his manager, who was also the president of his agency, walked away. The boy stood up as soon as he felt good enough to do so, and so he left as well, not showing any signs of frustration or dissatisfaction.

~~

Since it was his first time in Japan in several years, Riku decided to check out the area near his apartment and workplace. Currently, he lived in one of his adoptive father's properties: a spacious soundproof apartment room as large as a small house. One of the rooms was, without question, a practice room equipped with mirrors on one side.

The boy cared not about his surroundings. He was only here to carry out his, or perhaps Kujou's, goal: to be crowned king of the entertainment business. As his father said, "Crush anyone who gets in your way. With your vocal power, dominate them and go for that golden crown, Riku." Then again, it was probably wise to know where the less crowded restaurants were or where he could go when he needed some fresh air.

Wandering, he looked at the sights around him. At one point, he stopped and entered a small local book store that offered old secondhand books. "Ah, Tenn-nii used to read this to me every night." He stared blankly at one of the familiar-looking children's books. He had no memory of how he felt back then, but he still remembered what his brother used to look like. Growing up, Riku wasn't allowed to 'feel too much', and over time, expressing how he felt was not something he could do naturally anymore. "Feelings will only get in the way," said his adoptive father.

Riku ended up buying a couple of books. He read when he had free time, out of habit. He read a lot as a kid because his lungs stopped him from doing many kinds of physical activities. Not sure if he enjoyed reading, but he knew he could learn a lot of things from books.

Anyway, those books were going to have to wait because there was something Riku needed to do: study. If he were to 'crush' people while walking down this golden road, then he needed to know who to crush, right? The boy went back home and started scrolling through social media posts on his phone.

"IDOLiSH6, huh?" An article about a quickly-rising idol group caught the redhead's attention. "So we will likely meet at Music Festa..."

Riku sighed before letting his back flop onto his bed. "I'm not sure how I should talk to them." Communication wasn't his strong suit, given his lack of emotions. "Or to TRIGGER."

Riku's eyes narrowed. "Tenn-nii..." For some unknown reason, the boy felt like crying. He wasn't sure how or why. He only knew that he wanted to be in his brother's arms, or rest his head on his brother's stomach. His mind seemed to be travelling down his little memory lane. Perhaps in some places deep inside his tightly shut heart, he wished he could live in them.

"I miss you." Riku mumbled before allowing himself to fall asleep.

———####################################————

Hewlo~ Lovely People! 

Um so, I've stopped writing for quite a while and I was struggling to find a way back into it. I thought: why not start with giving one of my fics a new life? Well, here I am. Hope the first chapter was intriguing enough. Ehehehe~ 

For those who've read My Crown, thank you. Truly, thank you. Your support means a lot to me. For the reimagined version, some bits might remain the same, some might change drastically, so welcome back, you're in for another ride. 

And for those who've never read My Crown, thanks for checking this out! I hope you're here to stay. Ehehehe~