A karaoke private room, four people.
Touma Kazusa and Kitahara Haruki, as Kiso Yukina's former band teammates, had always maintained a good relationship.
After the unexpected encounter on the street and mutual introductions, Kiso Yukina, with Murakami Yuu's consent, extended an invitation, creating the current situation.
On the long sofa, the two boys sat on the sides while the two girls were positioned in the middle.
Kiso Yukina stood in the center of the room singing. To be precise, ever since entering the karaoke room, Kiso Yukina had been singing non-stop. Her attitude of gripping the microphone and refusing to let go, completely oblivious to others, was vastly different from her usual gentle demeanor - like two people with extreme personalities.
She couldn't read the room, wouldn't yield, and had the monopolizing attributes of a microphone hog, yet surprisingly didn't make people find her annoying.
People with outstanding looks, beautiful singing voices, and perfect vocals have this unique charm that allows others to indulge their unreasonable behavior.
Murakami Yuu even smiled as he leaned back on the sofa, keeping time with the music's rhythm, acting as an amateur accompanist from the audience.
The other two people in the room, Touma Kazusa and Kitahara Haruki, who were once band partners, obviously knew this side of Kiso Yukina and sat calmly on the side, accustomed to it.
When one song ended, sincere applause rang out in the room.
"Phew! Thank you for listening so attentively~"
Kiso Yukina faced the three audience members present, smiling and bowing like a real idol singer.
"Good work. Anyway, let's take a break for now, Yukina."
Murakami Yuu suggested.
Having continuously sung eight songs without pause, Kiso Yukina was temporarily satisfied. She immediately nodded, fanning the fine sweat that had appeared on her forehead with her hand, smiling happily.
"Ha, my throat is getting a bit dry..."
Saying this, she put down the microphone and walked to the phone on the side, putting the receiver to her ear.
"Hello, this is room fifteen. I need one oolong tea and... sorry, please wait a moment."
She covered the receiver belatedly, turning to face everyone.
"Would you like anything to drink?"
They all shook their heads in unison.
They hadn't touched the microphone since entering, so they didn't need to replenish fluids at all.
"Sorry, just one oolong tea please. Thank you."
After hanging up, Kiso Yukina naturally sat down beside Murakami Yuu, and after thanking him, accepted the tissue he handed her to gently wipe her forehead.
Seeing this, Touma Kazusa on the side smiled subtly, glanced at Kitahara Haruki beside her, and after he gave her an almost imperceptible nod, she slowly took a deep breath and then sighed heavily.
The sound she made was unnaturally loud in the quiet room.
"What's wrong, Kazusa?"
Kiso Yukina noticed her action.
"I didn't eat much at lunch, and I'm feeling a bit hungry."
"You should have said so earlier. The fried chicken here tastes great. Let me order some for you."
Kiso Yukina prepared to stand up.
"Sorry Yukina, I don't really want fried chicken."
Touma Kazusa stopped her.
"Eh, then what would Kazusa like to eat? This place also has french fries and pizza."
"Not really interested. Do they have desserts?"
"They do."
"Do they have fruit?"
"They do."
"Do they have rice bowls?"
"They do."
"Mm..."
Is this really a karaoke place and not some large restaurant?! Why do they have every type of dish?!
Touma Kazusa covered her forehead in distress.
Kiso Yukina frowned, somewhat puzzled by her friend's strange behavior.
"Ramen, do they have it?"
"That... they probably don't have..."
"Ah, I really want to eat ramen."
Touma Kazusa felt relieved inside but pretended to look extremely disappointed as she muttered.
"That's a bit unfortunate."
Murakami Yuu glanced at her, then looked away nonchalantly and smiled.
"It's okay, let's go outside to eat then."
Kiso Yukina took Touma Kazusa's hand and stood up without concern.
"No, no need..."
This development wasn't within Touma Kazusa's expectations, catching her somewhat off guard.
"Yukina, the room time isn't up yet. It would be a waste to leave like this, so I'll just go buy takeout and bring it back."
Kitahara Haruki quickly provided an alternative solution.
"Is that okay? Won't the noodles get soggy?"
"It's fine, I like them soggy!"
Touma Kazusa said hurriedly.
"Kazusa, you're acting a bit strange today. I remember you don't like oily food either..."
Kiso Yukina showed a scrutinizing look.
"It's probably your imagination, Yukina."
Murakami Yuu spoke up at this time.
"Rather than that, since our friend is hungry, it would be better to let her fill her stomach quickly."
"Ah, right, right! I'm not very familiar with this area, so Yukina, please come with me to help get takeout ramen for Kazusa!"
Kitahara Haruki quickly followed up on the topic.
"Mm, alright then."
With things having reached this point, the gentle-natured Kiso Yukina could only follow Kitahara Haruki out of the room door. Before leaving, she waved at Murakami Yuu, indicating she'd be right back.
After the two left, Murakami Yuu sat still for a while before chuckling softly.
"Really clumsy and exaggerated acting."
"So you saw through it..."
Touma Kazusa sat at the other end of the sofa, glancing at him.
"It was hard not to see through it. The way you and Yukina had that skit-like dialogue made me feel very much taken out of the moment."
Touma Kazusa was somewhat concerned about what he meant by "skit" but didn't dwell on it too much.
"Since you knew it was intentional, you still spoke up for us."
"I needed to know the purpose of you and Kitahara-kun deliberately creating this chance encounter."
Touma Kazusa's eyes widened, momentarily surprised.
She also thought the performance just now wasn't natural enough and too exaggerated. After all, she wasn't good at acting or lying, so being seen through was normal.
But why could their deliberately created chance encounter be so easily guessed?
"You don't need to look so surprised. It's not difficult - just a normal logic problem you can solve by thinking about it."
The oolong tea that was ordered earlier was brought in. After thanking the staff, Murakami Yuu picked it up, took a sip, and continued.
"Originally, running into acquaintances in a city as big as Tokyo is already an event with very low probability. Add to that the rather abnormal things you and Kitahara Haruki did just now, and no matter how you look at it, it seems premeditated. It's hard to believe the earlier encounter was coincidental."
Following his line of reasoning, Touma Kazusa couldn't help but feel his logic was clear and that it indeed seemed to be the case.
"By the way, the reason this karaoke place has so many menu options is because it has cooperative relationships with nearby restaurants. As long as you have a need, after placing an order, the food is prepared at other establishments and delivered here."
I see, no wonder...
Touma Kazusa nodded.
"Well then, now that you've sent Yukina away, you can speak freely. What do you want to say, Touma-san?"
Murakami Yuu asked leisurely.
---
Advanced 30+ Chapters in pat/reon.com/Sleepy_Hua