"Shin! You finally came!"
As soon as Shin stepped into the green room, Nijika Ijichi greeted him cheerfully.
However, her tone quickly shifted to a slightly complaining one:
"You haven't been coming around lately—I was starting to think you'd forgotten about us."
"Well, I don't play any instruments, so it's not like I can help much here anyway," Shin replied with a laugh. He didn't have free time every day after school, and there really wasn't much he could contribute to the band.
"As for logistics and stuff, isn't Megumi handling that?"
Megumi Kato had practically become an honorary member of Kessoku Band at this point. Though she wasn't a musician, she helped out during practice breaks—fetching water, towels, or even treating them to snacks.
Of course, it was all on Shin's dime, so Kessoku Band occasionally jokingly referred to him as their "big sponsor" or "patron."
"Well, consider today your chance to see the return on your investment, then."
Yamada Ryou, holding her bass, wore a faintly smug expression as she addressed Shin.
Given that she had been the one eating the most during their recent snack outings, it wasn't entirely unfair for her to say this.
Despite Yamada Ryou's usual thick-skinned demeanor, she also wanted Shin to know that his "investment" hadn't gone to waste—Kessoku Band had been working hard.
"By the way, hasn't Eriri arrived yet?"
Megumi Kato, watching Shin's interaction with the band, suddenly spoke up.
Eriri had said she'd come at noon today. Logically, if Shin was already here, she wouldn't break her promise, right?
They had already told Nijika Ijichi and Yamada Ryou that they'd introduce Eriri—she was the only one in their lunch group who hadn't met Kessoku Band yet.
Sure enough, not long after Megumi Kato's words, there was a knock on the green room door.
"Ta-da! Eriri's here too!"
Ikuyo Kita, smiling brightly, ushered Eriri inside.
Though Ikuyo Kita seemed no different from usual, Megumi Kato's sharp eyes noticed that her mood had improved significantly compared to when they'd first met earlier.
Back then, Ikuyo Kita had been visibly nervous—understandable, given that this was her first live performance.
But now, she seemed completely relaxed—or rather, some other emotion had overshadowed her anxiety.
Megumi Kato instinctively glanced at Shin, already piecing things together, and felt a growing sense of urgency.
After introductions, Eriri quickly got acquainted with the members of Kessoku Band.
Though a self-proclaimed otaku, Eriri wasn't the gloomy type. In fact, to maintain her image, she was adept at acting like a "normie" in public.
Her social skills were solid, so she blended in with Kessoku Band almost immediately.
"Alright, it's almost showtime. Let's get ready to go on stage."
After chatting for a while, Nijika Ijichi checked the time and realized their slot was coming up.
The group filed out of the green room—Kessoku Band with their instruments, Shin, Megumi Kato, and Eriri heading to the audience area.
Just as Kessoku Band was about to take the stage, Seika Ijichi, standing off to the side, suddenly called out to her sister.
As Nijika Ijichi's older sister, Seika had always been attentive to her sibling's affairs—especially since she'd recently learned how close Kessoku Band had gotten with Shin.
Though her previous observations suggested Shin meant no harm, Seika had also noticed something… questionable about him.
Namely, that he seemed to be a playboy, juggling multiple girls without even trying to hide it.
For a former rock band member, this kind of behavior was "rock 'n' roll" in its own right—but that didn't mean Seika would tolerate it if directed at her sister.
While no one else had noticed, she had seen it—just before entering the green room, Shin had kissed Ikuyo Kita!
And for several minutes at that! As someone who'd never had a boyfriend, this was her first time witnessing such a long kiss!
She wasn't about to judge Shin's personal life, but if it involved Nijika, that was another matter entirely.
So, before Kessoku Band went on stage, she seized the chance to pull Nijika aside and gauge her feelings about Shin.
Hearing her sister's call, Nijika Ijichi stopped curiously, waiting to hear what she had to say.
"...How do you feel about Shin?"
Seika hesitated, choosing her words carefully as she met Nijika's clear, guileless eyes.
She couldn't just blurt out "I think Shin's too much of a womanizer—don't you dare date him!" That'd be way too blunt and meddlesome.
So, after a pause, she decided to test the waters first.
If Nijika had no particular feelings for Shin, then all was well.
But to Seika's surprise, the question made Nijika freeze momentarily before a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.
"Huh? Shin...? I-I never really thought about it before..."
As she spoke, Nijika glanced toward where Shin stood in the audience, her blush deepening slightly.
"He's been really good to all of us in Kessoku Band, taking care of us... Back when Bocchi was still adjusting, he helped a lot too..."
She scratched her head, finally offering a somewhat awkward smile.
"B-But that kind of thing is still too early! I'll think about it later!!"
With that, Nijika quickly fled from her sister's presence, rushing off to rejoin the rest of Kessoku Band.
Seika, left standing there dumbfounded, could only stare blankly as her sister disappeared.
"...Oh no. Did I just mess up?"
It took her a moment to realize the problem.
Nijika hadn't seemed to have any romantic feelings for Shin before—but now, thanks to that question, it looked like some strange ideas had been planted in her head! Content orıginally comes from 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝓷𝓮𝓽
Advance 100 Chapters are up on my !
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