Pressure「プレッシャー, Puresshā?」 is the thirty-seventh chapter of the Oshi no Ko manga series. It is written by Aka Akasaka and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari. It was released in Weekly Young Jump on March 18, 2021.[1]
Summary[]
At the JIF grounds, Kana is still processing the idea that Aqua was disguising as Pieyon. She has all sorts of questions going through her mind such as his reasons for doing so and whether everything he said were lies. However there is no time to dwell on the matter as the performance is hours away. Since she barely got any sleep, the best she can hope for is to get a nap in the changing room. As she makes her way to the changing room, she is led by Miyako in another direction and she explains that they are only allowed to use the changing room just before their performances.
The girls are taken to a packed dressing room, where many other underground idol groups are jostling for space. There are hundreds of performers there with no proper dressing rooms available, so everyone only get to use the partitions to get changed. Miyako then points out that the more famous groups get their own private rooms, so if they sell well, they will get better treatment. While Ruby and Mem-Cho grab lunch, Kana tries to get some shuteye. Miyako wonders if she is nervous but Kana reassures her that she simply did not get enough sleep and she will take care of the others.
As she says that, she starts remembering the past, a time when everyone's jobs hinges on her success. The pain of not living up to expectations and getting abandoned left and right. As their performance draws closer, Ruby can no longer stay calm and comes to Kana looking for advice. However her mood lightens as soon as she realizes that Kana feels the same. She then tries to cheer Kana up by reminding her that she will not be alone on the stage but Kana snaps back, saying she does not want Ruby and Mem to experience the failure she went through and not being alone is what scares her. Ruby reassures Kana that they are all rookie idols, and it is totally normal for them to fail, they should have fun as they go.
And with that, Kana embraces being a rookie idol and gets changed in preparation for their first performance on stage.
Characters[]
