On the second day of the Cultural Festival, Jhin finally managed to extricate himself from the Maid Cafe, officially beginning to enjoy the festival properly with the four members of Kessoku Band.
Jhin tucked Hitori Gotoh's small hand into his own pocket as they walked side by side, while Nijika and the others scouted for fun places ahead.
As they passed a bulletin board, Nijika stopped in her tracks, pointing at one of the posters with pleasant surprise.
"Look, look! Our band's name is written here!"
Everyone followed the direction of her finger. It was the schedule for the individual programs on the third day; the words "Kessoku Band" were written in the slot for the fourth performance in the afternoon.
"It's only natural that our name is on the program schedule, right?"
"Well... that's true, but still." Nijika still felt an indescribable sense of excitement.
Kita Ikuyo was a little agitated.
"Seeing the name 'Kessoku Band' inside the school feels so wonderful!"
"Alright, the performance isn't until tomorrow. Let's focus on enjoying the Cultural Festival for now. Being too nervous isn't good either."
"Jhin is right. We have to enjoy the Cultural Festival with all our might today!"
But I've never found any happiness in these kinds of crowded school events...
Hitori Gotoh's small face was bitter. If her boyfriend weren't by her side, she would only want to feign illness and lie down at home.
"My treat today. Let's go get something to eat first."
Ryo instantly looked at Jhin with deep affection, cupping his other hand with hers.
"Jhin, I love you!"
Jhin couldn't even pull his hand out, so he rolled his eyes at her.
"You love my money, right? I got it. Hurry up and let go; it looks bad!"
"It doesn't matter. If we have a child, I'll raise it alone. As long as you give me one hundred thousand yen in child support every month." Ryo wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, revealing an 'I will be strong' expression.
"What kind of pure maiden are you? Getting pregnant just from holding hands?!" Nijika retorted while delivering a hand chop to Ryo's head, putting a stop to her little skit.
When the group emerged from the numerous food stalls outside the teaching building, apart from Ryo and Jhin, the others hadn't bought much to eat. Their palates had been spoiled by Jhin's cooking, so ordinary food didn't hold much appeal.
Ryo, however, was different. She seemed intent on eating several days' worth of food in one go. She bought something from basically every stall, and anything that wasn't tasty or that she couldn't finish was handed over to Jhin.
Looking at the candy apple in his hand that had a single bite taken out of it, Jhin was speechless. How did he end up like a garbage disposal unit, having everything they didn't like stuffed onto him?
"Ryo, you're giving me the stuff you've eaten too?"
"Can't waste food."
"That's not the point..."
"It's okay, I don't mind!" Ryo, holding a large squid in her mouth with grease all over her lips, gave Jhin a thumbs up.
"I... Sigh, as long as you don't mind." Jhin took a big bite of the candy apple. He somewhat missed tanghulu.
I'll find some time to make some tanghulu to eat.
Nijika originally wanted to stop Ryo's behavior, but seeing that Hitori Gotoh had no objections, she had to let it go. She secretly decided to give Ryo a good talking-to on the way back. Saving food is a good thing, but you can't just give the food you've eaten to Jhin!
"Bocchi-chan, candy apple. Do you want some?" Jhin extended the candy apple, which had already been bitten by two people, toward Hitori Gotoh.
Hitori Gotoh hesitated for a moment, then gently took a small bite right next to Jhin's bite mark. With perfect tacit understanding, she joined him in casting her gaze toward Nijika.
"Eh?! W-What are you doing?" Nijika looked left and right, finally confirming that the two were looking at her. She shifted her gaze to the candy apple with three missing chunks, the corner of her mouth twitching in disbelief.
"You guys aren't thinking of making me take a bite too, are you?"
Ryo fanned the flames from the side:
"Nijika, this is a candy apple that symbolizes the unity of our Kessoku Band. How can you not eat it?"
"Putting it that way leaves me absolutely no room to refuse, does it!?" Nijika was helpless. She took a small bite, keeping her distance from Jhin's bite mark. As she chewed the sweet and sour candy apple, she joined the other three in turning their gazes toward Kita Ikuyo in unison, giving off the feeling that they were conducting some mysterious ritual.
The already small candy apple had now been bitten four times; there wasn't much space left for Kita Ikuyo. Furthermore, she hadn't paid attention to the situation over here at the start, so she didn't know which bite mark belonged to Jhin.
With her small face flushed red, Kita Ikuyo could only choose a spot at random and take a bite—but this spot happened to be right next to Jhin's bite mark.
The candy apple in his hand had successfully been eaten by four girls. Jhin held it high, as if he had unlocked some achievement, and then consumed the whole thing with gratitude.
Thank you for your dedication, Candy Apple!
Nijika and Kita Ikuyo could only pretend they didn't see Jhin's behavior, walking ahead with their heads down. They urgently needed something to divert their attention. Happening to spot a Haunted House, they immediately went up to queue.
"I've actually always wanted to try a Haunted House..."
"I heard the reviews here are good. Let's go in and try it!"
"Ahahaha." Nijika and Kita Ikuyo laughed awkwardly at the same time.
Why did I go and bite that candy apple? x2
"Are they playing the shadow person game?" Ryo, the source of the whole matter, had zero self-awareness and was instead curious about their reactions.
Jhin suppressed his urge to retort and pulled Hitori Gotoh, who was afraid of the crowd, into his embrace. "I don't know. Wouldn't you know if you went and asked them?"
"True."
Ryo ate her snacks as she walked over to Nijika. Jhin only saw her say something, then get glared at and retorted by Nijika, after which she walked back dejectedly.
"What happened?"
"Jhin, Nijika said she's going to deduct my wages for next month..."
"What did you say to her?"
Ryo held back her drool... no, she ate a takoyaki with tears in her eyes. "I just said, 'Isn't it just an indirect kiss? What's the big deal? It's not like it's a first kiss.' And then I got scolded by her..."
So you actually went over there specifically to provoke them?
Ryo's behavior was simply lighting a lantern in the toilet—courting death.
"That was too much, right?"
"The fact that you could walk back in one piece is already a miracle in my opinion."
"But Bocchi-chan isn't jealous at all."
"Eh? Ah?" Hitori Gotoh poked her head out from Jhin's embrace, not knowing what to say. If it were the her from before she and Jhin registered their marriage, she might have worried about this aspect, fearing Jhin wouldn't want to marry her or something. But now, Hitori Gotoh was someone who had genuinely gone to register a marriage with Jhin.
Although she only had these few friends in her life, in her view, these actions were nothing more than interactions between close friends; they couldn't shake the fact that she and Jhin were married at all.
"Um... well... as long as you guys are happy?"
Facing Hitori Gotoh's answer, Ryo was stunned. "Why is it a question?"
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