The most frightening thing is when the air suddenly becomes quiet, and when friends suddenly become concerned. The atmosphere inside the studio was particularly silent, it could practically be called "grim and solemn."
Even the sound technician girl, who had been napping on the table, suddenly woke up, several pairs of eyes, green, red, gold, turned toward them in unison, like high-beam spotlights in a prison, leaving the unlucky "prisoner" trying to escape with nowhere to hide.
'S-So scary!'
'Ugh… As expected, a gloomy sweet potato like me should just stay in a dark, remote corner and perish on my own. I want to crawl back into my mom's belly…'
Facing such passionate stares, the unlucky "prisoner" girl lowered her head, wishing she could hide her whole self behind the president, her petite body trembling.
Sensing Bocchi's unease, Kaito quietly tightened his grip on her hand, then raised his eyes to look at the nearby girls.
"Kita, Nijika, Ryou, and PA-san," His voice was clear and cold, like a mountain spring splashing against rocks, his attitude straightforward as always, "Good afternoon."
There was no response. As if performing a synchronized move, A-sisters Kita and Nijika were both still in a daze.
Farther away, the long straight black-haired PA-san looked like she wanted to say something but stopped, then wanted to again, staring at the two with interlocked fingers. In the end, she couldn't even form a complete sentence.
Only Gremlin Ryou, after the initial surprise, just rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "Looks like… the title of boyfriend-kun is finally confirmed?"
Surprised?
Actually, not at all.
Not only was Bocchi the one who came first, she also held a terrain advantage. If love were a 100-meter sprint, she started fifty meters ahead of the others.
Rather, in Yamada Ryou's view, Bocchi's speed in capturing boyfriend-kun was already too slow. Like the lazy rabbit in the tortoise and hare story, clearly in a guaranteed win position, yet choosing to go AFK.
If she had Bocchi's starting advantage… Not to brag, she'd probably be preparing for her second child by now.
Of course, it's not too late even now.
Liking a guy and seeing him date your best friend, this would be a heavy blow for most people.
But Ryou wasn't sad at all, nor was she feeling any sense of loss. On the contrary, her spirit was high.
Even though she preferred the pure-love development between herself and boyfriend-kun… but since Bocchi got ahead first, occasionally playing the role of a cuck might be kind of fun?
.
.
.
[Ten Minutes Later]
"I-I see…", Nijika tried hard to smile. Although she masked it well, there was still a trace of disappointment at the end of her tone, "You and Bocchi-chan… are already dating, huh…"
Kaito nodded slightly. He never deliberately hides his relationships unless his girlfriend specifically asks him to.
But this very straightforward attitude only deepened the dismay in the heart of the girl as bright as the little sun.
'In the end… was I still a step too late?' [T/N: Yep.]
'If only I had been more decisive back then, no longer hesitating, would the ending now have been different?'
Beside her, Kita also lowered her head, like she had just eaten an entire unripe lemon, her heart filled with sour emotions.
Strictly speaking, though Bocchi was indeed the one who came first, among the four band members, the first to confess to Kaito was actually her.
But the girl back then was too shy. After confessing, she didn't even dare listen to the response and ran off in a panic.
Now she's stuck. Can't go forward, can't back out, trapped here.
'Is this the punishment that the runaway guitarist must experience?'
The red-haired girl bit her lip tightly.
And then started fantasizing again.
Fantasizing that Kaito hadn't started dating Bocchi-chan, fantasizing that she hadn't run away after confessing, fantasizing about a love-at-first-sight, mutual-pursuit, last-attack, triple-kill, double-hug ending…
'Ow! It hurts so much!'
'He's the only starlight, illuminating my long road.'
'Since he left, there's only darkness ahead.'
In a daze, she seemed to see the once soft and cute little Bocchi wearing a different expression, like a high and mighty evil woman, lifting her chin to sneer at her.
["So Kaito-kun acts so cold in front of you? With me, he's totally different. I already sent you the video. If you've got the guts, go ahead and open it."]
'I don't need that kind of thing.'
Kita was on the verge of tears, never before had she hated her runaway self so much.
But established facts don't change, and there's no such thing as regret medicine in this world.
Watching the Kita ship and Nijika ship both getting fatally damaged by this cruel truth, seemingly about to sink any second, Yamada Ryou helplessly slapped her forehead, 'Such useless teammates.'
'As expected, it is still up to me to carry the team.'
"Suddenly remembered there are still some props left in the storage room that haven't been moved. The manager already reminded us before, Kita, Nijika, come help out."
The blue-haired girl cleared her throat, "As for boyfriend-kun and Bocchi, please wait here for a bit. If any guests come, help entertain them."
Kaito answered with a quiet "mm," though something felt off in his heart.
'After a few days of not seeing her, this Gremlin Ryou actually turned this hardworking?'
But before he could think further, the studio door was pushed open from outside. A few JKs walked in together, chatting and laughing.
Guests had arrived.
———
[Storage Room]
This was a small warehouse, filled with shelves and brown cardboard boxes. There was barely any room for a person to stand.
With three girls in here, it was a bit cramped, like the subway during rush hour, but at this moment, no one cared about that kind of detail.
"Nijika? Kita?"
Seeing the two girls still out of it, Yamada Ryou clapped her hands loudly, "Snap out of it!"
"Ryou…"
"Ryou-san…"
Feeble address, gloomy tone, and that unmistakable loser aura.
Gremlin Ryou crossed her arms, feeling a bit like she hated iron for not becoming steel.
'Shrinking back at the first blow, giving up at the first setback…'
'How can anyone talk about love properly surrounded by insects like these?'
She really liked something a certain famous man once said, ("Better I screw over the world, than let the world screw over me.")
Of course, casually ruining the relationship between Bocchi-chan and boyfriend-kun, such behavior would be too despicable.
Though she was a bit trashy, Ryou didn't intend to do that.
From the start, her goal was simple.
'You like your husband. I also like your husband. Doesn't that make us… allies?'
'Ahem, in other words—'
'I'm not here to destroy this home.'
'I'm here to, strengthen this home!'
[🎉 Shoutout to Surge1301, Killgod_YT & Ashley for joining patreon. Thank you very much.🤗]
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