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Chapter 312.5: It's Over, All Over!
🕑 Added 2025-04-27 09:20:47 +0000 UTCBecause of her personality, Hitori didn't often take the initiative to call Minami.
Most of the time, the two of them talked over LINE instead.
Getting in touch this late, past ten o'clock at night,
strictly speaking, this was a first.
But Minami didn't mind. He just patiently waited for Hitori to speak.
The reason Hitori was reaching out to Minami was actually pretty simple.
That reason was, "Uh, M-Minami... Remember how my parents talked to you before...? Um... They actually really hoped you could come over to our house sometime."
On the other end of the line, Hitori stammered, but at least she managed to get the words out.
"Oh... so that's what this is about."
Minami's expression cleared with realization.
Back then, because of a bunch of things going on, he had turned down her parents' invitation to visit.
He hadn't expected them to still remember that.
"Minami... w-what's wrong? Is it a bad time? If you're really busy, it's totally okay to come over another day..."
Maybe because Minami stayed quiet for a little too long,
Hitori sounded a bit flustered, like she was worried she'd said something wrong.
Luckily, Minami quickly snapped out of it and answered with a laugh:
"No, Hitori, no problem at all. Don't worry. I'm free. What time were you thinking?"
Shuka High's final exams had just finished.
He was officially on winter break now and with the whole Matsuzaka Satou situation taken care of, there weren't any major issues demanding his attention. If he kept making excuses to avoid visiting Gotoh's family now, that would honestly just be rude to her parents.
Smiling, he answered.
Hearing his words, Hitori finally seemed to relax a little.
"T-then... Minami, how about you come over tomorrow? Would that be okay?"
She carefully chose her words as she extended the invitation.
"Sure, sounds good. Let's do tomorrow at noon."
Minami agreed without hesitation.
After that, the two of them stayed on the phone for a while longer.
They chatted about how Hitori felt about her finals, if she thought she'd improved, things like that.
At Shuka High, if you wanted to move up to the next grade properly, you couldn't fail too many subjects.
Fail enough, and you'd have to repeat the year.
Luckily, all that tutoring had paid off.
Overall, Hitori felt pretty good about her exams — she probably wouldn't fail anything.
The two of them kept chatting in bits and pieces for quite a while.
By the time Hitori finally set down the phone receiver,
it was already well past 10:40 PM.
"Minami..."
The pale skin of the pink-haired girl, pale from too long without sunlight was tinged with a soft blush.
Standing there by the phone, she gazed dreamily at the handset, thinking back to Minami's compliments just now. Her thin pink lips curled into a silly, happy smile.
"Hehe... hehe..."
She stood by the landline, giggling to herself.
But she hadn't even been smiling for two seconds when—
"Hitori, you've really grown up. As your mother, I'm truly proud."
A voice suddenly spoke from behind her,
and Hitori let out a startled "Ah!" of surprise.
"M-mom?!"
Wide-eyed, she turned around and saw her mother, who had somehow appeared behind her without her noticing.
In that moment, panic flooded her heart.
"My, my, I didn't expect you to call Minami-kun so late at night,
and even invite him over to our house on your own..."
Michiyo Gotoh pressed her hand lightly against her cheek, smiling warmly.
"And you even kept it a secret from your father and me. How bold of you, Hitori."
"I... I didn't mean..."
Hitori's cherry-pink lips parted slightly as her face turned bright red, clearly overwhelmed by how things had spiraled.
After all, what she had told Minami over the phone "my parents invited you over" had actually been... just a little white lie.
The whole point was to have Minami come to her house, so they could spend a wonderful afternoon together, just the two of them.
The reason she waited until after 10 PM, after her parents had fallen asleep, to call him,
was because she wanted to keep it a secret.
She didn't want them coming over and causing chaos.
After all, both her mom and dad were way too lively for their own good.
If Minami ended up with a bad impression because of that...
Hitori would be too devastated to even cry.
And yet, no matter how much she tried to prepare, guarding against her parents was impossible.
She had specifically waited until they were asleep to make the call to Minami.
So how had her mom still found out?
"It was Futari who came upstairs and told us~."
Sensing her daughter's growing panic, Gotoh Michiyo proudly scooped up Gotoh Futari into her arms like she was showing off a prize.
"Futari—!!"
Hitori let out a heartbroken wail.
She hadn't expected this.
The Gotoh Futari she thought she had chased off to bed earlier... hadn't actually gone to sleep at all.
Instead, she'd gone upstairs and ratted her out to their mom, spilling everything about the phone call with Minami.
