Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [150]

"What a tiny recording studio. Is this really where you guys usually practice?"

Following the address Subaru had sent her, Tsuzuki Chihiro took a taxi straight there without wasting any time.

As for the fare? She planned to get Awa Subaru to reimburse her later—after all, they were the ones who interrupted her sleep. They had to take responsibility for that.

"Chihiro, you’re here…"

"Huh? Why is Chihiro here?" Unlike Subaru, who already knew she was coming, Nina and Momoka were both surprised.

But recalling how Subaru had stormed off after filming, making that heated phone call behind their backs, Nina quickly put the pieces together.

"This is cheating! Calling Chihiro to back you up!"

"Like you have any right to say that?!" Subaru clenched her drumsticks, feeling like the drum set in front of her was a stand-in for this infuriating brat—one she wanted to smash to pieces.

But as much as she wanted to, she wasn’t actually going to destroy it.

"So what exactly happened?"

"……"

"Let me explain." Subaru frowned but ultimately took the lead in recounting what had happened that afternoon.

This week, she had been scheduled to play a minor role in her grandmother’s production. Since the character wasn’t a recurring one, her screen time wasn’t extensive.

She had joined the set on Monday, mostly filming scenes with Mori Minami. The rest of her scenes had been with her grandmother, Awa Tendo.

Wednesday—today—was the day she was supposed to wrap up filming. It was also the day she had originally planned to come clean to her grandmother—to tell her that deep down, she didn’t actually want to continue acting.

She had built up all this courage, finally making the choice between her beloved band and the acting career her grandmother envisioned for her. She had walked up to her, ready to lay it all out—

And then someone had ruined everything.

"It was them! These two totally unreasonable people!"

"And wasn’t it you, Nina, who said I should stop lying and just be honest? Chihiro was there too—she heard it!"

"Was I?" Tsuzuki Chihiro rubbed her temples. Lately, there had been so much going on that she could only keep track of things related to Soyu. When it came to Subaru… honestly, she couldn’t really remember.

"Chihiro! Whose side are you on?!"

"Uh… yeah, I remember. Mm-hmm."

"That was what I said," Nina admitted, holding onto the microphone as if sheer volume could win her the argument.

"Then how can you act so self-righteous?! I—I’ve never met someone as infuriating as you! Chihiro, elbow her to death for me!"

"……"

"Do you even realize how hard it was for me to gather that courage? The words were right there—just a little more, and I could’ve said them!"

"Well… everyone has their own circumstances."

"Huh?!"

Turning away as if she were some kind of philosopher, Nina crossed her arms. "Some things just can’t be explained in a few words. You need to be careful with matters like this."

"If you just blurt it out, the situation could become even more complicated."

"And who do you think is responsible for making things so complicated in the first place?!"

"Um, can I say something?"

Momoka, who had been staying out of the argument, finally spoke up. She felt like she couldn’t just stand by and let these two idiots cause a scene in front of Chihiro.

"Actually…"

She paused for a moment, as if reconsidering her words.

Then, unexpectedly, she said something even she hadn’t seen coming:

"Actually, compared to forming a band with us, acting is the safer path for you, Subaru."

"……"

The safer path?

Because of her grandmother’s influence, was it an easy, privileged road that others could only dream of?

Momoka hadn’t explicitly said that, and Subaru hadn’t voiced her thoughts aloud.

But to Subaru… it felt like everyone believed that was the only real path for her.

She was reminded of a certain classmate at the Tokyo Metropolitan Academy of Arts.

A girl who often clung to her, acting overly familiar, yet always made Subaru feel uncomfortable.

That girl—Amaterasu Wakame—constantly tried to associate herself with Subaru’s grandmother. That look of envy she always gave Subaru made her skin crawl.

Everyone… even the "friends" she had at school, all saw her that way.

And now, even Momoka was saying the same thing.

"Ugh… I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I CAN’T!"

Storming away from Nina, Subaru dropped onto her drum throne, head lowered as she muttered under her breath.

"You guys were the ones who told me not to give up on the band, and I believed you."

"But then, when I was finally about to say it, you changed your mind."

"I can’t stand you and your self-righteous nonsense."

"I can’t stand people who act like they have me all figured out and start making decisions for me."

"And I especially can’t stand—"

"Ahem, I haven’t even said anything yet." Tsuzuki Chihiro coughed twice, as if trying to dodge the existential crisis that was Subaru’s wrath.

"Then say something already!"

Subaru slammed the cymbals in frustration. "Why is it that my future is something I can’t decide for myself?!"

"Subaru…"

"……"

Tsuzuki Chihiro watched this girl—someone who, through an odd twist of fate, had become her friend.

With a smile, she stepped forward and gently held Subaru’s hand, stopping her from striking the drums again.

"Alright, alright. Let’s not scare them too much. Keep going like this, and they might actually start believing your little act."

"I—"

Before Subaru could frown and argue, Chihiro continued.

"Honestly… Awa-san probably already knows that you don’t want to act."

"What?"

"I don’t remember if I’ve told you this before—but let’s just pretend I haven’t." Chihiro looked at the confused girl in front of her and spoke gently.

"The reason I started playing guitar and forming bands… was because of my grandmother."

"When I was little, she patiently taught me and my sister how to press chords, how to coordinate both hands, how to read sheet music…"

"Back then, I thought it was because neither of her own children had followed in her footsteps, so she was pouring all of that into me and Raana."

"That’s just like my grandmother…"

"But in reality, even when I decided to drop out of school, even when I didn’t want to perform in a band anymore…"

"She never said anything."

"She just smiled and cared about whether I was doing okay, whether I was happy."

"That’s the difference between grandparents and parents. There’s nothing complicated between them and their grandchildren. They just… give. Endlessly."

Why were grandchildren often doted on more than their parents had been?

It wasn’t simply because of the generational gap.

It was because grandparents had already spent half their lives pouring all their hopes and expectations into their own children.

Whether those expectations had been fulfilled or not, by the time they reached old age, they were no longer as deeply attached to them.

And that was why, with no reservations left, they simply wanted their grandchildren to be happy.

Of course, nothing in life was absolute.

But in Chihiro’s opinion, both her grandmother and Subaru’s grandmother were people like that.

Because the warmth in their eyes when they looked at their granddaughters…

That wasn’t something you could fake.

"Subaru, you already knew that, didn’t you? You just wanted to scare Nina a little for being such a pain."

"Ah… yeah! I really nailed that performance, huh~"

"By the way."

As Subaru grinned, Chihiro nudged her elbow and whispered,

"Make sure to reimburse my cab fare later."

"Oh, and—since I gave you a way out of this mess? That’ll cost extra."

"……"

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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!