Chapter 22 Can the affair with the Muse be called having two relationships at once...?
Happy weekends always seem so short, and before you know it, it's time to go back to school.
On Monday afternoon, the afternoon sun shone through the windows, casting warm dappled light on the wooden floor.
Nekono Ikuya arrived at the performance club's activity room a few moments earlier than the agreed time.
It wasn't club activity time, and as expected, the activity room was empty, though it was still filled with the lingering warmth of everyone's presence.
The items in the activity room were arranged somewhat haphazardly, with several chairs pushed out of their original positions. An empty space lay in the center of the room, with a few minor scratches on the floor, marks of daily practice.
Not all the various exaggerated or bizarre props were put back in the prop cabinet; some were scattered around.
A magnificent top hat adorned with feathers was casually placed on a green plant, as if a crown had been secretly placed on it; several medieval-style longswords and shields leaned against the wall, with a thoughtful note indicating "handle with care"; a scarlet velvet cloak slid off the back of a chair, dragging halfway on the ground.
...
Nekono Ikuya picked up the toy gun for performances from the windowsill, played with it for a while, then threw it into the prop box in the corner and went into the discussion room.
The whiteboard hanging on the discussion room wall was densely covered with storyboards and character sketches, the handwriting messy yet full of dynamic tension. Several arrows pointed roughly to different characters, and annotations and requests filled the remaining gaps, leaving almost no blank space on the whiteboard.
The long table below was no exception, completely covered by layers upon layers of thick manuscript paper, covered with large swaths of wildly written corrections. A few crumpled pieces of discarded manuscript paper were strewn about the corners of the table, nearly rolling to the floor. It was almost an image of the person sitting there scratching their head in frustration.
Nekono Ikuya didn't approach the long table or touch the papers on it. Instead, she sat on a very comfortable sofa on the other side of the room, basking in the sun while idly watching the light spots dancing on the coffee table. She began to openly stare blankly at the light spots, which is commonly known as—daydreaming.
Yes, warm sunshine always makes people unconsciously lazy, right?
However, Nekono Ikuya didn't enjoy the sun's gentle kiss for long, because the door to the activity room was soon opened with a loud "bang," a sound that Nekono Ikuya could hear even in the inner discussion room.
Nekono Ikuya subconsciously looked up.
The door to the discussion room was still ajar, but he already knew who was coming.
Because—"Nekono-kun!"
Before the person even arrived, their voice preceded their arrival. The person had only pushed open the door to the activity room and hadn't even stepped inside when they loudly called out Nekono Ikuya's name, their booming voice instantly echoing throughout the room.
With such a deep voice and such an enthusiastic attitude, who else could it be? Of course, it could only be the president of the performance club who once frightened Rei Furuya.
"President, I'm here."
Nekono Ikuya drawled out the sound, responding slowly in a lazy tone.
He did not get up.
The president didn't care whether Nekono Ikuya got up to greet him or not. He peeked out from behind the sound and walked straight toward the direction of the discussion room.
As he walked, he chuckled and joked, "Wow, it's like the sun has risen in the west! Nekono arrived even earlier than me today."
In the past, whenever they arranged to meet, it was always the president who arrived early; Nekono Ikuya always liked to arrive on time.
Nekono Ikuya just smiled lazily, without responding to the president's obviously teasing remark.
He wasn't surprised by the other person's behavior of calling out to others without knowing if he was present; that was always the president's personality, and Nekono Ikuya was used to it.
As for why the president was wondering why Nekono Ikuya didn't arrive on time as usual today, it's because not only did the president have something to discuss with Nekono Ikuya today, but Nekono Ikuya also had something to discuss with the president.
However, before that, Ikuya Nekono wanted the president to speak first.
Upon entering the inner discussion room, the president couldn't even wait to look up at Nekono Ikuya before eagerly pushing aside the messy pile of manuscripts on the long table and skillfully sorting out a stack of papers that no one else could tell the difference from.
We now know who that person was who once hunched over this long table, racking their brains and suffering terribly, discarding a large number of drafts, and perhaps even scratching their head for a long time over a single word.
After taking the stack of papers he wanted, the president strode over to Nekono Ikuya, completely ignoring the sofa next to the coffee table. He then casually picked up a chair he happened to be on the street, placed it next to Nekono Ikuya, and sat down.
He reached out and handed the manuscript to Nekono Ikuya, then folded his arms over the back of the chair, his eyes shining.
"What do you think of this version of the script?"
Nekono Ikuya casually took the script handed to her by the company president, quickly flipped through a couple of pages, and glanced at the main cast and plot before raising an eyebrow in confusion:
"Huh? Didn't the president say he wanted to write a script with me and Furuya as co-stars? How come this version of the script..." He flipped through two more pages, "...still has two leads, a male and a female?"
Upon hearing Nekono Ikuya's question, the president's smile immediately vanished, and his arm slumped dejectedly from the back of the chair. He looked like a deflated balloon that had been ruthlessly punctured, instantly wiping away his spirit.
He said with a long face, "I want to too, but as for Furuya-kun... I went to invite Furuya-kun again today, but he still said he needed to think about it and didn't agree to join our acting club."
"Otherwise, wouldn't it be great if the two of you could team up? Your entrance would definitely ignite the entire audience!"
As he spoke, his tone became excited, as if his mind had automatically conjured up the dazzling scene on stage when Nekono Ikuya and Furuya Rei performed and the audience's intense reactions.
