I_LOVE_RICE+
patreon
V5 Chapter 23: Now This Is Seriously a Mess
🕑 Added 2025-06-19 10:14:53 +0000 UTCClick.
The lock of the luxury apartment door gave a crisp sound as it opened. A golden-haired girl in a baseball cap stepped inside, shutting the door behind her with a complex expression.
Her pretty face still carried traces of panic she couldn't hide. The trained smiles and poise she maintained as an "idol" seemed to have completely dissolved into thin air.
Misumi Uika had already forgotten what she was supposed to be doing. She couldn't even recall how she got home.
Her mind was stuck on what had just happened.
Even now, her chest still tingled with the lingering warmth from earlier. The scent of that black-haired boy seemed to linger on her skin, overwhelming her already scrambled thoughts and emotions.
Splash…
Cold water poured over the porcelain sink. Trying to clear her mind, Uika splashed her face repeatedly. Her golden hair, soaked, clung to her cheeks, water droplets trailing slowly down her pale skin.
"What am I even doing…"
Uika exhaled deeply, her confusion far from gone.
Just being held in Haru's arms had made her melt into that "unique" warmth. The constant weight and pressure that came with being an idol seemed to vanish in that moment, as if it could finally be let go.
Even just hugging him had given her such peace of mind.
But Haru had seemed like he was going to pull away, and she... she hadn't wanted to let go. Her brain didn't even have time to think before her body moved on its own, craving more of that "kindness" and "care"...
"Could it be…"
"…That I like him?"
Before now, Uika would've denied that without hesitation.
At first, she told herself she just wanted to observe him up close. That was all.
But after being touched by his warm, soul-healing cooking, she couldn't stop thinking about that meal, even during work. Her mind kept drifting back to Kazami Haru.
She had finally tasted that food again today.
But it hadn't brought the same joy and relief it had the first time. The moment Haru got up from the table, her mood—until then so bright—instantly felt hollow.
Even the dish she had once deemed the best-tasting ever now felt lesser. What remained was fear that she had done something wrong, and the sting of guilt.
It wasn't the cooking she couldn't forget.
It was the time spent eating with him.
"…Why does it have to be Haru-kun…"
"I can't let myself think this way. I just can't!"
Haru was the one Togawa Sakiko—her best friend, liked!
It was through Sakiko that Uika had even met him. She only got close to Haru to see if he was trustworthy enough for Sakiko.
The moment she confirmed he was, as Sakiko's childhood friend, her role should've been to support her in finding happiness…
Even if there were others after Haru, that rival shouldn't be her.
She couldn't fight Sakiko for him.
"..."
Despite years as a working idol, Uika had never expected to feel like this.
Her regret over clinging to that warmth, mixed with guilt toward her friend, left her a mess. Not knowing what else to do, she scrolled back through old messages Sakiko had sent her, encouraging words that had kept her going for years.
They always warmed her heart.
But now… those words felt different.
Bzzzz…
The vibration of her phone brought her back to reality.
She instinctively reached for it and the moment she saw the caller ID, her pupils shrank. Her face, still unsettled, lost all traces of her usual graceful idol smile.
The ringtone made her heart race. Even though she didn't want to pick up, she forced herself to take a deep breath and answer.
"…Hello? Sakiko?"
["Sorry to call out of the blue, Uika. Do you have a minute?"]
That familiar, gentle voice came through the line. But now, hearing it filled Uika not with joy, but dread. Her heart thudded, and even her breathing grew a little uneven.
She knew Sakiko well, well enough to know how sharp she could be. If Uika gave away even the slightest oddity, she'd be found out immediately.
"No problem. My manager gave me the day off today."
Her voice was graceful and calm, betraying nothing. On the other end, Sakiko raised her eyebrows slightly.
She recalled what she had just seen. Uika, walking beside Haru. Then she remembered the golden hair she'd found at Haru's place that time…
Her heart began to waver. Still, she kept her voice as calm and gentle as ever.
["I see~ So you're just relaxing at home today?"]
