Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 359 The First Bad News
On the afternoon of August 7th, the girls of the Light Music Club gathered in the practice room.

They had just finished their final performance on an open-air stage in a nearby shopping street, thus successfully completing all the plans that the No. 2 Machine Band had set in July.

As for their plans for August, the girls were packing up their instruments in their room, eating popsicles and discussing them.

"Are you still looking for performances?" Aya Miyamura threw the bare wooden stick into the trash can.

"Um, that's a bit difficult." Xiaoxing stuffed her bass guitar into her bag. "I really wanted to go to Hakone with my boyfriend for a week, and I finally managed to save up the money I needed through part-time work."

Speaking of Hakone, Jun Matsue, who was sitting in front of the drum set in a daze, blinked as he recalled the melody he had played over Lake Ashi last year.

"Then get some rest. We'll prepare for band activities when school starts." Izumi Mizuki opened the door with her guitar on her back. The girl was currently writing a new song and seemed a little distracted.

"I'm going back now. Remember to lock the door when you leave." The girl left with a crisp and decisive back view.

A few minutes later, the bassist also left the room. "Then I'm going on vacation too. Thanks for your hard work, Matsu and Aya!"

Only the two of them remained in the practice room. Miyamura Aya moved a chair under the air conditioner. "Jun-hyung, Jun-hyung, shall we go somewhere and have some fun?"

"How long have you been doing this new part-time job? Can you take time off?"

"That's true." The girl swayed back in her chair. "But taking three or four days off shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"That's up to you." Jun Matsue put his drumsticks into his bag. "Just let me know if you want to go, and I'll pay for it."

He is now using brand new thorn-patterned drumsticks; the previous pair was finally broken when he performed for Maki Yami a couple of days ago.

"Really!" The girl jumped off the chair, grabbed the boy's arm and swayed back and forth. "How can Chun-ge be so nice?"

Jun Matsue smiled and said, "Consider it a reward for getting into Haneoka High School. It's really boring to work all summer during your first summer of high school."

"Didn't Chun-ge work all summer last year? If you can do it, so can I!"

The girl said this, but she was already considering how long she should ask the store manager for leave.

The boy didn't respond to her. His summer vacation last year had been far too eventful, and it had nothing to do with the word "boring".

"Then I'll go back and see if I can get leave~" Miyamura Aya slung her backpack over her shoulder and waved to him from the doorway.

"When is Brother Chun leaving?"

"Practice a little longer."

"Then remember to close the door!"

The girl skipped and hopped away from the studio, and it wasn't until she boarded the tram that a question suddenly occurred to her.

"Brother Chun said he would practice a little longer, so why did he put the drumsticks away first?"

The drumbeats ceased in the practice room where only one person remained. Jun Matsueda put down his phone; he had just sent a message to Maki Yami.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. The metal door was slowly pushed open, and the girl peeked inside. There was only the boy inside.

Jun Matsueda stood up and waved to Maki Yami. The girl's wave in response was like that of a kitten, so cute that he wanted to hug her.

But he stopped himself from thinking about it, because Ikuka Yamami followed her younger sister into the room.

"Matsueda-kun, it's been a long time~" the woman said with a smile, "It doesn't seem like it's easy to see you."

Jun Matsue brought out the best chair in the room and respectfully invited his older sister to sit down. "Our band doesn't have many summer activities. We're all still students."

Another reason is that he and Yamami Maki now have plenty of opportunities to meet, and the studio is more likely to be seen by familiar faces, so Matsueda Jun rarely comes to practice on his own initiative.

After all, how can playing drums compare to studying with a senior student?

“My older sister is going to Furano for a summer vacation, and today is her last visit to the shop before her holiday.” Yamami Maki sat down next to Matsueda Jun, removed her cymbals, and carefully wiped them with a cotton cloth. How long is my older sister staying? Matsueda Jun looked at the girl next to him, but his senior looked blankly at him, indicating that she didn’t know.

"Can we kiss in front of my older sister?" The girl shyly shook her head slightly, indicating her refusal.

It seems I'll have to spend today chatting with the two women from the Yami family, Matsueda Jun thought with some regret.

"Stop flirting with each other there." Yami Ikuka walked up to the two of them, the sound of her high heels clicking loudly.

"I'm flying out soon, you two want to have some coffee with me?"

So at 4:30 p.m., Jun Matsue was sitting in the coffee shop across from his studio when he received the first bad news of the summer vacation.

"Are you going to Kyoto, senior?"

“Yes.” Yamami Maki nodded. The girl took a sip of her hot latte; she was on her period and couldn’t drink anything cold.

"My parents told me this morning that Grandpa has an old friend in Kyoto. The old man's health is not very good, and he may not be able to make it through the winter."

“If Grandpa goes, Father will definitely go too, and as a junior, Maki will naturally have to go as well,” Yami Ikuka explained with a smile.

"People like me, who are neither the eldest nor the youngest in their family, have just a tiny bit more freedom than them~"

The woman's words carried a hint of sarcasm, as if she were mocking something. Yamami Maki did not react to her sister's words, but simply looked down at the dark ripples in her coffee cup.

Jun Matsue took a sip of his iced latte. His older sister was definitely not the eldest in the family; it was almost certain that his "older brother" was the one.

As for the emotions in the woman's words, he could only guess that Yami Ikuka might have a problem with her father or grandfather. As for the reason, it might be related to the family's centralized system.

Although he and Yamami Maki became closer, neither of them brought up the topic, and Matsueda Jun could only piece together the facts based on the bits and pieces he had glimpsed.

"When do we leave? How long will we stay?"

Compared to the distant reality, Jun Matsueda was more concerned about the problems at hand. He and his senior had originally planned quite a few things for the summer.

Are going to the movies, swimming at the beach, learning to play the drums, and attending the summer festival fireworks display all impossible now?

"The current plan is to depart on the 11th, stay in Kyoto until the Gozan Fireworks Festival ends, and then return."

Yamami Maki held a cup of coffee and leaned gently against Matsueda Jun's shoulder, as if seeking comfort.

The Gozan no Hi (Five Mountains Fire Offering) is a long-standing ceremony in Kyoto, held during the Obon festival, with the intention of warding off disease.

Jun Matsue thought for a moment. He would probably have to stay for about six days, which wasn't a long time, but he would have missed the summer festival there...

"Oh, my car is here." Yami Ikuka got up from her seat and looked at the silver sedan parked by the roadside. The man in the driver's seat took off his sunglasses and waved to her.

"I have to catch my flight. I've already paid for the coffee, so please enjoy it!"

The clatter of high heels passed by Matsueda Jun, then turned back after a few steps.

"I almost forgot, could you give me your contact information, Matsueda-kun?"

After getting the boy's phone number, Ikuka Yamami walked out of the coffee shop. Jun Matsueda watched the silver car drive away, then looked back at the two cups of coffee in front of him.

On the surface of the iced latte, condensed water droplets slid down like teardrops, while the unmoved hot latte remained smooth on the cup.

Jun Matsue sighed inwardly.

I should have ordered a hot latte too.

　The second update will be around 10:30 PM! Although the update time is getting later and later, I feel like I'm still in good shape.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)