The stylish older woman standing in front of Haru had short, tousled hair dyed a muted, matte violet bob. Her mature figure and trendy outfit gave off a radiant, magnetic charm.
But offsetting that mature allure was the slight curl of her lips and the soft pink gaze hidden beneath oversized sunglasses with subtle signs of mischief and playfulness that gave her a more youthful, teasing feel.
Haru, feeling slightly uneasy, stared at the troublesome woman in front of him. After a moment of awkward silence, he slowly lifted his gaze.
"Good evening, Yutenji-san."
The purple-haired woman's bright smile twitched. She seemed to have anticipated Haru's detached attitude.
"…That sounded a little dry, don't you think? But good evening to you too, Haru~"
Yutenji Nyamu narrowed her eyes playfully, tossing out a casual jab. As a popular beauty vlogger, she quickly recovered with her perfect on-screen smile, dragging out her words in a drawn-out, sugary tone.
"What a coincidence running into you here~ What's someone like Haru doing out so late?"
What a pain.
"Just looking for dinner. That's all."
"Eh? Then how about eating with me?"
Her eyes twinkled as she made the suggestion without hesitation.
"You seem busy. Doesn't feel like the right time."
Haru's gaze dropped to the selfie stick in her right hand.
He had zero interest in getting entangled with this influencer who constantly chased popularity and metrics. Especially now, with a camera possibly rolling, he had no desire to become the "lucky guest" of some surprise street segment.
Perhaps sensing his discomfort, the mature influencer unlatched the phone from her stick and tilted the screen toward him, showing a recording screen instead of a live broadcast.
Haru's eyes narrowed slightly, though he remained unimpressed. "In that case, I'll leave you to your work. Wouldn't want to get in the way."
"I don't mind at all."
"Sure, we're not super close, but we are bandmates. I just wanted to find a chance to talk about the band… sniff… are you really that cold to me?"
Nyamu's smile began to stiffen, a faint air of wounded pride weaving through her words.
For once, her usual forced cheer seemed absent her sulky tone, though clearly exaggerated, wasn't entirely fake. Haru had the feeling that if he turned her down again, she might genuinely hold a grudge.
"…"
He studied her pouty face for a moment before letting out a sigh.
He wasn't exactly a fan of people who wore their masks so openly, but she was a member of their band, personally invited by both Haru and Sakiko. If things got too cold between them, it would only cause more trouble down the line.
Nyamu might look like a mature adult, but Haru couldn't shake the sense she was a bit of a child inside, likely to lash out over something petty.
"…Alright. Let's find a café and sit for a bit."
The moment he said that, a victorious smirk played at the corner of her lips. Her feigned pout melted instantly into a "gotcha" grin.
She raised her hand to half-cover the smile, eyes bright with delight. "Yay~ But a café's kinda boring, don't you think~?"
"Actually, I've been out recording footage for a restaurant-hopping show today! Visiting trendy foodie spots is a great way to ride the algorithm, you know?"
"And because of that, I haven't eaten all day. I'm starving! So let's go somewhere good and talk band stuff over dinner, okay~?"
Haru's expression twitched. He could already guess where this was going.
"I'm saying this now: don't film me."
"Meow? Why not?!"
Nyamu's eyes widened behind her dark sunglasses, lips parting in disbelief.
Seeing her dismayed reaction, Haru rolled his eyes ever so slightly.
As expected, she couldn't resist the lure of online clout. She had joined Ave Mujica for exposure and money, so of course she wouldn't pass up a chance to feature Haru, a walking fountain of clicks.
In today's image-obsessed world, Haru's looks alone were enough to drive traffic, even if he just sat there silently.
Closing his eyes, he replied with disinterest, "I don't like being on camera. If you insist on filming me, then I'll leave. Simple as that."
"…Fiiine~ I wouldn't just go filming people without permission anyway, meow! No filming, got it!"
Nyamu puffed her cheeks in mock annoyance, sighing internally. Seeing how uncooperative Haru was, she had no choice but to give in. What a waste of that beautiful face.