"Pretty much~ I did go out for a bit in the morning since I had some time. Why the sudden curiosity, Sakiko? Something on your mind?"
["It's nothing urgent… but Ave Mujica's debut Live isn't far off. Haru just sent me the new track to review. We're planning to start ensemble practice soon, so I wanted to send you the score to start familiarizing yourself."]
Sakiko's explanation came out smoothly, like it was nothing. But beneath that calm, she was anxious.
After a half-second pause, she asked with her voice as neutral as she could make it:
["By the way, have you seen Haru recently? I've been busy with band promotion stuff, so I haven't checked in with him. I figured since you're doing the lyrics, you might've been in touch."]
Uika's slender fingers trembled as she held the phone.
She had never felt so flustered facing Sakiko.
The guilt of inserting herself between her best friend and the boy she liked, she could hardly breathe.
"…Not really. I've just been sending him the files for the lyrics."
She lied again.
Even knowing she shouldn't lie to Sakiko, after what she had just done, she couldn't bring herself to say more.
She knew, if she didn't handle this right, their friendship might not survive.
Desperate to regain control, Uika forced herself into "idol mode," masking her panic with a light laugh.
"You sure talk about Haru a lot, don't you, Sakiko~? Almost like you really care about him?"
"Could it be… Sakiko, do you actually like him?"
Uika's teasing tone clearly caught Togawa Sakiko off guard. Even through the phone, Uika could hear her sharp inhale. A moment later, Sakiko's voice came back, a little flustered—
["...That's not it. We're just friends right now."]
"Mhm? So you're saying you don't like him?"
["Let's talk about this in person, okay?! I have something I need to deal with, so I'm hanging up for now."]
The rushed disconnection on Sakiko's part left Uika's expression gradually fading into calm.
Her grip on the phone tightened, fingers turning pale from the pressure. That abrupt end to the call left a small pang in her chest, but her voice remained light and polite as she said goodbye.
Maybe… Sakiko didn't care as much as she thought.
"Just friends, huh?"
Uika felt her heart stir when she asked Sakiko if she liked Haru. Even after working so hard to compose herself, her emotions had clearly been shaken.
If her best friend didn't have romantic feelings for Haru, then maybe she—
No. No matter what, she couldn't go down that path.
Bzzzz…
A new Line notification pulled her from her thoughts, shifting her attention away from her spiraling mind.
Seeing the sender was Kazami Haru gave her an unexpected burst of energy. She opened the chat right away.
[WannaBeFertilizer: Uika, are you there?]
The moment she opened the message, Line's read receipt activated, so Haru would know she'd seen it. But Uika didn't care about that detail now.
[Misumi Uika: I'm here!]
[Misumi Uika: I'm really, really sorry about today! I think I've been overworked lately and my mind was in a mess… I acted on impulse and did something inappropriate. Please don't think too much of it…]
[WannaBeFertilizer: I share a lot of the blame too. You don't have to beat yourself up about it.]
A few more messages followed—gentle, considerate words of comfort.
Reading them, Uika's purple eyes narrowed softly as she sat on her bed. Despite the weariness in her gaze, there was a trace of something more complicated.
After what she did… why was he still being so kind?
Still lost in thought, she slowly turned off the phone screen. Lying back on the bed, she stared at the cold, indifferent ceiling, murmuring:
"What am I supposed to do…"
…
This was seriously too much for him to process.
Looking at the messages from Uika on his phone, Haru sighed and rubbed his temples in exhaustion.
Right now, it felt like he'd just been hit by some reality-shattering judgement cut. He could barely keep calm, and his brain refused to work properly.
Most people probably wouldn't handle this calmly either.
"…."
He absentmindedly touched his lips, he could still faintly smell her scent.
Stay calm. Think about what this means.
First of all—
Did Uika… like him?
That thought was kind of insane. Haru was pretty sure he hadn't cooked anything suspicious, so maybe it was just his natural charm breaking through?
Still, he had never expected such a bold move from Uika.
Up until now, he assumed she was only close to him because of Togawa-sensei. He'd been way too dense to think otherwise.
Earlier, when he messaged her, he just wanted to check on her well-being.
