Not Just Temporary After All? (5)
Despite the ups and downs, the study group was proceeding smoothly.
It was all thanks to Sakuya's thorough preparations.
'Feels like we actually came here to study...'
Rena checked her wristwatch, dove into her studies, and before she knew it, an hour had passed.
Her legs were starting to go numb, so she stretched them out and stealthily cracked her eyes open to glance around.
The so-called "group" study was strictly divided into two separate sessions.
Rena herself, receiving one-on-one tutoring from Iris.
And Tae-il, relentlessly bombarded from both sides by Ayane and Sakuya.
Especially over there—it had devolved into some kind of knowledge-flexing battle between Ayane and Sakuya, leaving Tae-il no room to breathe as facts were hammered into his brain nonstop.
"Shin-chan, you wrote that wrong."
"Huh, not like this?"
"If the decimal's there, it reads different."
"Oh, sorry. Let me rewrite it."
"Taichi's handwriting is surprisingly bad—hard to read."
"Totally! Shin-chan's had awful penmanship since forever!"
The elementary school letter-writing homework everyone endured once or twice.
Ayane chimed in, saying she'd once needed a magnifying glass to decipher it.
"Maybe that's why you lose points in Japanese and history?"
"Whoa, yeah, that makes sense! Shin-chan's writing looks like worms sometimes!"
"You two sure get along when it's about roasting me, huh?"
"It's all for your own good, Shin-chan!"
"Haha, guess we do click sometimes."
Whether they realized it or not, the two were pickier about Tae-il's image than expected.
'He kinda looks pitiful up close...'
No, he was the guy who'd put Iris in a tough spot. Rena shook her head to clear the thought.
This wasn't the time to worry about others. She had her own nose to save first.
"Rena-chan, that's not how it goes there..."
"Sorry. Lost focus for a sec."
"Wanna take a break?"
Her fingers were starting to ache anyway.
Rena nodded readily, and Iris turned to Sakuya.
"What do you think? Short break?"
"Sure. Taichi, you good?"
"Music to my ears..."
Tae-il slammed his head onto the table right away. Steam practically rose from his head.
His brain, which only knew subway lines for Japanese geography, was finally overloading after ages.
"Korean geography's confusing enough—why Japanese too...?"
"Shin-chan! Every Japanese person has to know that basic stuff!"
"I'm not Japanese..."
"You never know about the future!"
"Yeah?"
"Yup!"
Tae-il, half-checked out, got gaslit by Ayane.
Ayane was blatantly obvious from start to finish.
Maybe even more so now that a formidable rival like Sakuya had appeared.
Meanwhile, Rena wondered why she had to sit here watching someone else's rom-com unfold.
She'd only joined due to Iris's earnest pleading.
'Can't even use this for doujinshi.'
It was an outdated trope you wouldn't even see in modern shonen manga.
Unless those three jumped into a 3P right here, it'd just waste pages with zero substance.
Rena, who believed thin books needed pillow talk during the deed, flicked her wrist and tapped Sakuya's worksheet with her middle finger.
'What's got her so hyped anyway?'
A sidelong glance at Iris revealed her excitedly scanning Tae-il's room.
'So damn naive...'
Her childhood friend's simple brain was giving Rena a headache.
Just days ago, she'd openly confessed to being a ryute, and now she'd totally forgotten.
'You can fake a room like that in a few days.'
Iris's sparkling eyes and weird expectations toward the guy rubbed her the wrong way.
Rena ground her molars without realizing.
'She's gonna get hurt again.'
In Rena's eyes, Arisugawa Iris was always the giver.
She, who only ever received from Iris, understood her nature better than anyone.
Fulfilled herself, she always gave to others—and never just sat back when receiving.
Family teachings made her give back more than she got.
She was awkward at receiving.
Even celebrities live off fans' love, yet this fool only thought of giving. She treated receiving like a disease.
So when she first placed expectations on a guy, she got hurt.
Rena worried her friend would repeat the same pain.
Which was why.
Shin Tae-il was a potential enemy. The culprit who'd shatter her and Iris's peace.
Oblivious to Rena's glare, Tae-il suddenly shot up from his seat.
"Since we're resting anyway, want me to grab some drinks? Anyone have preferences?"
"No carbonated for me!"
"Same."
"...Coffee for me."
Iris, Sakuya, then Rena, in order.
"Hot or cold?"
Summer had everyone asking for cold drinks.
"Got it. Bathroom's right at the top of the stairs, FYI."
"Ah, Shin-chan! Ayane'll help too!"
Unlike Sakuya, who stayed put as a guest, Ayane latched onto Tae-il with familiarity as her weapon.
"Ugh, played me. Total vixen."
Sakuya laughed breezily, brushing off Ayane's smirk.
It irked her.
