[Vol 2] The Cheeky Junior Gal Becomes Too Cute When She Gets Attached to Me Chapter 4
It was Sunday. Monaka and I arrived at the building where the 2nd test was supposed to take place.
“...A live house?”
“Looks like it.”
We both looked up at the building, tilting our heads in confusion.
All we had received were the instructions. The test details were a complete mystery.
Following the directions, we’d come to an alley a bit away from the busy downtown area at exactly nine in the morning.
And what we found was a small live house.
Posters of various bands covered the wall next to the entrance, and a few people were sitting nearby, seemingly waiting for the doors to open.
“Are we supposed to take the test here?”
“I can’t even begin to imagine what kind of test it’ll be...”
We stood there, clueless about what to do next. It was my first time at a live house, and I felt a little nervous. I’d always thought this kind of place had nothing to do with me.
“Also, what’s with the weird dress code? They told me to wear a miniskirt...”
I glanced down at her skirt in response.
Monaka was wearing a leather miniskirt. The length wasn’t much different from her school uniform, but the tight silhouette made it a lot more... seductive.
“Wait, could this be a test to tempt you, Senpai!?”
“That’d be an instant fail.”
“No way~. I’d pass in three seconds. I mean, Senpai loves my miniskirts.”
“I won’t deny that.”
“You’re supposed to!”
Well, I’d be lying if I said I disliked them. Sadly, that’s just how men are wired.
Still, considering the season, my first thought was that she must be freezing. She was wearing long boots, but they didn’t cover everything.
“But seriously, why a miniskirt?”
“It’s probably his personal taste...”
After all, the examiner specifically mentioned the outfit. And just as I was looking around, wondering when he’d show up, a voice called out from behind the live house.
“Masachika-kun, Monaka-chan! Over here!”
The one waving us over was today’s examiner—the student council secretary, Tateishi Hayato.
We followed his lead and entered the building through the back door.
“Yo, Hayato-kun~”
“Monaka-chan, you look super cute in casual clothes!”
“Really? Senpai hasn’t complimented me at all.”
“That’s no good, Masachika-kun. You’ve gotta compliment her right away!”
Both of them scolded me at once.
Okay, maybe I hadn’t said anything nice today... but seriously, wasn’t the miniskirt his idea? Using the test as an excuse just to see her in casual clothes—what a sly move.
Honestly though, a great call. As expected of my junior.
“Masachika-kun, your outfit is... how do I put it... pretty normal.”
“Learn the art of flattery.”
“Ah! You’re right! My bad, I should’ve given you outfit instructions too!”
“That’s not what I meant. I meant you should say something nice.”
Hayato gave my coat-and-slacks combo a once-over and made that rude comment.
Maybe I just had a natural talent for being teased by my juniors...
Hayato was dressed in black from head to toe—a black shirt and wide pants. Entirely monochrome.
“Hayato. Mind telling us what kind of test this is?”
“Ah, well, to be honest, I don’t really get all this ‘test’ stuff. It’s just that we’re short on staff today.”
“...Wait a second.”
I had a bad feeling about this.
I sighed while Monaka tilted her head, looking completely carefree.
Hayato handed each of us matching T-shirts.
“Here, change into these. Today’s part-time job—uh, I mean, test—is...”
He grinned mischievously.
“Helping out at the live house! I’m performing today too, so I’ll be counting on you guys!”
...He definitely said 'part-time job' just now.
Apparently, the test Hayato came up with was to work as staff at a live house.
“That sounds fun!”
Monaka accepted the T-shirt with a bright smile. It had what looked like the name of Hayato’s band printed on it. I reluctantly took mine as well.
“I’ve always wanted to try this kind of part-time job! Like, event staff and stuff!”
“Well, I guess this could be a good learning experience.”
“Learning experience?”
I wasn’t sure how much thought Hayato had actually put into this, but technically, it could connect to student council duties.
“It’s kind of like running a school event. Take the school festival, for example—lots of guests, lots of things happening. To keep everything running smoothly, you need to understand how the small details work together. Knowing that isn’t a bad thing.”
I’d never worked at a live house before, but there should be some overlap.
As the student council’s general affairs officer, learning how to handle people efficiently made sense. As a test, it wasn’t the worst idea.
