Vol. 1 Chapter 28 – Nice to Meet You

Even after five minutes of the lap pillow, Nagisa, seeing me still not used to it, seemed to have regained her composure. Realizing that I wouldn’t, or rather couldn’t, particularly fight back, Nagisa got carried away, starting to stroke my head while saying “So cute~” in a voice like she was soothing a small child.

…But I, who didn’t find it unpleasant—to be frank, I even found it comfortable—had accepted Nagisa’s teasing, aware that my body was burning up.

“I’ll do anything Yuuto wants right now, you know?” (Nagisa)

Her breathy voice, tinged with allure, caressed my ear.

“Nagisa… you’re getting a little too carried away…” (Yuuto)

“What’s thaaat? Giving up?” (Nagisa)

My rationality, on the verge of melting from her warm breath, barely tried to restrain Nagisa’s actions, but she took it as my declaration of surrender and her lips curled up even more, pleased.

“For Yuuto, who doesn’t usually get talked to by girls…” (Nagisa)

I heard a sharp intake of breath right next to my ear.

“Shall I say…’I like you’?” (Nagisa)

The sweet words that touched my ear made my body jolt. Even more pleased by that reaction, Nagisa was unstoppable now.

“Hey…? What are you going to do? I’m thinking maybe I should say it for the sake of Yuuto’s experience…?” (Nagisa)

My body temperature rose as if I had a fever, and I felt like steam was rising inside my head.

“If you don’t say anything, I won’t say it, you know? Three… two… one…” (Nagisa)

“Come to think of it, twice in a short period is a bit much, isn’t it?” (Aida)

Aida, muttering to herself with a troubled expression as she opened the door, came into view.

…The next thing I knew, the world turned upside down, and I was slammed back to the floor and reality. What hit me all at once was regret over what I had been doing and the pain in my back. …This was a pain that made sense why Akari had cried for several minutes.

“No! Um! This is!” (Nagisa)

Nagisa, who had brought me back to reality, shot to her feet, her face instantly flushing crimson.

“We were just getting weirdly hyped up, that’s all!!” (Nagisa)

Nagisa shouted, her face red. I, remembering what had just happened, lay on the floor, assailed by regret, shame, awkwardness, and a myriad of other emotions. And Aida, who had no idea what was going on.

The waiting room was in chaos.

The subtle atmosphere that had drifted between Nagisa and me since that moment hadn’t cleared by the time we arrived at the event hall where the exam would take place. Was Aida being considerate by not mentioning the distance between Nagisa and me, which would look clearly strange even to an outsider, or had she simply not noticed…?

As I headed towards the performers’ waiting room indicated by the lady at the reception, repeating such meaningless thoughts partly to distract myself from what had happened earlier, I saw a familiar face at the end of the corridor.

“Oh, if it isn’t Aoi and the others.” (Murai)

Murai, who seemed to have finished her exam, noticed us, a cute-colored towel around her neck.

“You’re already done with your turn, right?” (Nagisa)

“Yes. I was just about to head home, so this is great timing.” (Murai)

After greeting Nagisa, who was slightly behind me, and giving a light bow to Aida, who was likely a new acquaintance for Murai standing between them, she began to speak in a volume only I could hear.

“…Did something happen?” (Murai)

“…Well, various things?” (Yuuto)

I’d rather she didn’t touch on that subject…

“More importantly, how was the exam?” (Yuuto)

“More importantly, you say…” (Murai)

Murai, who looked somewhat worried at my forced change of topic—a tactic that would have worked on Akari—seemed to realize I didn’t want to be pressed further. She murmured, “Umm…” and gazed at the ceiling as if recalling the events of her recent exam.

“First off, there were just so many people… It’s about three times more intense than you’d imagine, seeing it from the stage.” (Murai)

“Well, if a nationally famous actor is coming, there are probably a lot of people there just to see him…” (Yuuto)

“Exactly. And also…” (Murai)

Her gaze, which had returned to my face for a moment as I nodded, once again drifted towards the ceiling, and Murai made a face as if she’d bitten into something bitter.

“I just remembered something unpleasant…” (Murai)

“Something happen?” (Yuuto)

When I asked, she sighed, her arms hanging limply, expressing her feelings with her whole body.

“There were five examiners… or rather, judges, and one of them had this dubious look on his face, arms crossed…” (Murai)

“During the exam?” (Yuuto)

“Right in the middle of it! One of the kids in my team saw that and momentarily forgot her lines… Well, she managed to recover quickly, though.” (Murai)

In an exam that could be a shortcut into the entertainment world, it would be unreasonable to tell someone not to mind the examiners’ reactions.

“Isn’t that awful!? They don’t have to react right where we can see them, do they!” (Murai)

As she spoke, anger seemed to well up inside her, and she stomped her foot, a frustrated look on her face.

“…Well, anyway, be careful of the person with glasses! If you worry about him, you won’t be able to act properly.” (Murai)

Perhaps considerate of our time, she cut the conversation short there, gave a quick word to the two behind me, and walked towards the exit.

“…Guess we should go.” (Yuuto)

I muttered, unsure if the two of them even heard me, and we started walking again.

After arriving at the performers’ waiting room, we put down our luggage and were immediately taken to separate rooms.

Since it was divided by gender, I didn’t know what was happening with the girls, but I was made to sit in a chair like one you’d see in a beauty salon by a busy-looking lady, and had my makeup done as she pleased. Even though I was going to wear a mask, they even did my eye makeup, but I somehow couldn’t bring myself to speak to the lady with her serious expression.

Just like that, I was dressed in my costume and sent back to the waiting room. She must have been doing this work all day. She was proceeding with her tasks at top speed, like a fully warmed-up engine.

Feeling the professionalism of her work, I returned to the waiting room and my eyes met Aida’s, who was her usual self, looking over a script.

“Oh, looking good.” (Aida)

“Thanks… Hey, where’s Nagisa?” (Yuuto)

“She said it didn’t concern her and slipped out, so isn’t she still getting various things done?” (Aida)

I thought they would come back together, but apparently, Aida had managed to speak up in that atmosphere. If I were in Aida’s position, I’d probably be backstage, perfectly made up, narrating the whole thing.

As I was admiring her thus and carefully sat down on a chair so as not to soil my costume, the door opened at that exact moment.

A sparkling costume. I had seen Nagisa just wearing it before. But today, professional makeup techniques were added to it. It would catch anyone’s eye, even someone of the same gender. All the more so for the opposite gender.

…Or so it should have been. But both my and Aida’s gazes were fixed beyond Nagisa.

“Hokujou… Yuuya-san?” (Aida)

Aida’s trembling voice, a mixture of surprise and joy, made me realize I had unconsciously been holding my breath.

“Well now, I was thinking of saying hello to Minase-chan and just happened to run into her in front of the dressing room. Perfect timing, eh?” (Hokujou)

I didn’t even know if it was okay for me to speak, and I found myself thinking something completely irrelevant, like how the reality show I’d seen back then really did capture his private atmosphere.

“Hello. Nice to meet you. I’m Hokujou Yuuya.” (Hokujou)

My father spoke that all-too-familiar name.