[Warning 15+]
Part Five
―Even If, I Can't Treat You with That Same Energy Anymore
Chapter 195
Quick Thinkin'
―Even If, I Can't Treat You with That Same Energy Anymore
Chapter 195
Quick Thinkin'
Around that time, Haruki was right in the middle of shock and confusion.
Amidst the swirlin' heat and the buzzin' atmosphere that made Haruki's skin prickle, excited gazes pierced right through her.
''—Smile without answerin'~♪''
Somehow, Haruki currently ended up singin' a trendy idol group song on what looked like a hastily put-together temporary stage.
The crowd surroundin' the area was also takin' this sudden event in stride, gettin' totally hyped up.
In short, Haruki was standin' out big time. Just how many people had gathered here, though?
Among them, Haruki could see people holdin' up smartphones, takin' videos and photos.
Even though Haruki was somewhat used to drawin' attention, this was way too unexpected.
It was proof of just how crazy popular the girl singin' beside Haruki was.
MOMO—one of the hottest popular models right now, someone even Haruki knew since she'd started skimmin' fashion magazines.
MOMO had a strikin', refined face, a tall and slender height about two sizes taller than Haruki, and a well-toned body.
While MOMO's singin' vocals weren't anythin' special to write home about, the way she performed—usin' her whole body to hype up the crowd while havin' a blast—gave her an undeniable presence that easily drew people in.
Which was exactly why this whole situation of Haruki singin' right alongside someone like MOMO made even less sense.
This was all that guy's fault—the guy Haruki'd run into at the hospital back then, and then met again at Satō Airi's event.
While slappin' on a mask of a friendly smile, Haruki skillfully shot a resentful glare at him standin' in the wings.
Noticin' Haruki's glare, the guy casually brushed it off with a smooth smile. Her cheek twitched slightly. Man, what a slippery guy.
''—A thousand nights' dream~♪''
That bein' said, the way that guy handled creatin' this situation was pretty brilliant.
Thinkin' back to what happened a moment ago...
MOMO, who had probably come incognito, had her identity exposed out of nowhere by some twist of fate.
Naturally, the crowd went wild, and right when things were on the verge of turning into a near-riot, the guy swooped in, framed it as a "surprise event," and sorted the venue out in no time flat.
The staff from surroundin' shops, who would've been screwed if a riot broke out, willin'ly played along once told it would double as promotion.
Havin' MOMO sing made total sense too.
It was totally out of the blue, so there was no way they had any talk topics prepped.
As for MOMO singin' her heart out—well, she might just be half-treatin' it like a karaoke session, though.
Haruki bein' at the scene in the first place was pure coincidence.
However, bein' forcefully handed a mic under the guise of fan interaction was definitely no accident.
—Takura Mao.
In the past, that guy had muttered that name right in front of Haruki.
The guy probably knew about the relationship between Haruki and Takura Mao. Otherwise, a lot of things wouldn't add up.
Haruki didn't know what the guy's connection to Takura Mao was, but he definitely knew somethin' Haruki didn't.
To be honest, it'd be a lie if Haruki said she wasn't curious.
More than that though, Haruki hated this whole situation where she was being totally played by the guy.
The guy was probably plannin' to make Haruki stand out here as a steppin' stone to drag her into showbiz, though.
In the entertainment world, someone like Haruki (the illegitimate daughter of Takura Mao) would undoubtedly serve as some kind of bargainin' chip in the guy's hand.
''—Angelic temptation~♪''
Haruki even considered intentionally playin' dumb and makin' a complete fool of herself.
However, ruinin' the mood when the crowd was this hyped up would be unfair to MOMO. She had nothin' to do with this. Besides, gettin' totally pushed around like this irked Haruki to no end. On top of that, if she put on a pathetic showin', what would Hayato say to her later? What would Saki think of Haruki?
So Haruki decided to go all out in makin' sure MOMO stood out as much as possible.