The only slight relief for Hitori was that, at least, her dad hadn't woken up.
If that completely unreliable father of hers got involved...
She wouldn't even have the strength left to cry.
"That said, Hitori, Dad's really happy you found such an amazing boyfriend like Minami-kun!"
Well, speak of the devil.
Just as Hitori felt a bit grateful her dad wasn't here, his voice came crashing through and smashed that hope into pieces.
Clutching her head in despair, she thought—
Of course!
Her parents didn't sleep in separate rooms!
There was no reason Gotoh Michiyo would wake up and Gotoh Naoki wouldn't.
"Alright! To celebrate Minami-kun visiting our house tomorrow, let's have an emergency family meeting to plan how we'll welcome him!"
Gotoh Naoki, looking nothing like a calm, responsible father,
excitedly raised his arm and made the announcement.
"Yay! Celebration! Celebration!"
Gotoh Futari cheered, waving her little arms in the air.
"Let's name tomorrow 'Hitori's No Longer Single Memorial Day'!"
Gotoh Michiyo chimed in cheerfully, smiling as she threw out suggestions.
The three of them were already deep in animated discussion.
Meanwhile, Hitori, who could only stand there and watch, felt all color drain from her face.
It's over.
It's all over.
Her plan,, Her beautiful plan to spend a perfect afternoon alone with Minami—
completely ruined.
Tonight in the Gotoh household, there was no doubt:
some were celebrating, while others were in utter despair.
...
The next morning.
Minami woke up.
First, as usual, he went for his morning jog.
Then, before Hiroi Kikuri could show up to freeload breakfast again,
he quickly prepared his daily meal.
He didn't have a choice, he had promised Hiroi Kikuri that if she stayed off alcohol, she could come eat breakfast at his place.
He wasn't about to go back on his word.
Sure enough, after Hiroi Kikuri showed up, ate her fill, and then asked in her usual pushy way if she could use his bathroom to take a bath, Minami politely but firmly turned her down and "invited" her out the door.
Once that whole ordeal was done, Minami finally picked up the novel he had been wanting to read for ages but hadn't found the time for, and settled into it.
Reading absorbed him so completely that two hours flew by.
Stretching with a soft yawn, he set the book aside, then got up and put away the now-dry laundry back into the closet.
Glancing at his phone to check the time,
he figured it was about right.
Moving leisurely, he changed into clothes for going out and headed toward the Gotoh household.
The Gotoh family's financial situation was actually quite good.
Being able to buy a three-story standalone house in the middle of Tokyo,
and raise two daughters without much financial strain.
That said a lot.
Using the address Gotoh Michiyo had given him before,
along with his own memory from previous simulations,
Minami didn't take long to find the place.
He raised his head, taking in the house with a thoughtful gaze.
And then—
Minami let out a soft breath of relief.
Thank goodness.
There wasn't some giant white banner hanging out front that said "WELCOME MINAMI-SAN" like in the original storyline that originally was for the Kessoku band.
It seemed that Gotoh's parents still had some sense.
He felt a little more at ease.
Stepping into the Gotohs' small yard, Minami reached out and rang the doorbell.
He didn't have to wait long.
After standing there for just a few seconds, the door swung open.
At the same time—
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
Colorful ribbons exploded out from party poppers, showering Minami from head to toe.
Along with that, he heard the voices of Gotoh Michiyo and Gotoh Naoki:
"Ta-da! Welcome to the Gotoh household, Minami-kun!"
And alongside their cheerful shout was a white banner, being unfurled —
one that read "Welcome Minami!"
"..." Minami.
Honestly—
He had thought something like this was exactly the kind of thing only Gotoh Hitori would go out of her way to plan.
But maybe it's true what they say like parent, like child.
Gotoh Michiyo and Gotoh Naoki had pulled the exact same move as their daughter.
Still, it wasn't too bad.
At most, it was just a harmless, if slightly over-the-top, welcome.
Suppressing a chuckle, Minami shook his head lightly, then reached out and brushed the colorful ribbons off his clothes.
Once he had cleared them away, he handed over a box of sweets he had brought.
"Sorry for dropping in like this. Please accept this small gift."
"Oh, you didn't have to! Really, Minami-kun, you're too kind."
Gotoh Michiyo smiled warmly.
"Come in, come in. Hitori just stepped out for a bit, she should be back soon. In the meantime, you can wait for her in her room."
"Ah, alright."
Minami nodded and started taking off his shoes.
Before he could even finish, Gotoh Michiyo had already brought him a pair of perfectly fitting indoor slippers.
