(Transted/Edited/Slight Proofread: Snow)

  By the time the house beyond the ridge came into view, evening had already fallen, and the sun was sinking below the horizon.

  Taeil, who was usually not very active, still didn’t feel particurly hungry.

  Gulp.

  Today was different.

  Hearing a gurgling sound beside her, Ayane suddenly raised her head.

  "Shin-chan, are you hungry?."

  "It's already dinner time."

  Was it because he had met Iris, one of the original protagonists, and wasted all his energy?

  Taeil rubbed his stomach, which was now growling in protest.

  "Are you going to wash up first, Shin-chan?"

  "Yeah… I will."

  His response was weak. The hunger he had just noticed had drained what little energy he had left.

  "Do you have anything to eat?.”

  "Anyhow, everything at Shin-chan's house is just canned food, right?."

  "There’s also convenience store lunch boxes."

  "Shin-chan… Are you seriously eating that instead?"

  Ayane puffed out her cheeks like a pufferfish, clearly displeased.

  She hated the fact that Taeil chose convenience store meals instead of eating at home—her home. She wanted him to treat her like family, but it felt like he was trying to keep his distance.

  Of course, Taeil had his own reasons.

  "I still have to eat breakfast too…"

  "We go to school together anyway. Why not eat breakfast at my house too?"

  "How can I do that? It’d be a burden."

  "It's not a burden."

  "I'm doing this because I don't want to impose."

  Even if there wasn’t a sense of distance between them, the idea of eating more than two meals a day at someone else's house made Taeil uneasy.

  Maybe it would’ve been different if he were just another extra in a manga.

  But Taeil wasn't. He was an outsider—a stray thought that had drifted in from another world, carrying memories of a past life. And in his world, no matter how close you were, relying on a neighbor for meals more than once or twice was simply bad manners.

  But Ayane clearly didn’t see it that way.

  "Ugh. It's really okay…"

  "Just… let me do my own thing."

  Her occasional tantrums annoyed him sometimes.

  With a resigned sigh, Taeil reached out and patted Ayane’s head.

  Although Ayane had stopped asking for headpats outright, nadenade—the simple act of patting her head—was still effective.

  As proof, the tantrum-throwing Ayane suddenly went quiet.

  “…Does Shin-chan think of Ayane as some convenient pet that listens to everything just because you pat her head?.”

  “How could that be?”

  If Taeil had thought that way, he wouldn’t have bothered making her popur in the first pce.

  Instead, he would’ve made her completely dependent on him and cut off all her retionships with others.

  ‘Besides I’m not like some kind of yandere…’

  ‘A male yandere is a sin.’

  Taeil shook his head, brushing away the imaginary version of himself restraining Ayane with dead, possessive eyes.

  "Anyway, that’s not really the case."

  "I know. It’s because Ayane trusts Shin-chan."

  Taeil smiled faintly at his childhood friend’s words.

  "Then, why is someone who cims to trust me still pouting?."

  "Ah, that has nothing to do with this!."

  Flustered, Ayane spped Taeil’s hand away.

  Although she immediately thought, ‘Oops!’ Taeil just ughed heartily, unfazed.

  Ayane sulked, suddenly feeling like she was the only one making a big deal out of things.

  "Are you coming over right after you wash up?."

  "I’ll rest for a bit first. Why? Are you going to help me with my homework again?."

  "Today's homework is Japanese history, right?"

  "Ugh…"

  It was one of Taeil’s few weaknesses.

  Like any proper history buff, he could keep up with the Sengoku period. But once the Tokugawa shogunate began, his interest plummeted.

  Just as most students lost interest in Korean history after the modern era, Taeil completely lost his enthusiasm for Japanese history beyond that point.

  "What about your homework, Shin-chan?."

  "As usual, I just solved the problems and took notes."

  "That’s so unfair!."

  Ayane fumed.

  Coincidentally, the Japanese history teacher in Taeil’s css never assigned homework.

