Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 301 Offense and Admission of Mistakes

During the break, Jun Matsue sat down and drank water, while Yuka Tomatsu next to him was typing on her phone. The girl's fingers moved so fast that she seemed to be having a heated argument with someone.

Jun Matsueda glanced at his phone; it was almost six o'clock. The two of them had been in the practice room for over two hours, and the others should be arriving soon.

"It should take about half an hour for everyone to arrive, and the practice won't be until evening." He looked at the girl beside him. "Is Tomatsu going home?"

"It's okay, I'll go back later." Tomatsu Yuka shook her head, put down her phone, and realized that Mochizuki Haruka, who had lost the online battle, had already blocked her.

"The drum set alone is immersive enough; I'm really looking forward to the chemical reaction when other instruments are added!"

“Isn’t this how the brass band usually is?” Jun Matsue swung his arm. “You guys have more instruments and a wider variety of instruments, and the sound is more impressive.”

"That seems to make sense." The girl looked at the drum set and thought, "Maybe I'm just used to the band format, so I don't really feel anything."

"But rock and roll is more passionate than wind instruments!"

She imitated the cool movements of boys playing drums, waving her hands back and forth, which only made people feel a bit clumsy and cute.

"Once everyone arrives, we'll start practicing, right?" Tomatsu Tomoka asked Matsueda Jun. "Should we go have dinner first?"

"I support you." Jun Matsue nodded. Two hours of drumming had taken a toll on his energy, and it was lunchtime.

"Let's go out now~" The girl stood up from her seat. "I just found a nice shop that I think Matsueda-kun will like!"

Stepping out of the studio, the setting sun hung on the rooftops at the corner of the street, and the colors of the city sky began to change. Tomatsu Yuka led Matsueda Jun through the intersection, turning left and right. The girl's unwavering steps were a stark contrast to the hesitant senior who had taken him to lunch earlier.

"This is it." The girl stopped in front of a small shop. The sign at the entrance featured a smiling tomato, and the shop was called "Tomato."

Jun followed her into the shop and sat down at a rustic, thick wooden table. A silver-haired grandmother came over with a smile and handed the two of them a menu.

"This shop specializes in European-style curry, and they open at 6 PM, we were so lucky!"

The girl pointed to the various bottles and jars on the counter by the wall, which contained all kinds of spices. "It is said that their curry is made by simmering thirty-six kinds of seasonings for six days."

The small shop can only accommodate four people at a time. The customers at another table had already ordered their food, and the complex aroma wafting from the kitchen began to tantalize Jun Matsueda's taste buds.

"Does Tomatsu have some kind of talent for exploring restaurants?" Jun Matsueda exclaimed, as the girl never seemed to disappoint him when it came to food.

"Matsueda-kun is wrong. My talent isn't in exploring restaurants." Tomatsu Yuka leaned against the table, propped her cheeks up with her hands, and looked at him with a smile.

"I just keep thinking about how I would spend my time with Matsueda-san."

She had said this to Yamami Maki once before, and Matsueda Jun only heard it today. The girl's tone was sincere, and her ordinary voice made no attempt to hide anything, which drew the attention of the customers waiting at the next table.

“But I’m not the kind of person who likes to be with other people all the time.” Jun Matsueda took the menu the girl handed him. “Besides, it sounds like there’s a risk of losing myself.”

More accurately, it reminded him of Mochizuki Haruka from before, he added in his mind.

"I know." Tomatsu Yuka's smile remained gentle. "Matsueda-san likes more independent and self-reliant types, and I'm working towards that goal."

His words were impeccable. Matsueda Jun knew very well that Tomatsu Yuka wasn't the kind of girl who would be easily defeated by a few words from him, so he chose to lower his head and focus on looking at the menu. The girl's expression didn't change as her attack failed, and having done her homework beforehand, she changed the subject to the restaurant.

"This restaurant's signature dish is beef tongue curry, which you can try, Pine Branch. However, European-style curry can be a bit bitter. If you don't like that, you can order the seafood curry, which is closer to the type we usually eat."

So the two ordered a beef tongue curry and a seafood curry, plus a seasonal side dish to cleanse their palates. Tomatsu Yuka ran to the door to make a phone call, telling her mother that she would be home late that day.

With nothing to do, Jun Matsuoka began to observe the shop's furnishings. It was clearly in a European style, and he recognized some of the spices in the jars, including dried tangerine peel and star anise, which made him feel nostalgic.

As he stared at the bottles and jars for a while, his phone vibrated in his pocket. It was a message from Yamami Maki; it seemed that her senior had already finished class.

Upon opening the chat window, the girl sent a video, a top-down view of the practice room. Jun Matsueda was concentrating on playing the drums. He intended to spin the drumstick in a stylish manner, but the stubborn stick slipped out of his control and flew away in a spiral.

"Wasn't this the mistake I made in the practice room this afternoon?" Just as Matsueda Jun was about to send a message, the girl sent another new message.

"Sorry! Today's class was a bit too boring, so during the break I wanted to check the monitor in the practice room, and I just happened to see that Matsueda made a mistake~"

"You can actually see the studio's security camera footage?" Jun Matsueda raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Does that count as spying?"

"Sorry!" she quickly sent back an emoji of a cute little character bowing repeatedly, "but class is just so boring!"

He shook his head. Only a senior could do something like this, exposing her own shortcomings. After all, a kind person cannot hide their mistakes.

The surveillance cameras in the practice room are likely there to prevent equipment damage and violent conflicts, and theoretically, staff members should be able to watch them. So, if it's just someone peeking, Matsueda Jun doesn't seem to have much right to stop them, especially since he had just told Tomatsu Yuka that afternoon that she was considered staff.

Jun Matsue thought for a moment and typed a line in the chat box, "Please don't publicly punish me for making a mistake while trying to look cool next time, senior."

Two more bowing figures appeared in the chat box. He laughed, imagining the girl blushing with shame. Just as he was about to continue typing, Tomatsu Yuka's footsteps approached.

"Matsueda-kun seems pretty happy?" The girl sat down in her seat and tilted her head.

"I'm kind of looking forward to the taste of curry."

He put down his phone. The aroma in the room grew stronger. The silver-haired old man came out of the kitchen with two freshly made curries on a tray.

The beef tongue curry truly lived up to its reputation as the restaurant's signature dish, with an excellent taste—smooth, gentle, and fragrant. The rice portion was also very generous, and Jun Matsuzaka was very satisfied with his dinner.

Tomatsu Tomoka was well-mannered and didn't have the habit of talking much while eating. She would just chew her rice while looking up at the boy who was focused on eating. It seemed that she could eat a whole bowl of rice with Matsueda Jun as a side dish even without curry.

When the two returned to the practice room, there were already three other girls in the room. Miyamura Aya waved with delight, welcoming Tomatsu-neechan's arrival.

"I'm really looking forward to everyone's official performance!" Tomatsu Yuka made a cheering gesture.

"Let's get ready to practice." Izumi Mizuki looked at the boy sitting in front of the drum set.

Jun Matsue nodded. Just before it officially began, the boy suddenly remembered something. He looked up and waved to the camera in the corner, out of everyone's sight.

Is Yamami-senpai watching right now?
(End of this chapter)