Sleeping with the Enemy (2)
The end-of-term ceremony.
It was the day every student in the world longed for.
Teachers were no different. Vacation was basically a holiday for them too, so you could easily spot their oddly excited vibes.
Just get through today.
Just get through today, and they wouldn't have to see these damn kids for a whole month.
The free elective class teachers, especially those burned out to a crisp, welcomed the break the most. Handling energetic, ego-driven teens in their prime was just too much for them.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Like the teacher whose workload had suddenly spiked thanks to some uninvited guest dropping off a new club application.
Or the high school girl who had to join a club she didn't want and was endlessly depressed about it.
Rena was the latter.
"Haa."
In the bustling classroom.
If the college prep class was simply basking in the quiet joy of the upcoming break, the free elective class was a total frenzy of excitement with Interhigh right around the corner.
Class 8, where Rena was, was no exception.
The sports clubs were bragging left and right since even first-years could make the team if they had the skills.
It was all just background noise to Rena, like some terrestrial broadcast she had no stake in.
If she could turn off this racket like a TV, she'd smash the remote power button without a second thought.
Even the homeroom teacher, who usually hushed the class, just chuckled indulgently today and let them run wild.
At least end the closing ceremony early or something.
Once a homeroom teacher rubbed her the wrong way, they stayed wrong.
Rena doodled in her randomly opened notebook, then scribbled over it viciously.
The cute girl's face she'd drawn was instantly buried under graphite.
Girl chatter drifted from the seat right behind her.
"Right, you got a new violin recently, huh?"
"Yeah. Mom bought it for me to cheer me on for the concerto..."
"How much?"
"Ehehehe..."
"Look at you? Being coy with me?"
"I'll show you on the day!"
"You little punk."
Violin.
String instrument.
Musical instrument.
Guitar.
BAND.
The violin took a weird detour in her mind before morphing into "band" and looping around her head.
"Instruments, huh..."
She had to pick one.
Rena pressed hard on the dulled tip of her pencil.
Snap.
The lead broke and rolled under the desk.
Joining the Light Music Club had become a necessity for Rena, not a choice.
It was her promise to Ayane, and even if just to keep Tae-il from messing around with Iris.
The problem was what instrument to play.
Rena spread her right hand open.
Fingers deformed from drawing since childhood.
She was confident in her looks, but her hands? She hated showing them off.
Especially her index and middle fingers, thick with calluses—rough and clumsy for a young girl's hands.
Iris was the only one who'd ever called them pretty and cool.
That gloomy girl said she'd handle bass anyway...
Guitar would probably go to Iris.
She'd handled guitar and vocals back in middle school, her talent overflowing.
"So what am I supposed to do..."
Maybe pound out some ding-ding-ding on the keys?
Too annoying to even think about.
Whatever, I'll submit the application and just do whatever Iris tells me.
She buried her head on the desk.
But is that really okay...?
Rena was worried.
Iris was dead serious about the band.
Am I being too unmotivated?
The thought that she might drag Iris down, unable to keep up with that sincerity, scared her straight.
What if I suck so bad at the instrument that Iris starts hating me?
Iris's scream from the rooftop echoed like tinnitus.
She couldn't barge in, kick down the door, and comfort her like old times.
Doubts started creeping into Rena's mind about her relationship with Iris.
Are we even friends?
Does Iris secretly find me annoying?
Isn't it a miracle she even puts up with my bitching and bossing around?
She lifted her head, dark circles hollow under her eyes.
She'd been losing sleep over it, it hurt that bad.
Being hated by Iris terrified her, but at the same time, her idol-crazed common sense was snapping back into place.
Her narrow world, held tight in her hands, suddenly burst open and expanded.
Accepting it felt like it would shatter her sense of self.
Rena gave up thinking.
It's all that bastard's fault.
People always want to dump blame on someone when problems arise.
It lets them escape the guilt.
Rena was the same.
She shoved all the blame onto Tae-il.
And just like that, her mind went blank. She imagined an empty trash bin in her cluttered head and dumped every stray thought into it.
Everything felt comfortably easy after that, like a lie.
"Hey."
An unfamiliar voice from the back of the classroom.
The air in Class 7 buzzed with excitement at yet another sudden beauty visitor—who even knew how many this made.
They'd freaked out at first, but by now, Class 7 had built up some tolerance.
Ah, that guy again.
Lucky bastard...
When's my rom-com harem arc coming...?
"Woooah! Real legal loli Rena-chan!"
Grab that idiot!
Does that guy have no shame?!
"Guek!"
The shameless guy trying to approach Rena got grabbed by classmates and dragged to the corner.
Tae-il clicked his tongue at the cartoonish absurdity.
"Where you looking?"
"Ow!"
Rena kicked Tae-il's shin.
Tae-il, laid low by someone way shorter than him, awkwardly clutched his leg.
"You got time right now?"
"Y-yeah, I do..."
"Then come with me. Too noisy here."
Rena jerked her head toward the door, and Tae-il nodded reluctantly.
"Hey, sporty girl. Borrowing him for a bit."
"Sure."
Sakuraba nodded easily, and Rena strode out first.
"Why do you guys get to decide my hangout spot..."
"Fate. Deal with it."
Tae-il shot Sakuraba a sulky look.
"You coming or not?"
"C-coming! Just you wait, Sakuya!"
Tae-il shook his fist threateningly and scurried after Rena.
As the two left, Sakuraba's bestie cautiously tilted her chair back.
She grinned slyly at Sakuraba, who was pretending not to notice.
"Sakuuuuuyaaaa~?"
"Ugh..."
"Ahahaha!"