  Instead, he was infamous among uppercssmen for making his tests absurdly difficult.

  "If you feel wronged, you should transfer to Css 7—the liberal arts css."

  "Even if Ayane wanted to, the teachers wouldn’t let her!"

  Ayane was in Css 2. Csses 1 through 4 were the college preparatory tracks, meant for students who excelled academically and aimed for higher education.

  On the other hand, Csses 5 through 8 were collectively known as the "free csses"—the csses Ayane originally belonged to in the series.

  These csses were filled with students who prioritized special talents or club activities over academics.

  Taeil, however, was an anomaly. He had no particur interest in college and chose to go straight home without joining any clubs.

  ‘Guys like that don’t come to Yuuma in the first pce.’

  For reference, all of the original characters in Show Band, except for Iris, were part of the free csses.

  "Even if Shin-chan gets promoted, you wouldn’t move to the advanced csses, right?"

  "I guess not. I don’t see a reason to. If someone like me joined and ruined the study atmosphere, wouldn’t that just be a nuisance?"

  "Ayane is worried that Shin-chan only thinks negatively."

  Taeil hesitated before replying, carefully choosing his words for Ayane’s sake.

  The truth was, he never pnned to stay in Japan forever. His parents were constantly away for work—both were employees of a Korean company and frequently traveled for business.

  It had been the same in his previous life.

  Because of this, Taeil had moved around a lot since childhood, making it painfully difficult to form sting friendships.

  Every time he finally got close to someone, he had to leave.

  For some reason, in this life, his parents hadn’t moved him around. He was curious about why—but he never asked. It felt like opening Pandora’s box, like waking up from a dream and returning to a colorless, gray reality.

  Some things were better left unquestioned.

  Because if he had to be honest, Taeil liked the world he was living in now.

  And in this world, there was a cog named Ayane Katsuragi.

  What Taeil didn’t realize, though…

  Was that he relied on her far more than she relied on him.

  Even though he always pretended otherwise, anxiety and stress weighed on him constantly.

  His parents hadn’t mentioned anything yet, but there was no telling when he might be forced to move again.

  So when it came to college, naturally, he thought more about Korea than Japan.

  In a way, he was always preparing for a goodbye that could come at any moment.

  Unlike Ayane, who had never once considered the possibility of being separated from him.

  "It's already been six years since Shin-chan started having dinner at our house," she suddenly said.

  "Yeah… I guess it has been that long."

  "At this point, aren't we just like family?".

  "...Huh?"

  In reality, Taeil was already treated as a half-member of the Katsuragi family.

  "Then wouldn't it make sense for us to have breakfast together too?."

  "That’s not how it works."

  "Why not?!."

  "What the heck is different?!"

  Ayane felt like she was going to die from injustice in the face of such contradictory logic.

  "Shin-chan is a wallflower!."

  "Hmm. A man should be stubborn."

  "You took that as a compliment?!"

  Taeil covered his mouth, suppressing a ugh.

  Still, when he saw the exaggerated reactions typical of Japanese people, he usually cringed and felt the urge to stop them—but he had to admit, it looked good on pretty people.

  ‘Anyway, sorry! If you feel wronged, just be cute and handsome!.’

  Gulp.

  "Haha, ughing made me even hungrier. Ayane, take responsibility for my stomach."

  "R-Responsibility?!"

  Ayane’s cheeks instantly flushed red.

  "Oh no, how should I take responsibility? Should I prepare a seal right away?.”

  "Why would you need a seal? Just make me some scrambled eggs."

  "Ugh. Ayane isn't an omelet shuttle..."

  Ayane was very good at making omelets—probably thanks to the training she received from her father, who ran a sushi restaurant.

  And Taeil? Well, he loved kimchi stew.

  He firmly believed that kimchi stew paired with rolled omelets was the ultimate truth.

  "You don’t have to if you don’t want to."

  "I will…"

  Taeil chuckled as he watched Ayane lower her head, suddenly losing her motivation.