“I see.”
“Wow, as expected of you, Masachika-kun! You explained exactly what I was thinking!”
...Yeah, not a single word of that landed with either of them.
After changing in the locker rooms, Monaka and I met up again in the waiting room. Hayato wasn’t there—he was probably preparing for his band’s performance.
Since the live house was underground, it wasn’t cold even with just a short-sleeved T-shirt.
“Senpai, my heart’s kind of racing.”
Monaka, now wearing the T-shirt tucked into her leather skirt, spoke with sparkling eyes.
“So the light music club actually performs in live houses, huh? And Hayato-kun’s performing today, right?”
“Seems that way... It’s my first time seeing one of these live.”
“I’m getting nervous even though I’m not performing.”
I already knew Kataseyama and Hayato were both deeply devoted to their clubs. The light music club’s main activity was performing live in front of an audience. I knew that much in theory, but actually being here made it feel strangely real.
“People actually pay to come see this, right?”
“Probably.”
“To perform in front of people who spent their time and money to be here... I wonder what that feels like.”
Even if it was just a student club, once money was involved, it became work. You had to entertain your audience.
The light music club lived under that kind of pressure all the time...
“Maybe you’ll get a bit of a feel for it by the time we’re done today.”
“Yeah. I’ll do my best.”
Well, we’re not getting paid, though!
After waiting together for a few minutes, a woman who seemed to be the manager came in and explained our tasks. Apparently, Hayato had already told her about us, so everything went smoothly.
“Sorry for suddenly dropping in like this.”
Feeling a bit bad about two amateurs intruding, I apologized to her.
“Oh, don’t worry about it. It’s actually pretty common for performers or their friends to help out.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. We’re always short-staffed here.”
Well, it wasn’t like they had concerts every day, and keeping part-timers all the time must be hard—especially for a small live house.
“Also, I heard your wages are being deducted from his rental fee.”
“So that’s what he was after...”
And here I was thinking he’d come up with a clever test...
Well, I couldn’t really complain—it was my own selfish idea to do these tests in the first place.
“Alright, I’ll leave it to you guys then. Doors open at eleven.”
After finishing her explanation, she waved and left.
I checked the wall clock—it was 10:30. Just about thirty minutes to go.
“By the way, I forgot to ask... are there any other staff members besides us?”
I looked at the now-closed door.
We’d been told what to do, but not how the others were organized. Don’t tell me...
“This could get interesting.”
“Yeah, it might.”
“Even if I’m the only one working, I’ll make sure it all runs perfectly...”
“Huh? What about me?”
“Don’t worry. Even if I have to carry some dead weight, I’ll manage.”
“Hey, I’ll be useful too, you know?”
The tasks we were given weren’t anything complicated.
Finally, it was time to put my student council experience to use. If Monaka struggled, I’d just help her out.
...Well, just kidding. I was pretty sure she’d be fine.
“Fufufu~”
Suddenly, Monaka giggled beside me.
“We should thank Hayato-kun.”
“Even though he just roped us in as free labor?”
“Still, I’m happy I get to work together with you, Senpai.”
She’d said something similar back when we cleaned the gym storage room together.
Even in the same school, if you weren’t in the same class, grade, or club, you rarely had the chance to work side by side with someone.
If things hadn’t unfolded the way they did, I probably would’ve gone my whole life without ever getting this close to Monaka.
“If you become a general affairs officer, you’ll have plenty of work to do.”
“Yay! Then I’ll work hard for totally impure reasons.”
“Impure reasons?”
Monaka looked up at me, poking her finger into my chest.
“Because my impure but pure reason... is that I just want to be with you, Senpai.”
Don’t just say that so directly...
Her words always catch me off guard.
“...Kataseyama’s gonna get mad, you know.”
“That’d be bad. But if you’re there, I can work as hard as it takes.”
Not knowing what to say to that, I just shrugged my shoulders.
Well, once things started, we wouldn’t have time for this kind of talk anyway.
“Alright then, let’s get to work.”
“Yeah!”
We bumped our fists lightly and left the waiting room.
Right after that, we split up and headed to our respective work positions.
A short while later... the main door opened.
“Whoa…”
A weird sound slipped out of me.
There were way more people than I expected. I didn’t think a small live house like this could draw such a crowd.
