Leave a comment

After checking today’s news, I head to the cafe. As expected, the radio show was reported. What wasn’t expected was that my singing at the restaurant wasn’t on the news. Thinking about it, it should have been obvious. I didn’t introduce myself at the restaurant, so there’s a low chance for people to realize that I was Unknown. Still, they probably realize it now after this incident.

“Good morning.”
“The talk of the day has arrived. It’s likely going to be crowded today, so brace yourself.”
“It is my fault, so I’ll give it my all. Also, I think I might cause you more trouble later.”
“That’s nothing new. Many of your acquaintances are influential, after all.”

We can’t expect the same customer traffic as last time. I didn’t actually perform in person this time, after all. It’ll likely be my classmates and the twelve families who will visit, since they know I’m Unknown. Those from the den who realized that I’m Souji might come by too. What do I do if they all come at once?

“Kotone. We’ve got to prepare ourselves.”
“You’re helping out, Kaori? Let’s face hell together.”
“You’ve already given up, huh.”

Of course, I have. No matter how much I struggle, this isn’t a situation I can control. Any attempts I make are likely to only add fuel to the fire. Moreover, who knows what will happen if my current and former acquaintances bump into each other in this situation?

“I wonder what kind of reaction it’ll result in.”
“I have no idea what you’re imagining right now.”
“Best to keep it that way. Let’s get ready to open shop.”

Just the thought of it makes me depressed. As long as I’m not hellishly unlucky, they are unlikely to gather here all at once. The ones I especially don’t want bumping into each other the most are Shirose and Sherry. For those two in particular, I can’t even start to imagine what kind of chemistry they’ll have.

“Kotone! What was that all about!”
“I didn’t know you were doing such a thing behind our backs!”

Immediately as we opened, the Harumi and Miyako pair arrived, as well as some of our other classmates. They must have come here together as a group. As for why they came so early, maybe they thought I wouldn’t be busy at this time yet.

“Thank you very much. We greatly appreciate your visit so early this morning.”
“Well, I didn’t expect that reaction.”

Harumi was slightly taken aback. I adjusted my speech since there are a few who don’t know my true character. Still, I really do feel grateful. After all, they didn’t bump into the twelve family people or my old friends. That, I’m sincerely happy about.

“I’m curious about your reaction, but more importantly; the morning news. Are you planning on actually going professional?”
“I have absolutely no intention to do so. That was… Yes, similar to a mother arbitrarily applying their child for an audition.”
“Your mother did that?”
“It’s a figure of speech. My actual mother had no hand in this.”

The analogy I gave to Harumi shouldn’t be too far off. I was practically half-deceived myself. If I had known that Shirose would do that, I would have thought twice about it. I might have changed my plan, finding other ways around it. Still, part of me wasn’t surprised with Shirose’s antics.

“Well, what will you be ordering? If you don’t intend to order, then we would like to ask you to go home.”
“True, we’ll just get in the way. Well, since it’s cold these days, I suppose we’ll get hot drinks. You good with that, Miyako?”
“Agreed. Let’s have Kotone entertain us until more customers arrive. Could you give us a song?”
“I refuse.”

I’ve sung that song one time enough. Not many things make me feel as embarrassed as that did. If I include my past as Souji, there were incidents that are way more embarrassing, but even I’m not stupid enough to self-destruct. Those are memories best left forgotten.

“Boo! We didn’t catch it, you know?”
“Miyako’s telling the truth. Only a few people were listening to the radio at that time. When the news reached us, the song was practically already finished.”

Well yeah, at that time frame during Christmas? That’s no surprise. The only ones who heard it were probably people driving, having a break at work, or those who always tune in to that radio show. Still, the fact that it made a splash is nothing short of a surprise. What the hell is going on?

“And so, since there aren’t any people around yet, this is our chance.”
“Again, I’m not doing it. I’ll have you leave for being a problem customer, Miyako.”
“You’re a hard nut to crack.”

They might be upset about it, but this is different from the field trip. Back then, I had a video recording shown to be fair with everyone on the trip. The song this time, however, is only dedicated to the principal and Shizuru, so I have no plans on having others hear it.

“Then that song won’t be heard ever again?”
“Regarding that, it’s out of my hands. It’ll depend on the one who sent in the song.”

I have no clue what Shirose will do next. However, I do believe that Shirose will release that song only after I make an official debut. In that, I trust her. After all, Shirose’s the type who can keep newly made songs to herself until she finds a perfect opportunity to unveil them.

“Besides, I learned my lesson this time. I can’t sing by myself.”
“With how embarrassed you got, it can’t be helped. I didn’t expect that, though.”
“Kaori, did you perhaps hear that song?”
“In person, even. I had delicious food while listening as well, it was great.”
“Gugh! So this is the difference of a best friend, huh?”

“What difference,” I quipped to Harumi, as I wrote down their orders. Other than my classmates, there are no other customers yet. The owner isn’t saying anything about my service either, so it should be alright. I still don’t have a perfect grasp of how conversations between girls go.

“Thank you for waiting. Here are your ordered drinks.”
“Why not join us talking here, Kotone?”
“I’m at work right now, so I humbly decline.”

To be frank, I’m not too comfortable with it. And I guess the previous Kotone is somewhat similar as well. To begin with, it seems like the young Kotone isn’t good at interacting with groups of people either. Memories pertaining to this have resurfaced, so I guess this was her original nature.

“Enjoy your time.”

If I’m being honest, I’d rather they go home as soon as possible. After all, there’s no telling when the annoying fools will arrive. I can only hope that they don’t cross paths.