Chapter 204 – What on Earth Is She Thinking?

After hanging up, Aoki set his phone aside.

The faint drowsiness he’d been feeling before Fujita Masahito’s interruption had completely vanished.

Staring out the window, lost in thought for a while, his mind began to drift.

There was no need to rush things with the band’s new song just yet.

Their practice sessions at STARRY hadn’t been too frequent lately.

He was planning to stop by tomorrow anyway—he could bring it up with the girls then.

As for which song to choose...

Aoki already had a few ideas in mind.

He closed his eyes, drew in a quiet breath, and stood up.

Thinking it might be good to get out for a walk, he headed toward the coat rack to grab his jacket.

But before he’d taken more than two steps, the phone he’d left on the sofa chimed again.

A bit puzzled, Aoki paused and picked it up.

This time, it wasn’t work-related.

It was from Yamada Ryo.

Out of nowhere, without any warning, she’d sent a strange sticker.

It was the mascot character Surutsuro, peeking from behind a wall with only its eyes showing, like it was spying—accompanied by a ridiculously long caption that just read, “Staaareeeee——”

Aoki hesitated, wondering if he should even bother responding to such a random sticker.

Leaving it on “read” might be a little rude, but knowing Ryo, she probably wouldn’t care...

Actually, how do you even reply to something like that in the first place?

Muttering that thought to himself, he decided not to respond and was about to lock his phone and head out again.

But before he could, another message popped up beneath the sticker:

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[Ryo]: su...ki...-san...

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A text message.

Reading it, Aoki couldn’t help imagining it in the voice of some vengeful spirit, dragging out each syllable in resentment, cursing the world, and calling his soul to the underworld.

What the hell is with this girl?

He sent back a single question mark.

Ryo replied almost instantly.

Her words didn’t really have a point—more like casual small talk.

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[Ryo]: Suki-san, it’s December 8th already.

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Aoki’s fingers froze.

Normally, whenever Ryo messaged him, it was to share weird videos or to rant about the odd people and situations she encountered.

Scrolling up just a little, he found yesterday’s conversation still there:

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[Ryo]: Suki-san, yesterday while shopping, a clerk mistook me for a guy—just from behind.

[Aoki]: Well, with your short hair, I guess from the back it’s an easy mistake.

[Ryo]: It was at a lingerie shop.

[Ryo]: The clerk asked if I was buying underwear for my girlfriend.

[Aoki]: …

[Aoki]: You really didn’t have to tell me that part.

[Ryo]: She apologized seriously after I explained.

[Aoki]: …At least she was professional about it. That’s good, I guess.

[Ryo]: Then I asked her to recommend some tights.

[Aoki]: …?

[Ryo]: Supposedly better quality than before. A lot more expensive, but feels nicer.

[Aoki]: Wait, why are you telling me this—

[Ryo]: Want to try touching them sometime?

[Aoki]: …

[Aoki]: I’m getting a call from KL Company. Gotta go handle that.

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Yep. This was pretty much how their chats usually went.

Ryo’s messages were always blunt, and her topics… bizarre.

What she said on LINE felt totally different from how she came across in real life.

Honestly, Aoki couldn’t even picture her saying, expressionless and in that cool voice of hers, “Do you want to touch it and see for yourself?”

Then again... knowing her personality, maybe she really would say that.

Anyway—back to the point.

Besides those random conversations, when she suddenly started talking about nothing in particular like now, it usually ended the same way:

She was broke and looking for help.

But it was still early in the month... wasn’t it?

Aoki sighed, hesitating for a moment.

Finally, thinking, ‘Alright, just one more time.’

‘I’ll help her out this time, but next time, I’ll make sure she learns not to be so careless with money,’ he decided to reply.

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[Aoki]: Hm?

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Her answer came instantly.

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[Ryo]: So cold… Suki-san, I spent a little too much shopping yesterday, and now my allowance is gone.

[Aoki]: I knew it.

[Ryo]: “I knew it”? …Anyway, Suki-san, both my parents are away on business trips right now.

[Aoki]: Want to grab dinner? Or I could bring you a bento. I was heading out anyway.

[Ryo]: Eh? Is that really how you see me?

[Aoki]: Yes.

[Ryo]: …

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She replied with just an ellipsis, apparently not too happy with his honesty.

But only a few moments later, she brushed it off and sent another message.

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[Ryo]: Suki-san! With my parents gone, I spent all my living expenses on clothes and instruments—so, please, save me!

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Aoki stared at the screen, sighing again as he came to the same conclusion as always:

Fine. I’ll help her this time, but next time she really needs to learn responsibility.

But before he could finish typing out the word “fine,” another message arrived.

Apparently, it was a follow-up to her last line:

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[Ryo]: So, Suki-san.

[Ryo]: How about I come stay at your place? For a week.

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Aoki’s fingers froze.

He stared at the screen, a mixture of disbelief and confusion spreading across his face.

What on earth... is this girl thinking?