Kaito cleared his throat, "Of course, if Hitori doesn't like it"
He made a gesture to let go, but couldn't.
The girl kept her head lowered, speechless, but instead gripped his hand even tighter, reflexively.
Since school had been out for a while, there weren't many people on campus. Only a few track team members were still practicing near the track.
Holding Hitori's hand, they boarded the train to Shimokitazawa and headed to STARRY.
As soon as they pushed open the doors to the underground showcase hall, a familiar voice called out first.
"So bored Ryou-senpai, how about we chat?"
"About what?"
"Anything is fine! As long as you like it!"
"Lend me some money."
'Even after a few days, this damn Ryou is still the same as ever.'
Kaito shook his head and led the little social-phobe down the stairs into the showcase hall.
Perhaps because it had just opened, the store was still empty with no customers yet. It looked quite spacious.
The returnee lady was slumped over a small round table not far away, with the ever-useless Ryou sitting next to her.
The doting store manager wasn't around. Only Nijika was behind the counter, diligently cleaning the drink dispenser.
Farther away, PA-san yawned widely, clearly looking low on energy.
Upon hearing footsteps, the one chatting with Ryou-san, Kita, was the first to turn her head. When she saw Kaito's figure, her beautiful golden eyes lit up.
But before she could cheerfully greet him, her eyes landed on the figure behind him.
Pink long hair, that familiar nerdy tracksuit, and the adorable hairpin shaped like a hard fruit candy.
It was Bocchi.
It should've been an ordinary scene, and yet, 'Something feels off today.'
'Is it an illusion?'
'No! Why did I just see'
'Bocchi-chan's hand being held tightly by Kaito-kun?'
The girl's waving arm gradually froze mid-air.
Those cheerful, sun-like pupils seemed to lose their sparkle.
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Chapter 220: How Can You Talk About Love Properly While Surrounded by These Insects?
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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Chapter 221: Yamada Ryou's [Paradise Plan]
It was obvious.
Such a chaotic and evil concept caused a tremendous impact on the worldview of the two lawful good-aligned girls.
"But, this will make Bocchi-chan really sad, right?", Nijika was still a bit hesitant.
To a gentle archangel like her, she would rather bury her own feelings deep in her heart than hurt her friend for her own selfishness.
Beside her, Kita also shook her head. Though her heart still felt sour, she was still a kind and gentle good child who couldn't bring herself to hurt Bocchi just to satisfy her own desire.
"Sad?", Gremlin Ryou crossed her arms, her tone somewhat meaningful, "I don't think so."
She understood Bocchi's personality very well, with two most important traits. Easily satisfied, and sentimental.
Easily satisfied meant she didn't ask for much and didn't have a strong sense of possessiveness.
Sentimental meant she greatly valued the band members and was even more unwilling to part from everyone.
But no matter how close friends are, once student days end and they enter society, due to various reasons, contact gradually decreases and eventually becomes distant.
After all, everyone has their own life, has to work, deal with new social circles, and in the future will build their own familiestheir focus will inevitably shift.
If one wanted to solve this problem, the solution was actually quite simple.
Have a shared, anchoring point that can closely connect everyone.
As long as they all became lifelong best friends, naturally there was no need to worry about drifting apart. Instead, they would become even closer.
Ryou had actually been planning for this all along. Even if she was the one who first captured boyfriend-kun, she wouldn't hog him all for herself. She would create a world where everyone could be happy.
Start with one dating, then lead to another, and finally achieve joint dating.
With Bocchi's personality, upon hearing such a win-win solution, there was a high chance she would be moved.
She might not dare to help make it happen, but as long as she didn't oppose it, that would be enough.
"Ugh", Nijika and Ryou had actually discussed similar things before, but she still felt it was unreliable, and weakly asked, "This can it really work?"
"How would you know if you don't try?"
Gremlin Ryou shrugged, "Trying doesn't cost money."
Kita and Nijika looked at each other, but in the end didn't argue.
'If it's just trying it should be fine, right?'
"Since neither of you has objections"
The blue-haired girl pinched her chin, lips slightly curled, "Then, let's call it, [Paradise Plan]."
'A paradise where everyone can be happy. It sounds pretty nice, right?'
Because Hitori had a socially anxious personality, Kaito had her work behind the drink counter, preparing the beverages to be sold later.
This job was comparatively the easiest in the shop.
When a customer orders, just make the corresponding drink and place it on the counter. At most say one "Thank you for your patronage," no extra conversation needed, very suitable for the socially anxious.
As for the task of receiving customers, he took it on himself.
Actually, he didn't need to do anything special, just the usual ticket check. Confirm it's okay, then let them in.
A few JKs blushed and had their hearts racing, wanting to strike up a conversation, but were intimidated by his cold and unapproachable aura. In the end, they couldn't muster the courage, and just walked to the area near the stage, occasionally turning their heads to sneak peeks over here.
Kaito remained unmoved, he was best at playing the iceberg.
Perhaps because it was still early, the guests who arrived were not many. Roughly counted, there were only eight or nine people, sparsely standing below the stage.
However, behind the counter, the little social-anxious girl was a bit flustered. Normally Nijika would help her, but now she was alone, it was natural to feel nervous.
Seeing that no new guests were appearing for the moment, Kaito was planning to go help out, but then sounds came from the storage room.
Leading the way was Gremlin Ryou, looking composed, bringing back two girls whose gazes were drifting, and heading to the counter before him to help.
'Only gone for just over ten minutes, why do Kita and Nijika look so unsettled?'
He hadn't intentionally used his spiritual sense to check on the storage room's activity earlier. Doing something like that always gave off the vibe of a perverted old man peeking on girls.
In everyday life, if there's no need, he would actively restrain his sharp senses.
On one hand to avoid unintentionally prying into strangers' privacy, and on the other hand to avoid "seeing" some indescribable scenes, which would also pollute the mind.
'Forget it. Since Ryou isn't acting strange, it should've just been girl talk.'
Just then, another group of OL big sisters arrived together. Kaito shook his head, didn't pay much attention, and continued carrying out ticket checks.
"Sorry, no Line, I don't use Instagram, phone's lost. During work hours, let's try to focus on work."
