Here we go again. Bringing up Aragaki-kun again.
Annoyed, Utaha pushed Machida Sonoko, who was leaning toward her, and spoke with a stern expression to that shameless woman.
"You're an adult now. Do I really need to remind you to know your boundaries?"
"Alright then, Utaha-chan, just tell me." Smiling teasingly, Machida leaned to the side, propping her chin on one hand while watching the very serious-looking Utaha.
"Have you contacted Aragaki-kun yet?"
"No." Turning her head and shooting a sharp glance at her ill-intentioned editor, Utaha waved her hand impatiently. "Why would I contact him? He's just a fan, nothing more."
"Utaha-chan, your eyes look a little guilty."
Finally, unable to bear Machida's teasing any longer, Utaha, as if embarrassed into anger, grabbed the stack of Love's Metronome Vol. 3 plot outlines from the table and slammed them down.
"Are we going to talk business or not? Please don't use this teasing as an excuse to justify your salary!"
"Machida Sonoko!"
She really didn't know what was up with her lately. Every time they met, Machida just kept bringing up Aragaki-kun.
Even before that, she somehow managed to find his LINE account and hand it over. And then she constantly pestered her about whether she had actually contacted him.
What was this? Was she playing matchmaker or something? Did Kasumigaoka Utaha look like some shameless, desperate woman in her eyes?!
Growing more irritated, Utaha slammed the plot outline onto the table, crossed her arms, turned her head away, and spoke coldly.
"If there are any issues, deal with them yourself."
"Eh..." Seeing Utaha's "I'm staying silent, I don't want to hear your voice" attitude, Machida realized she had genuinely made her author angry.
...This is starting to get bad. Better not provoke her emotions for now.
Thinking so, Machida held back her jokes and professionally picked up the Vol. 3 draft to review.
However, even though she knew it was her fault, Machida secretly spoke to the angry Utaha sitting across from her in her mind.
Once you know the truth, you'll thank me for today's efforts, Utaha-chan.
However, there was one thing Machida hadn't considered. Since the day of the concert when she discovered the connection between Miyani and Aragaki Miyahito, and then got her best friend heavily drunk on premium sake to successfully confirm that "Miyani's real name is indeed Aragaki Miyahito,"...
...despite knowing the full truth, she hadn't said a single word to Utaha, who deeply admired Miyani and might just have feelings for Aragaki-kun.
Coupled with how often she'd been bringing up Aragaki-kun lately... if those two behaviors were combined, as long as Kasumigaoka Utaha wasn't an idiot, she would surely sense the genuine mischief behind Machida's actions. When that happened... would she get gratitude? Not chasing her with a kitchen knife for a few blocks would already be proof of Utaha's kindness.
At that moment, unaware of the actual truth, Utaha quietly shifted her gaze and looked at Machida, who had stopped joking around and was seriously reviewing the draft. After thinking for a moment, she took her phone out of her pocket.
「New song currently in production. Please look forward to it. — Miyani」
Her gaze fixed on Miyani's latest post on the screen, and an indescribable worry welled up inside her. Because that post was dated ten days ago. And today was fourteen days since the street concert incident. In those fourteen days, Miyani's account had only posted twice. This unusual silence felt off to Utaha, who always followed him closely.
Normally, when Miyani-sensei was working on a song, he posted updates every day or two. Why was he completely silent for days this time?
Carefully concealing the worry that showed on her face, Utaha, her brows slightly furrowed, slipped her phone back into her pocket. She leaned forward slightly, placed her hands on the table, turned her head, and stared blankly out the window at the sun-warmed street. She remained silent for a long time.
....
Not long after, Machida finished reading the Vol. 3 draft.
Utaha-chan had successfully broken through her defenses again.
Letting out an inward sigh of emotion, she set the document down, looked at Utaha who was still staring out the window, and called out softly. "Utaha-chan."
"Hmm?" Snapped out of her daze, Utaha turned and asked. "Done reading? What do you think?"
"It's really good." Smiling, Machida lightly tapped the manuscript. "I can already imagine how many people will happily squirm in their beds while reading your novel once Vol. 3 releases."
"That metaphor..." Rolling her eyes at Machida, Utaha couldn't help but retort. "Are all my fans just maggots writhing in their beds?"
"Yeah, except for Aragaki-kun, probably all of them." After successfully earning another sharp glare from Utaha with her double entendre, Machida laced her fingers on the table, propped up her chin, and explained with a smile.
"Beneath an extremely ordinary daily life, the emotional development between the male and female leads flows as naturally as water finding its path."
"And you said Aragaki-kun's advice was useless? You're not being honest, Utaha-chan."
Caught off guard by this "wicked" woman, Utaha's face flushed. To cover her embarrassment, she retorted with feigned annoyance.
"That's not it at all! I just thought the story would be more interesting if it developed like this."
"Oh? Really?" Machida slightly narrowed her eyes, teasing in a playful tone. "If that's the reason, then why didn't you follow TAKI-kun's suggestion?"
"Besides, if the relationship between Sayaka, Naoto, and Mai developed into a nauseating love triangle... wouldn't that make the plot much more interesting?"
Hearing that, Utaha immediately put on a disgusted face, her tone turning sharp.
"So you're saying I should personally ruin Sayaka just to satisfy some otaku's fantasy?"
"I don't want my Sayaka to end up with a guy who hesitates between two relationships."
"A cowardly and useless rom-com protagonist like that? Please just let him stay in the 2D world, okay? I'm afraid if I ever saw him in real life, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from stabbing him."
As expected from a writer who made a living by "playing with words." Without using a single swear word, Utaha systematically dismantled Machida's mention of "TAKI's suggestion," each sentence hitting a precise psychological mark.
Love triangles? Two female leads? A convoluted plot? Sorry, I'm not writing about trashy guys like that.
Realizing her implied meaning, Machida put on an "as I thought" expression and thought to herself.
Acting firm and polite, yet you still obediently slipped Aragaki-kun's quote, "friendship is the longest confession," into your novel...
Holding back her desire to tease further, Machida dropped the topic and seriously discussed several structural issues in the draft with Utaha.
After finishing the discussion, Utaha prepared to leave Shinobu Publishing. She wanted to use her free time before school started to finish the Vol. 3 draft as quickly as possible.
Even though she knew it was impossible to finish it before the semester began, she would write as much as she could. After all, once school started, whether she liked it or not, school would pile a lot of assignments on her.
Just as she stood up to leave, Machida suddenly asked out of nowhere. "By the way, Utaha-chan, you're starting school soon, right?"
"Yes. Five more days."
....
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