“Tickets, please!”
Monaka’s voice rang out.
Her job was to check tickets and guide the guests inside.
“Drink fee’s five hundred yen!”
Standing in the dim hallway near the entrance, she welcomed each guest as they came in.
She’d check their tickets, take the five hundred yen for the drink fee, and hand over the drink ticket in exchange… that was her task.
On top of that, she had to ask which band they came to see and sort the tickets into boxes labeled for each group.
It sounds simple enough when you say it out loud, but handling that for dozens of people takes a lot of effort.
I couldn’t see her from where I stood, but I could imagine how hectic it must’ve been.
“Monaka’s voice really carries.”
Maybe they had her dress up cute since she’d be working the front desk.
Her bright blonde hair suited the live house vibe perfectly.
…If anything, I was probably the one who didn’t fit in here.
“It’s about time.”
My turn came right after Monaka’s.
The hallway started filling up as the crowd poured in.
“All right, time to show off my skills!”
…Though honestly, it wasn’t anything fancy.
“Tea, please.”
“Sparkling water.”
“I’ll take cola.”
“Can I get some water?”
Each person handed over their drink ticket while saying what they wanted.
I poured the drinks into plastic cups and swapped them out for the tickets one after another.
I’d prepped some ahead of time, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
“Okay, okay, okay, okay—”
I didn’t have time to think about anything else.
Each time, I had to tilt a two-liter bottle, so it was more tiring than it looked.
Pour, hand it over. Pour, hand it over… that’s all there was to it.
Man, my arm’s getting sore…
But after acting all cool in front of Monaka earlier, there was no way I could crash and burn now.
Whether people got in smoothly depended on my speed.
I wasn’t about to let a line form on my watch!
“Haa… haa…”
Finally done serving the line, I took a breath.
It felt like forever, but in reality, it was only about fifteen minutes.
I wasn’t sure how many people there were, but it must’ve been around fifty.
“I did it…”
That said, it wasn’t over yet.
Right after the venue opened, the first band’s fans started arriving.
There were four bands scheduled today. People would keep coming in little by little.
Monaka probably wouldn’t be able to leave her post for a while either.
But they said things would calm down once the initial rush passed.
“Good work, Masachika.”
While I was leaning against the wall to catch my breath, Hayato came over to check on me.
“Drink whatever you want.”
“You make it sound like you’re treating me.”
“That’s what the manager said.”
Taking him up on that, I poured myself a cup of sparkling water.
As it went down my throat, the chill spread through my body—it felt amazing. I hadn’t realized how much I’d been sweating.
“When’s your band performing, Hayato?”
“We’re second. My bandmates are all from the light music club too.”
“Oh yeah? I didn’t know you were doing shows outside school.”
I knew the light music club entered contests, but I didn’t realize they performed live this often.
Guess that’s something I should’ve known as the student council president.
His band was up next. He probably came to talk to me to calm his nerves a bit.
“Heh, the only serious ones here are me and Rui-senpai’s band.”
“Kataseyama’s in a band too?”
“She’s not here today, though.”
While we were talking, the first band’s performance began.
Even through the soundproof door, the drums were loud enough to hear.
“I really like this sound. I’m a drummer myself, you know.”
Hayato leaned on the counter and squinted toward the stage.
The intro ended, and a male vocalist’s voice filled the venue. I couldn’t make out the lyrics, but it was a beautiful voice—one that easily explained the size of the crowd.
“Didn’t think you liked anything besides girls.”
“Of course girls come first.”
“…Right.”
He’s so honest about his desires.
I didn’t know much about Hayato, other than that he was in the light music club.
Kataseyama was the one who brought him into the student council. Thinking about it, I hadn’t really gotten to know what kind of person he was.
“When I joined the light music club, it was mostly because it seemed fun. And, well… I thought it might make me popular. I didn’t have any special love for bands or experience with instruments.”
“That sounds like you.”
“That’s how most of us are, right? Clubs, the student council, whatever. We join because it looks fun, or we want to experience youth, or we’re just killing time. We just want to feel like we’re doing something.”
I listened quietly to Hayato’s rambling—he was talking more than usual, probably from nerves.
I was the same. I didn’t join the student council because I wanted to; I did it because it looked good for university applications.