  This feels comfortable.

  When he was with Iris, his mind felt restless—always anxious.

  ‘Is this what family feels like?.’

  When Taeil wasn’t caught up in worrying about the original story, his real personality came through—just a mischievous friend being himself.

  And Ayane?

  She liked Taeil better this way.

  Because when he was like this, he made her feel at ease.

  Because he never acted this way around anyone else.

  Because, in moments like these, she felt like she was special to him.

  ‘Like I’m the only one he treats differently…’

  Ayane’s face grew even redder. She fanned herself, trying to cool the heat creeping up her skin.

  It’s still summer.

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘That’s why it’s hot.’

  ‘Yeah… that’s definitely the reason.’

  "See you ter."

  "Hmph!"

  The two parted ways in front of the house.

  Taeil climbed the stairs to his room and threw himself onto the bed without even bothering to turn on the light.

  "Ha... I'm exhausted."

  He wanted to just fall asleep like this.

  But the moment he closed his eyes, Iris’s face from earlier appeared in his mind—vivid and inescapable. And with it, the memories of that thin book about Show Band that he had once pretended not to see in his past life.

  Sometimes, having a vivid imagination was more of a curse than a blessing.

  His lower body ached.

  Taeil groaned, feeling like he was going to die.

  "Ughhh. Things were easier when I was with Ayane."

  It felt like he’d been possessed by a succubus. Only now did he truly understand why there was a scene where Iris was being hunted.

  Because if you were a guy, you’d probably want to confess to a girl like that at least once—even knowing you’d be rejected.

  At least confessing would mean getting a chance to face her one-on-one.

  That thought alone was pathetic, and Taeil kicked off the bnket in frustration.

  "Ahhhhh! This sucks!"

  He punched his pillow, hoping it would help vent his irritation, but it wasn’t enough. He grabbed it, shook it violently—only to end up dizzy and flopping back onto the bed.

  "I've really become a part of this world, huh."

  Staring at the ceiling, he mocked himself. The once-unfamiliar ceiling had long since become familiar.

  Humans were creatures of adaptation, after all. Whether he liked it or not, he had fully settled into this world, distorting the original work with the best of intentions—only to regret it now that the real story was about to begin.

  "There’s no saving me, huh..."

  He shut his eyes, tormenting himself, but it only made her image clearer.

  Arisugawa Iris.

  Those jewel-red eyes looked like they could swallow him whole. And those lips—soft, moist, as enticing as cherries—made him want to pull her in and kiss her on the spot.

  "I'm gonna lose my mind."

  Taeil shook his head, desperately trying to banish the thoughts.

  ‘But what's the difference?.’

  If beauty was all that mattered—Ayane wasn’t cking in that department either.

  In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that Ayane had grown even more beautiful than in the original story—thanks to Taeil’s careful attention.

  Every time another petal of the flower named Ayane bloomed, Taeil couldn't help but admire the original author who had crafted her backstory.

  Even he felt a quiet sense of pride whenever he took pictures.

  "Oh... is that why?."

  When you see a face every day, it’s hard to notice the gradual changes.

  Taeil had grown so used to Ayane’s beauty that it no longer struck him as extraordinary. To him, this Ayane—the one right in front of him—was the only reality.

  The original Ayane? Nothing more than a reference point.

  "But this is too much..."

  How many more times would he have to meet her before he got used to it?

  Would he ever meet her enough to get used to her?

  Or maybe... wouldn't it be better if they never met again?

  Thoughts whirled in his head like a hamster on a wheel.

  Every time he closed his eyes, she appeared.

  No matter how hard he tried to erase her, her voice lingered, brushing against his ears like an auditory hallucination—mocking his futile attempts.

  For what felt like an eternity, Taeil wrestled with the illusions of Iris.

  Then, finally—

  "I need a shower..."

  With a sigh, he pulled himself up and headed to the bathroom, feeling oddly guilty as the scent of night flowers drifted through the air.