"ALIVE" Sono 1 Side.G: 挑戦者 pt.1

Title: 挑戦者 (The Challenger)
Artist: Growth (Etou Kouki, Yaegashi Kensuke, Sakuraba Ryouta, Fujimura Mamoru) || Toki Shun'ichi, Yamaya Yoshitaka, Yamashita Daiki, Terashima Junta
From "ALIVE" Sono 1 Side.G.

This the translation of drama tracks within Growth's first CD, "ALIVE" Sono 1 Side.G. Feel free to correct me if there are mistakes or a better translation have been done before!

Please don't repost anywhere else!


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* Parts that I don't quite catch are marked with asterisks.

- sound of footsteps -

Kouki : (sighs)

Ryouta : Kou! Kou also had a job here, huh... From the looks of it, it seems you also just have finished your photoshoot? Good job today.

Kouki : It's you, Ryou. By 'also', you mean you guys also had a photoshoot?

Ryouta : Yeah. I was with Ken up until a minute ago. Right now Ken is...

Kensuke : Hey~! Both of you, good job for today!

Ryouta : Ken. You're talking with the manager?

Kensuke : Yep. I was just asking about when we're supposed to meet up. ... Ah, Kou, you also had a photoshoot today?

Kouki : I was talking with Ryou about that. Today the two of you are working as a pair?

Ryouta : (strained noise)

Kensuke : We're going to perform in the same stage play starting from the beginning of next month. So this is to promote that.

Ryouta : Thanks to that, I've been completely treated like a set with Ken. We got a lot photoshoot and interview jobs together, so arranging the schedule had gotten difficult.

Kensuke : Same here, you know.

Ryouta : (strained chuckle) Well, yes. Rather than that, Kou, I saw the gravure magazine that was released the other day. You were on the spread pages and looked very cool. 'The Aloof Radiance'... they gave you an awesome caption.

Kensuke : Oo! That sure sounds cool. Yo, Aloof Radiance!

Kouki : (strained chuckle) Somehow, it's like a meaningless phrase that sounds like a wise saying, instead of a compliment. Beside, for the agency, rather than my gravure, your article must've seem a lot more impressive. I've read the interview. It was pretty interesting.

Kensuke : Aa~ it must be that, right? The part where we're talking about first love and I revealed that in my case it was my kindergarten teacher, and I was made fun of by the interviewer and Ryou because they said it was too cliche. Geez... cliche is the way to go! You guys don't understand it at all!

Ryouta : (chuckle) It was exciting. When I heard about the interview, I didn't think that we'll get five pages all to ourselves, but maybe because that talk was so interesting that we got a lot of pages.

Kensuke : Whether we earned the pages due to my noble first love... or not, I'm confused on how I should judge it...

Kouki : At least I don't think they meant anything bad. Surely that's not the only reason you guys got those pages. It also means that people have expectations on you.

Kensuke : Would be nice if that's the case.

Ryouta : Speaking of expectations, both of you, did you hear about the talks of unit debut?

Kouki : Yeah. The talk about the new unit chosen by the agency that will debut in the next term, right? I heard about the story this morning. Speak of which, the last time a unit had their debut was last year, so it is a good time for it.

Ryouta : Right... even the fans seems to be aware of it, and they've started excitedly predicting who and who will form the group. It's a custom we've had every year.

Kensuke : I might get chosen to be one of them, so I was warned to be careful with my behaviors more than usual.

Kouki : Me too.

Ryouta : Me three. Just as I thought. I was also told this by my manager, that the three of us are the top candidates for it.

Kensuke : Hee... in other words, there's a chance that the three of us will form a unit?

Ryouta : Yeah, though it's not fixed yet. Also, it's not necessarily consisting of just three persons. They might add more and make a group with larger number of members.

Kouki : That's right... even if within the agency we're recognized as top candidates when it comes to the actual scene, the one who has the final say about it is the President, and that had always been the case since long ago.

Kensuke : Is that so... in other words, it's just a waste of time to worry and think about it until the end result came out, huh? In that case, let's just be prepared for it! No matter what's the result, the fact that people said that we're the top candidates are something to be happy about.

Ryouta : (chuckles) You're right.

Kouki : Yeah, the only thing that we can do is wait for the result that we'll receive. ... That's why...

Kensuke : 'That's why'?

Kouki : What I'm going to say doesn't really have any meaning, but... when I heard about that talk, I thought that it'll be nice if the three of us can form a unit.

Kensuke : Ooo! Really?!

Kouki : Yeah. I really thought of that. I'm not the type who can easily blend with others, so if it's with Ken and Ryou, it'll be easier for me, and it seems like it'll be interesting. More than anything, I feel that we can do a lot of things together. That's why... I hope it'll come true.

Kensuke : Oo... the usually cool Kou-sama is going dere...

Kouki : What's that?

Kensuke : Hm, didn't you know? Among the fans, they call you 'Kou-sama', adding '-sama' suffix to you. As expected of you~ Ah, by the way, it seems Ryou also got referred as 'Prince'.

Ryouta : It feels like an honor, or rather, feels awesome, but it makes me hope that I won't crush those girls' dreams.

Kensuke : See? What a kind prince~

Kouki : I see. By the way, what about you? What do they call you?

Kensuke : Hm? Just normal. Ken-chan. Ken-kun. Well, friendliness is my selling point after all.

Kouki : You're saying that about yourself? (chuckles)

Ryouta : (chuckles) It'll be wonderful if every day we can talk and have work together like this. I think that what we're trying to achieve is pretty similar.

Kouki : Yeah, you're right.

Ryouta : We had a lot of things happened to us, but I'm glad that we managed to come so far without dropping out.

Kensuke : Oi, Ryou~ don't say such an ill omened thing like dropping out!

Ryouta : (chuckles) Sorry. There were many who stopped ever since we were just juniors, so I just unintentionally...

Kensuke : Well, you're right... there are only the three of us, and two who were part of the same generation. Even though there were so many...

Kouki : I don't mean to say something strict, but that's how this industry is. There are many people who we strive to become like, and it is a brilliant world, but once we step into it, there are those who suit and doesn't suit to belong here. Destiny also plays a part. Just as luckiness and unluckiness are. It's the place of only a few people, the result of them piling up many things that are almost like a miracle, to shine.

Kensuke : When Kou the one who said it, it sounds five times more dramatic and feels awesome. Also, makes him sounds smart. Well, though you're in fact very smart.

Kouki : Your thoughts about it sounds pretty stupid, so you better stop that.

Kensuke : Uwoooi!? Kou-sama's tsukkomi sure is merciless!

Ryouta : (chuckles) ... Ah, sorry. I need to go to my next interview soon.

Kensuke : Ah, me too. See you again, Kou!

Ryouta : Let's have a meal together next time. I'll contact you.

Kouki : Yeah, I'll be waiting for it. Both of you, see you again.

- sound of footsteps -

Kouki : A new unit... the top candidates, huh... Even as mere juniors, we still got a decent amount of jobs. We also received guarantees from the agency.* As an exchange, there are a lot limitations put on us, and we must pay attention to others.* Am I feeling constrained about this and that because I'm growing selfish? There are many more things that I'd like to do, that I'd like to try out. As for songs, I want it to be not a simple cheery and catchy song, but something new, something challenging. ... I want to try creating something much more original. The ones who got singing-related jobs in our generation are the three of us. What's left is the President's idea... huh...

Continued on: "ALIVE" Sono 1 Side.G: 挑戦者 pt.2