Haruki lowered her pitch to make MOMO's vocals pop, weavin' in harmonies.
Haruki handled her choreography and positionin' so that MOMO remained the center of attention.
A side character, a stagehand in the dark, the unsung hero.
Haruki kicked off her individuality, flawlessly playin' (and calculatin') the role to perfection.
''—Time traveler~♪''
Before long, the song came to an end.
Then a massive roar of applause erupted.
All the praise was directed straight at MOMO.
When Haruki stole a glance at that guy, his eyes were wide in shock. Realizin' his plan had flopped, she smirked, feelin' triumphant.
Haruki wore a satisfied smile at the outcome, bowed politely to MOMO, and expressed her thanks in an artificially nervous voice.
"Th-Thank you so much! Um, I was so happy to sing with you, MOMO-san!"
Envious cries like "So lucky!" and "Me next!" echoed from the crowd.
All Haruki had to do now was leave the stage.Just as Haruki lifted her flushed face and spun on her heel to walk away.
"Wait!"
"Eh?"
"Girl, aren't you amazin'!? It was super easy singin' with you!?"
For some reason, an excited MOMO grabbed Haruki's hand.
And then started scannin' Haruki's face up and down.
"Lookin' closely, aren't you super cute? You could totally take center stage more... ...I mean, why don't we work together sometime!? That's cool with you, right, Sakurajima-san!"
"W-Wait, huh, what, what...!?"
Sayin' that, when MOMO glanced over at that guy waitin' in the wings, he—Sakurajima—grinned broadly and made an OK circle above his head with both hands.
The surroundin' crowd instantly began buzzin', with voices whisperin' stuff like, "Wait, what's goin' on!?", "Scouted!?", "Isn't she kind of a different vibe, though?", "Honestly, maybe it works?"
A cold, unsettlin' sweat trickled down Haruki's spine.
It felt as if Haruki's defenses were bein' systematically stripped away.
Haruki had to do somethin'.
But Haruki's mind just wouldn't work properly.
And suddenly, the face of her Mom, Takura Mao, flashed across Haruki's mind.
Haruki could feel her hands startin' to tremble.
"What are you even sayin', Momocchi-senpai!"
Right then, a loud voice shouted toward the stage, cuttin' right through the buzzin' crowd.
Naturally, everyone's attention shifted to the owner of the voice.
Steppin' forward with grand confidence, the girl theatrically whipped off her hat and glasses, triggerin' an exceptionally massive cheer from the crowd.
"Oh! Yo, Airin~"
"Don't 'Yo' me!"
The one who appeared was Satō Airi.
A popular model on par with MOMO.
The crowd's attention shifted over to Airi as well.
"Geez, Momocchi-senpai, you always pull stuff on a whim! Look, this girl is totally shocked and frozen stiff!"
"Eh? Why not?"
"Don't 'Eh' me, it's NOT okay!"
"Then isn't it not un-okay?"
"Isn't it not un-ok—pfft!"
"Oh, Airin bit her tongue."
"Augh~~!"
Laughter broke out at their comedy-routine-like banter.
It smoothly framed MOMO's earlier invitation as if it had been part of the staged performance all along.
"Haruki!"
"!"
Just then, Haruki's ears caught a quiet yet sharp voice calling her name, snappin' her back to her senses.
At the source of the voice, near where Airi had appeared, was Hayato and the rest of the group. They were givin' Haruki small hand signals, beckonin' her to come back over.
Haruki hurriedly slapped her smile (mask) back on.
"Th-Thank you so much."
"Thank you all so much for your cooperation~"
"Let's do this again sometime~"
"Geez, Momocchi-senpai!"
"Airin's so mean."
"I'm not mean!"
Amidst the laughter, Haruki left the stage.
As Haruki walked away, Airi winked at her, as if silently sayin' "Sorry."
Author's Notes:
Tenbin Volume 4 drops the day after tomorrow!