Chapter 6: — “#CupcakeQueenRises”

“NAKA-CHAAANNNN!”

Mika’s voice tore through the room like an alarm clock made of pure chaos.

Sakura groaned, rolling over and burying her face in the blanket. “Ugh… five more minutes…”

Miyuki blinked slowly, rubbing her eyes. “Mika…? It’s too early…”

Mika was grinning like a maniac, leaning over them, shaking both by the shoulders. “C’mon sleepyheads! We have a whole to-do list today, remember?!”

The two girls sat up, groaning, then suddenly paused.

Sniff.

Sniff sniff.

“…Wait,” Sakura muttered.

“…What’s that smell?” Miyuki asked, eyes narrowing.

Mika froze. “Oh, uh… hehe…” She scratched her cheek. “Remember what I said last night? About sometimes farting in my sleep?”

The silence was deadly.

Sakura’s face went blank. “No. Nooooo…”

“MIKA!” Miyuki shouted, fanning the air in front of her. “OPEN THE WINDOW RIGHT NOW!”

“AHHAHAHAHA!” Mika burst into laughter, nearly falling over. “Your faces! You both look like you smelled death!”

“This IS death!” Sakura cried, covering her nose with the blanket. “We’re gonna die in here!”

“Alright, alright!” Mika said between giggles, rushing to the window. She flung it open, and the morning breeze rushed in like a rescue team.

Sakura and Miyuki both sighed in relief.

“Thank you,” Miyuki mumbled dramatically, flopping back onto the bed.

“You’re the worst,” Sakura said, still holding her nose.

Mika just laughed even harder.

She grabbed her notebook from the desk with a huge grin. “Okay, today’s plan is finally happening!” she said, flipping through the pages. “We’ve got baking part two, outfit planning, scary movie marathon, and— hey, are you two even listening?”

She glanced up and saw Sakura and Miyuki glued to their phones, thumbs flying, eyes wide.

“Hello? Earth to Naka-chaaannnn squad?” Mika waved her hand in front of them.

Suddenly, both girls gasped in sync.

“MIKA!” Sakura shouted.

“YOU’RE VIRAL!” Miyuki yelled right after.

Mika blinked. “Huh?”

They turned their phones around and shoved them in her face.

“Look!” Sakura shouted.

Mika squinted. It was her cupcake post from yesterday, perfectly frosted with glitter sprinkles and little heart toppings. The caption was something like #CupcakeQueenRises 🍰✨

Under the picture:

16.3K likes.

432 comments.

6.1K shares.

Mika’s mouth dropped open. “Wha… what the heck?! This has to be fake…”

She scrambled to grab her phone, unlocked it, and opened the app.

There it was. All real.

“AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”

She let out a scream so loud, birds outside flew away in panic.

Heavy footsteps thundered down the hallway.

Riku slammed the door open. “MIKA! WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?! WHY ARE YOU SCREAM—”

He stopped dead in his tracks and his face twisted.

“…What’s that smell?” he asked, covering his nose.

The girls paused.

“Mika farted in her sleep,” Sakura said instantly.

Miyuki nodded. “Confirmed.”

Mika threw a pillow at both of them. “HEY! That was supposed to be our secret!”

Riku groaned, waving his hand in front of his face. “Ugh… seriously? Whatever, I don’t care about that!” He glared at Mika. “I care about the fact that you screamed like you got stabbed!”

Mika jumped to her feet, waving her phone in his face. “LOOK! I’M VIRAL!”

Riku leaned in.

His eyes scanned the screen.

He blinked.

“…Okay?”

Mika stared at him. “OKAY?! THAT’S IT?!”

“I mean, cool cupcakes. Good job, I guess,” he said, turning to leave. “But seriously, open a window next time before someone dies.”

And with that, Riku walked out of the room, grumbling to himself down the hall.

“I can’t believe his first reaction wasn’t ‘congrats,’ but ‘what’s that smell,’” Sakura chuckled, wiping a tear from her eye.

“Classic Riku,” Miyuki smirked.

Mika dropped back onto the bed with a big grin. “But can we focus on the important part? I’M VIRAL!” she shouted, holding her phone up like it was a trophy. “Sixteen. Thousand. Likes!”

Sakura leaned closer. “We should totally bake more cupcakes today.”

“Yesss,” Miyuki agreed. “You post another photo, and we’ll push you into full-on influencer mode.”

Mika’s eyes sparkled. “You think we can go even more viral?”

“Of course!” Sakura nodded. “Cute cupcakes, cute girls, good lighting, boom. That algorithm won’t know what hit it.”

Miyuki laughed. “We’ll be the Cupcake Trio at this rate.”

Mika jumped up from the bed, already pumped. “Then it’s settled! Cupcakes, round two, coming up!”

Sakura shrugged with a grin. “Who even cares about your to-do list now? Going viral is the new plan.”

Miyuki grinned. “Let’s go viral all over again.”

They all high-fived with a loud clap, already thinking about sprinkles, frosting, and the perfect camera angles.