Meanwhile, Gotoh Naoki, still grinning brightly, whisked Minami's shoes away to the shoe cabinet.
"Michiyo-san, Naoki-san, you really don't have to go to all this trouble,"
Minami said with a slight smile, unable to help but point it out.
This treatment, it was like they were welcoming a son-in-law.
It was honestly a little... overwhelming.
"No trouble at all, Minami-kun!"
Gotoh Naoki laughed heartily and waved it off.
"It's your first time visiting us, so we just wanted to make it a bit more festive. Oh, Hitori's room is upstairs. Feel free to head up and wait for her."
"Got it."
Following Gotoh Naoki's directions, Minami soon found himself standing in front of Gotoh Hitori's room.
It looked just about exactly as he remembered from the anime.
Tatami flooring.
A full-length mirror, and next to it, a guitar and a guitar stand.
A single bed tucked neatly into a corner.
And beside it, a wardrobe.
There weren't any overly girly decorations — no pink, no frills.
One of the closet doors was half-open, revealing a laptop and a jumble of miscellaneous stuff inside.
It was almost excessively plain.
The whole room perfectly matched Gotoh Hitori's gloomy, low-key vibe both in and out of school.
Curious, Minami took a few more glances around.
After all, this was his first time seeing Gotoh Hitori's room in real life.
At Gotoh Naoki's encouragement, Minami soon sat down by the small table that Gotoh Hitori often used.
While he waited for her to come back, he idly looked around, taking in the details.
But—
Gotoh Hitori didn't show up.
Instead, it was a ball of pink and short-haired energy. A little girl, who showed up first.
The moment she spotted Minami, her delicate, childlike face lit up with pure excitement.
"Ah! It's the really handsome big brother!"
Without a hint of hesitation, the little girl toddled over on her chubby legs and launched herself straight into Minami's arms.
"Ah... it's you, Futari."
Minami smiled and gently patted Gotoh Futari's small head.
"How come you're here? Where's your sister?"
"Big sis said she had to go out for a bit. Dunno what for!"
Gotoh Futari, clinging to him like a little koala, then leaned over and planted a big kiss on the side of Minami's face before giggling mischievously.
"I see."
Minami reached out and ruffled her pink hair.
"Well, guess we'll just wait for her here then. Speaking of which... hmm?"
Mid-sentence, his gaze drifted toward the corner of the open closet.
"Ah— that thing!"
Still clinging to him, Gotoh Futari immediately noticed where he was looking.
She wriggled down, scampered over to the closet corner, and picked up a small object with both hands, hugging it as she carried it over.
"Big sis bought this the last time she went out! I don't really know how it works,
but sometimes I see her holding it and giggling all by herself!"
"Huh...?"
Minami took a closer look at the thing in her hands.
It was a camcorder. A DV camera, to be exact.
Judging from its condition, it was still pretty new.
The surface paint was pristine, not a scratch in sight.
But...
A camcorder?
Why would Gotoh Hitori have something like that?
She wasn't the type to record videos.
Just imagining her, the poster child for social anxiety using a camcorder was almost laughable.
Curious,
Minami reached out and took the device from Gotoh Futari, flipping it open and casually browsing through the recorded videos.
Most of the footage was from Kessoku Band's performances at STARRY.
Judging by the angles, it wasn't hard to guess that Gotoh Hitori had probably asked the PA system lady to record their live shows so she could use the footage for editing projects.
But then, As he scrolled further down,
Minami noticed something odd.
It wasn't just live performances saved in this camcorder.
There were... other videos too.
His fingers tapped across the buttons.
Eventually, his gaze landed on one particular video.
In it, Gotoh Hitori was sneaking into his room, hiding the camcorder somewhere,
and then sneaking back out.
"Uh..."
Minami froze.
He stared, completely dumbfounded.
He had never expected that gloomy, shy girl to have evolved this far.
She actually dared to spy on him?!
That was some serious next-level guts!
The Gotoh Hitori who looked so serious and honest. Thick brows, wide eyes
was actually pulling off secret recording stunts behind his back?!
His fingers twitched, about to scroll down to see more.
When suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded from outside.
At the same time, a breathless voice rang out.
"M-Minami! I-I'm back! Um— I just went out to buy your favorite snacks and—"
Her voice trailed off strangely.
Standing in the doorway, Gotoh Hitori stared at the item in Minami's hands with wide, disbelieving eyes.
Plop.
The bag of snacks she was holding slipped from her arms and scattered across the floor.
Gotoh Hitori realized in that moment—
She was done for.
Absolutely, completely doomed.
