Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 382 The Birth of Tragedy

The Tokyo Metropolitan Wind Instrument Competition only produces two teams that will participate in the national competition, but the number of gold medal winners is not limited to that.

Those gold medals that cannot advance are called "waste gold".

The air in the corridor was somewhat stuffy. Jun Matsue and Maki Yamami stood outside the preparation room, waiting for the tightly closed door to open.

"What a waste of gold," the girl sighed. "It's such a pity."

She listened carefully to the entire match. To be honest, Haneoka High School's defeat this time was not unjustified. Both Kōrindai School and Hachioji Academy, which advanced to the next round, are consistently strong teams, and their performances were almost perfect.

However, humans are emotional beings, and Yamami Maki felt that everyone at Haneoka High School was equally worthy.

Choosing a freestyle piece that caters more to the judges' preferences might just help them qualify.
The open door interrupted Yamami Maki's thoughts. She turned her head and watched Tomatsu Yuka walk out of the preparation room alone. The girl closed the door, covering the low sobs coming from inside the room.

"How is it?" she asked softly.

Tomatsu Yuka shook her head. "We seniors are alright, but the first-year members are quite disappointed."

"I've already encouraged them, and now it's Tadai who's comforting them. After a short rest, we'll prepare to go back."

"Thank you for your hard work, Yuuka." Yamami Maki looked into her eyes. "Everyone did a great job this time, you don't need to worry too much."

The girl could only smile wryly, "The air inside feels so stuffy, I want to go for a walk."

Jun Matsue picked up the umbrella that was placed to the side, "My senior and I will go with you."

The gloomy rain lessened a bit, but the sound of it hitting the umbrella was still powerful. Jun Matsue looked at the two girls walking beside him. The girls were sharing the same umbrella, and the tips of their once-smooth leather shoes were now covered in wet mud.

As they walked, the boy turned around, and the girls stopped in their tracks, because Tomatsu Yuka's vision was blurred with tears.

"Actually, I'm still a little unwilling," she said with a smile, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.

"Aside from confessing to Matsueda, this should be the biggest failure of my high school career."

Yamami Maki, holding the umbrella, looked somewhat embarrassed. She patted her junior's shoulder, "Tomoka."

"If I had been stricter and increased the practice time, they wouldn't be crying so miserably in the preparation room now."

"Perhaps instead of a saxophone-dominated freestyle piece, a more conservative piece would please the judges more."

"Perhaps if I had cared more about everyone and pointed out the shortcomings earlier, it wouldn't just be scrap metal now."

Tears streamed down the girl's face like raindrops. Yamami Maki was somewhat at a loss and turned her gaze to the boy on the other side.

Jun Matsue walked up to the two of them and handed the girl a tissue from his pocket.

"The result of the match has already been determined, so there's no point in getting hung up on these minor details."

Tomatsu Tomoka wiped away her tears, "Matsueda-kun is right, I understand that too, but I just can't stop feeling disappointed."

Yamami Maki glanced at him again, and the boy sighed, "Think about it from another angle, at least you're free in the new semester, aren't you?"

The girl paused in her act of wiping away tears.

"You don't need to prepare for competitions anymore, and you can go to the band club less often. Whether you want to see your senior or me, you have plenty of time now."

It is indeed strange to use oneself as bait, but Jun Matsue believes it is a very effective method. At least Tomatsu's tears stopped, didn't they?
"It may seem a bit selfish, but it's not a bad idea to think this way." Tomatsu Yuka wiped the last tear from her face.

She stared at the boy in front of her for a while, then suddenly opened her arms and hugged him.

"As expected, no amount of comforting words can compare to the reassuring embrace of Matsueda-san." Although she said this, Matsueda Jun felt a dampness in his chest. He looked at Yamami Maki with a questioning look in his eyes.

Looking at the girl's trembling shoulders, Yamami Maki hesitated for a moment before giving a helpless smile.

"It's better to cry it out." She gently patted her junior's shoulder. "Just release all your emotions."

This desolate rain is Tomatsu Yuka's last memory of summer vacation. Although it is full of regret, it is enough to cover up the heart-wrenching memories of last year.

The ending wasn't perfect, but as Matsueda Jun said, for a selfish girl, even scrap gold wasn't so bad. With the new semester starting, she can now focus on winning over Matsueda-kun again.

Tomatsu Tomoka's naive idea came to an end in the first week of school.

On a Sunday afternoon, the girl walked into the coffee shop opposite the Setagaya Ward Library, and Mochizuki Haruka, who was sitting by the window, waved to her.

"Did you need something?" Tomatsu Yuka pulled out a chair and sat down, her tone not very polite.

"Actually, I should have contacted you sooner." Mochizuki Haruka's smile was sweet, but it gave people a chilling feeling.

"I was thinking it would be more interesting if you found out on your own, but I didn't expect you to still be completely in the dark until the start of the semester."

"What are you saying?" Tomatsu Yuka's tone turned cold, and at the same time, a bad feeling began to grow in her heart.

"I'm talking about Songzhi dating your senior."

"My senior wouldn't do something like that."

Tomatsu Tomoka thought Mochizuki Haruka was suspicious, just as she herself had once suspected Yami Maki. It wasn't until the Tokyo Metropolitan Concert, when she hugged Matsueda Jun in the rain, that the girl temporarily put aside her doubts.

Because she couldn't bear to see other girls embracing their lovers right in front of her.

Mochizuki Haruka didn't say anything, but simply unlocked her phone and placed it in front of the girl.

Tomatsu looked at the photo on the screen. Against a dark background, a boy and a girl kissed in front of a flame torii gate and flowing lanterns, as if in a dream.

This was post-production, she wanted to say, but her inner doubts were growing at an unprecedented rate, even frightening her.

"It's fine if you think I photoshopped it," Mochizuki Haruka said slowly, unusually patient today. "Look out the window, at the library across the street."

Tomatsu Tomoka, like a puppet on a string, looked out the window as the girl spoke. There were many people sitting by the windows of the library building, but she quickly spotted Yamami Maki.

Just like she had locked onto Jun Matsueda's spot on the concert hall stage a few days earlier.

"Is the boy sitting next to Yamami Maki blocked from view? Is he not clearly visible?"

Mochizuki Haruka put away her phone and looked out the window with the girl. Her tone was no longer calm, but carried some dark emotions rising from the bottom of her heart.

"It's okay, it's almost over. Once they come downstairs, you'll see everything clearly."

As they spoke, the two figures by the window disappeared. Mochizuki Haruka withdrew her gaze, and hurried footsteps echoed in the coffee shop.

Tomatsu Tomoka had already run out.

　The title of this chapter comes from Nietzsche's "The Birth of Tragedy".

　　I'm going back to my hometown tomorrow, so I might not be able to update. I'm letting you all know in advance.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)