Even in sports clubs, only a few students truly aim to go pro. I don’t think that’s a bad thing—it’s just normal.
But that doesn’t mean people like us don’t take things seriously.
“Rui-senpai was different, though.”
The cheers from the crowd grew louder—probably the chorus.
“When I first heard her sing and play guitar at the welcome concert, I was blown away. I thought, ‘Ah, so this is what they mean by genius.’”
I only knew Kataseyama from her student council side.
She performed at the cultural festival, but I’d been too busy running things then. I’d only heard afterward how highly people praised her band.
Maybe Hayato’s crush on her wasn’t as much of a joke as it sounded.
“But it wasn’t just talent.”
Hayato rested his chin on his arms, staring blankly downward.
“Rui-senpai practiced whenever she had free time, and she played live almost every day off. She worked harder than anyone. Watching her made me realize how half-hearted I’d been.”
“So that’s why you started performing too?”
“Yeah. I wanted to get a little closer to her… stupid, right?”
“…I don’t think it’s stupid.”
“And she still managed to do student council on top of all that. I tried copying her and joined too, but I can’t juggle that much. I’m lame, huh.”
How many people actually find something they can devote themselves to completely?
I couldn’t. I might be efficient, but everything I do is half-baked.
That’s why I respected people like Kataseyama and Hayato.
“But I don’t want to use ‘lack of talent’ as an excuse. That’s why I’m doing these shows with my band now. It’s hard getting gigs without a record, but I finally found this place.”
He looked up and gave a self-deprecating laugh.
“Sorry, I kinda went off there. But me and Rui-senpai aren’t slacking in the student council either.”
“I know. And I know you actually think about stuff more than you let on.”
“Stop that. I just live by vibes. That’s not my style. All I wanted to say was one thing.”
He raised a finger playfully.
“Increase the light music club’s budget. With more money, I might become a legend.”
“Talk to the treasurer about that.”
“Ugh, Matsuri-chan’s strict, so that’s impossible.”
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
Guess he gets embarrassed when things get too serious—same as me.
“Still, I think it’s cool that you’re serious about what you do.”
Because I couldn’t be that way myself.
There are people who chase love with everything they’ve got. People who love art so much they have to give it up. People who play music like their life depends on it—and people who chase after them.
All I can do is cheer those people on.
“I’ll sneak out and watch your set, so do your best.”
“That’d be embarrassing, so don’t you dare.”
He smiled, dropping the polite tone just for that line.
“Thanks,” he mouthed silently, then pushed open the soundproof door.
—And at that moment,
The band’s performance suddenly went haywire.
“Huh…?”
Still holding the door open, Hayato froze.
The rhythm fell apart, then the drums stopped. One by one, the instruments died out.
The audience started murmuring in confusion.
“What happened?”
I stepped out from behind the counter and asked Hayato.
“Not sure. But I think something’s wrong with the drum set…”
He stood there, staring at the stage.
The drummer crouched down, fiddling with something by his feet. The other members gathered around him.
Some kind of malfunction? I couldn’t tell, but something had definitely gone wrong.
“Hayato, what’s going on?”
“What happened?”
A few familiar faces—his bandmates from school—came out of the waiting room and stood beside him.
The murmuring from the crowd didn’t stop.
Eventually, the female manager got up on stage and checked the drum set herself.
“No way… we’re up next…”
Hayato muttered under his breath. His part was the drums. If it couldn’t be fixed, their performance would be in trouble too.
Worst-case scenario, the live show might have to end here.
“Let’s go.”
I patted his shoulder and said that. His bandmates turned toward me, looking confused. “Huh? The student council president?” “Why’s he here?”
Sorry, no time to explain.
I grabbed Hayato’s hand and led him past the waiting room toward the stage.
When we reached backstage, the manager was just coming down.
“What happened?”
“Looks like the spring on the bass drum pedal broke.”
She explained the situation simply.
Next to me, Hayato’s face went pale.
“Sorry, I’m a total amateur, but what happens if the spring breaks?”
“It won’t bounce back after you hit it. Without the bass drum, you can’t keep rhythm.”
“Can’t you just play without it?”
“Never tried. I couldn’t pull it off.”
The first band decided to stop instead of continuing.
