When Hoshino Ai arrived at the agency's recording studio and saw Misumi Uika, who had arrived before her, the first thing she did wasn't to greet her. Instead, she leaned in close and sniffed the air around her.
"...Mhm, just as I thought."
After confirming it, Ai immediately looked up and said to a slightly surprised Uika, "Tetsu went to your place last night, didn't he?"
"...What makes you say that?"
"Because I smelled your scent on him."
Ai stared into Uika's eyes, as if trying to catch every detail and change in her gaze.
"That osmanthus scent... it's exactly the same as the perfume you usually wear."
"Eh... So it wasn't because he let something slip, but because you figured it out from his scent?" Uika couldn't help but marvel at Ai's police dog-like behavior. "Geez, if I had known, I would have sprayed some of my perfume on him before he left."
"I knew it."
Faced with an answer that was practically a confession, Ai frowned slightly and took a half-step back.
"So, what was the deal with those design drawings?"
"They're for outfits we might use soon. I had him listen to my demo early, and asked him to sketch out a few concept designs."
Uika showed no signs of nervousness at being interrogated. Even though Ai's expression could now be described as displeased, Uika's tone remained incredibly frank and open.
"What do you think? Did you take a good look at those drawings?"
"I didn't look. I wouldn't understand them anyway."
As Ai spoke, she took her lyric sheet and throat lozenges out of her bag. Then, she picked up the lyric sheet and began to read it.
"...Eh? That's it?"
Uika was taken aback by the sudden end to the interrogation.
"Are those all the questions you want to ask?"
"What else? What else do you want me to ask?"
"There are plenty of things you could ask, right? Like where exactly he slept last night, or what we did—"
"Knowing Tetsu, he either slept on a futon on the floor or on the sofa."
Faced with Uika's rhetorical question, Ai replied with absolute certainty.
"As for what you did... although I am a little curious, judging by his reaction, he probably really did just spend the whole night drawing those designs. Otherwise, he would have apologized to us before we even asked him."
The confidence Ai showed when making these judgments came entirely from her understanding of and trust in Tetsuya.
Even though his numerous reactions that morning had completely exposed his panic and attempts to hide something, if he had truly committed a mistake that went against his principles, his reaction wouldn't have been so simple.
Furthermore...
"If he had gone to someone else's place, I probably would have asked a few more questions. But since it was you..."
Ai tilted her head slightly before continuing, "Mhm... anyway, let's just leave it at this for now. After all, we did take things too far, so it can't be helped that things turned out this way."
"Wh..."
Faced with Ai's calm reaction, Uika actually felt a subtle sense of defeat.
In truth, she had fully expected that Tetsuya staying over at her place would be exposed. Given his eloquence and acting skills, expecting him to safely navigate the interrogation of the four girls at home was basically a pipe dream.
To deal with the inevitable questioning, Uika had already thought of countless ways to counter-attack. Yet, when Ai actually came to her with the truth she had already deduced, she merely confirmed the situation slightly before immediately dropping the matter, even showing a nonchalant attitude.
"Aren't you worried at all? That I might secretly make a move on Tetsuya-san or something?"
"...Worried?"
Ai looked up slightly from her lyric sheet, studied Uika's expression for a moment, and then said, "Instead of worrying about something like that, you should probably think about how you're going to get past Tetsu first."
"Ugh..."
I see.
Whether it was the composed attitude she just displayed or the slight contempt she showed after being pressured... it all stems from Tetsuya himself.
Even though he had already stepped onto the stairs of adulthood under the combined efforts of the four girls, it didn't mean he had completely thrown away his morals. And judging from his restless reaction at her house yesterday, the man hadn't actually matured much mentally. So, taking all these angles into consideration, Ai's peace of mind regarding the two of them wasn't entirely unfounded...
But even so, Uika still felt a lingering sense of displeasure.
A large part of the reason she had deliberately made Tetsuya send that full-of-holes message and leave so many flaws on himself was that she hoped to catch the attention, and even the vigilance, of Ai and Sakiko. But the reality was, Ai still didn't see her as a threat or a rival in love. Not only that, but she even believed that Uika wouldn't be able to progress her relationship with Tetsuya any further...
Even if it is the truth, it still really pisses me off!
Creak—
Just as Uika was agonizing over her position, the door to the recording studio suddenly opened, and the manager appeared before them.
"Uika, come with me for a moment."
The manager spoke to Uika first.
"I have something very important to tell you."
With that, she turned and walked out of the studio. Uika hurriedly followed her, and they stepped out the door together...
"..."
After they left, Ai looked up again at the seat where Uika had just been sitting. At the same time, the question Uika had asked echoed in her mind.
[Aren't you worried at all? That I might secretly make a move on Tetsuya-san or something?]
...
"...People really do change."
Ai shook her head, swallowing the thought she didn't yet need to mention back down into her heart.
...
After the two of them left the studio, the manager cut straight to the chase.
"Since Ai already has the [First Look] gig, the President, the [TGC] organizers, and I have unanimously decided who will be the finale for this [TGC]... Uika, you will walk the finale."
Seeing Uika's frozen expression, the manager continued.
"So, do you have the confidence to walk a better runway than Ai?"