"Hmm..." Jhin crossed his arms, putting on a thoughtful expression. "How should I go about making Nijika happy?"
"It loses its meaning if you say it out loud, doesn't it?" Nijika retorted, clenching her delicate little fist and lightly punching Jhin. "And why do you want to make me happy for no reason anyway?"
Jhin replied uncertainly, "Because it felt like my actions just now made you a little angry?"
It wasn't that he had noticed anything specific; he just had a vague feeling about it. Besides, his earlier behavior had indeed crossed the line a bit for a mere friendship.
"Only a tiny bit." Nijika held up her index finger and thumb to indicate a minuscule distance.
She wasn't actually angry at Jhin; rather, she was annoyed at herself for the momentary, heart-pounding flutter she had felt.
It was obviously just a dream, so why can it still affect my thoughts now?!
As the leader of Kessoku Band, Nijika placed immense importance on the band and its members. They were all her best friends. If an absurd dream ended up affecting her relationship with Hitori Gotoh, it would just be far too ridiculous.
"So that means you really are angry, right?"
"Well... you aren't wrong in saying that."
"I'm sorry. I'll be careful from now on."
Hearing Jhin say those words so seriously, Nijika instead felt an inexplicable sense of disappointment in her heart. She knew that Jhin would no longer act so overly intimate with her in the future.
This should have been a good thing, yet she felt as if a piece of her heart had gone hollow, leaving her anxious about gains and losses.
"The sweet wine will be ready to eat after sitting for a day or two. Christmas happens to be coming up soon, so let's take it out and eat it then."
"Mhm. The cake sponge is done baking, so I'll go whip the cream."
Hiding the disappointment in her heart, Nijika took the cream out of the fridge.
"I'll go slice the cake sponge. Remember to divide it into two portions and add cocoa powder to one of them."
"Got it."
Working together, the two of them quickly finished making the birthday cake Tamaki Mari had requested. They added plenty of strawberries and chocolate on top as decorations, and wrote "Happy Birthday" in the center with white cream.
Jhin took out his phone to contact Tamaki Mari.
Jhin: "Tamaki-san, the birthday cake you asked for is done. Should I bring it over to you now, or will you come pick it up yourself?"
Tamaki Mari: "That fast!?"
Jhin: "I had some help, so it's normal that it was fast."
Tamaki Mari: "I'll come over to get it right now!"
Seeing Tamaki Mari glance at her phone and excitedly stand up to leave, Miyake Hinata hurriedly grabbed hold of her.
"Mari, we're still working right now. Where are you going?"
"The cake I asked Jhin to make is finished, so I'm going over to pick it up now."
"That fast?"
"Right? I thought so too. But Jhin said he had someone helping him, so it was fast. I wonder who was helping?"
Tamaki Mari pinched her chin with her right hand, pouting as she thought for a moment before startling herself. "It couldn't be Yuzuki, could it!?"
"How is that possible! None of the four of us know how to cook at all, alright?"
Miyake Hinata's merciless retort made Tamaki Mari scratch her head in embarrassment. "That does seem to be the case. Then there's no need to worry about her finding out in advance."
"Hurry up and finish the work on hand before going to get the cake. Remember to notify Shirase."
"Mhm, mhm."
Tamaki Mari: "Jhin, my work here isn't done yet, so could I trouble you to put the cake in the fridge for now? Don't tell anyone else about this."
Jhin: "Got it."
Putting his phone away, Jhin picked up the cake and placed it into the fridge.
"Jhin, didn't you say Tamaki-san was coming over to pick up the cake? Why did you put it in the fridge?"
"Her work on hand isn't finished yet, so she'll come get it in a while."
"I see."
"Nijika, you don't have any work today, right?"
"Yeah. Ah, I think I was actually looking for you for something."
"What is it?"
Nijika had completely forgotten exactly why she had come looking for Jhin. Even though the words were right on the tip of her tongue, she just couldn't remember what she was supposed to say, and covered her small face in embarrassment.
"Sorry, it's been so long that I've forgotten it myself."
"Since you could forget it so easily, doesn't that mean it wasn't anything important?"
"You have a point there."
Ryo, who knew Jhin was cooking today and had specifically asked Nijika—who had the day off—to request that he make her favorite food, sneezed. The equipment she was holding in her hand almost slipped and fell to the ground.
Vignette asked with concern, "Yamada-san, did you catch a cold?"
"Thanks for your concern, my nose just suddenly felt a bit itchy." Ryo shook her head, indicating that she was fine. "I should just finish up work early and head back."
I wonder which of my favorite foods Jhin will make?
Curry rice? Hamburg steak? Or maybe meat and potato stew?
I'm really looking forward to it.
"Hehehe..." Kasumigaoka Utaha hunched over her desk, letting out eerie chuckles as she worked on her writing.
The inspiration she had originally gotten from Komine Sachi wasn't being used for the creation of her new novel at all; instead, she was churning out sadomasochistic romance stories, the lines of which were brimming with intense desire.
It was a story where the female lead was toyed with by the scumbag male lead but still refused to leave his side, secretly shedding tears every day as she watched him bring home all sorts of different women.
It lacked none of Kasumigaoka Utaha's masterful emotional descriptions or stomach-ache-inducing White Album-esque romantic drama.
She had initially wanted to write it as her new novel, but unfortunately, halfway through, she found herself completely unable to shake off the scenes described by Komine Sachi and the dream from that night.
The plot, which was originally supposed to be somewhat light and refreshing, suddenly took a sharp turn in tone and became smutty. If one were to only look at the content, no one would ever associate the romance author Kasumi Utako with this story. The contrast between the two was simply far too immense.
"He stroked the skin of her thighs, as smooth as high-grade silk, and lowered his head to take a deep breath against her neck. The intense, alluring fragrance rivaled any aphrodisiac in the world, incinerating his remaining shreds of reason..."
Her nowhere-to-be-vented desires were engraved onto the pristine white manuscript paper through pitch-black ink. Kasumigaoka Utaha reveled in the completely unhindered writing process.
Even though the content was enough to make one blush and their heart race, she had to admit that this was truly the most exhilarating writing session she'd had in a while. The vivid images in her mind were continuously and seamlessly transformed into written words.
Just as she was immersed in her writing, her phone buzzed twice. The screen lit up, showing that Michiru Matsushima had sent her a message.
"Matsushima-san actually took the initiative to send me a message?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha had no choice but to stop her creative process to check the contents of the message.
Michiru Matsushima: "Kasumigaoka-san, Makina said you were looking for me. I happen to have nothing going on tomorrow, so just come over with Nymph then."
"Nymph... if I remember correctly, she's Scum-kun's younger sister. Is she going to be there too?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha couldn't figure out what was going on. If Nymph really intended to sit in and listen tomorrow, then it would be absolutely impossible for them to ask Michiru Matsushima the real questions.
I'll just see how things go when the time comes, or maybe I'll just arrange another time with Matsushima-san.
____
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