Still smiling on the outside, Nyamu suddenly seemed to think of something amusing. Her grin took on a slightly mysterious edge.
"Since you won't film with me, how about recommending your favorite place to eat?"
Haru's eyes glinted subtly.
"You sure?"
Seeing the smirk curl on his lips, Nyamu suddenly felt a twinge of dread.
…
"Welcome~!"
A cheery blonde waitress greeted them as Haru pulled open the noren curtain. He walked in with Nyamu, who wore a baffled look on her face following behind.
There were plenty of decent restaurants near Yokohama, but Haru's favorite was always the same: Shiba Seki Ramen. The menu was heavy on greasy ramen and fried foods.
As a beauty influencer who carefully managed her figure, Nyamu would probably find this… less than ideal.
It was, perhaps, Haru's way of lightly retaliating for all her fake-pouting manipulation earlier.
"Wait, it's a ramen shop?"
Nyamu's eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at the unamused black-haired teen ahead of her.
Of all the places to bring a girl, ramen? High-calorie, greasy food wasn't exactly the way to impress someone. Or maybe… he hadn't intended to impress her at all?
That was kinda annoying!
"There's a reserved booth in the back, right this way!"
The blonde waitress beamed and led them into the shop. She didn't even blink at the unfamiliar, glamorous older woman following Haru.
She'd been working here long enough to see everything. Honestly, even if Haru brought in a top national idol next time, she probably wouldn't bat an eye.
"Here's the menu. Please take your time."
Nyamu stared warily at the menu handed to her.
The variety was surprising: tempura, tonkatsu, grilled eel, every type of ramen you could imagine but the calorie count was clearly sky-high.
"Haru, do you always bring girls to ramen shops for dinner?"
"That's right."
Haru replied with an indifferent tone, not bothering to lie about something so trivial.
Yutenji Nyamu, however, absolutely did not believe him. No way this kid took girls out on dates to greasy ramen shops. He was definitely just annoyed from being teased and brought her here on purpose.
Squinting her eyes in mock offense, she added a little spite into her voice. "If you're going on a date, a western-style restaurant is probably better, you know? Acting like this, Haru, you're gonna end up alone."
"Well, if you don't want to eat here, we can change restaurants."
Haru spread his hands with a casual shrug, clearly not invested either way.
Nyamu took a deep breath. Right. She had almost forgotten this guy was a silver-tongued demon juggling multiple girls. Of course he didn't need to worry about finding a girlfriend.
"Forget it… switching places now would be too much trouble. Let's just eat here."
As a mature "adult," she couldn't afford to throw a tantrum in front of a high schooler. Getting looked down on by him would seriously tick her off.
Still, she couldn't figure it out. Why did the other girls in Ave Mujica even like him?
Were high school girls nowadays really just that shallow?
"By the way, Haru, do you have to be so formal calling me 'Yutenji-san'? We've known each other a while now. Just call me Nyamu-chan already!"
"Or if you prefer, you could go with 'Nyamu-neesan'~?"
Haru raised an eyebrow, replying without looking up.
"Miss Amoris."
"Hey! Using my code name is even more formal!"
Nyamu flopped across the table in mock outrage, but Haru made no move to acknowledge it, simply pretending he hadn't heard a thing.
He calmly raised his gaze and looked at her with a work-mode expression. "Weren't you here to talk about band stuff, Yutenji-san? If you have any concrete suggestions, just tell me. I'll summarize them and send a report to Sakiko."
"Don't just change the subject!"
Nyamu pouted, her cat-like lips forming a cryptic curve of frustration.
Glaring at his usual cold, impassive face, she suddenly yanked off her hat and sunglasses, revealing a flawlessly made-up, strikingly beautiful face.
Then she raised her hand and shouted toward the counter:
"Hey, two big bottles of cold beer, please!"
"Coming right up!"
Within seconds, the bottles were slammed onto the table. Nyamu grabbed one like she was releasing steam and downed a huge gulp, venting all the frustration she'd been holding in.
Her outburst caught Haru a bit off guard.
