"Why is everyone looking at me?"
Seika crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.
"Ryo, there's a speech bubble popping up above your head!"
Nijika snapped out of her daze and hurriedly called out.
"What is it?"
Seika looked up in confusion and was instantly startled.
What the heck?
Why was something strange emerging from the top of her head?
"I-I'm so sorry..."
Hitori hurriedly bowed ninety degrees to apologize.
The moment she saw the bubble, Hitori realized what had happened: she had accidentally passed the side effect on to Ryo when their fingers touched earlier.
"Hitori, do you know what's going on?"
Seika turned to look at her.
"I am terribly sorry." Hitori stammered, "I thought the side effect would disappear once I wrote a song I was satisfied with..."
"Wait." Seika couldn't help but raise a hand to stop her. "Your voice is too quiet; I can't hear you clearly."
Snap.
At that same moment.
Kitahara lightly snapped his fingers, activated his Domain, and then spoke in a leisurely tone:
"Let me explain."
The guests hadn't arrived yet, but there were sound engineers, waitstaff, and other band members present in the concert hall, so activating the Domain was necessary.
"Kitahara-kun, what's happening?" Nijika looked over with concern. "Is it dangerous?"
"There's no danger at all, Nijika-senpai, so rest assured." Kitahara gave her a reassuring look. "It's just that she's about to face a 'public execution'."
"Stop talking in riddles!"
Seika looked over in annoyance and was about to speak when the bubble above her head suddenly burst with a pop, and a vivid, VR-like mental skit materialized out of thin air. Kitahara's unhurried voice continued:
"To write lyrics she was satisfied with, Hitori used a 'Wish Sticky Note.' That bubble you saw earlier was the note's way of granting her wish—it plays out the deepest secrets hidden in a person's heart like a little theatrical scene."
"The deepest... secrets?"
Upon hearing this, Seika's eyes widened; a shiver ran down her spine, and she felt a wave of dread wash over her. She hurriedly asked:
"Is there any way to make it disappear?!"
"I'm afraid there's absolutely no way," Kitahara said with a smile and a shrug. "Surely, Ryo-senpai doesn't have any unspeakable secrets, right?"
"..."
As they spoke, the scene began to play out in earnest.
"...Big sister, it's almost time."
As Nijika's voice rang out from off-screen, the camera panned over and quickly settled on a full-length mirror.
The woman reflected in the mirror was seated on a chair; she had beautiful features and long blonde hair cascading down to her waist. She held a bouquet of flowers and wore a stunning white wedding dress.
As for the woman's face... it was unmistakably Seika.
"Huh? Why is it the manager?"
Hitori tilted her face upward, looking bewildered.
Why was the manager the protagonist of Ryo's wild imagination?
Kitahara, however, understood the situation:
"It seems the 'side effect' is linked to the soul; whose body it is doesn't matter."
"Wait, a version of my sister in a wedding dress?"
Nijika's beautiful eyes widened, and she raised a hand to cover her mouth in shock.
"Ah, that's me in 'bridal mode,'" Ryo said, tilting her head as the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. "I wonder what Ryo was thinking? Why did an image of me in a wedding dress appear? Could it be she harbors some special feelings for me?"
Seika: "..."
I don't have any weird fetishes, and I have absolutely zero interest in you, okay?!
"Myself... in a wedding dress?"
Seika's face flushed hot and her palms grew sweaty; she could clearly hear the sound of her heart pounding.
"Under what circumstances would one wear a wedding dress?"
"At a wedding, of course."
"C-could it be... the wedding I dreamed about that night?"
At the thought of her deepest secret being exposed, Seika felt an uncontrollable wave of embarrassment, silently screaming a desperate prayer:
"Damn it! Just stop it already!"
Unfortunately, once that imaginative scenario began playing out, it was beyond anyone's control.
Clack, clack, clack.
The crisp sound of high heels striking the wooden floor echoed out.
Nijika, wearing a white bridesmaid dress with her hair put up in an elegant style, walked into the scene.
"Ooh, so Nijika is my bridesmaid."
Ryo crossed her arms, looking on with amused detachment, like a spectator enjoying the show.
Kitahara spoke with a tone of regret:
"I'd actually prefer to see Nijika-senpai in a wedding dress rather than a bridesmaid dress."
"...You, be quiet!"
Nijika's face burned, and she gave Kitahara a surreptitious pinch.
The scene continued to play.