I guess that part of the set really was that important.
“I’m sorry, it’s my fault for not maintaining it properly…”
“Can’t it be fixed?”
“Replacing the pedal would be faster than repairing it, but we don’t have a spare here…”
The manager bit her lip in frustration.
It didn’t feel right for an amateur like me to interfere, but… we were making the audience wait.
Even if it was just for today, I was part of the staff. I couldn’t pretend it didn’t concern me.
“Can we get a replacement quickly?”
“If we go to a nearby live house or music shop, maybe… but it’ll take at least thirty minutes.”
So continuing right now was impossible.
Even fetching a new pedal would take half an hour. The show could resume, sure—but that’s a long time to keep people waiting.
…We were completely stuck.
As I was racking my brain for a solution, Hayato raised his hand hesitantly.
“I know a place. I can be back in fifteen minutes.”
“Let’s go with that.”
“But what about in the meantime?”
I peeked out at the crowd from backstage.
They were already getting restless. Some people had started leaving, realizing something was wrong.
Fifteen minutes. How many of them would wait that long?
“I’ll handle it.”
Before I knew it, those words had left my mouth.
Hayato’s bandmates widened their eyes in surprise.
“Why is Masachika-kun helping...? I was the one who dragged him here.”
“What are you talking about? It’s our light music club performing, right? How could the student council president not step in to support?”
Besides, I’d just overheard them say it earlier—how hard it was to find places that would even let them perform. Today was a rare chance they’d finally managed to grab.
I couldn’t just stand by and watch while my junior was in trouble. That wasn’t my style.
“And besides—handling trouble like this is what a student council president’s supposed to be good at, right?”
“Masachika-kun...”
“Go on, hurry.”
“...Yes, sir! Please take care of things!”
Hayato turned on his heel and ran off. Judging by the look of determination on his face, he might be back faster than expected.
Fifteen minutes. Short, yet long enough to feel like an eternity.
Even if we did nothing, a decent number of people would probably stick around. But if possible, I wanted the place to still be packed when they got back.
“Senpai! I heard what happened!”
Ooba Monaka appeared just as Hayato left, her voice full of energy. She must’ve sensed something was off and rushed over.
“I’ll help too!”
“...Yeah, I’ll count on you.”
Guess this counts as part of her test, too.
“You guys handle the front desk and drinks. Manager, do you have two mics?”
“Y-yes.”
I assigned quick tasks to Hayato’s bandmates and accepted two microphones from the manager. The weight felt familiar—after all, holding a mic was practically part of my job as student council president.
“Monaka, let’s go.”
“Got it!”
I handed her one mic and stepped out from behind the curtain.
On stage, the first band looked visibly flustered. According to the list I’d checked earlier, their band name was 『Suberihiyu.』
From the stage, I could really feel how crowded the place was. Most of the audience was here for them. The ceiling was low, the lights dim, and the crowd was so close I could almost reach out and touch them. The faint glow from the lights gently illuminated their faces.
I stood at center stage and brought the mic to my mouth.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone. I’m Tsujidou from the event staff.”
Well, technically it was a one-day unpaid gig, but whatever.
The audience, who had been fiddling with their phones, all looked up at me.
“We’re currently experiencing some equipment trouble, and the performance is on hold. We expect to resume in about fifteen minutes. Until then—”
I gave my best customer-service smile to the crowd, who were clearly disappointed.
“We’ll be holding an impromptu talk event with Suberihiyu!”
The band members turned to me, eyes wide.
The lineup was one male vocalist, a male guitarist, a male drummer, and a female bassist. They all looked about my age—probably high school students too.
They clearly weren’t used to handling this kind of situation, just standing there awkwardly on stage.
Then I’ll take the lead—no, we’ll take the lead.
I gave Monaka a look. She met my eyes and nodded with confidence.
“Okay everyone! I’m your host, Monaka!”
She waved her hand high and greeted the crowd cheerfully, like a ray of sunshine. Then she grabbed the drummer’s hand and pulled him forward.
Quick on the uptake, as always. That helped a lot.
“So, what’s your name?”
“Uh, I’m Kaburagi Jun. Sorry for the interruption earlier...”
“Jun-kun, huh! Drums must be really hard, right? I can’t play any instruments at all!”
