I Just Want A Single Ending!

Saku entered, purchased his live ticket in advance, and headed straight for the reserved practice room.

Since it wasn't official business hours yet, only some band members were around the livehouse.

As someone who'd booked a practice room, he was able to come in, too—technically, he counted as a band member.

Of course, she's not here yet.

Setting his bass down, Saku wasn't surprised to find that Hiroi Kikuri hadn't shown up.

In fact, he'd expected as much.

They hadn't reached their agreed meeting time yet, and Kikuri wasn't one to arrive early.

Which meant that, with his bass instructor absent, he was free to wander around the livehouse.

Not that there was much to see—just a few open areas, like where bands were setting up and doing sound checks.

That was enough for him; all he wanted was a chance to "accidentally" bump into Yahata Umiri.

Then, he could strike up a casual conversation and let her know he was a fan.

With that in mind, Saku looked around the livehouse, though his search came up empty.

There were two possibilities.

First, she could've arrived before him and was currently rehearsing with her band in a closed practice room.

Second, she simply hadn't arrived yet.

He was betting on the second.

He'd rushed here right after school, grabbing his bass and heading over.

Since Umiri had school too, it made no sense for her to be much faster.

Plus, she'd probably have to change into her usual leather outfit for the show.

Factoring in changing time, it was unlikely she'd have gotten here earlier than him.

With that reasoning, Saku stood near the entrance, ready to "coincidentally" run into Yahata Umiri just like he had last time.

As for his excuse, he'd already come up with one.

He was waiting for Kikuri.

And in the process of waiting, he'd just so happened to run into his idol.

In that case, a quick hello wouldn't be overstepping, right?

The only catch was that Umiri would have to arrive before Kikuri did, or his plan would fall apart.

Still, Saku felt confident about Kikuri's "unreliable" reputation when she'd had a few drinks.

She was almost guaranteed to be late!

No need to worry.

---

As he waited, Saku kept his head down as much as possible, trying to avoid drawing attention.

He'd gotten used to people approaching him and asking for his number due to his looks.

But avoiding it whenever possible was still better.

Even so, he couldn't entirely escape it.

"Hey there, handsome. What are you doing here all alone?"

A pretty girl with black hair walked over, looking genuinely interested.

"Waiting for someone."

Saku glanced at her briefly and kept his answer short.

"Are you waiting for your bandmates?" she continued.

"No."

Saku shook his head.

"Then… would you mind sharing your contact info?"

As she spoke, Yahata Umiri, dressed in her leather jacket and carrying a bass case, walked in.

"Sorry."

The moment he saw her, Saku didn't hesitate to apologize to the girl and decline her request.

He'd been waiting here long enough to finally see Umiri.

Now he had just this brief window of time to talk to her—he wasn't about to waste it exchanging numbers.

"Good afternoon! I came to see your show."

Saku greeted his idol, Yahata Umiri.

Seeing this, the girl who had approached him took the hint and returned to her own bandmates.

"Afternoon. So, you actually came, huh?"

Umiri sounded a bit surprised.

The last time they'd met, he'd mentioned he'd try to come to more of her shows.

She hadn't expected him to follow through.

"I am your fan," Saku replied earnestly. "Of course, I'd come to support my idol."

"How'd you get in here?"

Umiri casually brushed off the whole "fan" comment.

One performance was all it took for him to call himself a fan? Sounded a bit shallow to her.

More importantly, she was curious how he'd managed to get inside.

Since it wasn't business hours, fans shouldn't have been able to enter yet.

"Today's my lesson with Kikuri-senpai. I booked a practice room," Saku explained.

"Ah, makes sense."

Umiri nodded, remembering the lesson arrangement.

Then she added, "So, you're not actually here for my show, are you?"

She'd decided to revoke his fan status.

"Of course I am—I even bought a ticket!"

Saku pulled out the live ticket he'd bought as proof.

"Well then."

With that, she reinstated his fan status.

As they talked, gossip started floating over from nearby.

"Oh my god, he's got a girlfriend!"

"Uh, isn't that totally normal? He's so hot. It'd be weird if he didn't."

"Then why'd you push me to ask for his number?"

"I mean, you have to try—you never know!"

"True…"

Hearing these strange comments, Saku quickly turned to Umiri and apologized, "Sorry, I think we're being misunderstood."

What was with these people?

He'd just turned down a girl's request, and now he was chatting with his idol.

And in their minds, that meant they were a couple?

Since when had the word "couple" become so cheap?

It was an insult, really—both to him, destined to end up single, and to Yahata Umiri, his idol.

Outrageous, honestly.

"It's fine. Doesn't bother me."

Umiri didn't care at all about silly rumors.

"Well, all right then."

If his idol wasn't concerned, then he, as her fan, wouldn't be either.

Especially since she, a potential love interest, hadn't reacted in the slightest.

"So, what are you doing hanging around here?" Umiri brought the topic back. "Aren't you supposed to be meeting Kikuri-senpai for a bass lesson?"

"I'm waiting for her, actually. It's past the scheduled time, but she still hasn't shown up," Saku admitted with a wry smile.

Just as he expected, Kikuri's "unreliable" streak hadn't failed him.

Not only was she late, but her absence had given him the perfect chance to chat with Yahata Umiri.

"Yep, that sounds like her."

Umiri wasn't the least bit surprised.

---

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