"Sister, the wedding is about to start; we can go out for the ceremony now."
Nijika walked over to Seika's side and helped lift the hem of the wedding dress. "Let's go."
Seika stood up and walked out with her head held high.
The two sisters left the dressing room together and walked down the hallway, emerging onto a lush, green lawn.
Beneath the azure sky, wedding guests bustled about—a crowd filled with familiar faces: the squinty-eyed sound engineer, college friends, former bandmates, and Hiroi, who was perpetually tipsy...
"No, no, no, no, no!"
Seika's face burned hot as she screamed and prayed silently in her heart, but to no avail.
The scene shifted.
A man in a suit, wearing a groom's boutonnière, turned around—it was none other than Kitahara.
"It's... it's over..."
Seeing Kitahara on screen, Seika felt the world go dark before her eyes; only one thought remained in her mind.
Just let it end...
Let this whole world just end already!
Pop.
With a soft sound, the little imaginary skit suddenly vanished.
"Huh? Why did it disappear?"
Ryo tilted her head and looked over:
"Hey brat, I wanted to keep watching. Bring it back up."
Kitahara explained helplessly, "It's not a movie; these little skits only last that long."
"Honestly, Sis..."
Nijika placed her hand on her hip and sighed inwardly:
"She acts like she can't stand Kitahara-kun, yet here she is, already imagining herself marrying him."
Even as she teased her sister, a twinge of sourness rose in Nijika's heart.
Her boyfriend getting married—with her sister as the bride—and she herself ending up as the bridesmaid... This was a disaster! No matter how she looked at it, it was a total disaster!
"It was supposed to be Ryo-senpai's secret, so why was the manager the main character?"
Hitori muttered to herself, still unable to figure it out.
"Good question." Ryo crossed her arms, eager to stir the pot. "I'm curious too. Come on, Ryo, explain it, would you?"
"Explain, huh...?"
Seika bit her lower lip, her face flushed a deep, burning red; overwhelmed by sheer embarrassment, she felt a sudden urge to just throw caution to the wind. "Ahem, Ryo, say no more." Sensing the situation was going south, Nijika quickly gave a couple of coughs and offered a far-fetched explanation: "The skit just cut off abruptly, so there's bound to be a continuation... Right! Knowing Ryo's personality, she'd definitely crash the wedding later on!"
"Ryo, let's go get ready for business."
Nijika hurriedly reached out and dragged the dazed Seika away.
"Is that so?"
Hitori blinked, looking doubtful.
It was a truly hard-to-swallow explanation.
"W-Wait a second...!"
A sudden realization flashed through Hitori's mind.
(Ryo never used to get shy, but just now, her face was bright red—it was like she was a completely different person... C-Could it be that the Manager and Ryo swapped bodies?!)
As the thought took hold, all the things that had puzzled her before suddenly made perfect sense.
(No wonder Ryo has been acting so weird lately... They must have swapped bodies, right?)
"Little Hitori, what are you thinking about?"
A hand gently rested on Hitori's shoulder.
"Ah..."
Startled, Hitori turned around in a panic to see 'Manager Seika' smiling at her.
"I-I wasn't thinking about anything..."
Hitori hurriedly lowered her head.
"Looks like Hitori figured it out." The mischievous Ryo raised a finger and pressed it lightly against her lips. "You have to keep it a secret, okay?"
Hitori: "..."
She wasn't even trying to hide it—she just told her straight out to keep it a secret. That was definitely Ryo! "Hitori, you'd better put your gloves on," Kitahara reminded her from the side. "If you have physical contact with anyone else, the side effect might spread."
"Mm-hmm." Hitori nodded hurriedly. "But why...? Even though the lyrics are already written, why do the side effects persist?"
Kitahara pondered for a moment:
"How many new songs did you intend to write, Hitori?"
"Huh?" Hitori blinked. "The set is ten minutes long, so I need to write at least two new songs."
"That explains it." Kitahara spoke with understanding. "When you made your wish, you likely had your heart set on writing more than two songs. Since you've only finished one so far, the side effect naturally hasn't gone away."
"..."
After that brief exchange, the live house officially opened for business.
Ryo—that 'scum' senior—returned behind the counter to act as a 'lucky cat' mascot; Hitori, gloves on, began attending to customers; and the late-arriving Kita, Nijika, and Seika handled serving drinks.
Kitahara ordered a fruit juice and found a quiet corner to sip it leisurely.