'What's so great about that guy that these amazing girls...'
In Rena's eyes, Tae-il was a bundle of flaws.
For starters, his lifestyle was wrecked—dark circles deep under his eyes. Skin pale from no sun, rough and unkempt.
Room smelled fine and clean, but obviously tidied for guests—doesn't count.
Worst of all, he screamed classic oblivious dense protag stereotype.
Girls who tangled with guys like that ended up miserable.
And he spouted embarrassing lines without a care—like a textbook dense male lead.
'Right, he has a bad rep too.'
Like an onion—peel one layer, another pops up.
Shin Tae-il, the Korean transfer student, was infamous among teachers as a chronic skipper.
Come to think of it, same type as those seniors who'd trashed his studio.
Losers weeded out in a competitive world, too lazy to improve, bragging about whoring around with guys.
'He's the same.'
One day he'd dye his hair, get piercings, strut with girls on both arms.
No need to see it—nauseating just imagining.
Tae-il's already poor image in Rena's mind plummeted through the floor to Earth's core.
A sense of duty welled up in her.
'Can't let Iris have him.'
As she death-glared the innocent door, Iris stood with a hum, wandering Tae-il's room.
"Bored. Guess I'll poke around the room."
Sakuya, grading Tae-il's worksheets, asked casually.
"Owner's not here—is that okay?"
"Won't rummage too much, right?"
"Y-yeah..."
Sakuya smiled awkwardly, guilty from rifling through bookshelves just days ago when Tae-il stepped out.
"Shin Tae-il does music too?"
"Heard he does."
Sakuya confirmed.
'Doesn't hide his music stuff.'
Iris noted it mentally.
Her red eyes scanned eye-level shelves, then trailed down a dust-free stack of albums by the bed.
One caught her eye—a faded gold-backed album. Iris pulled it out.
She examined front and back carefully.
"Oh, BARD's first full album—first-press limited edition. Number's three digits? No signature, though."
"Didn't grab it in a rush?"
"Rena-chan, you can't just 'grab' something like this."
As Rena nitpicked, Iris tsked and wagged her finger.
"What, how hard can an album be to get...?"
"Rena-chan doesn't get it? Allow your first-gen ryute self to explain!"
At release, BARD's popularity was iffy.
Loved by fans as rising rookies, but no TV spots meant low recognition.
A fave band for insiders only.
They blew up with a famous anime OP.
Before that, sales sucked, limited stock tiny. Later reprints came with reevaluation, but the train had left.
Now? Hunting originals cost a fortune—not impossible, but wallet-busting.
If Tae-il were rich like Iris, fine—but for a regular high schooler? No way.
"Bet it'd go for 100k yen minimum now? Eh, no sig, maybe half."
"Pricey. All albums like that?"
Sakuya found it baffling.
Otaku like her hated resale scalping—some outright despised limited editions.
Store bonuses? She'd scour shops and secondhand sites for merch, but limits required serious thought.
"Only for big names. BARD's not 'name your price' yet. Pretty decent, actually."
Beatles first-press? Million yen floor.
Auctions? Tens of millions.
Sakuya laughed at the astronomical sums.
"Haha, weird world."
"Athletic Sakuya—compare to pro athlete sneakers?"
Michael Jordan's Nikes? Priceless relics.
"Hmm... Kinda?"
Sakuya, sporty exterior but otaku to the bone, still groaned in confusion.
"Anyway, this half-confirms Shin Tae-il's a BARD fan!"
"Uh, sure."
Rena grumbled, propping her chin.
"BARD?"
"Yeah, BARD! Sakuya knows 'em?"
"Yeah, Taichi mentioned once."
During a chat about music tastes.
Tae-il named BARD and Ken.
"Ken's the artist he respects most, BARD his fave band."
"Really? Shin Tae-il said that?"
"Pretty sure."
Iris beamed at Sakuya's nod, hugging the first-press.
Her instincts were spot-on.
Tae-il's stock rose in Iris's mind.
Inversely, his plunged to all-time lows in Rena's.
Escaping stuffy room brought an indescribable liberation.
"Need some fresh air..."
Tae-il flopped onto the living room sofa the moment he descended.
Yu Hana was out—probably chatting with Yuuna next door.
Ayane kneaded Tae-il's slumped shoulders.
"Ugh..."
"Shin-chan looks beat."
He was exhausted. Tension had drained his mental energy more than expected.
Rena oddly hostile, Iris grinning mysteriously while staring.
Meanwhile, Ayane and Sakuya whispering surround-sound style from both sides—pure torture for Tae-il.
Heaven was near, at least.
Still, forcing unwieldy place names into his head while banishing distractions had overloaded him.
"Ayane, sorry—could you boil hot water?"
"Sure."
