Is Someone With You?

[Megumi, are you asleep?]

[If I were asleep, I wouldn't be able to reply to this message, would I?]

Every time Kotomi Izumi messaged Megumi Kato, the reply always came instantly.

Sure enough, not even a few seconds had passed before Megumi's reply popped up. The delay was so brief, it could have just been the time she took to type.

Soon, another message followed:

[Let's not talk over Line. I'll just video call you instead. Is now a good time?]

Kotomi glanced at Mashiro sitting next to her watching the movie...

[Not really convenient.]

As she sent the message, Kotomi inhaled softly and began thinking of how she might explain this.

Usually when they chatted on Line, it wasn't long before they'd switch to video. Not only did it save them from typing, but more importantly, they could see each other's faces and hear each other's voices. That second part was especially meaningful for both of them.

Over time, video calls had become their primary way of communicating. If they could video call, they wouldn't settle for a regular phone call.

But today, Kotomi had rejected Megumi's request. She didn't need to guess—Megumi was definitely going to take it to heart. The next message was likely going to ask why.

Kotomi immediately regretted messaging Megumi at this time. She should've waited until later, when Mashiro was asleep, then slipped into the bathroom with her headphones and called her.

With a small frown, Kotomi pondered how to give a reasonable explanation. Her phone vibrated.

As expected, it was Megumi:

[Why can't I call you right now? Is someone with you?]

[I really want to hear your voice right now, and see you. Can't I?]

Megumi had sent two messages in a row. Kotomi almost gave in—almost. But she managed to hold herself back just in time.

A regular phone call might be fine, but a video call...

If Megumi found out that she was spending the night in the same room as Mashiro, Kotomi knew it wouldn't matter how innocent it was. Even if her conscience was clear, she wouldn't know how to explain it in a way that didn't cause misunderstanding.

Why was she with Mashiro so late?

Why were they sharing a room for three days?

It wasn't a matter of whether she could explain—just the fact that it needed explaining was enough to cause issues.

The best solution was not to let Megumi find out in the first place.

With her resolve firmed, Kotomi's fingers flew across the screen as she typed and sent:

[It's not just one person around me—there are lots~ Hehe, don't worry, I'm not telling ghost stories. I'm just having dinner in the hotel restaurant. Don't know what hit me, but I suddenly really wanted sushi tonight, so I came down to the hotel's sushi place. Pretty good, actually. I accidentally ate too much salmon roe. The eel was nice too, but I still prefer grilled eel rice...]

Kotomi painted the sushi experience so vividly, it was as if she were really sitting at a sushi bar, tasting everything while messaging Megumi.

That's just how she was—once she started typing, she couldn't stop.

Before she knew it, she had written a whole paragraph and sent it off.

At a glance, the message seemed perfectly normal. But she added one more line without thinking:

[Chief Naegi ate a piece of salmon sushi without noticing it had wasabi in it and teared up instantly.]

Kotomi sent the message, still unaware of anything off, gently rubbing Mashiro's cheek as she sat on the sofa, silently proud of her quick thinking.

Mashiro didn't know why Kotomi suddenly started rubbing her cheek, but since Kotomi seemed to enjoy it, Mashiro simply blushed and let her do it.

Honestly, if Kotomi's hand had wandered a bit lower, Mashiro might have just shyly unbuttoned her shirt herself, thinking it would make Kotomi even happier.

Before long, a reply from Megumi Kato arrived:

[Oh? I see. It's true—if you haven't had sushi in a while, the craving can get really strong. But still, be careful not to eat too much, okay? Eating too much sushi might upset your stomach tomorrow. You're going to the first art exhibition, right? You wouldn't want to go with a tummy ache.]

Every word of Megumi's message warmed Kotomi's heart.

How lucky she was to have someone so thoughtful by her side.

[Got it!]

Kotomi replied as if she were really sitting obediently in a sushi bar, heeding Megumi's advice and deciding to eat less.

[Since you're in a sushi restaurant, I guess calling you now wouldn't work. It's probably too noisy, and we wouldn't be able to hear each other clearly anyway. Once you get back to your room after dinner, let's have that video call.]

[Okay~]

After sending that message, Kotomi let out a quiet sigh of relief. The situation had been smoothed over.

Finally relaxed, she focused her attention on watching Titanic with Mashiro.

While Kotomi and Mashiro sat together watching the movie...

Megumi sent a message to Hibiki Naegi.

[Sorry to bother you, Naegi-senpai. I just found out from chatting with Kotomi that you two were having sushi together, and she mentioned that you accidentally ate some wasabi and teared up. I forgot to remind Kotomi earlier, so I was wondering if you could help me out and tell her to rest early tonight and not stay up too late.]

At that very moment, Hibiki was groggily waking up, still in that cozy, half-asleep state. Her phone, charging on the bedside table, buzzed with a new notification.

She sat up slowly and blinked at the screen, realizing it was already 10 p.m.

Reading Megumi's message left her puzzled. It was as if a string of question marks had appeared above her head.

She'd been asleep all afternoon—when had she gone to a sushi restaurant with Kotomi?

She hadn't even had dinner yet and didn't plan to. She just wanted to sleep through to the next morning and have breakfast then.

