Tangle (7)
The rooftop of Yuuma High School was officially off-limits.
According to the setting revealed on the inside cover of the tankobon, there had been a suicide incident in the past, and despite demands from the student council and other students to open it up, the school had maintained a lukewarm attitude.
Thanks to that, the rooftop had remained sealed off all this time, except when workers came and went for occasional maintenance.
Until the rusted lock, unable to withstand the ravages of time, snapped under Ayane's hand.
In the original story, that's how it was.
Tae-il was the one who had currently opened the rooftop.
Using his knowledge of the original story to get ahead, he had turned the rooftop into his personal escape. It satisfied his desire for a secret hideout, the kind every guy dreams of, and so far, only Tae-il and Ayane knew about it.
He'd initially planned to keep it to himself, but once things started unraveling, he felt like he might turn into a wild horse without reins, so he'd confessed the rooftop's secret to Ayane.
For Tae-il, Ayane was the last bastion of his conscience.
Ayane, too, was content knowing she was the only one who could put a gag on him.
A secret shared just between the childhood friends.
Ayane had latched onto that word and guarded the secret ever since.
But now, their secret was no more.
The coercive force called the "original story" and the violence named the "protagonist" had invaded the rooftop.
She could no longer admire Tae-il's sleeping face alone.
Another girl—not her—might come up to wake him.
Each one was a brutal reality that would make Ayane faint in shock if she realized it.
She had lost it again.
The world was stripping away her uniques one by one, as if punishing the childhood friend who had always monopolized and colluded.
"Oh ho?"
Iris, oblivious to what she'd done, casually clasped her hands behind her back and looked around the rooftop with curious eyes.
"Our school's rooftop was accessible? I had no idea."
As if proving how long it had been neglected, she nudged the dust and debris piled on the empty rooftop floor with the tip of her shoe.
Workers occasionally came up for inspections and smoked, so Tae-il had kept the rooftop as close to its original state as possible to avoid getting caught using it privately. Aside from the spot where he lay down, there were no signs of use—it was filthy.
Tae-il eyed Iris's reaction and leaned boredly against the wall before sitting down.
"You didn't know when you brought me here?"
"Nope."
Iris turned around with a playful smile that didn't suit the barren rooftop.
This feels kinda like Ayane.
He wasn't annoyed despite being dragged here by force.
In the original story, Ayane getting swept up by Iris naturally felt just like this.
Getting toyed with and dragged along aimlessly.
For Tae-il, who hated others meddling, it was an unfamiliar sensation.
Still, it's a relief.
Swept up in the unfamiliar feeling, he looked at Iris without the same disaster from last time.
He faced her directly.
Her ruby eyes tempted and ensnared his mind.
But he resisted.
Tae-il wiped his sweaty palms on his uniform pants and let out a small breath.
It's fine. My heart isn't racing. No tension, no anxiety. I'm completely calm right now. So calm I could count the freckles on her face…
He didn't seem particularly calm.
Anyway, perhaps because it felt so unreal, Tae-il stayed relatively composed.
He might look like he'd lost his mind, but it was clear he wasn't excited.
They say people get eerily calm when shocked too much. That was Tae-il right now.
Whatever.
Tae-il was grateful he could maintain his composure without panicking like last time.
"So, why'd you drag me here?"
"Just 'cause."
What a profound reason.
Just 'cause.
Tae-il's face twisted. A snappy tone slipped out naturally.
"I'm busy, y'know? If you got nothing to say, I'm outta here."
"Just stay. You're gonna wander around aimlessly till the end of school anyway, right?"
Tae-il, who had started to stand, froze. He looked at her with wide eyes.
Iris puffed out her chest proudly.
"I looked into everything. Taichi. Or should I say, 'Shin Tae-il'."
Tae-il's eyes went round like fish eyes.
He stuttered in shock.
"Y-your pronunciation's spot on."
"'Thanks for the praise. Can I call you Tae-il from now on?'"
The shocks kept coming.
At her flawless Korean pronunciation, Tae-il nodded with a dazed expression.
He asked in Korean without thinking.
"How'd you learn Korean?"
"'From watching dramas? Nowadays, they even add hiragana to subtitles for pronunciation. There are even passionate Japanese fans on YouTube who cut drama and movie scenes to teach Hangul.'"
Iris explained fluidly.
Tae-il wouldn't be surprised if she had a script prepared in her hands behind her back.
"'These days, celebrities write essays or autobiographies too. Diehard fans study them to read that stuff. I'm not that hardcore a fan, so I dunno.'"
