Chapter 50: The Same Night, Different Emotions
"Encore! Encore! Encore!"
Everyone had gone mad, completely insane. With just under five minutes of performance, Ren and his temporary band members had conquered every audience member drawn to their music.
During the final chorus, the crowd even spontaneously joined in with the rhythm, creating a massive chorus without any prompting.
After the performance ended, they desperately begged for Ren to continue performing, waving various objects in their hands while shouting the traditional pleas for beloved singers to keep going after a concert's conclusion.
Faced with such enthusiastic requests, Ren simply smiled at the crowd, then with a laugh ran offstage, grabbed Hitori's hand, and pushed through the audience to escape the scene.
His song had been prepared for Hitori alone, and he had only prepared this one song anyway. Of course he couldn't satisfy the audience's demands, so he just laughed and ran off holding Hitori's hand.
"How self-indulgent."
The band members on stage all smiled wryly and began cleaning up the mess Ren had left behind.
After this event, Ren's reputation soared once again. Someone had recorded the complete performance and posted it online, where it instantly went viral.
Those who knew him and those who didn't all gathered under his Twitter account, becoming his fans.
"So romantic, Ryo, don't you think!"
Nijika, who had watched the entire performance live, was so excited her face had turned red. The song was incredibly beautiful, and it was a love song—Ren's confession to Hitori.
For band members like them, this kind of confession was the ultimate, most blissful form of romantic declaration.
"Yeah, I'm really jealous of Bocchi-chan."
Ryo was unusually sincere for once. Under the influence of Ren's perfect singing and the temporary band's performance, even she felt her heart racing.
"..."
"Anon, are you okay?"
While the others were excitedly marveling, Anon's face showed little joy.
The song was truly wonderful, but its message didn't make Anon happy. No matter how you listened to it, "Fireworks" sounded like a love song directed at a lover, right?!
Damn it, she was so envious, so jealous. If—she was just saying if—if she had confessed to Ren, would this song have been dedicated to her instead?
Anon's temper was actually quite good, but seeing her childhood friend dedicate that perfect song to his lover made her jealous.
Soyo and the others could somewhat understand this feeling. They all knew Ren was Anon's childhood friend, yet he hadn't sung for her, but for someone else.
Thinking about this, Soyo—who had been feeling down because of a certain Toyokawa family young lady—suddenly felt much better. In comparison, it seemed like Anon had it worse.
Meanwhile, Ren had pulled Hitori all the way to the parking lot. After running freely for a while, he felt completely refreshed.
"Bocchi-chan, are you okay?"
The performance had been fun, singing had been fun, and running away holding Hitori's hand had been fun too. Ren looked at Hitori, concerned about how she was doing.
"I'm fine, Ren... I love you the most!"
Hitori was breathing lightly, still lost in the aftermath of Ren's performance and confession. As the person most directly touched by the emotions conveyed through Ren's lyrics, she was so moved and overwhelmed that her feelings nearly spiraled out of control.
After bravely voicing the love in her heart, she could no longer hold back and embraced Ren, standing on her toes to kiss his lips, clumsily expressing her affection through action.
Ren's heart softened at the sight, and he wrapped his arms around Hitori's waist in return, responding with equal awkwardness and innocence.
"Mmm~"
After a long while, their lips parted. Hitori, now shy, buried her face in Ren's chest, too embarrassed to look up. It seemed all her courage had been spent in that kiss.
Ren said nothing. Wiping his lips, he took Hitori's hand and led her to the car. Then, as she blushed in a mix of bashfulness and confusion, he kissed her again.
"Bocchi-chan, how about not going home tonight?"
Only when Hitori was nearly breathless did Ren release her, then gently took her hand and whispered.
"Mhm~"
Having mentally prepared herself, Hitori panted lightly and nodded in agreement.
Ren smiled faintly, brushed the stray strands of hair from her forehead, and planted another kiss there before returning to the driver's seat. After a moment, he drove them to his spacious apartment.
"From now on, you're the lady of this place. Do you like it?"
Leading Hitori into the room, they were greeted by a massive floor-to-ceiling window and a dazzling night view. The neon lights outside twinkled, transforming the darkness into a starry spectacle of breathtaking beauty.
"I like it..."
Hitori was so mesmerized she felt dazed. Unconsciously, she walked to the window, pressed her hand against the glass as if trying to grasp the dreamlike scene.
No woman could resist such a luxurious home. The exquisite interior and the stunning view moved her once again, making everything feel surreal.
"We can take our time enjoying it later. Come with me."
Ren walked up behind Hitori, wrapped his arms around her, and held her close. After admiring the night view together for a while, he led her to the master bedroom.
The opulent yet understated luxury of the master bedroom filled Hitori with delight. Whether it was expressing love through song or the thrill of moving into a new home, her emotions overflowed. She stood on her toes, wrapped her arms around Ren's neck, and kissed him passionately until they tumbled onto the bed together.
A small box contained ten of them—who knew if they'd use them all tonight?
————
Yuno closed her phone. Today, it felt as if the gods were against her; she was always one step behind.
Or perhaps Hitori had won the world's favor, making it impossible for Yuno to interfere. This time, Hitori had won.
Hitori was quite the character.
But so what?
Yuno's gaze darkened as she looked up at the thirtieth floor before turning and leaving the apartment. Winning now didn't mean she would win forever—she had never admitted defeat.
For now, she'd let Hitori have this one.
Similarly, Anon couldn't sleep tonight. Ren's room had remained dark; he likely wasn't coming back.
So where would he and Hitori be spending the night?
Anon didn't know, but she knew what was going to happen.
This made the jealousy in her heart grow even stronger.
And she became aware of the feelings hidden within her—she actually liked Ren, but their childhood friend status had made her think she could rest easy. Instead, it led to late nights filled with silent sorrow and insomnia.
Bocchi-chan, Ren, what should I do?
Lying in bed staring at the ceiling, Anon felt tangled and conflicted inside.