Kita Ikuyo pulled an all-nighter.
She barely managed to close her eyes around 6 AM, squeezing in an hour of restless sleep.
During that ti, she kept bombarding Yamada Ryo with ssages,
Desperately trying to wake her up and demand the secret to winning over Minami's heart.
But it was all in vain.
Yamada Ryo slept like the dead.
She didn't reply to a single ssage.
Because of that, Kita tossed and turned in bed, unable to get a wink of proper sleep.
And as a result—
She was exhausted.
Wobbling on unsteady legs, she leaned against a mop for support, struggling to keep her eyes open and focus on her work.
But with her severe lack of sleep, concentrating was nearly impossible.
It wasn't just work.
She had nearly passed out in multiple morning classes.
Thankfully, the afternoon was P.E., so she snuck in a nap and barely managed to make it through the day.
But...
"...I'm at my limit already."
Kita Ikuyo mumbled groggily, her golden eyes shimring with sleepiness.
Her eyelids drooped shut, only for her to force them back open.
She was running on empty.
And right at that mont—
"Hey. What's wrong, Ikuyo? You should be working properly."
Beside her, Yamada Ryo's flat, expressionless voice rang out.
...No.
No, no, no.
Kita Ikuyo slowly turned her head to look at her, mouth slightly open.
Did this person...
Did she seriously not realize who was responsible for her being like this?!
She was only in this state because Yamada Ryo stopped mid-sentence, leaving her hanging all night!
And now she had the nerve to lecture her about working properly?!
Kita Ikuyo couldn't accept this.
But she was just too exhausted.
She didn't even have the energy to explain herself.
Leaning against the mop in her hands, the entire world around her blurred and swayed.
She tried to force herself awake.
But the next second—
Thud.
The wooden handle of the mop slipped from her grasp.
"Ikuyo?!"
"Kita-chan?!"
Amidst the startled cries—
Kita Ikuyo felt her body and mind separate, as if she were suddenly floating.
And the next mont—
She collapsed onto the floor.
People don't really know what happens when they pass out.
And that was exactly how Kita Ikuyo felt.
She had the sensation of drifting for quite a while.
By the ti she finally opened her eyes again—
She was already lying sowhere unfamiliar.
Above her, a white ceiling stretched out.
"...Where... am I?"
Her soft pink lips parted slightly as she muttered.
Her dazed eyes slowly regained focus.
Blinking, she turned her head, taking in her surroundings.
It was a modestly furnished room.
A kotatsu sat in the center, radiating warmth.
To her side, there was a wardrobe and a desk nestled beside it.
The floor was clean, ticulously maintained.
It was obvious that whoever lived here kept things tidy.
A long couch wrapped around the kotatsu.
On the opposite side, a frosted sliding door led to a bathroom.
Beyond the bare essentials for daily life—
The room was otherwise sparse.
No...
There was one more thing.
Kita Ikuyo's gaze faltered.
Then, it locked onto the figure seated at the kotatsu.
A well-proportioned silhouette.
Short black hair, body relaxed against the warm table.
A book rested in his hands, pages turning lazily between the occasional yawn.
M-Minami-senpai?!
Realizing whose room she was lying in, Kita Ikuyo completely panicked.
W-Why?!
Of all people, why did it have to be Minami-senpai?!
She sat there, frozen, staring at him for a long mont—completely forgetting to avert her gaze.
And as if sensing her intense stare—
Minami, who had been leisurely flipping through his light novel, turned his head slightly.
His deep eyes t hers.
He blinked in surprise, then—
A smile curled at the corner of his lips.
D-Disaster!
The mont Kita Ikuyo saw that smile, her instincts scread danger.
Because in her dream—
Every ti Minami smiled like that—
It was a sign that he was about to ss with soone.
And right now, that look was directed at her.
A wave of panic surged through her.
But before she could even start freaking out properly—
Minami had already stood up and walked over to her.
"You're awake?"
