Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [158]

Dreams fade quickly.

Take that one dream she had a while ago—if she hadn’t called Sakuyo and mentioned hearing those words, “That's right,” Taki figured she wouldn’t even remember that much.

Let alone the rest of the scene. Aside from a vague memory of arguing with Soyo, she could recall nothing at all.

Dreams had neither a clear beginning nor an obvious end.

She had no idea what led to her meeting and arguing with Soyo in that dream, nor when she had woken up.

So, after experiencing how quickly dreams could slip away, Taki had learned her lesson. The moment she woke up this morning, she immediately opened her phone’s memo app and wrote down every scene she could remember.

Now, sitting on the train, she naturally pulled out her phone and reopened that memo, preparing herself to reconstruct the dream—piece by piece—using her notes.

[Scene One: I’m standing outside the recording studio. Tomori is sitting on the couch at the hallway corner. Anon says something to me.]

This must have taken place after Soyo left.

Taki furrowed her brows in thought. If Soyo had really left the band in this nonexistent timeline, then after telling everyone, there would definitely have been a discussion about it.

[The automatic door to the studio opens, and Umiri walks in.]

Umiri… why would she be there?

Actually, now that she thought about it, this was exactly the kind of thing she, Shiina Taki, would do.

After all, there was precedent. Just a few weeks ago, before she even knew what had happened to Soyo, she had already reached out to Umiri for help.

So in this scenario… had she also gone to Umiri because she believed Soyo was gone for good and wouldn’t be coming back?

I’m such an idiot…

[Inside the recording studio, Umiri and I practice a new song together, but Tomori refuses to sing. Eventually, Umiri senses something is wrong and leaves early. Tomori, growing emotional, starts questioning me.]

Of course. Tomori reacting like that was the most natural thing in the world.

The real problem… was her. She was the one messing everything up.

[The argument between Tomori and me escalates. In the heat of the moment, I yell at her. She freezes.]

[Anon seems like she wants to ask something, but after I say something else, she also reacts with visible shock. The argument intensifies. Anon grabs her guitar and suddenly leaves.]

[Before leaving, she says the only words I clearly remember: “...Go and continue with Soyo...”]

“…This must be the key moment.”

Think, Taki. This has to be a warning.

A warning and a second chance.

Somewhere out there, fate had given her a glimpse into what would happen—showing her in advance the foolish choices she would make and the consequences that would follow after Soyo announced her departure from the band.

It was both a warning and a helping hand.

The logic was simple. If she hadn’t had this dream, then she would’ve definitely gathered everyone at RiNG on Saturday, waiting for Soyo to show up.

But in reality?

Soyo clearly hadn’t come.

And the reason was just as clear—because Sakuyo had intervened.

Sakuyo would never allow Soyo to abandon everyone so easily. The two personalities must have clashed that day, and in the end, Soyo—caught between them—ended up ghosting everyone.

But she, the idiot, hadn’t realized that.

She had assumed Soyo had flaked on them out of pure stubbornness, so she dragged everyone together in their already fragile emotional states—only to have Soyo not show up.

And the worst part? Anon and Raana, who had no idea what really happened, must have been utterly confused.

Blinded by frustration, she hadn’t thought it through. She had even forgotten that Soyo was a victim in all of this.

And so, she went to confront her.

Only to be told the truth—that Soyo would never be coming back.

“…If that’s the case, then the final argument in last night’s dream is easy to reconstruct.”

She had probably shouted at Tomori in the heat of the moment, spilling Soyo’s disappointment with them all.

And perhaps… she had even revealed Soyo’s mental illness.

Otherwise, there was no way everyone would have reacted with such shock.

Then, after a brief moment of stunned silence, Anon must have tried to deny it. She would have insisted that the whole "dual personality" thing was a lie. That there was no way Soyo had such an issue.

And what would she have said in response?

"You think Soyo’s a fake? Then what about you, you self-absorbed fraud? Pretending to love the guitar, pretending you formed this band for music—what gives you the right to judge her?!"

It fit perfectly.

Taki couldn’t think of a more plausible answer.

In that situation, with the bias she already held against Anon, she probably would’ve lashed out without thinking.

But the truth was—Anon wasn’t the type to be hurt by words like that.

And more importantly… neither she nor Soyo was actually in the wrong.

So, knowing there was no point in arguing any further, Anon had simply packed up her guitar.

And at the doorway, before leaving, she had turned back and said:

"We’re going to continue the band with Soyo."

That was Anon’s resolve.

And Anon—despite falling behind in practice—was absolutely the kind of person who would say something like that.

If no one stopped her, the true meaning behind those words would have been:

"If you won’t go, then I’ll go find her myself."

“…I can’t let that happen.”

At the very least—she had to keep Soyo’s mental illness a secret.

She couldn’t let it slip out. Not to anyone.

Taki put her phone away, exhaled deeply, and got off at the station closest to RiNG.

Even though she still had to do her regular work today, her attention was entirely focused on the stairs leading from the first floor to the second.

She hoped—desperately—that Soyo would come.

Even if… all she had gotten in reply to her message this morning was a single, brief word: "Okay."

But just because she had replied "Okay," did that really mean she would show up?

Taki didn’t know.

She had always believed that as long as she tried her best, things would never spiral too far out of control.

But that was exactly why these dreams kept happening.

Because if she continued down this path…

If she let Soyo, who already knew her secret, hear her casually say something she never should have said, then even if Soyo had wanted to come back…

That desire would be completely erased.

“…M-Mutsumi?!”

She hadn’t been waiting long.

Taki had even calculated the fastest possible time it would take for Tsukinomori students to arrive after school.

But the person who arrived first wasn’t Soyo.

It was someone she hadn’t directly interacted with in a long time—Wakaba Mutsumi.

“Taki.”

Mutsumi looked completely lost.

To her, there was no way Soyo was as "normal" as she seemed.

A normal person… wouldn’t do that to their own mother.

And Soyo—she especially wouldn’t.

She had no one to turn to.

Among all the people she and Soyo shared any connection with, there was only one person—one person who might be able to help.

And that was Taki.

“Mutsumi… why are you…”

“Soyo—she… I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“…Huh?”

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This is a fan translation of 素世同学，恭喜你被我优化了 by 杰克喵. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!