Miyuki Has Competition?

“Did you not practice during the week like I asked you to?” Luna scoffed. “You’re half a second late.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll get it right next time,” Miyuki bowed in apology. She was once again in Luna’s recording studio, practicing the song she was helping with. Throughout the previous week, she set aside half an hour every day to review the sheet music Luna had given her and practice.

Luna sighed. “Let’s take this from the top again. Make sure you pay full attention this time, or I will lose my patience.”

Music began to play through the headphones Miyuki was wearing. Her eyes followed along with the instruments on the sheet music she gripped in her hand. A flat, circular microphone filled in the space that separated Miyuki and Luna.

She paid close attention to the music, reading the lyrics that Luna sang while remaining as still and silent as possible until it was her turn.

A few seconds into her vocals, however, Luna interrupted the recording. “Stop, stop! You’re singing too loud. You’re the background singer, remember? Learn your place.”

Miyuki dropped her gaze, Luna’s criticism stinging her like a scorpion. “S-sorry. I’ll sing quieter.”

“Good. This isn’t your song,” she spat. “Let’s try that again.”

At her command, the music started to play through their headphones again. Miyuki took a deep, silent breath and once more waited for her time to sing.

This time, Luna didn’t interrupt during her chorus. When the song ended, they removed their headphones. “That was decent,” she halfheartedly complimented. “Took you long enough to get it right. Let’s call it a day. I’ll listen to the song and let you know what changes we need to make.”

“Thank you for letting me be a part of this, as frustrating as it may have been,” Miyuki said. “Will I hear back from you if what we recorded is good?”

“Of course you will. What kind of person would I be to not allow you to listen to the song before its release, when you were a part of it?”

“I… appreciate that,” Miyuki was taken aback by Luna’s statement. Almost every time she spoke, she either bragged about herself or put Miyuki down, but there was no venom in these last words of hers. Perhaps she was grateful for Miyuki’s help after all, and Hiroshi’s assumption of her motives was incorrect?

“No need to thank me. You’re free to go, so please leave my presence. I need to have my full attention on this song,” Luna shooed her out of the recording studio and shut the door before Miyuki could respond.

Out in the cool afternoon breeze, Miyuki’s thoughts turned to the boy she was about to go see. ‘I wonder what we’re going to do today? Last week was so much fun,’ she thought. The route to Jin’s home from the recording studio was still ingrained in her memory from the previous week, and she hurried over to meet him.

In the distance, she noticed a girl with long, silver hair standing on the edge of the street in front of Jin’s residence. Miyuki stepped into a nearby alley and peered around the corner of a brown wooden building to observe her from afar.

The girl looked both ways before she trotted up to knock on Jin’s door. By the cautious expression she wore, it was clear that she didn’t want anyone to know that she was there. Following a brief pause, the door opened.

She was too far to hear any of the conversation that was happening, but she noticed the girl blush and gaze off to the side with an awkward squirm. Then she handed something to the person on the other side of the door, and her anxious look evolved into a joyful one. A few seconds later, she bowed and turned to leave.

Miyuki watched the girl until she disappeared from view, then stepped out of her hiding place and approached Jin’s house. The door opened to reveal Jin in his usual soccer getup. “Hi Jin,” she glanced behind her. “Who was that girl just now?”

“That was a girl from school. I’m not sure how she found my place, though…” He glanced behind Miyuki to make sure she was gone.

“What did she say?” Miyuki cocked her head to the side to show interest.

“She… came here to confess her feelings,” he explained with hesitance.

A shockwave ripped through Miyuki’s body. “She confessed? W-what did you say?”

“Well, to be more specific, she gave me a confession letter. I told her I appreciated her visit, and would take a look at the letter. Of course, I’m going to turn her down.”

Miyuki’s heart relaxed from the strained grip it was giving itself. She didn’t know if she could make it if someone stole Jin right from under her. “That’s good to hear,” she breathed. “Now that that’s out of the way, what’s the plan for today?”

“I thought you had a plan,” he said.

“This is your town, so I was going to let you decide what to do…”

“Then I guess we’ll decide on something together. But before we do, you should come inside,” Jin stepped to the side, opening the door wider to let Miyuki in.

She stepped into Jin’s home and pivoted to face him. “We’ve already gone for a walk, did karaoke, and went to the arcade… Is there anything else around here you want to show me?”

“Not particularly,” he leaned against the door with his shoulder. “What about you? Is there anything you’d still like to do?”

“Let me see…” Miyuki touched her chin with a finger, lost in thought. “Oh! I got something. Are you hungry?”

“A little bit. Not much, though,” he answered.

“How about we go to a nice restaurant? You don’t have to worry about money, I’ll handle it,” she suggested.

“Chatting over lunch, huh? I suppose we could do that. Aren’t you worried about being seen in public, though?”

“I’ll just do what we did last time. Since Nanami isn’t here, you can go shopping for me,” Miyuki grinned.

“Guess I have no choice,” his lips curled to form the slightest smile. “In that case, there is a restaurant that I’d like to try.”