This woman, who always wore a fake smile, had finally hit her limit?
"Training with Mujica has gotten so intense lately. Sakiko's drum parts are seriously insane. If I mess up during practice, I get chewed out and then I have to stay behind for extra practice!"
"I worked so hard to make it to the stage, and after our first show, she couldn't even say one kind word to me! Forget a celebration party, I didn't even get a 'good job'!"
Grumbling and venting without end, Nyamu drank heavily as she spilled her true feelings, setting aside all the careful masks she usually wore.
Haru sat silently and listened, imitating Mutsumi's wooden expression as best he could.
Maybe she got too into it, because she suddenly blurted out:
"Sakiko's just a selfish witch who doesn't give a damn about anyone else! She doesn't even try to understand how tough it is being a new drummer!"
Hearing that, Haru raised a brow in silent amusement. Wow. She really was tipsy. She didn't even care that she was saying this in front of Sakiko's right-hand man.
If he passed any of this along, her life in the band could get very uncomfortable.
Still, Haru had no plans to tattle. He rolled his eyes and muttered:
"Oh please, like you're some rookie."
"In October, you posted a video saying you were starting drums from zero, but you'd already been practicing by then, right? Your technique is way beyond the average amateur level, and you handled Ave Mujica's brutal training just fine. Not to mention your first live performance went off without a hitch."
When Haru finished his analysis, he looked up to find Nyamu blinking at him.
Her expression was… odd. Like she'd just seen Japanese Spider-Man riding Leopardon into a deathmatch with Thanos.
After a beat of silence, Haru frowned slightly. "What?"
"…I'm just surprised, that's all. I didn't think you would ever compliment me."
Flushed with alcohol, Nyamu's cheeks were tinged with red. She was so used to his aloof demeanor, the sudden praise had thrown her off.
But as a seasoned adult, she recovered quickly and redirected the topic.
"Haru, how did you even know I posted that drum video in October?"
She arched an eyebrow, eyeing him with a complicated gaze.
As someone constantly churning out videos as a beauty influencer, she herself could barely remember what she uploaded month to month. Yet this guy, who always kept her at arm's length, knew exactly when she posted a drumming video?
That could only mean...
Don't tell me… he's into me too?
There were only five girls in Ave Mujica, and every single one of them had some weirdly ambiguous relationship with this guy. Even Mutsumi, who barely spoke to anyone, acted oddly close with him.
Was she really not an exception?
Of course, Haru had no idea what kind of nonsense was swirling in her head. He simply took a sip of soda and answered flatly, "I get paid the same as you guys. so it's naturally impossible for me to just write some simple songs."
"If Sakiko doesn't have time or can't handle something, I help with operations. If she needs training schedules, I prep those too. So yeah, I need to know where everyone's at skill-wise."
Nyamu opened her mouth, stunned. Her alcohol-fuzzed mind suddenly sobered.
Writing music was… "simple"?
Simple?!
But maybe that was just part of Haru's master plan. In the world of adults, "reasons" were never in short supply. Who knew, maybe his cold attitude had all been reverse psychology this whole time.
Suddenly, Nyamu felt oddly defensive.
That face of his was just too dangerous!
Still… if this really was a seduction tactic, he sure was taking his sweet time. They'd known each other for ages, and he hadn't made a single move. Was he not even interested in her?
Seriously? Were those teenage JKs really more appealing than her?
The thought made Nyamu feel a weird pang in her chest. She huffed and asked:
"By the way… did I do something to make you hate me?"
"You're perfectly nice to Mutsumi and Uika, but with me, you're always so distant. I don't remember ever offending you, or is this just you and Sakiko ganging up on me?!"
"This is textbook band bullying. Bullying, I say!"
Nyamu flailed her fists like a sulking kid, her drunken antics leaving Haru speechless.
He'd originally thought of her as mature, but now… she was just drunk and whining like a child. He honestly didn't know how to handle it.
This seemed like a job for Uika.
"…By the way, I've been meaning to ask for a while now."
"Haru, are you and Sakiko actually dating?"