Iris downplayed it like it was no big deal, but Tae-il—who had struggled endlessly learning Japanese right after reincarnating—knew better than anyone how impressive it was.
Thank goodness he'd been a kindergarten kid at the time. If he'd come over as an adult, he'd have been treated like an idiot.
"Basically self-taught, huh. Your pronunciation's so clean, I thought you'd had formal lessons."
"…I'll gratefully accept the honest praise."
Iris glanced away shyly.
Embarrassed by the compliment, she'd switched back to Japanese.
Her pronunciation wasn't quite native Korean, but it was good enough to fool someone like Arthur into thinking she was overseas Korean.
A bit more practice, and she might pass for a local.
For Tae-il—who got outed as non-Japanese every time due to his foreign accent—it was enviably talented.
Especially since she didn't look blatantly Western.
Looking East Asian but fumbling Japanese didn't go over well with Japanese people either.
"Anyway, the point isn't that I speak Korean!"
"To me, that's the most important part."
The voice of the voice actress he admired—no, loved—the one who led him down the otaku path, was speaking Korean right in front of him.
Thinking it over, Tae-il belatedly realized how absurd this development was and felt moved.
At the same time, a bit of greed stirred.
"Since we're at it, wanna chat in Korean?"
"D-do we have to?"
Iris panicked at the sudden suggestion.
"Ah, sorry. I got carried away 'cause I'm happy. I hardly ever get to use Korean."
"What about at home? Don't you use your native language with family?"
"My parents are always busy with work, so they're rarely home."
"Ah…."
The mood sobered suddenly.
Iris, raised with overflowing parental love, pitied him.
She'd probably get mad at him for lying if she knew the truth.
It was true he regretted not having chances to use Korean.
He did occasionally hunt for Korean YouTube clips of talk shows or variety programs.
But he couldn't deny that his current setup—freely playing instruments day and night without parental nagging—was better than not speaking Korean.
Plus, he'd spewed Korean curses at those guys this morning.
No count.
He gently deleted that memory.
Anyway, chatting in his native tongue with a pretty girl was more joyful—and special—than with random dudes, no matter how handsome.
Like right now.
Tae-il rarely flashed a bright smile on his own.
"If it's too much, no worries. I guess I just got excited about conversing in Korean."
Dismissing it casually with a relaxed smile, he prodded at Iris's conscience.
Iris desperately stuck to Japanese.
"H-having a practice partner is great for me too, but that's not why I came looking for you today!"
"You said 'just 'cause' earlier."
"That's just a figure of speech! I can't believe you! How can you be this oblivious!?"
Tae-il silently agreed to her pointing finger.
He'd heard he lacked tact plenty of times before.
"So? What do you wanna ask?"
Before he knew it, Tae-il had taken control of the conversation. For Iris—who always led talks except with her father—this novel experience made her heart tickle.
Especially since…
This is my first time talking like this with a boy…
Tension shook her true feelings. Among her peers, Tae-il was her first real BARD fan—let alone a male one.
Gulp.
Iris swallowed dryly.
She pretended to be nonchalant, but couldn't hide her nerves.
At live events, she masked her face somewhat and gained confidence from bonding with fellow fans who didn't know each other's faces.
But sharing hobbies with someone who knew her—aside from childhood friend Rena—was a first for her too. The unfamiliarity made Iris's heart flutter faintly.
Some might call it overthinking, but Iris was too famous at school to dismiss it simply.
She was sure the boy in front of her knew who she was.
That's why it was embarrassing.
Iris pinpointed her emotion exactly.
If she told her friends the great Arisugawa Iris felt embarrassed, they'd probably react like this:
"You've finally lost it, huh?"
A girl who reigned supreme feeling embarrassed?
"At least act like it in front of me, you brat. Is cosplaying a mature woman that hard?"
Maybe even harsher insults.
Her friends had suffered plenty from her stubbornness, love it or hate it.
Iris ignored the hallucinated nagging and glared at Tae-il.
Her first impression: an incredibly listless guy who didn't fit Yuuma High's overflowing energy, prone to weird outbursts.
Maybe he's like other boys, just trying to hit on me.
Until recently, that's how she'd seen him.
Iris avoided entanglements with boys.
She was grateful to her parents for her stunning looks, but too many bugs swarmed beautiful flowers.
She'd gotten drunk on the endless popularity at first, but human relationships were tricky—she'd seen all sorts from both guys and girls.
Men were hard to trust beyond family.
Women too.
To Iris, they were all the same.
Iris wished to be an artificial flower rather than a live one.
One born from human hands for pure admiration, preserving beauty semi-permanently without bugs.
But that wasn't realistic, so her compromise: be friendly with everyone, but vet true friends rigorously.
