"I'm done. Thank you for the meal."
Having finished dinner, Chihaya Tetsuya put down his bowl and chopsticks, preparing to get up and return to his room as usual.
As he stood, Nagasaki Soyo looked at him with concern.
"Don't push yourself too hard, Tetsuya."
Ever since Tetsuya had met with that Jean-san, he had entered a state of intense, focused work. Aside from meals and using the restroom, he almost never left his room, a state that had persisted for the better part of a month.
"I know this exhibition is important to you, but if you work yourself to exhaustion, it won't be worth it, no matter how successful the show is."
As Soyo spoke, she carefully studied his face. To her relief, he looked much better than he had before when he was stuck in his own head. Though his clear, bright eyes were slightly bloodshot, they didn't hold the same obsession and madness she had seen that day.
It seems he hasn't run into another problem he can't solve on his own, like last time...
"You should go out for some fresh air once in a while, you know. Even just coming out to talk with us would be good!"
Chihaya Anon added, a little dissatisfied.
"I feel like I haven't spoken to you in forever, big brother! But... well, if you're really that busy with work, then just pretend I didn't say anything."
No matter how much she wanted to be doted on, faced with the monumental task and challenge before him, she wasn't so selfish as to disturb him for her own sake.
If his work was truly that difficult, then as his little sister, she would of course endure it for a while out of consideration for him.
"Eh? Ah... about that."
After listening to them, Tetsuya scratched the back of his head, then said in an incredibly calm tone.
"Actually, I finished designing the clothes last week."
"...Eh?! Really!?"
Anon shot up, slamming her hands on the table.
"If that's the case, then why are you still shutting yourself in your room?"
"Yeah, I thought you'd run into another problem you couldn't solve, Tetsuya!"
Soyo couldn't help but frown slightly.
"If the clothes are all designed, why have you been staying in your room this whole time?"
"Well... I mostly wanted to see if I could come up with an even better design before the final submission."
Tetsuya lightly scratched his cheek.
"Unfortunately, the final result wasn't any different from my initial draft."
"That's no reason to lock yourself away for a whole week, is it?"
Hearing that her brother's work had reached a stopping point, Anon immediately and eagerly clung to his arm.
"Since you're done, come out and spend some time with us! I'm about to wither away from a lack of brother-time!"
"Exactly..." Soyo's tone was also quite reproachful. "We've been so quiet around the house, not even daring to speak loudly, just so we wouldn't disturb your work."
"When Sakiko came to give you the design drafts a few days ago, you only talked to her for a few minutes about the design before going back to your room."
Even the usually quiet Wakaba Mutsumi couldn't help but chime in.
"It made Sakiko think you were really unhappy with her design."
"I'm sorry... for making everyone worry."
Hearing all this, Tetsuya looked apologetic.
"I haven't run into any problems, and I'm not at all unsatisfied with Sakiko's design. I just wanted to temporarily focus all my energy on the joint exhibition..."
"It's not just that, is it?"
Soyo shook her head.
"Ever since you met with Jean-san, you've been acting a little strange... Not obsessive like before, but definitely not normal either..."
"...Too serious."
Mutsumi offered her opinion.
"Lately, Chihaya-san, even when you're eating, your eyes are always vacant. Sometimes you'd even stick your chopsticks into the middle of a plate and bring them to your mouth with nothing on them."
"Eh... Seriously!? I didn't even notice..."
Anon looked at Mutsumi in surprise.
"Your observation skills are amazing, Mutsumi! See, you heard her, right, big brother? You've been acting really weird lately! If it's not because of work difficulties, then there must be some other reason, right?"
Anon pulled his arm down, tugging him back into his seat.
"Talk to us a little! We might not be able to help, but at least talking about it will make you feel a little lighter!"
"Ugh... have I really been acting that strange?"
Even Tetsuya himself hadn't realized how much his state and reactions had changed...
He looked up at the girls around him. Taking in the worry and care in each of their eyes, he decided to confess what he'd been thinking about recently.
"It's nothing major, really. I've just been thinking a lot about how I can become an amazing designer like Jean."
Ever since meeting him, his goal of becoming a "top designer" had become increasingly clear in his mind.
Beyond Jean's unquestionable design ability and the vast knowledge he'd accumulated from traveling the world, what impressed Tetsuya the most was his maturity in handling any situation with composure, and his confidence even in the face of a plagiarist.
"This time, with Sakiko's father, if it had been any other designer instead of Jean... the outcome would have been completely different."
He still remembered the look of relief and joy on Sakiko's face, as if she'd been granted a pardon, when he brought her the good news.
Tetsuya couldn't even imagine what their future would have looked like if the other party hadn't been such a calm and magnanimous designer, if they had decided to hold Sakiko's father accountable, if they hadn't thought to use Ko Ogino's contract to help the Togawa father and daughter.
