Chapter 555

It was a small building that looked modern on the outside but gave off a distinctly funky vibe on the inside.

Stepping inside, Miyuki gasped at the sight of twenty-odd tables arranged beneath dim lighting and the stage set up in front of them.

‘Do they run this place like a bar...?’

She had heard of venues like this, but actually seeing one in person was fascinating.

They said learning never ended, and it felt nice, as if her horizons were broadening.

"You're here? Matsuda, right? And the person next to you is..."

While she was looking around, a scrawny man with shoulder-length hair stepped out from behind the stage, welcomed Matsuda, and glanced over at Miyuki.

Miyuki bowed her head and introduced herself.

"Hello. I'm Hanazawa Miyuki. I'm Matsuda-kun's frie... friend."

She barely stopped herself from saying 'girlfriend.'

This damn impulse was always trying to slip out at the worst times.

It was a problem—a real problem.

"She's our class president. We used to act like enemies, but we became friends not too long ago."

Listening to him, it seemed Matsuda had taken her stuttering to mean she was just adjusting to calling him a friend after they had been so distant.

Was he just dense, or was he pretending to be?

At the moment it seemed like the former, but knowing the sneaky Matsuda, she felt like he might be doing the latter on purpose.

"Is that so? What an interesting dynamic."

The long-haired man's eyes sparkled as he looked Matsuda and Miyuki up and down.

He gave off the impression that he found their youthful emotions endearing.

"What brings you here, Hanazawa?"

Miyuki let out a soft laugh at the man's follow-up question and answered.

"Ah, I wanted to learn a bit of piano... no, the synthesizer..."

"Have you ever learned to play a regular piano?"

"Ah, yes... But I looked it up and heard it's completely different from a synthesizer, so it wouldn't be of any use..."

"No, it will definitely help."

"Really?"

"Yes. For now... give me just a moment."

Saying he would go get the keyboardist, the man told them to feel free to look around.

Taking advantage of his absence, Miyuki poked Matsuda in the side and asked,

"You take lessons here...?"

"Yeah."

"Aren't there separate classrooms or something?"

"There are. Over in that corner."

"You said it was a place for professional instruction, so I thought it'd be exactly like a music school, but I guess not?"

"I heard they use it as a small concert venue at night. The vibe is pretty nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I think it's nice."

"Want to check out somewhere else later? As customers."

"Hmm..."

"Never mind if you don't want to."

"Wh-who said I didn't want to...? I was just wondering why it had to be somewhere else instead of here."

"If we come here, I feel like they'll tell us to perform."

Miyuki's expression turned doubtful.

"No way... You really think they'd put someone who just started learning up on stage?"

"It's not entirely impossible, so I'm worried. I feel like they'll drag me up there and ask everyone for a round of encouraging applause. Do you want to do a little talent show in front of a crowd?"

"I think I'd be fine with just watching without going up myself."

"What if they drag you up, too?"

"I'd rather die. Anyway, I'll think about it."

While they were chatting, a tall woman exuding an air of mature beauty came out with the long-haired man and approached Miyuki.

"You must be Hanazawa Miyuki? I'm your synth instructor."

"Synth...?"

"Synthesizer."

"Ah..."

So they were a mixed-gender group. It suited them perfectly.

Unless they were just trying to scam naive students, their skills had to be outstanding if they were teaching others...

Judging by the way she spoke, she seemed to take a lot of pride in her work.

They were probably famous around here. She would have to look them up once she got home.

"Hello, I look forward to working with you."

Bowing politely, Miyuki felt like her time here was going to be incredibly fun.

But a massive problem soon arose, and she couldn't help but look distressed.

This was because not only was the keyboardist a woman, but Matsuda's drum instructor was a woman as well.

"Hey. You're here early today?"

"Yeah. No lessons before me, right?"

"Nope. Come on in."

And an incredibly pretty one at that... A beauty who practically oozed maturity.

A college band member? That didn't seem right...

Was she someone in an actual band?

Whatever the case, seeing them converse so intimately made her jealous.

Hadn't yesterday been his first lesson?

Yet she was acting so sweet and friendly... Even her gaze seemed to hold a hint of fondness for Matsuda.

This completely upended the happy band life she had imagined.

She had trusted Matsuda just moments ago, but seeing the drummer's beauty made that trust waver.

The woman possessed a charm that she lacked, which only made her more anxious.

If she had to find someone similar to the drum instructor, Inoo-sunbae came to mind, but their vibes were different enough that there was plenty of room for Matsuda to be interested.

Simply put, from Matsuda's perspective, the drum instructor was an incredibly fresh presence.

‘Sheesh...’

Ultimately, Miyuki failed to keep up with the keyboardist's teachings and spent the entire lesson consumed by all sorts of negative, distracting thoughts.

"How was the lesson?"

Matsuda asked as they stepped out of the building, alongside Miyuki, who had been bowing deeply in farewell.

Miyuki shot him a resentful glare and gave a vague reply.

"I don't know."

"Must not have gone well. But why are you getting mad at me?"

