"Thank you for your hard work, everyone."
Karuizawa Kei bowed slightly toward the staff members offstage. Her mature makeup and confident, radiant smile combined with her poised demeanor. If she had initially joined the drama club just to get close to Kitagawa Ryo, now she had grown used to, even begun to enjoy, the atmosphere of the stage.
For a long time, Kei had found herself unconsciously reaching toward her side, brushing the spot where a scar should have been. That scar, once grotesque like a centipede, vivid even after being stitched, often flashed through her mind. But now, all she saw was smooth, pale skin.
"Looking forward to the real performance."
"I'll do my best to give it my all."
Backstage, Kei smiled politely, exchanging pleasantries with fellow cast members. Perhaps she did have a knack for acting—reading others' expressions, bowing in submission, and then rising with bold confidence. She turned past memories into nourishment for the present, refining herself little by little.
Since her rebirth, Kei had been satisfied with her current life—except for one unfulfilled wish.
"You're back, Kei. Your emotional delivery was really nuanced today."
In the backstage lounge, Kitagawa Ryo leaned against the wall, scrolling through his phone. Even in his teens, his tall, composed figure radiated a calming sense of security.
"Mhm."
Kei responded softly, recalling her old wish: To one day stand in front of Ryo and be his protector. But since meeting him, she'd never had the chance to fulfill that wish.
Ryo had shown vulnerability before, had revealed the side of him that needed support. But all Kei could do was stay by his side, watch him sleep, count his breaths, and tightly hold his right hand.
That—anyone could have done. Even Ichinose.
"Tired?"
Sensing something off, Ryo stepped closer and handed her an opened bottle of water.
"No... Where's Ichinose and the others?"
Kei shook her head a little too quickly, taking a pretend sip of water as she tried to change the subject.
"...She said she wasn't feeling well, so she's resting at the hotel."
Ryo's expression turned a bit awkward. He wasn't sure about Honami's excuse himself, but last night, he had definitely had a rare emotional breakdown. Since then, they had fallen into an awkward silence.
After the rush of heat faded and the rain cooled everything down, Honami had hurried back to her room—forgetting even her umbrella.
Ryo still had no idea how to handle it. It wasn't that he had no feelings for Honami. On the contrary, the gap between their current statuses was even more dramatic than what he saw in her second simulation.
The golden talent [Heir of the Tycoon] had brought Ryo a background even deeper than Koenji Rokusuke's. It was the only reason he could interact and make deals with such people.
But most importantly—Ryo admitted he was greedy. He couldn't bear to discard his feelings for the other girls. Like he decided long ago, he wanted to respond to all of them.
The long sequence of simulations had embedded him in each of their lives like a thorn. It was far beyond something he could easily let go.
"Yeah, maybe she caught a chill from the heavy rain last night."
Kei curled up on the lounge sofa, hugging her knees. Her well-groomed fringe had a soft volume, and her sky-blue eyes shimmered beneath it.
"You haven't acted in two years, Ryo, but no one could tell. The crowd was cheering so loudly." "Even though you were playing a scumbag like Valodia."
"It's a great script. And small-scale—perfect for our drama club."
Ryo sat beside her and picked up the script on the table.
"Forbidden Game of Youth."
Written in the 1980s by Soviet playwright Lyudmila Razumovskaya, the play had only five roles and a simple setting. Even then, their club couldn't perform it alone—there were only two female roles.
The story was short and simple: three boys and a girl visit their teacher's home on a snowy night, begging her for the key to the school safe that contains exam answers. They try persuasion, bargaining, and manipulation, but the teacher refuses. Eventually, they cut the phone line, trap her inside, and search the house.
In the end, Valodia, the ringleader, threatens the teacher by forcing the lone girl among them into a degrading act, leveraging the teacher's sense of morality to break her will.
But Valodia is actually the son of a powerful diplomat. He doesn't need to cheat—this was all just a social experiment to amuse himself. After triumphantly declaring his victory, he tosses the key on the ground and walks away. The play ends with the teacher quietly entering the bathroom, heartbroken.
Naturally, Ryo played Valodia, and Kei the teacher.
"If you think about it, Advanced Nurturing High School isn't much different."
"Lies, threats, manipulating classmates—what you gain might mean nothing to someone else."
Ryo let out a mocking smile.
"That exam answer key meant everything to those three—but to Valodia, it was just a toy."
"Anyway, enough about that. Kei, who do you think should play the other female role? Honami or Airi?"
He turned to her seriously. Both had practiced. Both fit the role.
"Honestly, either one could do it. Let's just see who's in better shape tomorrow."
Kei was already the lead, so she wasn't too concerned. Instead, she leaned closer and pointed at the script.