“It’s tough, but... I really like that feeling of unity when it all clicks.”
“Oh, I get that!”
“During a live show, it’s like we become one with the audience... that groove, you know?”
Monaka skillfully drew the conversation out of him.
Maybe she’d chosen him first because he looked the most dejected.
Even if it wasn’t his fault, the performance had stopped because of a drum malfunction. No wonder he was feeling down.
But under Monaka’s bright energy, he slowly started smiling again.
From there, she went around chatting with the vocalist, the bassist, each member one by one.
At first, they’d been awkward, but before long, their conversation with her was flowing naturally, laughter filling the room.
“Alright, I’ll leave the talking to Monaka...”
My focus was on the audience. You could tell from their faces whether they were enjoying themselves or getting bored. Reading the room from on stage was something I’d learned from countless student council assemblies.
“Looks good.”
The audience’s attention was on the band, and every time Monaka or a member cracked a joke, soft laughter rippled through the crowd. The reaction was great.
Leaving the talk to her, I moved to coordinate with the staff, planning for the moment the pedal arrived and giving instructions for lighting cues.
“Wanna try touching the guitar?”
“Eeh? Really?”
...Honestly, this was turning into more of a Monaka performance than a band show, but—well, as long as the audience was having fun, it was fine.
There were about five minutes left.
For an unplanned, makeshift event, this was about as good as it could get.
“Masachika-kun!”
Hayato’s voice came from the side of the stage. He was leaning against the wall, panting hard—he must’ve run the whole way.
But in his raised hand, he was holding the replacement pedal.
“Perfect.”
He’d made it faster than expected.
I signaled to the lighting crew and had them put the spotlight on Monaka.
“Whoa, I feel like a celebrity!”
She was gleefully basking in the light, while the band members—now in shadow—got my cue to prepare. Once I confirmed the pedal swap was done, I grabbed the mic again.
“Thank you all for waiting!”
Smoke burst from both sides of the stage, covering it in a white mist. The lights shone through, outlining the band members in silhouette. Cheers erupted from the crowd.
“Now then, let’s resume the live performance!”
The sound of drums echoed across the stage.
Once all four scheduled bands had finished performing, I slumped into a folding chair in the waiting room, resting my head against the backrest and staring at the ceiling.
“Man, I’m exhausted...”
The delay from the trouble—and the encore redo—had been recovered by shortening the transition time between sets.
Or so I heard. I’d been too busy at the drink counter, pouring non-stop for the steady stream of customers.
Sure, I’d helped handle the trouble at first, but the real credit went to the bands and the manager—and especially to Monaka, who handled most of the crowd engagement, and Hayato, who ran to get the replacement pedal.
Honestly, I might’ve stuck my nose in too much.
“Senpai, good work!”
Monaka peeked at me from behind, her hair brushing my cheek as she leaned over me. It tickled.
“Yeah. You too, Monaka.”
“Here, this is from the manager.”
She handed me a can of slightly sweet coffee. I sat up, cracked it open, and she plopped down on the chair beside me.
“That was so fun, huh?”
“You’ve got endless energy, don’t you?”
“You say that like I’m a little kid!”
“Well, you kind of are.”
“Rude! I’ll have you know, I’m a mature woman.”
A mature woman, huh... somehow, I’d only ever seen her childish side.
As I blinked, she crossed her legs and leaned forward.
“Hmph. Keep acting like that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I mean, I was super popular with the audience, you know?”
She grinned proudly. “Maybe it’s my grown-up charm? It really shone on stage! I might get scouted or something! What if a talent agent was there?”
“Must be nice having such a vivid imagination.”
“If I become famous, I’ll still meet you secretly, okay? What if there’s a headline about our forbidden love?”
“I’d deny it immediately.”
“You could just make it official instead!”
She was clearly getting carried away...
Live houses really were a kind of escape from everyday life. The dim lighting, the music, the atmosphere—it all heightened the mood.
Honestly, I’d gotten caught up in it too. Compared to giving a school speech, the vibe was completely different. It made me want to act cooler than usual.
“I probably overdid it.”
“Really? I thought you were super cool.”
“They would’ve managed fine without me.”
“Mmm, maybe... but still.”
