Before long, the two of them arrived at the apartment Asai Yu was renting.
Misumi Uika did her best to remain composed, yet she couldn't suppress her curiosity; her eyes kept wandering as she carefully took in every corner of the apartment.
It was completely different from what she had imagined a guy's place would be like—spotlessly clean and tidy, as if it were cleaned every single day.
It almost feels cleaner than my own apartment…
The thought made Misumi Uika feel a sudden twinge of embarrassment.
She stopped overthinking it and sat down in the living room.
Asai Yu brought over some desserts and black tea from the kitchen, then sat down across from her.
"Is this apartment something you bought, Asai-kun?" Misumi Uika asked with curiosity.
"You're giving me too much credit. I'm renting," Asai Yu replied.
"I see. I thought you might have bought it. By the way, this should be a single-occupancy apartment, right? Are your parents living somewhere else?"
Misumi Uika continued.
"Yeah." Asai Yu nodded.
Letting the fact that he currently had no parents slip out would only cause trouble.
He didn't want others looking at him with pity.
At that moment, Misumi Uika suddenly noticed a guitar leaning against the wall in the corner.
Her interest was instantly piqued. "A guitar? Asai-kun, can you play guitar too?"
"A little," Asai Yu answered.
"Really? But I remember you mainly practiced piano, didn't you?" Misumi Uika asked, puzzled.
"Practicing both doesn't interfere with each other." Asai Yu took a sip of his tea.
If he practiced both, then his guitar skills were probably still at a beginner level.
Thinking that, Misumi Uika didn't pursue the topic further.
After chatting casually for a bit, she felt the timing was right.
Misumi Uika clasped her hands together and lowered her head slightly.
"Um, Asai-kun… could I ask you for a favor?!"
"What kind of favor?"
Asai Yu had already guessed that she had something to ask, but he truly couldn't imagine what it might be.
"Recently, some issues came up on sumimi's side. Have you been following it?"
Misumi Uika lifted her head again as she spoke.
Hearing that, Asai Yu already had a rough idea. "I haven't really been keeping up lately. What kind of issue?"
When she heard the words "haven't really been keeping up," Misumi Uika felt a slight pang of disappointment and let out a sigh.
"Ah… sumimi's new song suddenly ran into a problem and can't be released on time."
"Right now the manager and everyone else are scrambling to fix it, but finding a new song that fits sumimi and is also high enough in quality is really difficult…"
"Asai-kun, do you remember? When we first met, you were playing one of your original songs. I still remember that melody even now."
"It sounded really good, and it matched sumimi's style perfectly."
"So I wanted to ask Asai-kun if you'd be willing to sell that song to sumimi."
"Would that be okay?"
After saying all that, Misumi Uika looked at the boy in front of her with visible nervousness.
Just as he had expected, Sumita Mana had mentioned this to him before as well, but he hadn't taken it seriously.
Now that he thought about it, the situation really was quite serious.
If that was the case, then this was a perfect opportunity to build his name—laying the groundwork for selling songs later on.
Besides, he wouldn't be giving the song away; he'd be selling it. He'd make money.
And on top of that, he'd be doing Misumi Uika a favor.
A three-way win for him alone—why wouldn't he take it?
After thinking it over for a long time, Asai Yu decided it was feasible and gave his answer.
"I can do it. But not that song from last time—I'll write a new one."
She agreed!
But…
"A new song?"
A worried expression appeared on Misumi Uika's face. "But sumimi's next large-scale concert starts in two weeks."
"If you're writing a new song, won't there be not enough time?"
In truth, she felt it was absolutely impossible.
Waiting for Asai-kun to write the song, then learning it, then rehearsing—it all sounded far too rushed.
"There's enough time. I can write it in three days," Asai Yu said.
Three days?
Is that really possible?
Still, Asai-kun had no reason to lie.
Misumi Uika asked again, "What kind of theme will it be?"
"A love-themed song. It fits sumimi perfectly. If you're worried, I can bring you a rough version tomorrow so you can listen."
Asai Yu already had the song planned out.
It was a massively popular hit from his previous life—Ren'ai Circulation.
He had basically finished it back when he was practicing composition.
There were still plenty of rough edges, but with his current skill level, polishing it to about 95% of the original within three days wouldn't be a problem.
"A love theme? Have you ever had a girlfriend, Asai-kun?"
Misumi Uika didn't know why she suddenly asked that.
Maybe she was worried that if he lacked romantic experience, the song might feel soulless.
That concern was probably what made her nervous.
"Well… not yet. Right now I'm more focused on personal development," Asai Yu hesitated for a moment before answering honestly. "But you don't need to worry. Whether I've dated or not won't affect the quality of the song."
"I see…"
The corner of Misumi Uika's lips unconsciously lifted.
"In that case, I'll be counting on you, Asai-kun. If there's anything you need during this time, please tell me—I'll support you unconditionally!"
Her gaze was firm.
"Alright. Then send me your manager's contact info first. I'll discuss the details with her directly," Asai Yu said.
"Okay." Misumi Uika promptly forwarded her manager's contact information.
At that moment, a notification came in from the Shinkansen.
"Tonight's service has been suspended. Repairs won't be completed until tomorrow morning."
Misumi Uika's fingers tapped rapidly on the screen, and after a moment, the ticket change went through successfully.
After thinking for a bit, Asai Yu asked, "Do you have a place to stay?"
"I do. Before I left, Mana-chan gave me a key—it's for her apartment in Osaka."
As she spoke, Misumi Uika began rummaging through her belongings.
However, half a minute passed, and she still hadn't found the key.
Only then did she remember—it seemed she had left it at home!
"What's wrong?" Asai Yu asked, slightly confused.
"The key… I think I forgot to bring it." Misumi Uika gave an awkward smile.
"That's troublesome," Asai Yu said.
He was about to suggest that she go find a hotel, but saying it outright felt rather impolite.
After thinking it over, he made a different suggestion.
"I happen to have a spare guest room here. It's a bit small, but it should be fine for one night."
Although it was technically a single-occupancy apartment, it was one of the larger layouts, and one small room had been renovated specifically as a guest room.
Hearing that, Misumi Uika felt her heart stir almost instantly.
"Is that really okay?"