"Shimizu-san."
"..."
"Shimizu-san."
"..."
"SHIMIZU-SAN!"
I jolted awake.
"Huh?!"
The entire class was staring at me.
The teacher sighed.
"Good to know you're still with us."
A few snickers scattered around the room.
I wanted to disappear.
"S-sorry..."
"I asked you who wrote Kokoro."
"..."
"..."
"The system?"
The class erupted.
"It's Natsume Sōseki."
"I knew that!"
"Then you should have said so."
"I also knew that..."
The teacher rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"If you fall asleep again, I'm putting you in the hall."
"Yes..."
I slumped back in my seat.
I'd barely slept.
How was anyone supposed to sleep peacefully after getting kidnapped by the yakuza?
And worse.
Now I had to work.
At a nightclub.
As a stripper.
My life was derailing at an impressive speed.
When class ended, Mei came over immediately.
"Are you okay, Shimizu-san? You look tired."
"H-Huh? Y-yeah, of course."
"You look like a corpse."
"I don't think you should say that to a girl."
Mei let out a small laugh.
"I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well."
That was partly true. But I couldn't tell her the rest.
"Sorry, Mei. Last night the yakuza kidnapped me and now I work as a stripper at a nightclub."
Yeah.
Definitely couldn't say that.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
The concern in Mei's voice made me feel a little guilty.
"I'll try."
Later we arrived at the drama club room.
It was a simple space.
Harada was organizing some scripts.
Rika was reading a manga in the corner.
Only a few members were there.
"Perfect," said Harada. "You're finally here."
His words threw me off a little.
"Why were you waiting for us?"
"The festival is next week and I'm still a little worried about your part. I want us to rehearse as much as we can."
"We still have a few days, so let's give it everything," Mei added with a smile.
And so we got to work.
The rehearsal went without too many problems.
Not to brag, but I'd improved a lot.
Enough that Harada seemed satisfied.
"Good," he said finally. "Now let's practice the ending."
"The ending?"
"Yes. The kiss scene."
I froze.
"The what?"
Harada blinked.
Mei too.
Rika looked up from her manga.
"The kiss scene."
"There's a kiss scene?"
"Yes."
"Since when?"
Harada held up the script.
"Since I gave it to you."
Mei pointed to the last page.
"It's right here."
I checked.
It was right there.
A kiss scene.
A real kiss.
Between Ayaka.
And Haruto.
Which meant.
Between me.
And Mei.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"WHY DID NOE ABOUT THIS?!"
"Because it was in the script," Mei answered.
"That doesn't count!"
Rika burst out laughing.
"Shimizu-senpai is adorable."
I felt like I was going to explode.
I had never kissed a girl.
Technically I'd never kissed a guy either.
I'd never kissed anyone.
And now they were telling me I had to do it in front of hundreds of people.
"We can change the scene," Mei said softly.
"Huh?"
"I don't want you to feel obligated."
Harada nodded.
"We still have time to rewrite it if needed."
I remembered Yuuna's words.
"If you're not going to take this seriously, then leave."
I also remembered everything everyone had put into this.
The hours of rehearsal.
The problems.
The arguments.
I didn't want to be the one who ruined it all.
"No."
Everyone looked at me.
"I'll do it."
Mei flushed slightly.
"Are you sure?"
"I-It's fine."
It was very much not fine.
But I couldn't say that.
Rika raised her hand.
"I fully support keeping the original scene. My heart needs girls' love content."
"Rika!"
She just laughed.
Later.
I was washing dishes in my apartment.
My mind was still stuck on the same thought.
Am I really going to kiss Mei?
I should have tried dating more girls in my past life.
Then I wouldn't be stressing over a kiss right now.
This is pathetic.
[Indeed.]
"Shut up. I was actually starting to miss you."
The system went silent.
For a few seconds.
[By the way.]
[REMINDER: YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE CLUB.]
"What?"
I went completely still.
"..."
"..."
"AAAAAAAAH!"
I'd forgotten.
Completely.
I ran to the bathroom.
Showered.
Got ready.
Got dressed.
And then froze.
How am I supposed to dress for this?
I don't think office clothes are appropriate.
And then I remembered.
The lingerie.
The pieces I'd found the day before.
The impression they'd made on me was so overwhelming that I hadn't dared put them in the wash.
I'd just left them there.