He had never seen Uika look so panicked, especially not someone usually so composed and graceful. And then she ran off…
"Looks like she's avoiding me for now…"
They chatted a bit on Line, but Uika quickly shifted the topic, saying she'd be busy with work again tomorrow. Haru could tell she was probably still freaking out inside.
Even if he tried visiting her now, it would just overwhelm her more. So after thinking it over, he decided it was best for both of them to cool off for a while.
"What even is going on anymore?"
The great Misumi Uika, an idol adored by countless fans.
If she were to suddenly confess her feelings, Haru would have to turn her down seriously.
Because no matter how beautiful or graceful she was, if he didn't have feelings for her…
There was no way he could say yes.
The bigger issue was… Haru didn't even know how to face Kita, Anon, or Soyo-san right now. Thanks to that cursed simulation, he had complicated feelings toward all of them.
If any one of them suddenly worked up the courage to confess to him, honestly, he didn't know if he could say no to any of them.
Bzzzz…
The Line notification tone buzzed softly by his ear, snapping Haru out of his daze. He quickly grabbed his phone.
[Contact Name:
Mercenary Miss: Got time?]
Huh? Brother Umiri?
Without hesitation, Haru replied:
[WannaBeFertilizer: I've got some free time now. What's up?]
[Mercenary Miss: RiNG's short a lead guitarist for a performance. Can you come?]
"RiNG, huh?"
Haru and Yahata Umiri had been working together for a while as support musicians, so he knew exactly what she meant.
As a bassist, Umiri couldn't take jobs that needed both bass and guitar. That's where Haru came in, he could sub in as either a lead or rhythm guitarist, or even on keyboard.
They'd do the gig, then split the pay.
[WannaBeFertilizer: On my way.]
Haru never hesitated when it came to his most reliable bro. He sent off the confirmation and headed out the door.
That fancy dinner at jojoen he treated everyone to recently had nearly drained all his summer savings. On top of that, he'd just restocked his home with a bunch of essentials today.
If he didn't get back to grinding for some income, he'd have to start praying for a miracle paycheck from the dating sim.
The trip from Haru's apartment to RiNG wasn't far, he made it in about fifteen minutes.
With summer winding down, the LiveHouse was a lot quieter than usual. Most bands had wrapped up their vacation events, leaving only a few customers browsing gear or enjoying tea and desserts.
Haru entered and, like clockwork, made his way to the usual second-floor spot near the bar. He looked around, half-expecting a certain someone but didn't see that familiar black-haired figure.
Maybe he was being too obvious, because today's on-duty Matsugi Ririko peeked her head out with a teasing grin and casually walked over.
"Haru-kun, are you here to see little Taki today?"
"No."
That answer didn't come from Haru, it came from Yahata Umiri, who had somehow circled around and was now behind him.
Dressed in her trademark black leather jacket, the cool-toned girl carried her bass in one hand and a can of KISS coffee in the other. She held it out toward him with those slender fingers.
"Ah~ I see."
Ririko had worked at the LiveHouse for years, she'd seen her share of weird stuff.
She immediately dropped into work mode, setting down a menu on the table. Then, as if worried she'd be interrupting something, she swiftly escaped back to the counter.
But… she still peeked her head out to secretly watch them.
Of course, Haru noticed Ririko's gossip radar firing at full power. Raising an eyebrow, he took the warm can of KISS coffee from Umiri and said in a slightly awkward tone:
"This kind of looks like we're on a date, doesn't it?"
"Technically speaking, it is a date."
Umiri casually brushed her bangs aside, expression as indifferent as ever.
Even when talking to guys, she was blunt and straightforward. If she were a guy herself, she'd probably be that stoic, no-nonsense kind of iron-willed dude. But that honesty made it easy to talk to her.
She leaned her bass against the table and sat down across from Haru. Her shoulder-length black hair swayed slightly, revealing the sharp glint of her punk-style earring.
Before Haru could respond, the cold beauty beside him spoke again:
"Didn't expect you to be free today. I thought for sure you'd turn down the invite."
