Band Girls’ Mixology Mission [182]

Kikukawa Kyo, Sakiko, and Mutsumi took a table together at Hazawa Coffee.

Sakiko, who had already been nursing mild complaints about how Mutsumi came unannounced today, suddenly “blocking the entrance” of Haneoka, now felt her earlier annoyance mixing with a bit of sourness upon seeing Kyo and Mutsumi approaching together. Particularly because, for some unknown reason, Kyo’s hair was now loose, her hairband removed.

And as the two drew closer, Sakiko’s sharp eyes caught sight of Mutsumi’s slightly disheveled hair.

She instantly recreated the scene vividly in her mind:

It had to be Kikukawa Kyo, that girl who completely lacked any sense of personal space, who’d directly messed up Mutsumi’s hair with a careless head pat. And afterward, feeling sorry, she probably took out her own hairband as compensation.

And it was very likely that Mutsumi hadn’t even processed Kyo’s proposal before Kyo went ahead and untied her hair anyway.

Then again, what could Sakiko even say? She knew well that Mutsumi wasn’t the type who'd actively seduce anyone, and Kyo herself held no bad intentions. Kyo was just purely… indifferent to such things.

So, these two probably really had nothing going on between them. Sakiko confidently concluded in her heart.

But annoyance is annoyance!

Kikukawa Kyo, you frivolous woman!

“Sakiko, do you think I look prettier now with my hair down, or was it better tied up?” Right after entering the café, Kyo and Mutsumi immediately found Sakiko, sitting down at her table.

Kyo sat first, taking the spot opposite Sakiko, near the wall. Mutsumi, who had closely followed behind Kyo from the start, naturally sat down right next to Kyo, their shoulders practically touching.

Sakiko raised an eyebrow.

But before Sakiko could even answer, Kyo glanced over at Mutsumi, adding another sentence: “Mutsumi already complimented me directly, saying I look very pretty now.”

What’s that supposed to mean?

Kyo had a huge problem—her cleverness and utter lack of common sense coexisted simultaneously.

This often forced Sakiko to wonder whether Kyo’s words concealed cleverly laid traps, or if she genuinely meant exactly what she’d said.

Just like now.

“Did Mutsumi say you look prettier now, or did she mean the previous hairstyle was better?” Sakiko wickedly kicked the conversational ball into Mutsumi’s court.

This unexpected “ball” smashed directly onto Mutsumi’s head, leaving her briefly dazed.

She indeed hadn’t compared which style looked better earlier.

Mutsumi turned her head toward Kyo and found Kyo already looking at her, clearly also interested in the answer to this question.

For Mutsumi, this wasn’t something to agonize over—normally she’d state her opinion directly, yet…

“I forgot…what Kyo-chan’s previous hairstyle looked like.” Mutsumi anxiously clasped her hands, which rested on her thighs, lowering her head in discomfort, worried that her honest reply might once again hurt someone.

But after a brief moment, no reproach or sadness came.

Mutsumi shyly raised her head again, carefully glancing at Kyo.

“By ‘forgot,’ do you mean you can’t remember what I looked like with tied-up hair?” But Kyo didn’t mind at all, already casually picking up the menu from the table.

“Mhm…”

“It’s probably because I let down my hair so soon after we met today. You don’t need to blame yourself, Mutsumi.” Kyo swiftly found a reason to reassure her.

“Last time we met at the bookstore, I had my hair tied up in a ponytail—that’s how I style it for mixing drinks, not the usual bun. And before that, during the band days, it's already been more than two months anyway, so it’s totally normal to forget.”

While comforting Mutsumi, Kyo quickly found the drink she wanted, smiling as she passed the menu to Mutsumi.

After seeing Mutsumi take the menu—

“Well, if that’s the case…” Clearly, a new idea had suddenly appeared in Kyo’s mind. “Sakiko, take a photo of me with my hair down first.”

“Huh?”

“Since Mutsumi forgot my previous look, I’ll just tie my hair back up afterward. But then I’d have to worry about Sakiko forgetting what I look like now.”

Oh, so it was just an ordinary thought after all. Looks like this time Kyo hadn’t unleashed her astonishing intellect, Sakiko reassured herself.

Sakiko pulled out her phone, preparing to directly take Kyo’s photo, but was quickly stopped by Kyo’s raised hand blocking the camera.

“Wait!”

“What’s wrong?”

“If you’re taking my picture, then obviously I want it to look good. I don’t want an ugly photo lingering on Sakiko’s phone.”

“Kyo, you couldn’t look ugly no matter how you took the picture,” Sakiko replied earnestly.
If someone like Kikukawa Kyo worried about not being photogenic, how were all those young girls who eagerly took selfies every day supposed to feel?

Kyo blinked a couple of times, smiling playfully. “Today, both Sakiko and Mutsumi are being so direct~.”

But even though Sakiko praised her like that, Kyo still thought it would be boring if she just sat there plainly. That’d feel like taking a passport photo.

“Kyo-chan’s been on TV before, don’t you know how to pose?” Mutsumi asked softly. She’d often been dragged by her parents to various filming locations, and even without particular interest, she’d inevitably learned some standard poses for photos.

Considering Kyo also had family ties to showbiz, shouldn’t she be in a similar situation?

“I really don’t,” Kyo shook her head. “Since Mutsumi’s familiar with it, can you give me some pointers?”

“Mhm.”

Just when Kyo and Sakiko thought Mutsumi would verbally guide Kyo, given their already close proximity, Mutsumi instead scooted even closer, their shoulders fully pressed together.

“You…do it like this.” Mutsumi’s voice was quiet and flat as usual. Her right hand reached around Kyo’s body to rest on Kyo’s right side waist, while her left hand directly grasped Kyo’s left hand, physically adjusting her pose in a hands-on manner.

“Wait!” Sakiko couldn’t have imagined that her normally distant “half-sister” would suddenly act this boldly. “It’s just instructing someone how to pose for a photo, right?! Why—why are you teaching it like that?”

“Because…that’s how my mom taught me?”

Mutsumi’s movements paused due to Sakiko’s sudden questioning, but she didn’t let go. Instead, she simply remained in this practically embracing posture with Kyo.

Kyo, come on, say something to stop her too…

No wait, these two people are both hopelessly dense when it comes to stuff like this!!

---

This is a fan translation of 乐队少女调饮行动 by 林明卿. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!