I stared at them for several seconds and finally picked them up.
I examined them.
Stretched them a little.
Then a little more.
Then a little more.
[Are you trying to smell them?]
I nearly had a heart attack.
"NO!"
"OF COURSE NOT!"
I laughed nervously.
"Who would even..."
Pause.
"..."
"..."
"WHY DO I HAVE TO MAKE EXCUSES TO YOU?!"
"Yes, that's exactly what I intend."
I buried my face in the fabric and inhaled like I was running out of oxygen.
I'll admit it was satisfying.
Though not as good as I expected.
[You're a degenerate.]
"I don't want to hear that from you."
"Besides, it's a completely normal male fantasy."
[That clothing also belongs to you.]
"IT'S NOT THE SAME!"
[It is literally your underwear.]
[Smelling the ones you're wearing right now would be far more effective if that's what you're going for.]
"I've already done that plenty of times."
"But it's not the same."
I raised one finger.
"The difference is that these count as another girl's underwear."
[That makes no sense.]
"It makes perfect sense."
[No.]
"Yes."
[No.]
"Yes."
[No.]
"Yes."
I finally threw everything in the washing machine after making sure to smell each piece thoroughly.
I pressed start and asked God for forgiveness.
"Good. One less thing on my bucket list."
An hour later I was walking through the streets of Tokyo.
Following the directions the system gave me to the club.
After a while, I was standing in front of the place.
Lights blazing.
Music audible from outside.
Clients coming and going.
The atmosphere was completely different from school.
"This was a mistake."
"It's too late for that."
"I hate you."
"I know."
I took a deep breath.
And walked in.
Two enormous guards watched me.
"Good evening."
"Good evening, Shimizu-san."
They let me through immediately.
That only made me more nervous.
I walked down a hallway.
Then another.
Until a dramatic voice exploded in the air.
"AIKA-CHAAAAN!!!"
A man in an extravagant feathered coat appeared practically flying toward me.
"My little deserter!"
He hugged me.
I barely had time to react.
"Huh?"
"I was so worried!"
Imaginary tears.
Theatrical pose.
Hand pressed to forehead.
"The nights were cold..."
"..."
"Dark..."
"..."
"Empty..."
"..."
"Who are you?"
The man froze.
Then pointed at me.
"How rude!"
A second later his expression shifted completely.
"You have some nerve disappearing for almost a month without a word."
"I-I'm sorry."
"You're not sorry."
"..."
"If you were sorry you would have called."
I decided not to mention that technically the one who was supposed to come to work was someone else entirely.
"I hope you haven't gotten rusty after so many days away."
Silence.
The manager blinked.
"Aika."
"..."
"Aika."
"..."
"You remember the choreography, right?"
Earth, swallow me whole.
Hello God, it's me again.
How am I getting out of this one?
I tried to cover with a nervous laugh and finally answered.
"Not… much."
The man's eyes flew open.
"WHAT?!"
A few minutes later.
They took me to the dressing room.
Several girls looked up.
"Huh?"
"She's back."
"I thought you'd run away."
"You're still alive."
"You look different."
I could barely respond.
Then a calm voice spoke from behind them.
"Give her some space."
The conversations stopped.
A tall woman stepped forward through the group.
Black hair.
Serene eyes.
An elegant, mature beauty.
Wow.
She's gorgeous.
I couldn't help thinking that while fighting the urge to look her up and down.
"Mm… uh… mm."
Am I supposed to know her? What's her name?
[Reiko Towa: one of your senpais and the star of this place.]
"R-Reiko-san!"
I said with more relief than I intended.
"Hello."
She looked me over.
"You've lost weight."
"Huh?"
"And you have the face of someone who hasn't slept."
"..."
"Did you eat today?"
I looked down.
Reiko sighed.
"I see."
The manager appeared again.
"Reiko, thank god you're here!"
"What happened?"
"This girl is a disaster. She doesn't remember the choreography."
Reiko went quiet.
"..."
"..."
"Again?"
I blinked.
"Again?"
"Last time you forgot half the routine after a fever."
I felt like hugging her.
It was the perfect excuse.
"Yes."
"Exactly that."
"Right."
Reiko didn't look convinced.
But she didn't push either.
"Come with me."
She led me to a small practice room.
"Change and show me what you remember."
"Huh? Show you…?"