Tae-il followed Rena to Art Room A.
In the original story, it was basically her private lounge. Most of the band-defining meetings happened here.
Rena had screamed bloody murder about privacy invasion and thrown tantrums, but Iris's pleas wore her down in the end.
'F-fine, whatever. Consider yourself lucky!'
Classic tsundere lines like that.
This is actually my first time here...
Tae-il looked around in awe.
True to meticulous Rena, it matched the comics and anime down to the last detail.
Felt like a holy pilgrimage site.
"Good. No one'll hear us here."
"Why bring me here...?"
"..."
Rena stayed silent, back turned to him.
"Something you can't let others hear?"
"Yeah."
Rena nodded.
The thought it might be serious talk killed his buzz.
Tae-il fidgeted with his hands.
He wiped his sweaty palms on his gakuran.
He'd met all the other members one-on-one before, but this was his first with Rena.
She'd always stuck to Iris like glue, making it hard to find an opening.
And she hates me the most...
People don't need grand reasons to hate someone.
Rena probably didn't either.
Tae-il decided to be as understanding as possible.
In the original, Rena was the one most obsessed with Iris.
The story was a girl zoo with no real obstacles for them, but now there was this foreign element: Shin Tae-il.
To Rena, he might look like a shady creep with ulterior motives toward Iris.
"Haa."
Rena's small sigh.
Tae-il, who'd been waiting for her to speak first, flinched in surprise.
"Yesterday, she came by, right?"
"Ah, yeah."
Tae-il nodded.
The only "she" Rena would mean was Iris.
"On Saturday..."
Rena stuttered a bit.
"You know, during our study group."
"Yeah, I remember."
"She said she'd definitely do the band with you."
Her sharp tone had no bite left.
The girl who'd seemed like a little giant now looked frail and tiny, true to her frame.
"Told her not to, but no use. Stubborn as hell."
"W-well, if you're that worried..."
"So I'm joining too."
Tae-il blinked dumbly.
It was so sudden he had to confirm.
"For real...?"
"Keep it secret from Iris for now."
Rena finally turned around, clutching a club application form.
Tae-il knew she was a total cho-uin for Iris only.
But he'd never dreamed she'd join this easily.
Especially since she hated him with a passion.
He'd figured convincing her would be hardest with himself as the biggest obstacle.
So he'd been racking his brain...
"You know her dream, right?"
"Heard it yesterday."
Rena let out a hollow laugh.
"Lucky you. I don't."
Her voice dripped with thick regret.
"Man, I just don't get why girls flock to a loser like you."
Overwhelmed by self-loathing, Rena rubbed her dry face.
"Seriously. You look like some app-hypnotized nerd or the NTR protag about to lose his girl."
"H-hey...?"
Tae-il awkwardly smiled at the sudden roast, but Rena just shook her head.
"And now even Iris falls for it..."
"Sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"Stealing time you'd spend with your friend?"
"...You hit the nail on the head, huh."
The Rena in Tae-il's memory was dependent on Iris.
This one seemed the same.
"Major debut's her goal, right?"
"Arisugawa told you?"
"Who knows."
Rena swallowed a dry chuckle.
"You play any instruments? Besides bass."
"Pretty much anything."
"Good. Teach me then. Can you?"
Having eavesdropped on the rooftop talk yesterday, Rena asked with full confidence.
He wanted to nod eagerly, but hesitated.
"Well..."
Doubt rippled inside Tae-il.
Copying a set song and jamming along? Sure.
But teaching someone? Totally different.
Guitar or bass he could manage, but in the original, Rena played drums.
She'd rejected those because they interfered with her brush or pencil grip, leaving drums as her only option.
Synth was iffy too—too steep a learning curve for a music newbie.
Honestly, she'd probably quit before he could teach her properly.
Great talent and dexterity aside, Rena wasn't the sharpest.
"Ngh."
Tae-il looked troubled.
Should I teach her drums like in the original...?
Drummer's a physical position.
Back then, as manga/anime fiction, it didn't seem weird.
But seeing her in person now, her tiny build kept nagging at him.
Isn't it, like, too much...?
To Tae-il, teaching Rena drums felt borderline abusive.
There were plenty of female drummers who did it as a hobby, electronic kits included.
But they were all adults, not pint-sized like elementary-school-looking Rena. There were even curvy YouTubers specializing in drum covers to draw eyes.
Tae-il figured she'd jolt all over just from the bass kick.
Rena pressed him as he failed to answer.
"What? Too hard? Too much hassle? Or..."
She trailed off meaningfully.
There was only one reason he'd find her burdensome.
"'Cause I've hated your guts this whole time?"
Rena smiled sadly.
She knew she was being shameless. But she had no other options.
Iris might not need her anymore, but she still needed Iris.
Maybe for the same reason as Ayane.
Rena didn't want her time with Iris stolen. So she'd cling on, even forcibly.
Ayane's idea had pissed her off at first—"What bullshit"—but now it made a decent excuse.
If he rejected her like this?
Screw it.
Rena stopped overthinking.
She just hoped Tae-il would say yes.
"Haa. Tricky."
Tae-il sighed.
If he'd flinched earlier, now it was Rena's turn.
"Knew it, I'm too much...?"
"Don't get the wrong idea. It's not that I hate you."
Even if she hated him, Tae-il didn't hate her that much.
She was a main character, after all.
"So...?"
A flicker of hope lit Rena's eyes.
Tae-il, still undecided, pressed his temples and furrowed his brow.
"For now."
He grabbed her wrist.
"Come with me."
"W-where?"
Tae-il turned back to the flustered Rena and yelled.
"Music room!"