Long before coming to find Matsuzaka Satou, Minami had already made up his mind.
He was going to pull her out of her emotional void.
For the sake of Matsuzaka Shio's future.
For the sake of his own daughter, Mirai.
For the sake of Shinjo Akane's wishes.
He had even ntally prepared himself for the challenge ahead.
And yet—
"I really didn't expect this to happen."
Minami stared at the vomit on his clothes, at a complete loss for words.
"I'm so sorry, Minami-senpai!"
Matsuzaka Satou, having finally cald down, repeatedly apologized to him.
Being vomited on out of nowhere—
It wasn't just Minami.
Anyone else would've lost their patience too.
Not long ago, she had been overwheld with frustration and anxiety in Sayuri's apartnt.
And now—
Her face was burning red from sheer embarrassnt.
She recognized this feeling.
It was called shyness—embarrassnt.
But what surprised Matsuzaka Satou even more was—
The mont she looked at Minami's face,
The frustration that had been gnawing at her heart suddenly vanished.
Like it had never been there in the first place.
...Was this what people called love?
Satou didn't know.
She wanted to say sothing else, but before she could, Minami raised a hand, cutting her off without hesitation.
"You can apologize later. First, let's figure out how to clean this ss off ."
He gestured at the vomit on his clothes.
"Ah... um... I have a washing machine at ho... and a dryer... but..."
Satou hesitated, staring at the stains on his shirt.
Normally, she would have invited him to use her washing machine.
But—
She didn't want to go back.
Her pink eyes flickered toward the apartnt building behind her.
She had just run away from there.
The mont she thought of Sayuri's downcast expression—
That lonely, sorrowful look on her face—
An inexplicable pain stirred in her chest.
"...Hm?"
Minami glanced at her thoughtfully.
He imdiately sensed the shift in her emotions.
So, he spoke up first.
"If it's inconvenient for you, how about coming to my place?"
"...Your place?"
Satou hadn't expected that.
His sudden invitation caught her off guard.
"When I saw you earlier, you looked completely out of it."
Minami shrugged with a small smile.
"I'm not heartless enough to just leave a girl wandering around in that state."
"...Is that so?"
Satou blinked.
To be honest, she thought it was a bit too natural for him to invite a girl over so casually.
But—
"...Then, I'll take you up on that offer."
She lowered her head in gratitude.
She didn't want to go ho.
And she had nowhere else to go.
More importantly—
It was his house.
For Satou, going to Minami's place was an offer she simply couldn't refuse.
She agreed without hesitation.
After exchanging a few more words,
Minami led her back the way he ca.
They took the train.
And as the station broadcast repeated, "Shimokitazawa Station, arriving at Shimokitazawa Station—"
Satou followed Minami off the train and continued walking beside him.
Before long,
They arrived at his apartnt.
Stepping inside, she curiously took in her surroundings.
The walls were clean and smooth,
With no posters or decorations.
The floor was neatly organized, with everything stored away in designated containers.
Besides the bed, there was a desk near it, and in the center of the room, a kotatsu surrounded by a small sofa.
A wardrobe sat in the corner.
The overall layout was simple and uncluttered.
"You can sit down and wait. I'm gonna take a shower and change. If you want tea, there's a hot water kettle—help yourself."
"...Okay."
Minami casually guided her to sit by the kotatsu, then grabbed so clothes from the wardrobe.
After that, he turned toward the bathroom.
But just before stepping inside,
He peeked his head back out and grinned playfully.
"Satou, you better not peek, alright?"
"...Don't worry. I wouldn't do sothing like that."
She frowned slightly, completely disinterested in anything related to male-female interactions.
"Good. I'll be back soon."
With a nod, Minami disappeared into the bathroom.
Up to this point, everything was perfectly normal.
At least, that's what Satou thought.
She had waited for friends before.
Waiting for Minami to finish showering wasn't a big deal.
Or so she assud.
However—
The mont she heard the crisp sound of hot water running from the shower,
Sothing shifted.
As if the sound itself had unlocked Pandora's Box—
A new emotion, sothing entirely different from when she usually waited for others,
Slowly, yet irresistibly, started to rise within her.
She found herself glancing toward the fogged-up bathroom door.
Beyond that thin barrier...
Minami was in there. Showering.
Gulp.
She swallowed unconsciously.
She didn't know why,
But just the thought of him being inside, taking a shower...
Made her want to peek.
The idea startled her.
For soone like her—who had never once felt desire, who had never even been curious about these things—
The sudden, foreign impulse left her utterly bewildered.
And yet, it wouldn't go away.
Click-click.
The sound of a shampoo bottle being squeezed ca from inside.
And the pink-haired girl, who had long since developed a deeply engraved "Minami Fanatic" trait,
Swallowed again.
Her gaze drifted toward the bathroom door.
But just as she was about to focus on it—
She jolted back, as if shocked by electricity.
What is happening to ?
Desperately, she grabbed a teacup and started gulping down hot tea.
Trying to suppress the unfamiliar feeling swelling inside her chest.
But the more she tried to drown it out—
The stronger it beca.
An intense urge to peek.
The thought kept surfacing in her mind.
Just when she was about to act—
Click!
The apartnt door suddenly swung open.
Satou, startled like a guilty thief, flinched violently.