"I—uh... yeah... um... I'm awake."
On a normal day, her natural social skills would have helped her navigate any conversation. But at this mont, they seed completely useless.
Kita Ikuyo stamred as she responded to Minami.
Her gaze flickered. She realized she couldn't let him take full control of the conversation, so she took the initiative to ask:
"Why... why is it you, Minami-senpai... um... taking care of ?"
"What, is there sothing wrong with taking care of you?"
Minami frowned slightly, looking a little displeased.
"N-No! That's not what I ant!"
"Then what do you an, Ikuyo?"
Seeming intrigued, Minami's lips curled into an amused smile as he locked eyes with Kita.
"I... uh... um..."
His sudden questioning caught her completely off guard.
Having just woken up, her brain was still struggling to function.
She could only stutter out the word "I" repeatedly, unable to form a complete sentence.
Seeing her looking so utterly flustered, Minami finally couldn't hold back—he chuckled.
"Alright, alright. No need to stress over it, I was just joking."
Maybe he had decided to stop teasing her, as he waved a hand casually and explained:
"I heard you suddenly collapsed when I arrived at Starry. My place is just one floor below, so I figured I'd bring you here to rest."
He continued, "From what I can tell, it's just anemia combined with exhaustion. You probably haven't been getting proper rest, which is why you passed out."
"You even know dicine, Minami-senpai?"
Kita Ikuyo couldn't help but ask after hearing his analysis.
"I'd say I just know a little."
Minami replied with a smile.
His dical Skill Lv2 was sothing he had gained ages ago while running simulations with Miss Yamada.
He never thought he'd actually need to use it.
After all, if soone was sick, the obvious choice was to go to a hospital with proper dical equipnt.
There was no reason for him, with just a Lv2 skill, to step in.
Yet sohow, it ended up being useful in a situation like this.
"I see..."
Hearing his words, Kita Ikuyo felt her tense nerves ease a little.
Lowering her head slightly, she spoke with a hint of guilt:
"I'm sorry, Minami-senpai... I must have caused you trouble this ti."
Saying that, she started to get up from his futon.
After all, this was his bed.
For a girl like her to be sleeping in it... it just didn't seem appropriate.
But before she could fully sit up—
Minami's hand pressed gently on her shoulder.
"You should rest a little longer."
He glanced at her. "I can tell you haven't been getting proper sleep. There's no need to push yourself so hard."
"Eh...? But... work..."
"No worries. I already talked to the manager. You've got the day off."
"Oh... I see..."
Kita Ikuyo's movent paused slightly.
Her golden eyes flickered, occasionally glancing at the young man before her.
This person...
He's exactly the sa as in my dream.
Even though he acts like he doesn't care about anything...
The mont sothing happens, he's always the first to step up and protect us.
She quietly settled back down.
Or rather, she didn't really mind spending more ti alone with Minami.
"Here, have so herbal tea. Ryo brought it over."
Minami didn't seem to notice her lingering gaze. He simply poured a cup of light brown tea from the nearby teapot and handed it to her.
"Ah... Thank you..."
Her pale hands accepted the warm cup, and she instinctively murmured her gratitude.
She took a small sip.
The exhaustion from being dragged around by Yamada Ryo...
Seed to lt away under the comforting warmth of Minami's tea.
However—
That soothing feeling lasted for barely two seconds.
On the other side, Minami had already started thinking out loud.
"Co to think of it, Ikuyo, have you been dealing with sothing lately?"
It was just a casual question.
But while the speaker had no particular intention, the listener took it to heart.
The mont Kita Ikuyo heard those words, she choked on her tea and started coughing violently.
She couldn't help but glance at Minami, cautiously asking:
"W-Why would you think that, Minami-senpai?"
Could it be that he already knew about her recent...?
"Hmm?"
Minami gave her a sideways look, puzzled.
He hadn't expected such a strong reaction from just a passing remark.
But there was no point in hiding anything now.