With Ayane sidelined briefly, Tae-il lifted his head slightly, face still sofa-mushed, staring blankly at the yard outside.
'Scrap the "mess up notes on purpose" plan.'
He knew his room screamed "musician" to anyone glancing.
Album stacks by the bed untouched—Iris would notice instantly.
'Maybe she'll approach first, like last time.'
Panicked then, but now? Perfect.
Prior plans scrapped again, but all roads lead to Rome. Good results? He'd take it.
Issue was Rena, next recruit target.
'Why does she hate me so much?'
From first meet, her hostility was blatant—even oblivious Tae-il noticed.
Maybe crossed paths mid-term? He racked his brain.
'Nope. Nothing...'
Perhaps unknowingly dissed shorty Rena in the past.
Seemed most plausible.
"Oh right, didn't ask about coffee prefs."
Tae-il scratched his throbbing head, heading to the kitchen.
"Ah, Shin-chan. Water's almost boiling."
"Thanks. What you drinking, Ayane?"
"Iced tea?"
"Girls like it sweet and cool, right?"
"Probably?"
Ayane tilted her head, finger to lips.
No girl hated sweets, experience said—dieters aside.
"Then sweet cold coffee for Honjo too. Got creamer...?"
Hard to replicate fave recipes, but sweet iced coffee? Easy at home.
Tae-il rummaged shelves. Ayane asked from behind.
"Shin-chan okay?"
"Huh?"
"Honjo-san. She's blatantly hating on you. You seem bothered."
"Lying if I said no."
Set sugar down, hunt Coffee-mate box.
"But it's fine. We'll get along soon."
"Hmm? How?"
Ayane's voice chilled.
Tae-il, focused on searching, missed it.
"Told you before—someone at school I'm eyeing."
"Wait, not Sakuraba, but Honjo!?"
Ayane paled; Tae-il laughed it off.
"No way. It's Arisugawa, not Honjo."
"Iris?"
Found Coffee-mate—Tae-il grinned wide.
Turning back, Ayane hastily schooled her face.
"S-surprised. Why her...?"
"Ah, never showed you."
Dumped pricey Vietnamese coffee powder parents brought from trip into hot water, pulled out smartphone.
Unlike Sakuya last time, he'd prepped Ayane-specific material.
To show his sincere band passion to her suspicious gaze.
Iris's middle-school festival performance vid—mentioned in original, but he checked "just in case." Praised YouTube when it existed.
"Check this, Ayane. You'll be shocked."
"This?"
Ayane took the phone skeptically.
Video showed four girls.
Crappy quality all around, but one stood out center-stage.
Ayane knew it was Iris from her chest alone.
"This the band?"
Didn't know Iris did music, but even so—atrocious playing.
Ayane grimaced critically.
Fresh from BARD live, couldn't watch with eyes open.
Band toyed with tempo—negatively.
Music noob would shake head at the disaster.
Tae-il chuckled.
"Same reaction as me first time."
Undeniably, Iris's stage ranked top in Tae-il's catastrophe hall of fame.
"Just listen quietly. You'll freak."
"Not hyped..."
Ayane couldn't fathom why he'd recommend noise pollution.
'Vocals flashy at least?'
Nope.
'No—this ain't our school's proud, spirit-crushing Madonna Iris.'
Playing mess, vocals shaky from nerves.
No empathy needed—vocalist's fear invaded Ayane.
Face unseen, Iris's emotions hit full force.
"You don't know stages much, Ayane..."
If Ayane were up there? Trauma city.
Might swear off music forever.
In the trainwreck, no one saved vocals.
Sound glitch mid-song—guitar weird from there.
Bad playing forgivable, but blatant noise? Crowd murmurs; filmer girl mutters "What's wrong with that?" confused.
Dissonant jam grated like nails on chalkboard.
Painful to watch now.
"Shin-chan, gotta finish this?"
"Yup."
Tae-il nodded coldly to her plea.
Noise worsened; music halted.
Guitar girl stopped baffled.
Rhythm gone; timid seeming drums and bass clashed awkwardly in void.
Spotlight fell on Iris's thick, pleading voice.
"Huh?"
Ayane felt herself drawn into Iris's voice.
Drums messing tempo, bass barely moving—vanished.
Melody gone; only vocals remained.
Upbeat song turned solemn, like audition ballad.
Then vid cut with static...
At peak highlight.
"Whaaaat!?"
"Hahaha!"
Tae-il burst laughing at her expected reaction.
"Shin-chan, fake, right!?"
"Nope. Cuts off there."
Tae-il too baffled first view.
Comments chaos: "Why cut here?!"
Per anon student's note: phone died.
"Curiosity satisfied?"
"Ugh..."
Ayane pouted.
Wanted to complain, but nah—curiosity killed it.
She wanted to hear it now.
Iris's song highlight.