"Mana, it's time to go to rehearsal."
The girl with long golden hair draped over her shoulders pushed the door open and entered. Her refined features full of heroic spirit shone with vigor, but upon noticing Mana's smile, her expression turned curious.
"Suddenly smiling so happily, did something good happen?"
"Mm… I did encounter something wonderful indeed."
Sumita Mana put away her phone and cheerfully hugged her friend's arm, "Uika, in a few days, how about I introduce a new friend to you?"
"New friend?", Misumi Uika was slightly taken aback.
Ever since Sumimi suffered suppression from an unknown force, this guitarist, who appeared valiant and bold in the eyes of outsiders, had actually been feeling quite depressed inside.
She knew the reason behind it but was powerless to resist the grasp of that old guy's big hand. Relying only on stubbornness and a desire to see Sakiko once more, she barely managed to stay in Tokyo.
The only person Uika felt sorry for was Mana. If not for her, Sumimi wouldn't have fallen into the crisis of disbandment. With Mana's abilities, her future should have been bright.
So when she heard that the agency intended to separate Mana from her and let her go solo, Misumi Uika even felt a bit relieved.
At least this way, she wouldn't drag Mana down anymore.
But that vocalist who had always shown a sweet and gentle image unexpectedly displayed extraordinary courage and stubbornness.
Not only did she refuse the agency's request, but she was also willing to bear the pressure from the outside world together with her. Even in the most difficult times, she never thought of abandoning her.
Besides her guilt, Uika felt a warmness rising in her heart.
The friendship forged through shared hardships was always especially precious.
So even after the unknown force suppressing Sumimi mysteriously disappeared, her relationship with Mana didn't regress, but instead became even closer, turning into best girlfriends.
At this moment, seeing her friend's smile sweet like cotton candy, Uika was momentarily stunned and couldn't help but feel a bit strange.
Looking at Mana's appearance… it didn't seem like she was going to introduce a new friend. It looked more like she was going to introduce a boyfriend?
Uika had never been in a relationship and wasn't entirely sure what liking a boy felt like, but even if she hadn't eaten pork, she had seen pigs run.
Back when she studied at Hanasakigawa, she had seen what girls looked like when they got into relationships: their eyes would shine when talking about their lovers, their lips would uncontrollably curve up, and pink bubbles seemed to float all around them.
And Mana's current look wasn't just similar, it was identical.
'But when did it happen?'
As teammates in the same group, she spent more time with Mana than most people did, yet rarely saw the latter go out. She would sometimes just stare at her phone in a daze, occasionally frowning or smiling foolishly. No one knew what she was looking at.
'Could it be… an online relationship?'
Such a guess suddenly popped into Uika's head and startled her.
But thinking it through carefully, the possibility was actually quite high. After all, Mana didn't have much opportunity to interact with outsiders in real life, so it seemed like only the internet offered a loophole to explore.
The girl couldn't help but feel a little worried.
The internet world is full of truth and lies, and separated by a screen, the darkness of the human heart could be infinitely magnified.
With Mana's silly and sweet personality, if she were to meet a frivolous bad man, wouldn't she be tricked into giving birth to triplets?
With that concern, she hesitated a little, but still cautiously asked, "You and that friend… have a good relationship?"
"Uh…", Sumita Mana stretched out a slender finger and tapped her lips somewhat troubledly, "We… probably can barely be considered good friends?"
Her guilty and uncertain attitude made Uika fall silent for two seconds.
'What the heck is "barely"?'
'Does your friend know he's your friend?'
"Anyway, he's a very good person~ Might seem hard to approach at first, but he's actually very gentle," Sumita Mana didn't dwell on this topic, instead promising confidently, "Uika, you'll definitely like him! I promise!"
Uika didn't quite understand where her friend's confidence came from, 'Is it the case of love is in the eye of the beholder?'
Since she couldn't figure it out, she simply stopped thinking about it. As long as they met once, she'd know what kind of person he was.
As for whether she'd like him?
Uika slightly shook her head imperceptibly. In her mind appeared the image of a delicate doll-like blue-haired girl, her smile radiant like an angel.
'My heart has already been taken by Sakiko, perhaps there will be no more joy or sorrow in this life.'
———
"What scheme are you up to again?", Putting away his phone, Kaito looked at the pink-haired girl who suddenly leaned in and sighed.
"What do you mean… Am I, in Kaito's heart, really that unreliable?"
Chihaya Anon puffed up her cheeks slightly, looking like a cute little pink hamster, "I was just curious… Isn't your uniform a bit off?"
"Hm?"
"No playing dumb!"
The girl's gaze was sharp, her tone serious like a detective confronting a suspect, "Confess and be lenient, resist and be strict! Tell the truth, what's the deal with this button!"
'So it is about this?'
Kaito looked down at his uniform. One button was missing. At first glance, it did look a bit odd, no wonder Anon noticed it.
But he didn't think much of it and just casually said, "I gave it to someone."
Worth mentioning—
In Japan, the second button on a boy's uniform holds a very special meaning: because it lies over the chest, closest to the heart, there's a saying that "as long as you have that button, you'll always have his heart." [T/N: It's a true custom. Not made up here.]
This legend was especially popular decades ago, but even now it hasn't gone out of style. Every graduation season, you could still see girls actively asking their crushes for that button. If successful, they'd hang it on a red thread around their neck, symbolizing "you are the love of my life."
But Kaito, being essentially a guy from next-door, wasn't too familiar with these Japanese customs, so he didn't realize what his words implied.
However, as a native girl, Anon had certainly heard of the legend about buttons, and had even once fantasized about similar scenarios.
But that was a long time ago. She subconsciously patted her chest and just breathed a sigh of relief, "So it was given to someone… wait a sec!"
The girl froze, suddenly coming to her senses belatedly, 'Kaito gave the button closest to his heart… to someone else.'
'That means…'
'I have been cheated on?'
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