After the artistic photoshoot, this impromptu gathering came to an end. Hitori Gotoh, still preoccupied with her unwritten lyrics, uncharacteristically reached out and grabbed Jhin, who was about to leave.
"Bocchi-chan, what's wrong?" Jhin looked at Hitori Gotoh in surprise. He had thought that after he kissed her earlier, it would take a few days before they could see each other normally again.
"Jhin, could you... look at my lyrics?" Hitori Gotoh kept her head down, still too shy to look directly at Jhin. His words, which had made her feel so cherished, were like soaking in a bathtub full of intoxicating wine; her head was still spinning.
"Of course, no problem." Jhin readily agreed. He took Hitori Gotoh to a nearby café, where they unexpectedly ran into Ryo Yamada.
"Ryo, you're here too," Jhin greeted her.
"Jhin, Bocchi-chan, are you guys here to eat too?" Ryo was just about to dig into the curry that had just been served.
"Bocchi-chan asked me to help her with her lyrics, so I brought her to the café to sit for a bit. Since you're here, you can give her some ideas too." Jhin sat down next to Ryo with Hitori Gotoh, ordered three slices of cake and two coffees, and, noticing cola on the menu, ordered a glass for his cola-loving girlfriend.
Hitori Gotoh, who had never been to a place like a coffee shop in her life, nervously stuck close to Jhin's side and handed him her lyric book.
Jhin opened the lyric book and briefly scanned its contents. It was easy to see that Hitori Gotoh had put a lot of thought into the band's new song. However, her narrow focus on how to make the song a hit had led her into a dead end, causing her to blindly imitate currently popular music styles.
Seeing Jhin close the lyric book and set it aside, Hitori Gotoh took a sip of her cola, her gaze wandering uncertainly.
"Ryo is still eating her curry, so I'll share my thoughts first. Of course, I don't know much about music, so I can't comment on how well the lyrics are written."
"I think, Bocchi-chan, you're overthinking it. Lyrics that are popular with the masses and easy to remember are certainly the foundation of a hit song. But you guys are a rock band, not just singers. If you can't express your own unique style, you're straying from the most basic meaning of the word 'rock'."
Jhin's words made even Ryo, who had been quietly eating, look at him with newfound respect. She put down her spoon, wiped the sauce from the corner of her mouth, and began to speak. "I've mentioned it before, right? I used to be in another band."
"I really liked that band's raw yet straightforward lyrics. But later, they tried too hard to get famous, writing lyrics only for the sake of selling records."
"I didn't like a band that had lost its own style, so I decided to quit. I even had a fight with the other members over it."
In Ryo Yamada's gray and colorless memory, that was when she began to lose interest in the band, feeling as if life had lost its meaning.
It was Nijika who came to her side then, with a warm smile, and said, "If you've got nothing to do, why don't you play bass? Because I love hearing you play."
And just like that, Ryo tried joining a band again, and she came to understand something.
"A band that loses its personality is as good as dead." Strands of blue hair fell across Ryo's face, obscuring her expression.
Hitori Gotoh wanted to comfort Ryo, who looked a little down, but to her surprise, Ryo quickly composed herself and continued giving advice as if nothing had happened.
"So, you don't need to rack your brain writing that boring stuff. Just write what you truly like. Like Jhin said, show off your own style."
Hitori Gotoh thoughtfully opened her lyric book and, as if struck by sudden inspiration, began to write. Seeing that she wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, Jhin and Ryo went to the counter.
"Jhin, thank you," Ryo said suddenly.
"Hm? For what?"
"Nothing." Ryo shook her head. She was, after all, not good at expressing her feelings to others. The band had made it this far thanks to Jhin's significant help at almost every crucial moment. Instead of verbal thanks, she felt it would be more meaningful to let Jhin see Kessoku Band shine on stage.
"No matter what, I'm your band's number one fan. If there's anything I can do to help, I will," Jhin said with a smile to the girl who was always so expressionless.
"In that case, you can treat me to this meal." A glint appeared in Ryo's eyes as she gave Jhin a thumbs-up.
Just as I'd expect from you, Scumbag Ryo.
Jhin grumbled internally, giving Ryo an "OK" sign and paying for her meal. He'd already bought Kita's bass for her, so why did she still act like she was so poor she might have to eat grass at any moment?
If Ryo knew what Jhin was thinking, she would surely have launched into an enthusiastic spiel about the new instruments and albums she'd bought.
"Huh? Where's Ryo?" Hitori Gotoh snapped out of her creative trance to find that Ryo had vanished, leaving only Jhin resting his chin on his hand at the table, keeping her company.
"She left a while ago. What about you, are the lyrics finished?"
"Not quite yet."
"Let me walk you home. It's getting late. Don't rush, take your time. I believe you can write lyrics that perfectly suit your band," Jhin said, encouraging the confidence-lacking Hitori Gotoh.
"Thank you, Jhin. I'm so glad you're my boyfriend." Hitori Gotoh threw herself into Jhin's arms. She felt like a weed growing in a dark corner, and Jhin was the sun that had chanced upon her and cared for her tenderly.
"Do you remember what you overheard me muttering to myself back then?" Jhin leaned down and whispered in her ear, "'I wish you were my girlfriend.' So, I'm also very happy that you are."
Her affection for Jhin burst uncontrollably from her chest. Hitori Gotoh made the boldest move of her entire life. She blinked her blue eyes, the mist in them gathering at the corners into tears of joy that slid down to her lips, moistening the pink petals as she captured Jhin's mouth with a charming breath.
The innocent kiss didn't end after a brief touch. Perhaps to vent the emotions welling up inside, they both explored tentatively until they connected. They moved from a shy exploration to a tender intimacy, finally pulling apart when they were both short of breath. Seeing her boyfriend's face, Hitori Gotoh's already oxygen-deprived brain felt even dizzier.
Feeling refreshed, Jhin helped the dizzy and weak-kneed Hitori Gotoh, who could barely stand, slowly leave the café. What he didn't know was that on the other side of the café, Nijika and Kita Ikuyo were squatting on the floor, their faces as red as a monkey's butt.
"I-Is... is that a k-k-k-kiss between lovers?"
"I never thought Bocchi-chan had such a bold side."
The two of them had come looking for Hitori Gotoh to ask about the lyrics. After hearing from Ryo that she was writing them with Jhin at the café, they came over together, only to stumble upon the two of them kissing.
"Actually, I took a picture," Ryo said, popping up from nowhere and waving her phone at them. The screen showed a candid shot of the couple kissing.
"Ryo! When did you get here?" Nijika thought she had gone home long ago.
"I followed you guys. I was a little curious about the lyrics Bocchi-chan was writing."
The three of them looked at the photo, where the couple's deep affection was impossible to hide. They had been unwittingly fed another mouthful of 'dog food,' making them feel the world's malice towards single people.
"We should probably delete this photo..."
"Agreed."
"I'll send a copy to Jhin. After all, they're the ones who were photographed without permission."
Nijika and Kita Ikuyo fled the café. The pure-hearted girls couldn't bear to look at that photo again; it was bad for the heart in every sense.
After sending the photo to Jhin, Ryo hesitated for a moment but didn't delete it. She wasn't sure what her motive was for keeping it. Perhaps, in that moment, she was a little envious of Hitori Gotoh.
The next day, Hitori Gotoh arrived at STARRY with darker circles under her eyes than usual and handed in the lyrics she had stayed up all night writing.
Although she received unanimous approval from her bandmates, for some reason, none of them could look her straight in the eye. Their evasive glances left her completely bewildered.
Did I do something weird?
_____
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