Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

"Hahaha, let's not think too far ahead for now. Let's just happily work hard together in the coming year."

Ijichi Hongxia stood up and said with a bright smile.

After accepting this result, Iruma Hibiki also had no objections after seeing that Ijichi Kouka had no objections to it.

only--

One year.

In fact, this time was much shorter than Iruma Hibiki had imagined.

After Chihaya Aine leaves, will they need to find another guitarist to continue the performance?

Thinking of this, Iruma Hibiki felt a little more relaxed, and he immediately came out of his previous misunderstanding.

The only thing that bothered him now was that the person who seemed to have some obsession with forming a band for life was his current girlfriend, Nagasaki Motoyo.

"Sorry, I came to play."

"No, Nagasaki-san, you're just in time."

"Good afternoon, Nagasaki-san, I'm Chihaya Aine."

Ijichi Nikka and Chihaya Aion were sitting on one side, and the only seat left was next to Iruma Hibiki. After smiling slightly, Nagasaki Motoyo sat next to Iruma Hibiki. The distance between the two was very close, closer than that between Ijichi Nikka and Chihaya Aion.

Of course, Chihaya Aine also noticed this detail.

In fact, she had already seen the official announcement of Iruma Hibiki and Nagasaki Motoyo on social media platforms.

Although it was rather cryptic, it was just a one-sentence reply.

But the truth of the matter has been confirmed.

"What were you talking about just now?"

"The action for this afternoon has been roughly confirmed."

Iruma Hibiki recounted the afternoon's itinerary and plans, while Nagasaki Suyo listened attentively, her fingers loosely crossed and placed between her thighs, looking cute and elegant.

Today, Nagasaki Suyo did not have her habitual little movements, and her voice was not as sweet as before, but was closer to her real voice.

Because the distance was too close, even though Iruma Hibiki had repeated the following to himself many times in his heart, this was a formal occasion and there were important things to do.

But this distance still distracted him a little.

While Iruma Hibiki looked uneasy, Nagasaki Soyo showed a sincere smile that was rarely seen on her face, especially when she mentioned that everyone should go take pictures together.

In fact, Nagasaki Suyo has forgotten when was the last time she took a photo with her family.

Maybe it was 5 years ago, or maybe it was 10 years ago.

Or maybe even longer.

Or maybe never since she could remember.

Most of the updates on her photo wall are just her daily solo life, with occasional friends from the wind band joining her.

This time, for Nagasaki Suyo, it was a rare opportunity to take a photo with her "family".

Therefore, even if the plan only involves visiting the park in Shimokitazawa, it is a precious opportunity that cannot be missed for her.

There was a glint of anticipation in Nagasaki Suyo's eyes, and her expression became increasingly gentle.

Feeling all this, Iruma Hibiki temporarily forgot about the topic of the band's disbanding that Chihaya Aine had just talked about. In fact, for him, it was too early and too heavy to think about the topic of the folk band's disbanding.

Therefore, he did not mention this part in his retelling to Nagasaki Motoyo.

"Like Iruma-san said, I'll be grateful for your guidance from now on, Nagasaki-san."

"That's my side, Chihaya-san."

Nagasaki Motoyo acted like a typical young lady when facing Chihaya Aine.

The voice also became familiar to Hibiki Iruma for a while.

"Come to think of it, Chihaya-san is the lead guitarist, right?"

"Yes."

"It would be nice if I could practice coordination with you earlier in rehearsal, Chihaya-san."

"Ha ha……"

For Chihaya Aine, the invitation from Nagasaki Motoyo at this moment was a decisive blow.

Yes, her confidence and pride were actually based on the fact that her actual level had not been exposed, but——

Yes, Chihaya Aine had no intention of lying about this.

She planned to say something energetic like, "She's actually a newcomer too, so let's all work hard together."

"It's really reassuring to have Chihaya-san as our captain. Everything is solved at once."

Ijichi Hongxia suddenly sighed.

"Yes, that's right. Chihaya-san is very reliable and kind."

And Iruma Hibiki quickly agreed with Ijichi Kouka's words.

……

As for Chihaya Aine.

At this point, I couldn't bring myself to say that I was a newbie who knew nothing.

Are there any 10-minute crash courses in guitar and singing?

At this moment, Chihaya Aine suddenly thought in her heart in a panic.

45 Taking pictures

The so-called parks in Shimokitazawa are actually very different from those in Kasai. At least in Iruma Hibiki's memory, whether it is the parks near his home or the ones he has visited, the parks in Kasai, especially Minami Kasai, are larger and quieter than those in Shimokitazawa. This may be because Kasai District is right by the sea, so it has unique natural scenery.

If Kasai Ward is a city surrounded by the sea and parks, then Shimokitazawa is the opposite.

The park that Ijichi Hongxia mentioned for taking photos is actually a place on the street corner near Shimokitazawa Station. It has a total area of only about a dozen square meters and has simple children's entertainment projects.

Perhaps because it was Saturday, there were quite a few people in the park at this moment.

Children were playing and women who looked like new mothers were chatting nearby.