Feeling confused, she started typing a reply:

[Megumi-san, did you maybe mishear something when you were talking to Kotomi? I didn't go to a sushi restaurant with her. And I definitely didn't cry from wasabi... Actually, I love eating sushi and sashimi with lots of wasabi.]

After finishing the message, Hibiki was just about to hit send when her finger paused mid-air.

In the past, if she received a message that seemed off, she would've called immediately to clarify—asking what it meant or if it was sent by mistake.

When she first saw Megumi's message, her instinct was to tell her flat out: this didn't happen. But just before hitting send, her finger hesitated as if something unseen held her back.

Maybe it was just her imagination. Still, Hibiki reread Megumi's message calmly, and upon reflection, a thought began to form:

Kotomi must have lied to Megumi—pretending she went out for sushi when in fact, who knows where she really was?

Hibiki thought back on her impression of Kotomi: cheerful, sweet, and seemingly not the type to lie.

For Kotomi to go so far as to make something up...

That must've taken a lot.

Then it hit her—Kotomi had probably been with Mashiro all day. Connecting the dots, Hibiki sat frozen, her mouth falling open in stunned realization.

"If my hunch is right... then what are Kotomi and Mashiro doing together right now that would make Kotomi feel the need to lie to Megumi? Why wouldn't she want Megumi to know they're alone?

Is she afraid Megumi will misunderstand?

And why would she worry about that? Why would she care so much about Megumi misunderstanding?

Could it be... she's so guilty she can't even let Megumi find out she's been with Mashiro?

Just like one of those late-night soap operas—where the wife, unable to resist temptation, cheats on her husband with a much younger coworker, and feels so guilty she hides even the most innocent encounters from him."

Suddenly, Hibiki's mind was flooded with dramatic, over-the-top scenes from all the melodramatic dramas she'd ever seen. In every one, the unfaithful wife's face morphed into Kotomi's.

"The pitiful, clueless husband" — Megumi Kato.

"The seductive, younger coworker" — Mashiro Shiina.

Following the sacred art of full-on headcanon immersion, Hibiki seamlessly constructed an entire tangle of drama, soap-opera tropes and all. The more she imagined, the more believable it felt.

Clicking her tongue with theatrical flair, Hibiki deleted the message she had typed earlier and rewrote a new one:

[Yeah, I'm eating sushi with Kotomi and Mashiro right now. Kotomi's appetite is seriously something else. She's stacked the plates so high, I'm worried they're gonna topple. I thought I'd treat her to dinner, but now I think I'll pass—she's basically treating this fancy sushi spot like a conveyor belt joint.]

[If I really did pay, my entire month's allowance would vanish in a single meal, and probably still not cover it.]

She sent the message with a crying bear emoji clutching an empty wallet. Everything about it looked effortlessly believable.

Afterward, Hibiki poured herself a glass of warm water. She didn't bother turning on the lights. Instead, wrapped in the hotel's soft white blanket, she sat on the bed staring out at the dazzling nightscape like it was a pile of worthless gemstones. She sipped slowly, shivering slightly.

The world suddenly felt... dull.

"Sigh, being loyal is the way to go~ My heart is completely filled with my dear little Seiko. There's not a single bit of room left. This lifetime, I only love her."

Megumi paced back and forth in her room. After Kotomi had refused her video call request, she couldn't shake a feeling of unease. It was as if Kotomi had lied to her.

That's why she'd secretly messaged Hibiki to confirm if they were really eating sushi together.

Unlike Aimi, who had complete trust in Kotomi even knowing she was spending three days in Kyoto with Mashiro, Megumi couldn't relax.

Every time she thought about Mashiro being by Kotomi's side for those three days, it made her feel unsettled. She even regretted not taking up art herself. If only she had learned to draw—maybe she could have also been selected for the National Art Exhibition and gone to Kyoto too. It could've been a honeymoon trip for the two of them.

But the world didn't work on "if only."

Megumi was decent at art theory exams—after all, they were open-book and straight from the textbook. But when it came to actually drawing...

Her mother, Ikemi Kato, had always hoped Megumi would excel academically and get into a prestigious university, eventually landing a job her mother could proudly talk about.

So, from a young age, Megumi was fed messages like, "Studying is the only path to success," and "If you don't get good grades, you're letting down everything your father and I worked for."

Every opportunity was aimed at improving her exam scores.

From elementary school onward, it was all math and science tutoring. The idea of enrolling Megumi in an extracurricular activity like music or art never even crossed her mother's mind. In her eyes, interest-based classes were a waste of time—no, a waste of life.

It was practically a miracle that Megumi didn't end up a complete academic robot.

So while other kids were attending art or music classes, Megumi was at home solving math problems.

Then again, even if her mother had signed her up for an art class, Megumi likely wouldn't have enjoyed it. As a child, she had no interest in learning to draw or play music.

Enjoying art or music as a hobby and wanting to study it seriously were two completely different things.

Back on topic—Megumi remained extremely wary of Mashiro, who was now spending time in Kyoto with Kotomi.

Because last time, in the art room, when she kissed Kotomi, Mashiro had accidentally seen them.

It was hard not to suspect Mashiro might try something during these three days alone with Kotomi. Or say something.

Just the thought made Megumi's brows furrow deeper and deeper.

If she could, she would rush to Kyoto right now.

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