The staff and Suberihiyu would’ve figured it out eventually. I’d just helped them recover faster, that’s all.
Monaka smiled, eyes narrowing softly.
“But I think those smiles out there... were thanks to you, Senpai.”
She pointed toward the doorway. Suberihiyu’s members were standing there.
“The ones who made the audience smile were them.”
“Yeah. It’s amazing, isn’t it? Making so many people happy isn’t easy.”
She spoke quietly, her eyes shimmering.
“I wonder if I could ever be like that someday.”
“Who knows. Everyone’s got different strengths and weaknesses.”
“That’s where you’re supposed to say ‘You can!’ you know!”
“I’m just being honest.”
Hayato and the others had trained, practiced, and finally pulled it off today. That wasn’t something just anyone could do.
“Then maybe... I’ll just try to make one person smile.”
“If it’s me, I’ve already been smiling.”
“Hey, don’t ruin the moment by guessing ahead!”
Yeah, I’d figured she was going to say something like that.
Even though it had technically been part of her exam, today was genuinely fun.
Sure, helping out at a live house was a new experience—but spending that time with her made it even better.
“Ah, Tsujidou-san!”
The Suberihiyu members came running up to us.
“Thank you so much! That was our best performance ever!”
“You saved us too, Ooba-san!”
They each expressed their gratitude. And yeah—hearing that didn’t feel bad at all.
As we chatted, the manager walked over.
“Oh, there you are.”
“Manager, thanks for your hard work.”
“Same to you. You two really helped a ton today. Here.”
She handed us each an envelope.
“What’s this...?”
“Your pay. Thanks for all your help today.”
“But didn’t you say it’d come out of the band’s fee?”
“That’s separate. This is a bonus for your effort.”
Well, in that case, I wasn’t about to refuse.
I hadn’t done it for the money, but being acknowledged like that still felt good.
“Yay! Thank you so much!”
“Come work here again when you’ve got time, okay? We’re always short on staff.”
She waved as she left to handle the cleanup. Considering how packed the place had been, that made sense.
Guess I had a new potential part-time job option.
After Suberihiyu left, Hayato peeked into the waiting room.
“Masachika, I owe you for life.”
“That came out of nowhere...”
“Seriously, that was insane! Your response time, your composure—man, I’d fall for you if I were a girl!”
“Anyone could’ve done that.”
“No way!”
First Monaka, now Hayato... everyone was full of energy today.
But if I couldn’t handle at least that much, I wouldn’t last as student council president. And someone like Kuzuhara-senpai... he probably could’ve managed everything alone without even needing Monaka’s help.
“Oh no, Hayato-kun’s fallen for him... a new rival appears!?”
Monaka whispered something ridiculous, but I ignored her.
“You were pretty cool too, Hayato.”
“Ah—so you saw? That’s embarrassing.”
“Nothing to be embarrassed about. That was the result of your hard work.”
“That’s exactly why it’s embarrassing. I don’t want people to just acknowledge the effort.”
He leaned against the table, smiling a little self-deprecatingly.
“I gave it my all. That was my best today. And that’s why... I realized I’ve still got a long way to go. Not enough yet. Not enough to catch up to Rui-senpai.”
“So, are you giving up then?”
“No way.”
From an amateur’s perspective, I thought their band was amazing. But for Hayato, it still wasn’t enough.
He probably just has a high goal. The gap between his ideals and reality must be frustrating.
But I don’t think that’s a bad thing. That kind of frustration is what pushes a person to grow.
And it doesn’t seem like Hayato’s losing his motivation either.
“I’ll keep going until I catch up.”
“That’s the spirit.”
“Please come watch us again sometime.”
“Sure thing.”
Our fists bumped together with a small tap.
I really have some great juniors. The first-years in the student council are all good kids.
“Um—”
Monaka, who had been left out of the guys’ exchange, stretched her neck forward from the side.
“I’m the type who wants my efforts to be recognized!”
Saying that, she held out her test sheet. …Honestly, I had completely forgotten about it.
Hayato and I looked at each other—and burst out laughing at the same time.
“What’re you saying, Monaka-chan? You passed with flying colors.”
“Really? Thanks, Hayato-kun!”
That was the test to become a student council clerk.
Out of the six blank fields on the form, the second one had just been filled in.
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