They took some time to get here, and it seemed as if they shouldn't be here in the first place, seeming somewhat out of tune with the surrounding atmosphere.

“This wall is nice, isn’t it?”

The wall that Yi Chizhi Hongxia mentioned was the mural on the facade of a building near the park.

Such paintings are actually not uncommon in my memory, but when I really want to find them, I can never find them anywhere.

At least when Hibiki Iruma saw it, he couldn't help but think of his own miserable junior high and elementary school life—

Well, maybe to some extent, his junior high school life was certainly not bad.

"Have you thought about what poses you want to use for the photo?"

Ijichi Hongxia walked to the classic herringbone-shaped cement pipe placed in the park, then leaned gently on the cement pipe and asked other people.

"How about referring to the group photo of our seniors?"

Chihaya Aine quickly made up her mind, opened the blog and started looking for her senior's homework.

In fact, Iruma Hibiki was a little absent-minded about taking pictures.

Just like he said before.

In fact, he was not very photogenic. Therefore, he had no habit of taking photos or studying photography. Whether it was a family trip, a rare hike alone, or even a school trip, he had never taken the initiative to take photos.

Unlike other people of his age who may have a whole album of photos of memories, the only photos Hibiki Iruma has are probably his ID photos and graduation photos.

So he was actually not interested in taking photos with the band.

However, the lack of interest in taking photos does not mean that Iruma Hibiki is not enjoying the atmosphere at the moment——

It was as if all his previous worries were just castles in the air. At least at this moment, the atmosphere between the four of them was very good. Ijichi Kouka was obviously excited and was discussing the posture with Chihaya Aine.

Nagasaki Suyo watched the two of them gently from the side, occasionally giving some of her own opinions.

Then, occasionally, like on the way here, Nagasaki Suyo would cast her eyes on Iruma Hibiki.

Every time this happened, Hibiki Iruma would feel strangely uncomfortable.

Or perhaps it could be said that the loneliness he experienced during his junior high school years made him somewhat unsure of how to face other people's gazes.

Of course, Nagasaki Suyo's gaze actually made Iruma Hibiki feel some different emotions.

His discomfort may be more about feeling lost and shy about relationships.

But even he himself is unwilling to admit it.

"How about the jumping action?"

Finally, it seems, this idea has become mainstream.

After a brief discussion, the votes came down to two.

"What do you think, Iruma-san?"

Nagasaki Motoyo gave the final decision to Iruma Hibiki and just stood quietly beside him.

The two of them are always very close.

It was so close that Iruma Hibiki could smell the faint fragrance of Nagasaki Suyo.

Of course, it is not a perfume, but a scent similar to that of citrus plants. Perhaps because this scent is very common and is always easy to be artificially synthesized into fragrance, most bath agents, shampoos, and shower gels choose to use this scent.

The fragrance on Nagasaki Suyo's body probably comes from the ones she used last night. It's very natural and smells good.

"Yeah, sure. I don't know much about photos, so just let everyone make the decision. I'll cooperate."

The reference photo of Ijichi Hongka also came from a blog updated by a popular band.

Hibiki Iruma didn't see the band's name, he only saw a few singers who looked a bit old in the photo.

They lined up and jumped in front of a red wall, the flash perfectly capturing the moment they took off.

Weiwei memorized the posture of one of the people, and Iruma Hibiki roughly thought out the movements he would use when jumping.

"Then I'll set a timer. When you hear me count down to 321, everyone jump! Use the action instead of 'eggplant'—"

Ijichi Hongka dragged out the notes in a lovely way.

Then I found a perfect shooting position and stood there.

"Iruma-san, please move closer. Chihaya-san, too. Could you please move closer to Nagasaki-san?"

"Eh?"

Under the command of Ijichi Kouka, Chihaya Aine glanced at Nagasaki Suyo beside her.

The positions of the three people at this moment were roughly as follows: Nagasaki Soyo was standing in the middle, and Iruma Hibiki was on the left of Nagasaki Soyo. Then the position on the right was left empty for Ijichi Kouka, and Chihaya Aine was standing on the outermost position on the left.

She was a little far away at the moment.

"Iruma-san."

"Ok?"

While Chihaya Aine was adjusting her position, Nagasaki Suyo suddenly called Hibiki Iruma's name in his ear.

"When we take the photo later, do you want to hold hands and see?"

Nagasaki Suyo's voice was very soft, and Chihaya Aine, who was a little far away, could not hear it at all.

Iruma Hibiki opened his mouth, but then did not refuse.

"okay."

He agreed.

After all, this is not the first time the two of them have held hands, so there is nothing to be shy about. It’s just that when they start jumping, they don’t know how they will dance if they hold the other person’s hand.

Iruma Hibiki had a hint of distress in his heart, and used strange worries to cover up the surging emotions in his heart.

Afterwards, Ijichi Hongxia's preparations were faster than expected.

Almost at the moment when Iruma Hibiki felt the ground—

He felt a hint of warmth being put into the palm of his hand. After initially shrinking back subconsciously, Iruma Hibiki stood still and then responded to Nagasaki Suyo's feelings. He held Nagasaki Suyo's hand, carefully not using too much strength.