"What are you looking at?"
After exchanging several puzzled glances with Eriri and Rokka, Yukino finally couldn't hold back and asked directly.
"Ah, it's nothing. You guys just eat—don't mind me."
Minamoto Senya's eyes stayed fixed on his phone as he answered without even raising his head.
His reaction left Yukino dissatisfied, but she couldn't exactly call him out for it either.
Playing on your phone at the table was certainly impolite, but among friends, it wasn't the sort of offense worth making a fuss over.
The problem was—Senya's behavior didn't look anything like casually scrolling on his phone.
From the moment they had entered the restaurant, after he'd given Rokka a quick pat on the head, he had immediately pulled out his phone and hadn't looked away since. His finger kept swiping at a rapid pace, his gaze locked in with unusual intensity.
It was as though he were looking at something extremely important.
His eyes were sharp and focused, his lips occasionally moving without a sound, like he was desperately trying to commit something to memory.
When Yukino asked her question, Rokka stole a glance at him from the side, then quickly tapped on her own phone, sending a message into the group chat with Yukino and Eriri.
[The screen's full of text… I think he's reading some kind of novel.]
A novel? In the middle of a meal? Yukino frowned slightly to herself. I've just returned to Japan, and he's doing this?
She hadn't even realized her own tone carried a faint trace of displeasure. But she didn't say it aloud, nor did she press Senya further.
Instead, she smoothly returned to the earlier topic Eriri and Rokka had asked her about, sharing more stories from her time studying abroad in the UK.
Even as she spoke, though, she kept a sliver of her attention on Senya.
Something about this scene tugged at her memory. It felt… strangely familiar. But the memory was buried too far in the past for her to recall right away.
Five more minutes passed.
Senya slipped his still-unlocked phone into his pocket and suddenly said, "I just spotted someone famous. I'm going to go say hello. You guys keep eating—I'll be back soon."
Before the three girls could react, he stood up and walked toward another table a short distance away.
Eriri blinked, baffled. "What's that about?"
Rokka leaned forward to peek in the same direction. "A famous person? Who?"
Yukino's brows knit tightly. This sequence of actions—checking something on his phone before walking up to strike up a conversation—she remembered it.
Back then, when he had managed to win Eriri over, hadn't he used the exact same trick?
She set down her chopsticks, her voice calm compared to the others. "Don't rush. Let's just watch and see."
At the other table, Senya greeted the two women.
Kasumigaoka Utaha and her editor both froze in surprise.
The editor, a professional adult through and through, recovered far quicker. Instead of rushing to respond, she tilted her head and asked cautiously, "And you are…?"
Faced with her direct question, Senya suddenly showed a hint of youthful nervousness. He hurriedly explained, "Ah—sorry! I'm a huge fan of Love Metronome. I'm sitting over there, and I just overheard you call her 'Kasumi Utako-sensei,' so I thought—no way, it couldn't possibly be her… but it really is, right?"
So he's just a fan…
Her debut novel had barely sold two thousand copies. Considering Tokyo's population of over fourteen million, the odds of running into a reader by sheer chance were microscopic.
And yet, here they were. Fate had a way of sneaking up in the strangest ways.
Utaha's gloom from earlier lifted, if only slightly, thanks to this unexpected encounter.
She glanced at her editor, who gave a small shake of the head to say she didn't mind. Then Utaha smiled softly and said, "Yes, I'm Kasumi Utako. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Senya put on just the right amount of excitement.
"I can't believe it's really you, Kasumi-sensei! I absolutely love your work—the way you crafted the protagonist, the subtle emotional depth of the heroine—it's all incredible! And the way you set up their first meeting at the opening entrance ceremony, that was such a clever touch—"
He rattled off scene after scene from Love Metronome, each detail so vivid that no casual reader could have pulled it off.
That last trace of Utaha's doubt melted away. There was no mistaking it—this boy truly was one of her fans.
Halfway through his eager praise, the editor invited Senya to join them.
In her mind, this wasn't a bad thing at all. Having a devoted fan appear right now could help lift Utaha's spirits. Even if only temporarily, it reminded her that her writing did have readers who cherished it. That alone could help restore her confidence.
As the conversation deepened, Senya gradually calmed down, and Utaha's impression of him grew even warmer.
His looks were striking, yes, but more than that, he carried himself with a certain elegance that drew the eye.
When he had first approached, he had seemed almost too fervent. But now he held himself back appropriately, chatting only about her work. He never once overstepped, never probed into her personal life.
For an author, there was nothing more refreshing than a fan who understood boundaries.
Utaha found herself smiling far more genuinely than she had in a long time.
"…I overheard earlier that Love Metronome isn't selling as well as it should. But please don't get discouraged, Kasumi-sensei. Your work is wonderful. Gold will always shine, even if it takes time. My support may not mean much, but I'll keep cheering for you."
At his parting words, Utaha bowed her head deeply. "Thank you. I'll do my best."
"Then I won't keep you two from your work any longer. Just one last thing… Kasumi-sensei, would it be possible to ask for your autograph?"
If he was going to play the role of a fan, he had to see it through to the end.
Such a harmless little request was easy for Utaha to grant. Smiling, she accepted a pen and paper from her editor, carefully signed her pen name, then stood to hand it over with both hands.
Senya accepted it with gratitude, thanked them once more, and turned to leave.
When he had first approached her, the glowing golden exclamation mark above Utaha's head had indeed vanished. But now that he had walked away, no notification of mission completion appeared.
So just offering encouragement isn't enough to trigger it, huh?
Senya wasn't frustrated. He simply filed the thought away and returned to his seat.
Yukino, Eriri, and Rokka were all staring at him silently, not a single one moving.
He swept his eyes across their expressions and couldn't help chuckling. If he didn't explain himself, they'd probably torment themselves with curiosity all night. So he gave them a half-truth, half-excuse:
"Lately, I've gotten really into a certain light novel. The person I just went to talk to was actually the author."
"Ohhh…" Eriri leaned forward, curiosity piqued. "What novel?"
"Love Metronome."
Eriri repeated the title under her breath, committing it to memory. She was already planning to buy a copy later—if Senya liked it, she wanted to have something to talk about with him.
Rokka, too, let the matter drop once she understood her adoptive brother's unusual behavior. With her doubts cleared up, she turned back to eating in earnest.
Only Yukino remained pensive. She couldn't shake the lingering sense that something was off. But with the other two present, she chose not to press the issue.
Back at the airport, when she had first laid eyes on Senya after so long, her heart had told her instantly that the bond between them hadn't been eroded by time or distance.
And yet, seeing him now… she couldn't deny it. Something had changed. Something subtle, imperceptible, hidden even from her own awareness—quietly shifting in the space between them.