"I'm not mad. Sorry if it felt that way."

"You sure have a lot to be sorry for. So, are you going to keep doing it?"

"...I'm not really sure yet."

"Don't be like that, why not just keep at it steadily?"

"Why?"

"It'd be nice if we could drop by together to take our lessons after studying, right?"

It definitely didn't sound like a bad idea.

But because it was Matsuda's suggestion, it made her anxious.

Surely he wasn't thinking of forming a band with just himself, her, Inoo-sunbae, Senior Nanase, and Asahina?

Including a keyboardist brought the total to five—the perfect number for a band.

Come to think of it, Inoo-sunbae did have a nice singing voice.

Senior Nanase had an image that suited the calm nature of the bass perfectly, and even if those two swapped roles, it wouldn't feel out of place.

The energetic Asahina was perfect for the guitar...

She knew it was an absurd thought, but since Matsuda was the type to charge forward the moment something caught his interest, she felt like he might actually do it.

"F-for now, I think I'll just take occasional one-day classes... I already have a lot on my plate as it is..."

"What else do you have to do?"

"Well... Since I'm planning to join the Student Council, I'll have Academy duties..."

"You don't do that during vacation. Stop talking nonsense and just do it when I tell you to."

"Excuse me...! Do I have to do everything you tell me to do, Matsuda-kun?"

"Yeah."

"Wh-what..."

Tap.

Matsuda's arm came to rest on top of the bewildered Miyuki's head.

Miyuki's mouth clamped shut at his actions; he was waiting for the light to change at the crosswalk while leaning his body and shifting his entire center of gravity onto her.

It was because it reminded her of the past.

Back when they were just starting to flirt, Matsuda had leaned his arm on her while they waited for a signal, just like now.

She remembered it being her shoulder instead of her head back then... It was a familiar feeling, yet the slight difference made it quite nice.

"You're so tiny, yet you're rebelling. When a grown-up tells you to do something, you do it without complaining."

The way he teased her about her height was the same as back then, too.

"Could you move your arm? You're messing up my hair."

"Wear a hat."

"I don't have a hat."

"Buy one."

"Does that even make sense?"

"If it doesn't make sense, what does?"

While they bickered over trivial things, the light turned green.

Even so, neither of them made a move to step forward first.

"Aren't you going?"

"I can only go if you move your arm off my head."

"Just walk like this."

"I don't want to."

"You really don't listen, do you?"

"You're the one who needs to listen to me, Matsuda-kun. I'm the class president."

"It's temporary."

"It's been official for a while now."

"I never heard about that."

"So you're saying it's invalid?"

"Exactly."

"Stop acting so childish."

"Thinking about it, you're the one acting more childish lately."

"How so?"

"You can just tell by looking."

"Answers like that are what's childish. You know that?"

"Who cares."

The green light started flashing while they squabbled, but the two of them remained completely still.

Whoosh—!

A sudden gust of wind blew past, sweeping Miyuki's hair to one side.

Feeling the fine strands brushing against her cheek, Miyuki glanced up at the heavy arm resting on her head and chuckled inwardly.

A few people were glaring at them for not moving, and a cool breeze—rare for summer—was blowing by...

They were even waiting for the next signal as if it were completely natural, despite the light having turned red...

It was a pleasant, youthful feeling she hadn't experienced in a while.

Matsuda was probably thinking the exact same thing.

Come to think of it, the drummer seemed like the type to wear a ton of perfume, but there was no scent of women's perfume on Matsuda's body.

Had he kept his distance during the lesson?

No, rather than that, it felt more like Matsuda's natural scent was strong in a good way, completely masking any hint of perfume.

"I missed the light because of you, Matsuda-kun."

"How is that my fault? You could've just ignored my arm and kept walking."

"Then you would've fallen over, Matsuda-kun."

"That's something only you would do."

He was just putting on a brave face, even though he'd actually almost fallen over last time.

Come to think of it, Matsuda did occasionally try to act tough.

It wasn't the obnoxious kind of tough act where he subtly bragged about how great he was; it was a funny, clumsy kind of tough act, which she liked.

"What do you want to eat for dinner?"

Matsuda was naturally trying to make dinner plans.

Cheering inwardly at his actions, Miyuki pointed to the sign of a sushi restaurant across the street.

"Let's go there."

"Have you been there before?"

"No."

"Then why go? What if it tastes bad?"

"We don't always have to go to places we know. Even if it's bad, can't we just consider it an experience?"

"You really have no plan, do you?"

"You're worse, Matsuda-kun."

"Let's just say I am."

"Not 'let's just say.' It's the truth."

"Yeah, yeah."

As Matsuda generously patted her head like he was indulging a younger sister's complaints, Miyuki could feel his affection for her shining through.

How wonderful would it be if time stopped just like this?

No, was that a bit too cliché?

"Let's go."

Matsuda finally spoke after standing completely still even when the light turned green again.

Seeing the signal start to flash, Miyuki slowly nodded her head, letting Matsuda's arm remain resting on it.