"Although I've already prepared myself to take on the responsibility of spending my life with all of you, the person I am now is undoubtedly far from adequate. So I've just been thinking, how can I become an amazing designer like Jean, someone who can take on any responsibility and face any difficulty and challenge!"
"Eh..." Anon's expression went a little blank. "And... you just shut yourself in your room and thought about that for a whole week?"
"W-well, it wasn't just thinking!" Tetsuya said hurriedly. "I was still trying to draw more designs!"
"A pity none of them were usable, I see," Soyo said, shaking her head with a helpless air. "By the way, after all this time thinking, did you reach a conclusion you can accept?"
"The conclusion is... I need to work even harder to improve myself from now on."
Tetsuya said with great seriousness.
"Jean-san's confidence and composure all stem from his ability as a designer. If I want to become a man like him, someone who can take on all responsibilities, then I have to grow to that level!"
"..."
Looking into his eyes, which were filled with determination and drive, Soyo hesitated for a moment before she couldn't help but say.
"Hey... Tetsuya."
"Hm?"
"You... you're not jealous of Jean-san, are you?"
Soyo tilted her head.
"Because this time, you weren't the one who helped Sakiko the most, or something."
"...Eh?"
Hearing this, Tetsuya first froze, then subconsciously shook his head.
"H-how is that possible! I'm just grateful he was willing to help us! Although I admit I was a little bothered that I couldn't be of much use this time, it's not like I'm actually jealous... I... think..."
His voice grew quieter and quieter.
For someone so bad at hiding his feelings, trying to deceive these girls was just too difficult.
"Alright... I admit I was a little bothered. But it's not so much jealousy as it is frustration."
He confessed his true feelings.
"Although Sakiko keeps saying I've helped her a lot... I wasn't able to solve the problem of her debt and her father as cleanly as Jean did."
"That can't be helped, can it? It wasn't a problem someone of your age and status could have solved in the first place," Soyo said, shaking her head. "At least in my eyes, you did everything you possibly could for Sakiko. I'm sure she thinks so too."
"I know that... but..."
Tetsuya still looked like he couldn't let it go.
The gap in age and experience between him and Jean was a given, and he had indeed done everything in his power for Sakiko.
But even so, at least in this incident, he hadn't been the one who contributed the most.
"If possible, I want to be Sakiko's number one in every sense... Not just Sakiko's, but yours too."
Under Soyo's nearly stunned gaze, Tetsuya blurted out the thoughts that had been brewing in his heart.
"As my brand matures, and as your bands get on track, we're bound to face more and more difficulties... If a situation like this happens again, I never want to hand that responsibility over to someone else."
Tetsuya said.
"Since I've decided to answer your feelings, it can't just be a verbal promise. I want to become your undisputed number one in every aspect... ah."
At this, as if finally realizing how embarrassing his words had been, he quickly turned his face away. Tossing out a quick, "I'm going back to my room to work," he fled back to his room, leaving the girls staring at each other in the aftermath.
...
"Eh... what was that just now?"
Anon was the first to react.
"I didn't know he had that side to him..."
"I never expected it either."
Soyo slowly came back to her senses.
Even though she was the first to sense his subtle jealousy from his strange behavior, hearing his true feelings spoken aloud still made her say.
"Oh no. My heart seriously skipped a beat just now."
"Me too, me too!"
An irrepressible smile began to spread across Anon's face.
"Our undisputed number one in every aspect... Hah! I knew my brother always cared about us, but I never thought he cared this much!"
If, before, what they received from him was mostly a brotherly gentleness and care, then this time, what they received was a purer possessiveness that typically only existed between lovers.
"By the way, I recorded what Chihaya-san just said."
Just then, Mutsumi suddenly produced her phone from under the table.
"Would you two like to hear it again?"
"Yes, yes! Ah, but before that, let's let Sakiko hear it first!"
Soyo said.
"If she hears his true feelings, she'll definitely be very happy."
"Mhm, okay."
Mutsumi nodded and sent the audio file to Sakiko.
Not long after, a reply came back immediately.
[?!?!?!!]
"Mhm. It looks like she's very happy."
"I mean, in a way, those words could be considered a confession. For a guy who rarely talks about his feelings, this is a pretty rare situation."
Soyo said, looking at the closed door with a grin.
"But... for him to think this way, it must also be because we haven't given him enough of a sense of security, right?"
Although his jealousy was proof of how much he valued them, a negative emotion like this that caused anxiety shouldn't be allowed to linger. Especially for Tetsuya, who came from an orphanage, this somewhat cute jealousy was also proof of his extreme lack of self-confidence.
So, how were they to dispel this anxiety of his?
"Now... it looks like Sakiko's plan is a must."
At this, Soyo turned her head to look at Anon.
"Anon."
"Hm?"
"Send that recording to Hoshino Ai later, too."
Soyo said.
"This time... the few of us, together, are going to dispel his anxiety in the most 'unforgettable' way possible!"