Then his fantasy shattered like a bubble, and the cold reality pierced him mercilessly. He immediately realized that all of the above was wishful thinking, and he felt even more regretful.
His eyes instantly lost their light: "What a pity..."
Unfortunately, they got stuck at the very first step; Furuya-kun didn't agree!
"I see... then there's nothing we can do about it." Nekono Ikuya said with equal regret.
Furuya must have his own reasons for not joining the acting club. Although it's a pity that I can't partner with Furuya, Ikuya Nekono can't force him.
but--
“So,” Nekono Ikuya drawled, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"After saying all that, President, you still really want Furuya to play the lead role, right?"
Nekono Ikuya pointed to the male lead's description in the script: a cool, dark-skinned, blond-haired, and unapproachable character.
It's clearly a one-to-one replica of Furuya's image, there's no attempt to hide it.
He deliberately sighed, as if he had suffered a great injustice: "Because the real person can't come, so they can only ask me to be a 'high-quality imitation'? It's really not easy being this 'stand-in'... And someone used to always say I was their muse! Alas, in the end, they were wronged~"
While huddled in the corner of the sofa drawing circles, Nekono Yuuya deliberately stole glances at the president, making the president feel inexplicably uneasy and break out in a cold sweat.
The president felt a pang of guilt. Oh dear, this only means that he has an extra muse. Can having a muse be called having two lives at once?
How can one control inspiration? Inspiration is always capricious; it never gives anyone a heads-up or any warning before it arrives.
Inspiration can come suddenly!
The president scratched his head sheepishly and chuckled twice: "Don't say that, Nekono!"
He then called out to the more familiar cat, Ye.
He said hesitantly, "This inspiration really did come from you."
oh?
Nekono Ikuya looked at the president of the performing arts club with interest. Was it because of him?
He couldn't see any connection between the blond, dark-skinned, cool, and unapproachable persona and himself.
Nekono Ikuya adjusted her sitting posture, adopting a relaxed stance with her arms crossed over her chest.
You're making this up? I'd like to see how you make it up.
Under Nekono Ikuya's intrigued gaze, the president's expression changed instantly. He suddenly raised his hand and slammed it on the coffee table. With a loud "bang," the coffee table shook violently, and Nekono Ikuya was also taken aback.
The president's tone became excited, and he gestured vigorously with his hands, as if words alone could not fully express his feelings:
"That day, I mistook Furuya for you. Nekono-kun, it's hard for me to put into words the shock I felt at that moment!"
He was speaking incoherently, his eyes were frighteningly bright, and he was almost gesturing wildly as he spoke:
"Do you understand? That unique image of blonde hair, dark skin, cool and mysterious, unapproachable yet irresistibly inviting, colliding with the concept of 'Nekono Yuuya' that I had in my mind in that instant... the impact it created was just too special!!!"
"At that moment, my mind was like Mount Fuji suddenly awakening; countless inspirations erupted like magma, utterly uncontrollable. Nekono-kun..."
"...Uh, Nekono-kun? What's this?"
He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and he wanted to say more, but when he turned his head, he found that Nekono Yuuya had shrunk to the farthest corner of the sofa, the place furthest away from him, and her expression had become indescribable, just silently watching him.
Nekono Ikuya: Stare—
"..." So for some reason, he couldn't continue speaking.
Nekono Ikuya remained in that position, and upon hearing this, slowly said, "It's nothing."
It's okay, it's okay, it's okay!
I just suddenly felt that the president's excited state looked a bit abnormal.
It's really okay!
Also, please don't use the eruption of Mount Fuji as an example for every situation, thank you so much!
...You bastard, apologize to the people of the whole country!
But it's actually quite a vivid description; Nekono Ikuya instantly understood the president's feelings.
“Ahem,” Nekono Ikuya straightened up, regaining her composure, “President, please continue.”
He nodded solemnly to the president, letting him continue, as if nothing had happened before.
"Uh," the interruption caused the president's emotions to become disjointed. His emotions gradually cooled, and his voice naturally became softer.
"Anyway," he scratched his head again, embarrassed, "although Furuya's appearance gave me the most direct impact, I wouldn't have had such a burst of inspiration if I hadn't mistaken him for Nekono."
"So, to be precise, both Nekono-san and Furuya-san contributed to the inspiration," the president emphasized with an artist's stubbornness. "They are both indispensable!"
Nekono Ikuya raised an eyebrow: "Oh? So you mean I also contributed to the male lead's inspiration?"
"Mmm." That's it! The president nodded, so he should have passed the test now, right?
"That actually makes sense?" Nekono Ikumi tilted her head, somewhat surprised. "Impressive, impressive."
Then I'll let you off the hook for that.
But did you think you'd gotten away with it just like that? Nekono Ikuya looked at the relieved president, a barely perceptible smile flashing in her eyes.
Ha, this company president is so naive!
He pretended to think as he flipped through the script in his hand, then suddenly looked up at the president with a half-smile, and slowly waved the script at him.
The president's relaxed expression froze instantly, and he immediately sensed something was wrong.
His heart skipped a beat.
What happened now? Could there be another expert?
Nekono Ikuya deliberately remained silent for a moment to savor the president's anxious expression, before deliberately drawing out her words and speaking to the president again in a teasing tone:
“I see. I thought…” Nekono Yuuya paused, her expression seemingly calm but actually containing a subtle smile: “Heh, I thought I was the only one who inspired the female lead!”
"!!!" The president's pupils widened suddenly.
Ah, he gradually became drenched in sweat.
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