So he simply said, "You've seed restless lately, so I figured you must have sothing on your mind."
"..."
Kita Ikuyo opened her mouth, then hesitated.
No way... Minami-senpai...
She looked as if she wanted to say sothing but couldn't bring herself to.
Because there was absolutely no way she could tell him that the thing troubling her most these past few days... was him.
Even if she hadn't had that dream, she would have still found herself tangled in her feelings about her bandmates and her connection with Minami.
She could see how the other mbers of the band felt about him.
And the more she beca aware of their feelings, the more she realized her own emotions—the ones she had kept buried deep inside.
Worry and doubt clouded the normally cheerful girl's heart.
That was the biggest reason she hadn't been sleeping well these days.
And now, the very cause of her troubles was sitting right in front of her, asking her about it.
How was she even supposed to answer?
Her words got stuck in her throat, and after a long mont of fumbling, she barely managed to get out a vague, half-hearted response:
"Uh... ah... I wonder why?"
She averted her gaze, unable to et his eyes.
Afraid that he'd see right through her.
However—
Kita Ikuyo had severely underestimated Minami's sharpness.
Even though she had done everything she could to hide it, giving him no solid hints—
Minami still picked up on sothing.
He lifted his head, dark eyes filled with sincerity.
"...Is it because of ?"
"..."
Kita Ikuyo froze.
This—
This is exactly why she hated talking to people with sharp intuition!
Being seen through so easily was so frustrating.
She shifted her gaze away. "Why would you think that, Minami-senpai?"
"The reason is simple."
Minami shook his head. "You already know about my relationship with Hitori, Ryo, and Nijika, right? Not that I ever intended to hide it from you."
He wasn't wrong.
As a mber of Kessoku Band, it was impossible for Kita Ikuyo not to notice the change.
If it had just been one person acting differently, she might have overlooked it.
But it wasn't just one person.
All three of them—Hitori, Ryo, and Nijika—had fallen for him.
Given that, there was no way Kita Ikuyo wouldn't pick up on it.
Minami continued, "So, honestly, even if you hadn't brought it up, I was already planning to have a proper talk with you about all this."
"...Uh..."
His voice was steady, sincere, with not a trace of hesitation.
She hesitated, thought about it for a long mont, then finally gave a small nod.
"I do know about Hitori-chan, Ryo-senpai, and Nijika-senpai's feelings for you, Minami-senpai... And I do understand how they feel."
"I see."
Hearing her response, Minami gave a slight nod before exhaling.
"...I'm sorry, Ikuyo. Because of , you've been so caught up in all of this that you can't even sleep properly."
It really was his fault.
He had been so focused on Hitori, Ryo, and Nijika that he completely overlooked Kita Ikuyo's feelings.
"T-That's not it at all, Minami-senpai! There's no need for you to apologize! This is all my problem!"
Seeing that he was starting to bla himself, the soft-hearted Kita Ikuyo imdiately spoke up.
It really had nothing to do with him.
She was the one who couldn't co to terms with her own feelings for Minami.
She had let herself get so tangled up in it that he was now worrying about her.
If anything, she was the one at fault.
But more importantly...
If she kept running away from these feelings—
Would that really be okay?
Kita Ikuyo stole a glance at Minami.
Her emotions had already started affecting her performance during band practice.
And now—
Minami was right in front of her.
The person who had been troubling her, making her feel conflicted... was standing right there.
At this mont, she thought—
Maybe it was ti to put an end to her own hesitation.
With that in mind, she suddenly spoke.
"Minami-senpai!"
"Hmm?"
"T-That... What I'm about to say is actually sothing a friend of mine has been wanting to ask. So, please, I need you to give her so advice!"
She grabbed onto Minami's shoulders with a serious expression.
"Please keep this in mind! In the end, this is all about my friend's situation!"
"..."
Minami stared at her.
Kita-san...
Have you ever heard the saying—
Whenever soone says, 'I have this friend...'
Most of the ti, that friend is actually just themselves.
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