Before long, it was eight o'clock in the evening.
"Ryo-senpai, I'm heading back for my run." Kitahara found Seika, who was busy working. "Are we sharing abilities again tonight?"
Seika looked up, involuntarily recalling the humiliating ordeal from earlier, and huffed in a fit of pique:
"No need!"
"Alright, I'm off then. See you later."
Kitahara smiled, waved, and turned to leave without hesitation.
Seika: "..."
Watching Kitahara walk toward the break room, Seika hesitated for a couple of seconds before stepping forward to follow him.
Petty grievances aside, ensuring the safety of the customers was the top priority.
Besides, if even Hitori could tell that she and Ryo had swapped bodies, there was no way that lecherous brat couldn't notice—yet he hadn't said a word... He must be playing dumb, right?
That had to be it!
So, that was the end of it; she absolutely couldn't let that lecherous brat keep acting so smug! She was going to switch bodies back tonight!
Knock, knock, knock. Kitahara had just turned and walked a few steps when he heard footsteps rapidly approaching from behind.
"Ryo-senpai, why are you chasing me?"
Kitahara turned around to look at Seika—the shop manager—who had hurried up to catch him.
Thud.
Without a word, Seika strode right up to Kitahara, firmly shoved him against the wall, and pinned him there with her arms.
Kitahara: "..."
A moment later.
The ability sharing was complete.
Seika wiped a silver thread of saliva from the corner of her mouth, delivered a sharp elbow strike to Kitahara, and—her pretty face set in a stern expression—turned and walked away.
"Just you wait until tonight!"
A question mark appeared over Kitahara's head.
Wait, what did she mean by "just you wait"?
Surely she wasn't planning to sneak over in the dead of night to beat him up?
11:00 PM.
The night was deep.
All was silent.
Buzz, buzz.
The vibration of a mobile phone broke the quiet of the night.
Kitahara picked up his phone and saw a message from Seika:
"Hey brat, come over here right now."
Kitahara: "It's so late already; what does Ryo-senpai want me for?"
Seika: "Stop yapping—just get over here."
Kitahara had just stood up when another message popped up on his phone.
Ryo: "The manager just asked me for the bracelet; all that hard work really paid off."
Kitahara: "..."
No wonder she suddenly called him over—she'd decided to just go for broke and swap their bodies back today!
"On my way."
Kitahara sent the reply and immediately headed downstairs.
A moment later.
Kitahara "fast-traveled" right into Seika's room.
The lights were off; only the cold moonlight spilled in from outside.
Thud.
A figure suddenly lunged at him, shoving him straight down onto the bed.
"Ryo-senpai..."
Kitahara could still see clearly in the dark, so he naturally recognized the person who had pushed him down. Not only that, but he could clearly see the flush on Seika's face and the bracelet on her wrist.
"Shut up! No yapping!"
Seika's pretty face was flushed red as she lowered her head and bit down on him.
The rich aroma of alcohol instantly filled Kitahara's senses.
"So, she's been drinking..."
Kitahara understood the situation. "Liquid courage—it really is true."
Meanwhile.
In another room.
"Mmm..."
Ryo let out a soft sound, breaking the silence of the night.
Nijika, her face flushed, looked over while clutching a body pillow, biting her lower lip:
"Has Kitahara-kun arrived?"
Both of them were well aware of her older sister's plan; after all, swapping their bodies back required both bracelets.
"He's here." The flush on Ryo's face slowly spread to her neck as she curled up slightly. "We can finally swap our bodies back."
Before long, the sound of rustling movement drifted in from next door.
"My sister is unbelievable... why didn't she just go to the onsen?" A faint flush crept up Nijika's cheeks. "We still need to get some rest, you know."
Hearing this, the deadbeat Ryo glanced over; she was struggling to maintain a composed expression, though her eyes were already welling up with tears:
"The reason the manager didn't go to the onsen... was actually for your sake, Nijika."
"Huh?"
"If she'd gone there and screamed for help, you wouldn't have been able to hear her."
"Oh, come on... my sister wouldn't scream for help..."
Nijika retorted, her face flushed.
But no sooner had she spoken than the phone beside her pillow suddenly began to vibrate.
Nijika instinctively picked up the phone and answered the call.
The very next moment,
Seika's voice came through, thick with sobs:
"Nijika... quick, hurry over and save me... sob..."
Nijika: "..."