Mana had planned to refuse, but Hatsune seemed to have expected that and immediately added: “Kakeru can stay too.
There happens to be a guest room in the villa!” Those words forced Mana to swallow her refusal.
Uika was actually letting a boy stay overnight?
How could she allow that?!
Even if he was her childhood friend, it still wasn’t appropriate!
It wasn’t that Mana doubted Kakeru’s character.
If Uika trusted him, he was probably reliable.
Still, leaving a man and woman alone together could lead to an accident, and even without one, it would surely be awkward.
As Uika’s best friend, Mana felt obligated to protect her from such an uncomfortable situation!
Therefore, she decided not to refuse after all.
“Sure!
It’s been ages since Uika and I spent time together.
We can properly catch up tonight!” Seeing Mana’s cheerful smile and complete trust in her, a trace of hesitation appeared in Hatsune’s eyes.
She recalled how Mana had helped her after she first arrived in Tokyo and supported her when she entered the idol industry.
However, that hesitation only lasted an instant before her resolve hardened again.
‘Sorry, Mana, but I want to be happy!’ ‘I waited so long for this opportunity!’ ‘It took so long for Kakeru to finally come looking for me!’ ‘It took so long for us to finally be together!’ ‘I won’t get another chance!’ As though trying to convince herself, Hatsune screamed desperately inside her heart.
‘There’s only one step left!
Just one more step!
Do you really want to lose him again?’ ‘He’s the only person who cares solely about you!’ ‘The only person who cares about Hatsune!’ ‘As long as I can be happy, I’m willing to pay any price…’ Having finally convinced herself, she thought quietly: ‘Mana, I’m truly grateful to you.
You helped me when I first came to Tokyo and supported me as an idol.
No matter what you do to me after tonight, I won’t complain.’ ‘But this time, I must succeed!’ With that, the last trace of hesitation in her heart disappeared.
Hatsune forced out a smile and agreed.
“Sure.
Then you and I can share a room tonight!
Kakeru can sleep in the guest room.
Is that alright?” Kakeru naturally agreed.
After all, this was also part of the plan.
Once everything was decided, they headed to their respective rooms.
Kakeru entered the guest room beside the second-floor stairs, while Mana followed Uika into Hatsune’s north-facing bedroom.
The room had already been cleaned that morning, and Hatsune had sprayed perfume several times.
As a result, Mana noticed nothing unusual.
Before long, both of them had changed into their pajamas.
Mana smiled at Hatsune.
“Uika, it’s been ages since we slept in the same room like this.
The last time was probably when our group had just formed…” Hatsune slowly nodded.
“Of course I remember.
Back then, you ignored the somewhat famous idols recommended by the agency and chose me, a completely unknown newcomer.” “I only reached this point because you helped me, so I’ve always been grateful to you…” Mana looked displeased when she heard that.
“Uika, what are you saying?
How could everything be because of me?
You made it this far through your own hard work!” “Besides, you’ve helped me plenty of times too!” Hatsune didn’t respond.
Just as Kakeru had guessed, something was genuinely wrong with her heart.
Mana might say those things, but reality constantly told Hatsune otherwise.
She believed everything she had achieved was thanks to Mana.
Noticing Uika’s low spirits, Mana stopped trying to persuade her.
After spending so much time together, she had naturally sensed Uika’s deep insecurity.
Mana knew she was partly responsible, so she had always felt somewhat guilty toward her.
All she could do now was hope that time would help Uika regain her confidence.
However, Mana didn’t know that Hatsune’s childhood and painful past had already made her mind as fragile as thin paper.
She could barely regulate her own emotions.
How could she possibly rebuild her confidence under such tremendous pressure?
For Hatsune, time would only bring more pressure.
Confidence would never come.
Perhaps Mana could have changed everything if she had investigated the problem thoroughly in the beginning.
Now, however, it was already too late…
Mana stopped discussing it, and Hatsune pretended not to notice.
Soon, the two moved on to other subjects.
Believing that she had defeated Kakeru in the battle for Uika’s attention, Mana was especially excited.
Hatsune didn’t contradict her and simply played along.
This was the final preparation…
After chatting for a while longer, they finally climbed into bed.
At this point, Hatsune no longer feared anything.
This was her choice.
She would neither retreat nor regret it…
Before long, they turned off the lights and went to sleep.
…
Late that night…
Mana slowly woke after feeling a wave of cold air.
It seemed the blanket had been kicked away.
Still half asleep, she instinctively checked the phone beside the bed.
Two in the morning…
‘Did she go to the bathroom?’ Mana prepared to fall asleep again, but less than three seconds after lying down, she suddenly noticed something.
She shot upright and immediately looked beside her.
Uika was gone!
‘Was she kidnapped?!’ Still groggy, Mana quickly calmed down.
No, that couldn’t be right.
If someone had broken in to kidnap Uika, why would they leave Mana behind?
She also clearly remembered locking the bedroom door before they went to sleep.
‘Did she go to the bathroom?’ Looking more carefully, Mana saw that the door was indeed open and had clearly been unlocked from inside.
She immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
That had scared her!
Since she was already awake, she decided to wait.
Once Uika returned, they could continue sleeping together.
However, after lying there for over ten minutes, Uika still hadn’t come back.
Mana became confused.
Girls sometimes took longer in the bathroom, but surely not this long.
After gathering her courage, she decided to investigate.
The moment she stepped outside, she looked toward the second-floor bathroom.
The light was off.
Mana walked over and opened the door.
As expected, no one was inside.
There wasn’t even any sign that the bathroom had been used.
‘If she isn’t on the second floor, did she go downstairs?’ Mana turned toward the staircase.
However, she stopped at the landing.
Despite the late hour, the light in Uika’s childhood friend’s room was still on.
Coincidentally, the door had also been left slightly ajar.
The entire second floor was shrouded in darkness, making that thin ray of light as captivating as the moon reflected on water.
Mana had only intended to go downstairs and search for Uika.
Yet for some unknown reason, she found herself slowly approaching the guest-room door and peering through the narrow gap.
Honestly, she had never imagined that she would one day secretly look inside a boy’s room.
The instant she saw what was happening, however, she froze.
Her eyes widened, and both hands immediately covered her mouth before she could cry out.
‘Is that…
Uika?’ ‘What exactly are those two doing?!’ …
It encourages me!