The girls rushed into the kitchen, slipping on their aprons with excited grins. Flour flew through the air as they mixed batter, stole playful glances at each other, and posed dramatically beside bowls and mixers. Frosting bags squeezed, cupcake trays slid into the oven, and the sweet smell of sugar filled the air. Between each step, phones clicked—selfies, close-ups, messy shots, all instantly posted to Instagram. Laughter echoed through the room as sprinkles scattered across counters and clothes. Their energy was chaotic, joyful, and full of life. Viral or not, they were having the time of their lives.

After a while, the girls collapsed onto the couch, completely exhausted. Their aprons were a mess, their faces smudged with flour and frosting. Mika dropped beside Riku with a tired groan, followed by Sakura and Miyuki flopping on either side of her.

Riku glanced at them, wide-eyed. “You guys are finally done?”

Mika stretched her arms and yawned. “That was so fun…”

“I’m kinda tired now though…” Sakura mumbled, leaning her head back.

Miyuki nodded slowly. “Same… Hey, what time is it?”

Riku checked his phone. “It’s just past three.”

“Wait, what?” Mika sat up fast. “Three?!”

“Yeah. You started baking at eleven,” Riku replied.

Sakura’s eyes widened. “That means we’ve been baking for… FOUR HOURS?!”

Mika screamed at the top of her lungs. “EEEEHHHH?!”

She grabbed her head and rolled onto the couch dramatically. “I THOUGHT IT HAD ONLY BEEN ONE HOUR! NOOOO!”

Sakura buried her face in a pillow. “My legs are gonna fall off…”

Suddenly, Miyuki gasped. “GUYS!”

Mika stopped flailing and looked over. “What now?!”

Miyuki turned her phone around, showing Mika the screen. “Your new cupcake posts. Every single one, are blowing up again!”

Mika blinked. “How many did we even post…?”

“Sixteen pictures,” Sakura said, counting quickly on her own phone.

Miyuki grinned. “Each one has between two to four thousand likes, tons of comments, and like, a thousand shares!”

Riku’s eyes went wide. “Sixteen?!”

His mouth dropped open, completely stunned. He leaned back against the couch slowly, not saying another word.

All three girls were now huddled together, their phones out, fingers flying across their screens.

“Look at this one!” Miyuki giggled. “Someone said our cupcakes look like they came from a professional bakery!”

“Ooooh! This one said: ‘I’d totally buy a hundred of these if you sold them,’” Sakura added, grinning.

Mika gasped, eyes sparkling. “Wait, wait, read that again! That’s so sweet!!”

The three of them kept scrolling, replying with thank-you emojis, hearts, and bubbly responses.

Riku sat at the edge of the couch, watching quietly.

“Hey,” he called out.

No response.

He leaned a bit forward. “You guys seriously gonna ignore me now?”

Still nothing.

They kept laughing and pointing at their screens, too deep into the wave of online praise to notice anything else.

Riku slouched back again, sighing. His eyes stayed on Mika. Every time she smiled at a comment or laughed with the other girls, something in his chest tightened.

He frowned. Why am I jealous of such a stupid thing? he thought, clenching his jaw. It’s not like I care… right?

He glanced at Mika again, who was now bumping shoulders with Sakura, giggling over a reply she just sent.

Riku looked away, arms crossed tightly.

Whatever, he told himself. They’ll get bored of the phone eventually… I guess.

But deep down, that annoying little feeling didn’t go away.

Riku eventually stood up from the couch and stretched his arms out lazily.

“I’m heading out,” he said flatly.

No answer.

He looked over. Mika, Sakura, and Miyuki were still locked onto their screens, giggling, typing, and showing each other more comments.

“I said I’m going out,” he repeated, this time louder.

Still nothing.

Riku blinked. His voice always got a reaction from Mika, especially when he was about to leave. She’d always ask where, why, with who… like she didn’t want him going off somewhere without her knowing.

But now? Silence.

His brows furrowed slightly. “I’m just… going to get some air, okay?”

Mika didn’t even glance up. She was too busy laughing at something Miyuki showed her.

“…Seriously?” he muttered under his breath.

He stood there for a moment longer, waiting. Nothing.

That small ache in his chest started to grow again. It wasn’t just annoyance, it was jealousy. A sharp, irritating kind. The kind that whispered:

She doesn’t care this time.

She’d rather be with them.

Riku shoved his hands into his pockets and headed toward the door.

“Don’t wait up,” he said, trying to sound like he didn’t care.

Still… nothing.

He stepped out, shut the door behind him, and let out a deep sigh.

The sky was cloudy but quiet. Riku walked without thinking, letting his feet carry him until he found himself at a park bench. He sat down, leaned forward, and stared at the ground.

His thoughts swirled like a storm in his chest.

Why does it bother me so much?

Why do I care if she’s laughing with them?

She’s just having fun… right?

He let out a frustrated breath, gripping his knees.

Ugh. This is so stupid.

But no matter how much he told himself that, it didn’t stop the jealousy from growing.

And as he sat there, alone, a shadow began to approach the bench behind him…