Thus, the blooming high school girl's life—still 15 by Korean age—had only one friend: her childhood companion tied by family matters.
Her sole friend had said:
"What would you have done without me? Total loner."
Of course, she'd argued she wasn't a loner. To no avail.
It's fine. He's safe. I can trust him.
Truth be told, her interest in Shin Tae-il hadn't lasted long. Memorable, sure, but guys hitting on her weren't rare.
He was just one of the crowd.
That's what she'd thought.
Her mind changed while browsing a BARD fan community at home, unable to attend the documentary filming due to family events.
"Huh?"
In a post by a named troll bragging about live attendance, she spotted a familiar face.
She'd have glossed over a familiar face normally, but the girl next to him stopped her.
Katsuragi Ayane.
A famous figure Iris knew.
The sole first-year morals committee member, per Yuuma High's outdated tradition of one per grade.
Rumored more suited for student council president with her kind, gentle nature.
The boy with her had to be Taichi, the one who'd helped her.
Iris immediately had a servant investigate them.
A simple profile—names, ages, genders, nationalities, graduated schools—reached her in under half a day.
Finally, the servant's personal notes and summary evaluation read:
-Unclear if they're actually lovers, but childhood friends of over 10 years. They seem on very good terms.
Iris cheered.
Eureka!
She could intensely sense something between them.
She rushed to her friend, insisting this was one of her rare chances to make a new one.
"This seems safe enough to approach, right?"
"Dunno. If a guy's not pitching a tent at your tits, that's suspicious."
"He has a girlfriend!"
"You said it's not confirmed. And guys cheating? Seen it a million times."
"B-but they've stuck together like glue for over 10 years…!"
"I've been with you over 10 years and your boobs don't faze me anymore. Think he's different? Plus, you're walking sex on legs. He'll pop a boner and zombie-moan on sight. Don't underestimate male lust—it's not controllable."
"Rena-chan, you're too mean!"
Though her friend was negative about everything.
And dumped a barrage of insults.
Iris still trusted the pair, presumed BARD fans.
Tickets for that broadcast were notoriously hard for casual fans to snag.
The competition was brutal, and scalpers abounded. For a non-rich student to resist temptations and attend? Only a true fan's resolve.
It showed how generous Arthur was gifting tickets, but since Iris and Tae-il didn't know each other's details, misunderstandings piled up.
In short, to Iris, Tae-il was a guy who'd scored two rare tickets—not pure luck for a normie—and gone to the BARD documentary with his girlfriend.
He could be the one.
A fellow BARD comrade who might see her purely.
Iris gazed at Tae-il with swelling hope.
His refreshed, bright eyes—post-nap—reflected her anxious face.
Get it together, Arisugawa Iris! You're Yuuma High's top beauty!
Even against a lute player, she had to be the most confident girl in front of guys.
Wolves called men got cocky at any weakness. Deciding no more delays, Iris pointed boldly and shouted.
"Shin Tae-il! You like BARD, don't you! You love them! The most in the world!"
Tae-il dug in his ear. Did I hear that right?
Iris crowed triumphantly.
"Don't try to run. I already know everything!"
"Know everything…?"
Tae-il looked wary.
"Wha? It's fine. I get it. Even so, getting caught liking a specific band in front of the school's idol is kinda awkward, right?"
Immature teens lacked understanding—if you weren't like them, they'd reject you.
They couldn't easily accept differences.
BARD was nationally popular, but their face was a girl. Older guys might flock to that, but younger teens? Different.
Pride?
Yeah, pride. Childish and petty.
Just like kids who watched magical girl anime secretly but bragged they didn't, then eavesdropped when girls talked about it.
High school boys were the same.
Why was it such a big deal? They hid their tastes behind lame bravado.
Iris mistook Tae-il for one of them.
"…And?"
So even his grumpy frown, she understood.
And offered concession, considering he might be her first friend with the same hobby.
"Truth is, me too! I'm a single-digit first-gen member! Lute of lutes!"
Lute-out.
She openly admitted being a BARD-loving lute.
"In other words! I've loved them since their underground days. You know how huge that is, right? Right?"
Jealous yet?
Iris placed a hand on her Mt. Fuji-like chest and stared him down piously.
Other lutes would burst with envy at her feat.
Begging to touch an underground album, for photos, anything.
But.
Her response was,
"Uh… yeah. Impressive. Wow."
Too bland for a BARD fan—made her doubt her investigations.
"Wha-what? That's not it…?"
Iris's poker face crumbled.
Evidently, Tae-il wasn't the only one sensing something had gone terribly wrong.