Her pink eyes darted toward the entrance.
Standing there—
Was a tall, deep-blue-haired girl with an air of effortless elegance.
Her amber eyes first flickered toward the bathroom door, then toward Satou.
A single teardrop mole sat beneath her right eye, adding an almost srizing charm to her already striking face.
Satou blinked in surprise.
She hadn't expected another girl to enter Minami's room.
And judging by appearances alone—
This girl was just as beautiful as her.
...Could it be?
Satou suddenly rembered sothing Minami had said when he visited her house before.
He had ntioned the band he played with outside of school.
That there were four girls who liked him.
...Was this one of them?
The realization made sothing in her heart tighten.
An unfamiliar, bitter feeling.
She was about to stand up and introduce herself—
But before she could—
"Newcor?"
The deep-blue-haired girl spoke first.
"...Huh? Uh... ah..."
The sudden question threw Satou off.
She had already prepared an introduction in her head,
But now, it was completely derailed.
"...You don't talk?"
The girl glanced at her indifferently before waving her hand dismissively.
"Well, whatever. You'll get to know us eventually."
She said it as if it were obvious.
Under Matsuzaka Satou's watchful gaze,
The deep-blue-haired girl casually stepped further into the room.
More precisely—
She moved toward the bathroom door.
"Ah... um..."
Satou, montarily stunned by her actions, finally spoke up as she saw the girl getting closer and closer.
"Minami-senpai is in there taking a shower, you know?"
She had assud that saying this would make the girl reconsider.
But—
"I know that. Why else would I be here?"
The girl gave her a look, as if she were the one saying sothing strange.
"...Huh?"
Wait...
Why did it feel like she was the weird one here?
Satou was speechless.
She wanted to say more, but before she could, the deep-blue-haired girl cut her off.
"Wanna join ?"
She scooted over, making space for Satou.
"...? Huh? No, wait—"
The girl's completely unashad attitude left Satou at a total loss.
Wasn't peeking on soone in the bath supposed to be forbidden?
Why was it that—
When this girl did it, it suddenly seed perfectly reasonable?
Satou's brain struggled to process.
And before she could regain her senses, the girl urged her again.
"Coming or not? If you're not, I'm gonna go ahead and look first."
"I—"
Her mind was a ss.
Before she even realized it,
As if possessed by so mysterious force,
Satou instinctively took a step forward and stood beside the short-haired girl.
"We can take a quick peek."
The blue-haired girl whispered, slightly cracking open the door.
"Just don't tell Minami that I was here."
"...Minami?"
"Ye, Minami. Are you dumb?"
Her voice was as flat as ever as she turned to say sothing else.
But the next second—
SWOOSH!
The sliding door suddenly swung open.
A rush of steam spilled out from the bathroom.
And—
Standing there, wearing fresh loungewear, his damp black hair still dripping slightly,
Was Minami.
He leaned casually against the doorfra, smirking at the two girls crouched in front of the door.
"Uh—"
The blue-haired girl let out a completely deadpan noise of realization.
The atmosphere in the room—
Turned incredibly awkward.
And Satou?
Her brain froze.
She had promised him she wouldn't peek.
But now—
Faced with this exact scenario—
Her cheeks flushed red.
Just as she was about to stamr out an explanation—
The other girl spoke first.
"Minami, you should be thanking ."
"...Oh? And what exactly should I be thanking you for, Yamada-san?"
Minami's gaze shifted toward the short-haired girl.
"If it weren't for stopping the newbie here, your dignity would have been at risk."
Yamada Ryo spoke with a completely straight face.
"She was insisting on peeking. Even tried to drag into it. Luckily, I refused and stopped her."
She continued, her expression unfazed.
"So, shouldn't you be grateful to , Minami?"
...
Huh????
Satou was utterly dumbfounded.
What the hell is this woman talking about?!
Wasn't she the one who dragged Satou into this?!
Wasn't she the one who opened the door?!
How had the story suddenly flipped to her being the one eager to peek?!
Satou refused to accept this.
If she had actually seen anything, maybe she wouldn't care so much about being falsely accused.
But she hadn't.
That tiny crack in the door had been entirely occupied by Yamada Ryo.
She opened her mouth to argue—
But before she could—
Smack!
"Ow, Minami."
Ryo rubbed her head, her expression unchanged.
"If you want to peek, fine. But don't drag Satou into it."
Minami shot her a look.
This woman.
She never told the truth.
The mont she got caught, she imdiately shifted the bla onto soone else.
Absolutely ridiculous.
"...Okay, fine. I did make that up."
Ryo admitted.
"But the newbie isn't innocent either."
Expression still unreadable, she added matter-of-factly,
"I can tell. She's the silent pervert type."
"...?!"
Satou's face turned an even deeper shade of red.
In that mont—
She didn't even know how to respond.
Because—
Even though she hadn't actually peeked—
She had felt the temptation.
And that was an undeniable fact.
Luckily, Minami didn't let Ryo continue any further.
He simply knocked her on the head again,
Then sent her off to practice bass.
The "Teen Music Festival" was coming up.
Kessoku Band's rehearsals were more intense than ever.
And yet this woman still had ti to sneak into his place and try to spy on him showering.
Unbelievable.
Minami shook his head speechlessly.
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