A/N: It always amazes me how one side of my brain can think up all sorts of fluffy muse and the other side being... hmmm...

A few weeks earlier...

"So, how about it... Ace?"

His manager was laying out the current offers that he received. Aside from the usual magazine shoots, commercial shoots and other one-off projects that they could afford to accept without needing a lot of commitment for Ace to give, there were a few new projects that Ace needed to decide which one out of those should he accept. But it's so unfortunate that there weren't any offers that involved taking part in any variety shows where you get to date someone or pretend you're married to someone or try to find your true love. It would have been fun if he could take part in those kinds of projects.

But his manager argued that they can't take those kinds of offers, because then, a lot of Ace's fans will make a big fuss. And things might get a bit troublesome for anyone who ends up being paired with Ace. So it's really too bad... that Ace can't do those sorts of 'fun' projects.

But really? An idol competition... some variety talk shows, and a home improvement show? Whoa... what kind of choice was that?

Well, it's not like he had any right to complain about it. He was the one who made this wish after all, to try and get his mother's attention. Not like his attempt at doing that was actually working as intended.

.

[I wished to find true love...]

Somehow he was reminded of the pair whom he met not too long ago. What a pair of interesting people... not just the young man, but also the young girl. Kurama Neon... who had wished to find their true love. Suddenly he wondered if he could ever aim for that kind of frivolous wish. Could that kind of wish... lead to him finding his mother? Could that kind of wish... make him happy, even if he might end up failing to find his mother again in this current life?

Ace thought also of the other person. Sakurai Keiwa... who dreamed of world peace. He wondered if that person was doing well right now... since the last time he saw that man. Ace let out a soft sigh. Who was he kidding? Even if Sakurai Keiwa was able to leave the DesiGra without needing to lose his life, the man would still lose the desire to pursue the wish that they have written down prior. What kind of a person would Sakurai Keiwa be then... once he forget the desire to wish for world peace? Would that person's whole personality completely change afterwards just because they lost that one 'missing piece' that used to be part of them before?

Ace never bothered to check out what happened to the other players once they forfeited the game in the past. Because it was none of his business... and there was no need for him to care about those other people. Yet this time, he couldn't help wondering about what happened to 'those' people...

"—ah, so I played it cool for nothing?"

"You've got a boyfriend already?"

He couldn't help wondering if he could meet those people again... well, at least one of them. It's been a while, after all... since he'd taken a liking to anyone. Like seriously, it was not always he gets to meet a very unique and charming guy like Sakurai Keiwa...

"Just saving my sister took a lot of toll on me. Saving the world was really not an easy thing to do—"

It'd be nice if they could still meet each other again...

xxx

"So does that mean that I still got a chance?"

What kind of luck would this actually be then... he didn't expect that he'd be able to see that person so soon. What was that person doing there by himself at this park... at this time of day?

"Oh... dangit!" exclaimed the other person as Ace noticed that the person was holding something in their hand. Was that... a scratch lottery?

Was the person the kind of person to waste their time and money to bet their lives on some lottery ticket to score them big bucks before? Probably not... but due to that person losing his wish, was this the fate that the person ended up with now?

"—no one ever wins the lottery to become a billionaire..."

Ace suddenly smiled... as a rather amusing idea just popped into his head. Something... that might even prove to be fun!

He immediately took out his phone before running towards that person...

"Manager-san... I think I'm gonna take on that idol mentor project after all!"

xxx

The present time...

Hatano started cheering loudly as they watched Keiwa bowing down politely towards the judges before turning around to leave the stage. And it seemed that Keiwa was able to impress not only the judges who were supposed to evaluate his stage presence, but he also managed to gain interest from some of the audience that had come to see the audition. Certainly, this was a very great accomplishment... for a novice.

"Heh... I was worried for a bit, but Keiwa-kun really did very well by himself today." She turned towards Ace, who had been sitting next to her. "How did you manage to get Keiwa-kun to overcome his stage fright and address the judges so calmly like that? And while I know that I had a hand in making him look so handsome in front of everyone... I didn't remember seeing Keiwa-kun's lips looking so kissable like that. What did the two of you do earlier when you told me to leave?"

Ace just gave her a mischievous grin.

.

"Well... I had my special ways—"