Green plums cannot become lovers.

"Then why not cultivate the image you project in their eyes?"

Kita Ikuyo was taken aback for a moment: "Huh?"

“If you run away now, in their eyes you will be a cowardly coward with no sense of responsibility.”

An and Asuka spoke calmly, as if stating an objective fact, "Do you want to carry this identity for the rest of your life?"

"Huh?!" Kita Ikuyo's eyes widened suddenly, and she almost jumped up from the bench. "No way!"

Her reaction was so strong that it startled a flock of sparrows in a nearby tree into flight.

"I...I don't want to be seen as a coward!" She clutched her guitar, her face showing utter devastation. "And I certainly don't want to be seen as an irresponsible person! This is just too awful!"

“Then let’s go back,” An and Asuka said.

Kita Ikuyo opened her mouth, then closed it again.

She looked down at her fingers and remained silent for a few seconds.

"...What if I go back and my playing is still terrible?"

The sound was a little quieter than before, but still clear.

An and Asuka looked at the top of her head, where the bright orange-red color appeared somewhat soft in the setting sun.

"If you practice here now, will you be able to play better in a month?"

“Yes,” Kita Yukari replied matter-of-factly. “Of course I will, it’s not like I’m not going to practice anymore.”

"What's the difference between going back a month later and going back now?"

Kita Ikuyo opened her mouth.

“Anyway, we have to practice,” An and Asuka said. “If you go back a month later, you’ll be a coward and an irresponsible guy for an extra month. You can calculate that yourself.”

Kita Ikuyo fell silent.

She stared at her fingers as if she were working on a difficult math problem.

After a long while, she finally let out a long breath.

"......you're right."

She raised her head, her amber eyes devoid of tears and the vulnerability of someone whose secret had been exposed; instead, they held a frank acceptance of her situation.

“I was indeed running away,” she said, “and I was running away in a pretty ugly way.”

She paused, then suddenly smiled.

"However, Asuka-senpai, you really don't hold back when you speak."

“I’m used to it,” An and Asuka said.

"You'll never find a girlfriend if you do that," Kita Ikuyo said seriously.

An and Asuka glanced at her.

"I have a girlfriend."

"Eh?!" Kita Ikuyo was genuinely shocked this time, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Really?! Who?! Someone in the industry?! Do I know them?!"

"You ask too many questions."

"Ugh... fine." Kita Ikuyo shrank back regretfully, but the gossip fire in her eyes hadn't been completely extinguished.

She took a deep breath and brought her attention back to the main topic.

"Anyway, I've made up my mind." She patted her face. "Once I'm mentally prepared, I'll go back to Hongxia-chan and have a proper talk with her."

"When exactly?" An and Asuka asked.

"Huh? This..."

"tomorrow?"

"That's too fast!"

"the day after tomorrow?"

"I...I need some time..."

An and Asuka looked at her.

Kita Ikuyo grew increasingly guilty under his gaze, and her voice grew softer and softer.

"...Okay, I'll do it as soon as possible," she muttered softly. "At least let me get my C chords down before I go..."

An and Asuka didn't press her any further.

"You decide the time yourself. But don't drag it out too long."

“Yes, I know.” Kita Ikuyo nodded and said earnestly, “Thank you, Asuka-senpai. You really helped me a lot today.”

Her tone was sincere, without the joking around she had just made.

“But…” She suddenly tilted her head, a puzzled look on her face, “Asuka-senpai, how did you know about Nijika-chan and Ryo-senpai?”

An and Asuka paused for a moment.

"You know them, right?" Kita Ikuyo's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Otherwise, you wouldn't know what band I'm talking about, nor would you know that Nijika is the drummer and Ryo-senpai is the bassist. And the way you were talking just now, it sounded like you knew them very well."

She moved closer, like a small animal that had spotted its prey.

"So—how did you get to know them?"

An and Asuka were silent for two seconds.

"Because I'm in your band now."

"...Huh?"

Kita Ikuyo's expression froze.

"Ehhhhhhhh-?!"

This time, the gasps were louder than ever before, almost echoing throughout the entire park.

"What did you say?!" She jumped up from the bench, guitar in hand. "You're in our band?! When did that happen?! How come I didn't know?!"

“It started last week,” An and Asuka replied calmly. “Hongxia asked me to be a temporary guitarist to fill in for someone who had gone missing.”

Kita Ikuyo's movements came to an abrupt halt.

"......ah."

She slowly sat back down on the bench, her expression becoming somewhat subtle.

"So, therefore..."

"Ah."

"You're the one..."

"Ah."

"Someone who came to the rescue at the last minute..."

"Ah."

"Guitarist..."

"Ah."

Kita Ikuyo remained silent.

She lowered her head and stared at the tips of her shoes.

An and Asuka thought she was about to start hating herself again.

But the next second—

"Waaaaah, this is so embarrassing!!"

Kita Ikuyo suddenly hugged her guitar, buried her face in the body of the instrument, and let out a mournful cry.

"I was here giving you a long talk about 'practice hard before going back' and 'be mentally prepared'... and it turns out you were just dragged here to clean up my mess!!"

Her voice came out muffledly from behind the guitar.

"Don't you think I'm a super unreliable guitarist? Are you thinking to yourself, 'This guy ran away and is still acting all high and mighty with me?!'"

An and Asuka looked at her in silence.

"...I didn't think that way."

"really?"

"real."

"So what are you thinking about right now?"

“I’m thinking,” An and Asuka said, “now that you know I’m a temporary guitarist, what are you going to do?”

Kita Ikuyo peeked out from behind the guitar, revealing half of her face.

Her amber eyes carefully observed him.

"...What do you want me to do?"

“This isn’t the problem I wanted,” An and Asuka said. “It’s your band.”

Kita Ikuyo was taken aback.

She slowly lifted her face from the guitar and sat up straight again.

“...It’s my band,” she repeated softly.

The evening breeze blew by, lifting the ends of her ponytail.

She held her guitar and remained silent for a long time.

Then, she took a deep breath.

"I'm going back."

Her voice was soft, yet firm.

"I'll go back tomorrow."

She looked up at An and Asuka, her amber eyes showing no hesitation or retreat.

“This is my band, and I can’t let other people take my place forever.”

She paused.

"Besides... I don't want you to see me as a coward and an irresponsible person."

An and Asuka looked at her.

"...Just because of that?"

"Isn't that reason enough?" Kita Iku's agent said matter-of-factly. "More than enough, okay?"

She stood up with her guitar in her arms, looked down to check the strings, and then put the guitar back on her back.

“I’m going to see Nijika-chan tomorrow,” she said, her tone as if announcing a major decision. “I’ll apologize, explain, and then start over.”

She looked up and gave An and Fei Niao a bright smile.

"Then we'll be official teammates, Asuka-senpai."

That smile shone brightly in the setting sun, without a trace of gloom.

An and Asuka looked at her.

"......Um."

He paused.

"Welcome back to the team."

Kita Ikuyo paused for a moment, then her smile deepened.

She didn't say much, just nodded vigorously, then turned around and walked briskly toward the park exit.

After taking a few steps, she turned back.

"Oh right, Asuka-senpai!"