Though the "love triangle" theme would surely have drawn a huge wave of attention, in the end, it was still vetoed.
"Our manager probably wouldn't let it pass anyway," Uika had said.
After all, sumimi was currently sailing smoothly; all they needed to do was stay on course and properly digest the popularity they'd already garnered, and the results would naturally be good enough.
They weren't some struggling, small-time group desperate for attention by resorting to risky gimmicks anymore.
"True," Kyo replied nonchalantly. She'd just casually thrown out the idea, anyway.
"Then, how about we let Kyo-chan and Mana handle all the vocals?" Uika suggested. "That way, we return to a 'two-person' dynamic, which makes writing a romantic duet a lot easier. I'll just focus completely on the guitar accompaniment."
"Ehh—?" Mana immediately protested. "No way! If we do that, it'll look like Uika's being excluded. If we really can't do it, we could just pick another theme."
"But a duet relies on creating a sense of interaction," Uika pointed out patiently. "The theme of love inherently has that sense of dialogue between two people. If we randomly choose another theme, there's no reason to make it a duet at all."
"Oh, is that so? So, even changing the theme can't be random, huh..." Mana crossed her arms, puffed her cheeks, and started seriously thinking—far more intensely than when she used to scheme how to sneak past their manager to grab two donuts.
"I have an idea." Kyo suddenly raised one hand high, waving it in the air to attract the other two's full attention.
However, Kyo didn't immediately elaborate on her idea. Instead, she suddenly became reserved. Her shimmering eyes hid themselves as she gently closed her eyelids, and her exuberant, flamboyant gestures retreated into quietude.
Standing firmly in place, Kyo neatly put her legs together, placed one hand behind her back, and gently rested the other on her chest. She lowered her head slightly, a faint, subtle smile curling at the corners of her mouth.
She resembled an actress poised silently onstage just before the curtains rose. No one knew what kind of performance awaited after this tranquil moment of preparation.
The audience instinctively knew to quiet down, lest they disrupt the actress's concentration and incur her displeasure.
Thankfully, the nerve-wracking wait wasn't long. Kyo's posture naturally shifted.
She stood gracefully, shifting her weight onto one leg. The other leg moved hesitantly, nervously, yet full of anticipation. The complicated, restless feelings teased at the tips of her toes, lightly shifting back and forth on the floor, revealing that the owner of these legs clearly had an intention, an earnest desire hidden beneath apparent uncertainty.
Such subtle actions naturally didn't neglect her hands. A person's hands are so expressive—they perform ordinary tasks quietly yet can occasionally create miracles with skillful elegance.
But at this moment, her hands weren't set on creating anything grandiose. Their task was simpler: handing something over to another person.
Well, on second thought, the task of handing something over might not be so simple. Its significance wholly depended on the value of the item held in those hands.
And value…well, assessing something's worth can be tricky. It changes based on who's doing the evaluating. Coincidentally—or perhaps inconveniently—the item this girl was holding was precisely the type hardest to appraise.
Perhaps we could try guessing at its worth by observing her hands—
She couldn't hold it too tightly—that might damage what was inside, and the girl naturally wished this thing would appear in its most perfect form, as it represented her sincerity. Yet, she couldn't hold it too loosely either, as that would make her seem casual or insincere.
It was a love letter, filled with youthful dreams and curious fruits.
Ohhhhh!
Apologies for my excitement, but it's genuinely hard not to get caught up in the moment and have one's heart racing along with hers.
It seems we're witnessing a thrilling confession scene right now!
Hold on—before officially starting this little drama, we absolutely must zoom in on something crucial. Hurry, hurry, shift the camera to the girl's face!
The girl closed her eyes briefly. This was her last chance to take a deep breath before revealing her heart to her beloved. Once she began, there'd be no turning back.
An overly long, overly deep breath… Hopefully, the poor girl wouldn't choke embarrassingly in front of the one she loved—that would make her wish to crawl into a hole.
And then, she opened her eyes—
Those enchanting, glistening eyes, shimmering softly like a young deer's. The delicate moisture in her eyes was truly the finishing touch, giving a near-tearful look that inspired tenderness. From certain angles, the artificial lighting would cast shifting highlights across her irises.
Damn that artificial, fluorescent lighting! Ruining what could have been the perfect moment! If this scene had unfolded under the dappled shadows beneath sunlight filtered through leaves, it would have been absolutely flawless!
Well, this was just an impromptu performance, after all. We couldn't exactly expect the actress to carry around a large tree for shade or summon a blazing sun on demand.
Besides, even the love letter wasn't actually present—you'd only see carefully held… air.
Mime acting—well, an excellent actor needs to master that too.
Kyo opened her eyes, gripping tightly the nonexistent love letter in her hands. Then, she suddenly thrust it forward with such intensity that her whole body leaned dramatically forward.
"I-I like you! Please go out with me…!"
As expected, all the prior subtle details of her acting were perfect, right down to the nervous stammering.
But who was receiving this confession? Who was this enviable character?
Uika and Mana stood side by side, stunned and exchanging a bewildered glance. Both happened to stand directly in the direction where Kyo was extending her hands.
Hehehe! Don't just stand there looking confused! If you can't decide, both of you can play the role of receiving this confession—I certainly won't mind giving out an extra review score. Although right now, both of you get huge X's for your poor improvisation skills!
…
Well, in the end, at least Mana and Uika successfully played the part of two clueless people frozen in place after an unexpected confession. Isn't that also a kind of successful acting?
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