"It's not that exaggerated. There are a lot of sumimi activities this year, so I probably won't have much time to practice properly. I'm honestly not sure whether I can take the win," Sumita Mana said, hands clasped behind her back as she leaned in slightly, carefully arranging the trophies to sit more neatly.
"If you want it, you should still try to go for it," Asai Yu replied.
He had originally wanted to say something along the lines of 'being an idol isn't the same as being a professional singer', but stopped short and left it at that.
It was like choosing between being the keyboardist of a famous band and being a world-class pianist—anyone would choose the latter without hesitation.
Of course, everyone's ambitions were different. Maybe Sumita Mana genuinely liked being an idol.
"I'll do my best!" Sumita Mana's eyes brightened slightly, her voice firm with resolve.
"Alright. Let's start learning piano," Asai Yu said.
He walked over to the piano, and the brown-haired girl hurriedly followed after him.
Sumita Mana had noticed it the moment he entered—today, the boy felt just a little different. From the very start, Asai-kun gave off a sense of closeness she hadn't felt before.
Yeah… it made her want to move closer and say something, almost unconsciously.
But his behavior itself wasn't much different from before. Still a little distant. Still reserved.
So it wasn't that Asai-kun had changed… was it her who had?
Sumita Mana didn't dare think any further. She sat down in front of the piano and forced herself to focus.
All the lesson steps were already organized in Asai Yu's mind, so he began teaching in a standard, methodical way.
"If you've already memorized the basic music theory for piano…"
Looks like they could skip the first lesson entirely.
No need for metaphors like 'elephants walking' or 'birds chirping' either—straight to hands-on practice.
Asai Yu began teaching using the classic example piece "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" as a base, focusing on slow practice to help her get used to pitch accuracy and her own hand shape.
"Keeping your wrist too high makes your movements stiff. Try letting it drop naturally, then lifting it slightly," Asai Yu pointed out, noticing her incorrect form.
"Like this?" Sumita Mana tried, but ended up lowering it too much.
"Like this," Asai Yu said, sitting down beside her. He placed his fingers on the keys and demonstrated.
Sumita Mana looked as if she'd just had a realization. "Thank you, I get it now."
She tried to imitate him—but the difference was still pretty noticeable. "Um… sorry, I don't think I fully understand yet."
"How about you just help me adjust it directly, Asai-kun?" she suggested.
"Is that okay?" Asai Yu asked politely. After all, it involved physical contact.
"Of course. Don't worry about me," Sumita Mana said with a sincere smile.
Seeing that, Asai Yu didn't hesitate. He reached out with both hands, supporting her wrists and forearms. Their skin touched.
To be honest, when he'd touched Sakiko or Anon before, he hadn't felt anything particularly special.
But this time, touching Sumita Mana's wrist and arm, he could clearly feel how smooth and supple her skin was.
Asai Yu adjusted her wrist while casually pondering the difference.
Meanwhile, Sumita Mana carefully registered the sensation at her wrist—and the boy's presence beside her. A faint blush crept onto her cheeks.
At the same time, her brain completely froze for several seconds, until Asai Yu's voice pulled her back.
"The other hand should be like this too."
"Y-Yes, okay. Thank you," she replied.
She suppressed the buzzing in her head and tried to maintain composure, adjusting both hands into the proper position.
Seeing this, Asai Yu continued the lesson.
Two hours later, Sumita Mana lounged lazily against the sofa, letting out a long sigh before biting into a donut.
Even with several breaks in between, practicing was still exhausting—more tiring than singing and dancing nonstop for three or four hours. She didn't even know why.
And aside from the opening part, the rest of the learning process had been pretty dull.
Still… overall, she was actually quite happy.
Sumita Mana stole a glance at the boy beside her, then quickly looked away.
Asai Yu sipped his tea, thinking about future teaching plans. Miss Donut's piano aptitude was genuinely good—he could probably speed things up.
Just then, the girl suddenly spoke up. "Asai-kun, there's something I want to ask."
"Mm, go ahead," Asai Yu replied, assuming it was about piano.
But instead, it circled back to a topic from two hours earlier.
"Asai-kun… do you think I should focus even more on sumimi's activities, or… try harder to prepare for the singing competition…"
The moment she said it, Sumita Mana felt a twinge of regret.
She didn't even know why she'd blurted out something so personal to a boy she'd only known for about a month—but she couldn't stop herself.
Asai Yu thought seriously.
The fact that she could ask this question at all already ruled out the 'you can't have both' dilemma.
Maybe sumimi's schedule had really become too packed lately, increasing pressure and causing her singing to suffer.
He asked first, "Miss Sumita, do you prefer being an idol, or being a singer?"
"Honestly… I like both," Sumita Mana answered.
"Which do you like more?"
After hesitating for a moment, she replied again, "I like them equally."
Why did that suddenly sound so evasive? Asai Yu felt oddly speechless. "Then just work hard on both."
"That's such a perfunctory answer," Sumita Mana froze for a moment, then puffed out her cheeks slightly, looking annoyed.
Seeing she was still like this, Asai Yu didn't feel like staying any longer. He stood up.
"I still have some things to take care of, so I'll be going, Miss Sumita."
Seeing him about to leave, Sumita Mana visibly panicked and stood up as well. "Um—won't you stay a bit longer?"
"No, thank you."
"Then… the tuition fee of 100,000 yen—"
"Let's pay it together next time. Please don't transfer it to me in advance," Asai Yu reminded her.
"Okay…" she nodded, then added, "Come to think of it, we've known each other for about a month now."
"Calling each other 'Asai-kun' and 'Miss Sumita' still feels like when we first met… like senior and junior. It feels kind of awkward."
"Do you want to try using given names instead? Like, Yu-kun… or just Yu?"
"Either is fine, Mana-san," Asai Yu replied immediately.
Hearing that, joy bloomed in Sumita Mana's heart. "Then I'll call you Yu-kun."
With the switch to a more intimate form of address, Asai Yu left the apartment.
Once the boy was completely out of sight, Sumita Mana returned to the living room and collapsed onto the sofa, resting her right hand on her forehead, her mood sinking.
Yu-kun leaving so suddenly… it really must have been because of her overly polished, idol-like answer.
If only she'd just spoken honestly.