"...What is this situation?"
When Nagasaki Soyo saw the suddenly created three-person group chat, she voiced a perfectly natural question.
"Me, Tetsuya... and Misumi Uika?"
No matter how much Soyo thought about it, she couldn't come up with any decent explanation for this bizarre combination of members.
And then, the very first message sent by Misumi Uika instantly made her expression change—
[Alright, with this, the group dedicated to providing emotional consultation for Tetsuya-san has been established.]
[What?]
Faced with such a sudden opening statement, Soyo's response was equally simple.
[How come I wasn't told you were a part of this?]
[Because I was the one who proposed it.]
Uika's reply was also very quick.
[For now, you can just think of it as a way for Tetsuya-san to get another perspective for reference.]
"For now, huh..."
She probably figured that Tetsuya wouldn't understand the subtext between them, so she didn't even bother to hide it, right?
Although this group chat alone wasn't enough to determine Uika's true feelings for Tetsuya, Soyo had definitely gotten the message that she intended to get in her way.
...
[What if our opinions differ?]
[Then that will be up to Tetsuya-san to decide for himself. After all, we're only responsible for giving opinions, not for making the choice. And that's precisely why I wanted to join.]
Uika replied.
[If it's just you, even if you have no intention of 'guiding' Tetsuya-san, your opinion will still greatly influence his choice, won't it? I want to avoid that kind of misunderstanding as much as possible... What do you think, Nagasaki-san?]
[Mhm, you have a point.]
"As I thought... this Misumi Uika is also quite a difficult character to deal with."
Ever since her brief encounter with Uika that night, Soyo had already determined that she was a person with sharp observational skills and an incredibly clever mind. It was just that back then, her stance was relatively neutral. Although she had her own calculations regarding both Hoshino Ai and their side, she didn't seem to intend to get too involved.
But now, not only had she taken the initiative to step into Tetsuya's personal life, she had even deliberately made a move to constrain her.
She had no idea if this girl was doing it for herself or for someone else.
For example... Sakiko, or someone like that.
[In any case, in order to help Tetsuya-san, let's both do our best from now on.]
Uika then attached a smiling emoji.
Although Soyo's feelings were very complicated, she still replied properly:
[Mhm, let's do our best together.]
[By the way, where is Tetsuya-san? It's already eleven at night. He couldn't still be at work, could he?]
[No, he's just a very slow typer, so he probably just hasn't been able to keep up with our chat.]
[...]
After receiving this explanation, Uika first replied with an ellipsis, then quietly waited for a moment along with Soyo.
Sure enough, after nearly half a minute of silence, Tetsuya's reply finally arrived:
[Sorry, just as Soyo said, my typing speed is very slow. From now on, if I run into anything I don't understand, I'll be relying on you both.]
[Okay.]
[Got it.]
Although both of their replies were very harmonious, Soyo knew that Uika, whose plan had now succeeded, was definitely staring at her phone screen with a smug smile...
(Sigh, I should have told Tetsuya to keep this a secret.)
Soyo first felt a little regretful about her miscalculation, but soon, she also saw another positive aspect of this group chat.
(But this is fine too. If someone like Misumi Uika gets involved, then it's basically certain that a fourth person won't be added to this group.)
Whether for herself or for others, if one wanted to increase the weight of their own words, then the fewer speakers, the better.
Uika probably anticipated this, which is why she directly created this group chat instead of communicating privately...
"I hope the number of troublesome people like her doesn't increase from now on."
Soyo sighed and put her phone aside.
...
"...You're saying you want to listen to the new song?"
"Can't I?"
Hoshino Ai crossed her arms and tilted her head curiously.
"No matter what, it's a song I'm about to perform. It's only natural to want to know about the composition's progress in advance, right?"
"Even so, you should have waited for Uika to be here, shouldn't you?"
Although her reason was perfectly valid, Togawa Sakiko couldn't bring herself to let her guard down in front of this dangerous person.
"After all, the main melody and theme of this song were decided by her."
"I don't know about that kind of thing. I just think that if it's only you here, it'll be easier for me to say a lot of things directly."
Hoshino Ai took off the baseball cap she used as a disguise and walked into the recording studio.
"I'm coming in."
After hearing Ai's reply, Sakiko finally understood that her reason for coming was by no means as simple as she claimed.
And so, after Ai closed the studio door, Sakiko immediately asked:
"Is there something you want from me?"
"Hmm~ There is, but let me listen to the demo first."
Hoshino Ai said in a light tone.
"After all, my choice will be greatly influenced by this song."
"What?"
Sakiko's expression turned to one of disbelief.
"'Choice'... Does that mean you're no longer fixated on exposing everything at the May live?"
"..."
Hoshino Ai pondered for a moment before nodding.
"Mhm, I admit it. I have a new idea now, but at the moment, it's only at the 'idea' stage. I haven't decided what to do yet. So..."
She beckoned to Sakiko.
"Give me the headphones. You want to know the final result too, don't you?"
"..."
It's just as I thought. Ever since reuniting with Chihaya Tetsuya, Hoshino Ai's thinking is no longer so extreme.
But what did she mean just now, about her choice being influenced by this song?
Filled with questions, Sakiko handed her the headphones and played the demo, which was already ninety percent complete...