"I really like this teacher. She's principled but not rigid. She still tries to protect her students."
"But it breaks her in the end. A lot of people think she took her own life."
"To see your own students discard their morals for personal gain—it must be the most devastating thing."
"I wonder what Mashima-sensei thinks of his class."
"He still considers himself Class 1-D's homeroom teacher. That's enough."
Ryo smiled gently. Kei stared blankly for a moment, already imagining how many people would swoon over his villainous charm onstage.
"For most students here, they're just here to learn. Like Mashima-sensei said: students should follow the basics—like classroom discipline—without needing reminders."
"Even if they don't make it to Class A, gaining something meaningful here is enough. No—it should be."
"This play is the same. Whether the teacher lives or dies, those three students will have grown. After all, none of them picked up the key Valodia dropped."
Kei liked listening to Ryo. She often forgot to reply, content just hearing his voice.
No matter what role he played onstage, offstage, he was still her Ryo.
And today—he felt a little different.
She knew him well. Not his past, but everything about him now.
His routines. His tastes. The way he spoke. The logic behind his actions.
So she noticed—he was more talkative than usual.
"To be honest, the role I want to play most is that girl."
Ryo paused before continuing.
"That despair after being humiliated, and the complex emotions after being saved... I don't think Honami or Airi could fully capture it."
"Honami can relate to poverty, Airi to being ignored—but neither has experienced true bullying. Even Airi was only isolated, never physically assaulted."
"You think you can play that role well?"
In the past, Kei might've teased him about cross-dressing. But not now—something about his tone felt serious.
"Yeah. I think I can."
Ryo leaned on his hand, eyes sincere.
"The deepest, most taboo bullying involves sex and life itself."
"Those leave scars that never fade. I'd never belittle anyone who's been bullied—never ask why they didn't fight back."
"Because I've been there. I know how hard it is."
Ryo's tone drifted, as if telling a fictional story:
"There was a time when a new bullying trend emerged at my school. Male bullies would pull down the pants of their victim in front of the whole class—exposing them completely. They'd hold them down, humiliated on a desk."
"One boy eventually dropped out because of it. Since there were no bruises or blood, no one was punished. It became gossip."
"For some, that's even more painful than getting stabbed."
"That's the kind of bullying this script portrays."
Ryo stretched lazily and winked.
"Later, I found a chance to get back at the ringleader during graduation. Gave him a solid kick."
"I wonder if he's enjoying life in Thailand now."
"Maybe seeing that gave me the courage to resist back in middle school."
"Though to be honest, I was just bluffing back then."
"At least I was never sexually or fatally threatened."
"Worst was getting drenched, hit with balls, dead rats in my desk, or brawling in bathrooms."
He said it lightly, but Kei, who had also been bullied, knew it wasn't so simple.
"What I regretted most was not being able to fight off several people alone—not even protect myself, let alone others."
Ryo pouted. Now, with talents like [Martial Artist], he almost wished he could go back and beat them all up.
"That's why I love hearing you tell the story of how you protected someone back in elementary school."
"No matter how many times—it never gets old."
"That's just because Ryo's..."
Kei instinctively tried to deny it. She knew it was him—the Ryo from her memories—who gave her courage.
His eyes held a gentle warmth as he smiled.
"But actions matter more than intentions. And your intention was never wrong."
"No matter what, Kei—this version of you is who I admire most."
"I'm really happy."
Ryo once disliked Kei's parasite-like dependence. Maybe because in real life, he had failed so many people who depended on him.
Maybe, like Izaki-san said, he was still a child longing to rely on someone.
His favorite play was Macbeth—because he liked being loved, being able to lean on someone, to fall into her soft embrace and dream.
"Can you clean my ears? Kei?"
Eyes closed, Ryo slowly brought up a long-suppressed, simple wish.
"Sure."
Kei always carried a small ear pick. She gently laid Ryo's head on her lap.
Her fingers softly brushed his hair aside. A few strands tickled his nose.
But Ryo was already lost in the strange pleasure of surrendering control.
His body limp, brain emptied.
The soft sensations and faint citrus scent surrounded him. Kei leaned in and whispered warmly into his ear:
"Tilt a little."
As he moved, his lips brushed her thigh. Ryo blinked drowsily.
"Just keep your eyes closed, Ryo. Leave it all to me."
She gently covered his eyes with her palm.
Warmth.
"Relax."
Then she parted his hair, cupped his ear, and leaned close.
As her breath warmed his ear, the pleasure dissolved all logic.
He didn't have to think—just feel alive, loved.
A sense of someone peering into his soul.
His heart pounded. His temperature rose.
The world faded. Only the rhythm of her breathing remained.
Then Kei bent lower, softly kissing his closed eyelid.
Tender, warm.
Full of love.
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