"Just to avoid any misunderstandings, let me state this clearly first—I never said anything about letting Yamada stay over at my place for a whole month."
Before things could spiral into even more trouble, Narumi Tōru quickly and cleverly extricated himself, decisively distancing himself from Yamada.
"The Narumi household has never taken in members of the opposite sex—unless they're cats or dogs. Yeah, even if it's Yamada, that's still a no."
At first glance, that sounded suspiciously like raising a flag…
But honestly, if that kind of flag gets pulled later on, it's not really a big deal.
No—if anything, flags like that exist precisely to be pulled down someday…!
"Eh? But I already spent all of my living expenses on the gifts I bought for you, Koumi."
Miss Yamada lowered her head and nervously fiddled with her fingers.
"You already agreed to let me come over to your place for meals, Koumi. So I thought…"
"You've spent all your money, sure, but that doesn't mean you're homeless. I never agreed to anything beyond letting you freeload meals."
Although Mr. Narumi Tōru would normally be perfectly happy to see the flags he'd planted get taken down someday, if the one doing it was Yamada, no matter how he thought about it, the situation felt… oddly delicate.
It was like carefully saving an important first experience for a girlfriend, only for it to be inexplicably snatched away by someone you'd always treated as a close bro—leaving behind not just confusion, but also a strange sense of guilt for having impure thoughts about a familiar face.
"So heartless… It seems our bond ends here, then…!"
"Provocation won't work. That's way too low-level."
"To think you'd judge me like that… I'm so hurt…"
Those two really do seem close, no matter how you look at it.
Watching the two banter back and forth, Ijichi Nijika blinked, her gaze gradually taking on a subtle, complicated nuance.
In all the time she'd known Yamada, Narumi Tōru was the only male who'd ever shared such an openly close relationship with her. Nijika herself wasn't the type to tease people just because a guy and a girl were together—but Narumi's presence was, frankly, a little too special.
Yamada Ryō wasn't someone completely devoid of emotional fluctuations, but Nijika had basically never seen her genuinely down over anyone. Her usual aloof, detached demeanor tended to keep most people at arm's length.
And besides… if they were really just good friends, Ryō wouldn't have looked unhappy just now.
Sharp as she was, Nijika had keenly sensed that something was off with her friend. But before she could step in, Narumi had already found an excuse and chased after Yamada, leaving her without the chance to drag Ryō back herself.
Then that meant there was only one possible truth…!
"Don't you think those two get along really well?"
Nijika leaned over and whispered softly to Bocchi, then broke into a kind, warm, auntie-style smile.
(It is worth noting: "auntie smile" is a common East Asian meme expression meaning a warm, indulgent grin when watching something adorable or romantic.)
It was painfully obvious—Ijichi Nijika had started shipping the CP.
"I've never seen Ryō make that many expressive faces before. Narumi-kun must really be someone special to her."
Special…
"Y-yeah… I guess so…"
Gotō Hitori nodded softly in agreement, though the smile on her lips looked noticeably strained.
If one really had to say, she had been the first to form a special emotional connection with the boy.
In reality, Narumi and Yamada were simply close friends who'd only met recently. But in that strange, inexplicable dream, he had been her irreplaceable childhood friend next door—someone who'd even pushed her, in his own twisted way, to become a shining rock star.
No matter how she looked at it, the bond in the dream had clearly been deeper.
Wait… why am I even comparing things like this?
Realizing that her thoughts were getting a bit unreasonable, a faint sense of guilt began to well up inside Bocchi.
At the end of the day, a dream was just a dream. The relationships formed there couldn't carry over into reality. There was no need—and no justification—for her to feel jealous over how close Narumi and Yamada were in real life.
And yet… why was that?
So far, Narumi felt completely different from how he'd been in the dream. In reality, he was a considerate, attentive upperclassman, much like Nijika. But in front of someone familiar like Yamada, he'd also show a clever, occasionally shameless side—without ever coming off as unapproachable.
To be honest, Bocchi didn't dislike people like that at all. And thinking about how awkward and emotionally constipated he'd been in the dream compared to how easygoing he was in real life, she actually found herself wanting to learn more about this version of him.
But that warm smile—and those occasional mischievous looks—were reserved only for people he was close to. Toward her, a junior he'd just met, he showed nothing more than a polite yet distant smile.
Realizing that made her feel… subtly frustrated.
If you really think about it… I was the one who came first.
Even though she'd escaped that bizarre dream, the person standing closest to him now was no longer her.
Maybe this was the price she had to pay.
Leaving behind someone who couldn't properly express his feelings should've been a relief—but when they met again, the real him no longer had any of the dream version's flaws.
And at the same time… he wasn't hers.
Just like in those clichéd novels, where the male lead initially feels indifferent toward the unremarkable heroine—only to fall for her after she finds new love and becomes a better version of herself.
Maybe this was just another case of not being able to have both the fish and the bear's paw.
She'd secretly been hoping, after all, that she might one day stand on stage with this kinder, gentler version of Narumi—if only to fulfill a wish she hadn't been able to realize in her "previous life."
But the one fighting alongside him wouldn't be her.
It would be Yamada Ryō.
They were the better-matched partners—and perhaps, beyond that, even more complicated feelings would naturally arise between them.
Just thinking about it made her chest feel heavy.
S-so I've become this awful of a person too…? Thinking that Koumi-senpai is closer to me, and then getting jealous over him and Ryō-senpai because of it—that's just pathetic…! Who do I think I am, getting upset like this? Maybe in their eyes I'm just some insignificant pink caterpillar…
Always quick to blame herself, Bocchi sank into an unprecedented low. Beside her, a completely clueless Nijika tilted her head—then suddenly looked as though she'd had an epiphany.
"Oh? Could it be…?"
Nijika narrowed her eyes slightly, casting a complex look toward the curly-haired boy chatting happily with Yamada.
"What a man burdened with sin."
That said, Bocchi's special treatment of Narumi was pretty obvious—but today was literally their first time meeting. How had she come to feel such strong reliance and familiarity toward him in such a short time?
Exceptionally good at reading the room, the blonde girl watched with interest as the curly-haired boy debated with Yamada over whether "a bassist should help carry the drums or the keyboard." A spark of curiosity flickered in her red eyes.
Even though neither Bocchi nor Narumi were official band members yet, for the sake of interpersonal harmony, Ijichi Nijika was more than willing to learn exactly what kind of person Narumi Tōru really was.