I (Mai) was in the same class as Ken.

We were considered friends, although we weren't too close.

His desk was in the front, not far from mine, so I could always hear him talking to some of our classmates.

He didn't have many friends, and he wasn't considered popular in class, but he wasn't an outcast either.

"Do you have a phone charger?" Ken asked his only best friend in class, who was sitting next to him.

"A phone charger?"

"My battery's dead."

"You think I bring a charger to school? And why didn't you charge your phone in the first place?"

I didn't get to hear the rest of the conversation because I got a call.

It was Jina.

"Hi," I said a little quietly, getting up from my desk and moving to the back of the classroom, away from the noise.

"Hi!" came her energetic voice from the phone. "How are you doing?"

"Fine..."

"Your voice sounds tired... Did you get enough sleep?"

"Oh yeah... I slept well, don't worry. I'm just worried that we won't be able to find the costume. But hearing your voice lifted my spirits, hehe."

"Awww... should I come and hug you?" Jina asked softly.

"Hahaha, you idiot, shut up..."

She could always lift my mood with a single sentence.

"Don't worry so much, okay? I already talked to Akito. I just need to talk to Jiro. Worrying too much won't help. I'll try to find the culprit, I promise..."

"Okaaaay, hehehe..., and... thank you... I really appreciate you. I don't know what I'd do without you," I said with a warm smile.

"Hahaha, be thankful you have a friend like me! If I manage to find the culprit, you owe me lunch at the cafe, okay?"

"Sure! I'll buy you whatever you want!"

"Okay... bye then, I'll call you after I talk to Jiro."

"Are you going to talk to him now?" I asked. "Classes are about to start... Although there's still some time..."

"Nah, I'll go after class."

"Okay... bye then... Don't forget to call me right away."

"Okay, okay, bye."

"Wait!"

"What now?"

"I love you, you know that?"

I didn't know how else to express how grateful I was to her...

"Ugh... And you know damn well I hate cringe moments like that! Are you doing it on purpose, huh??"

"Hahaha," I laughed.

"I knew it! Please stop! We're not in a drama movie! Okay, bye!"

"Hehehehe, okay, bye," I said giggling.

There was a brief pause.

"...love you too..." I heard her quiet, awkward whisper before she ended the call.

Hahaha, that's so in her character!

As I walked back to my seat, smiling, the door to the classroom suddenly opened.

I turned around, expecting to see the teacher, but instead I saw Rina and Miyu entering the classroom.

Why are they here?

They visited our classroom sometimes, but never at this time.

Approaching me, Rina greeted me first, even though Ken was closer.

"Hi..."

"Hi," I replied.

"Hi Mai! Hi Ken!" Miyu greeted us.

"Hi," I replied.

"Hi..." Ken replied as well.

He was completely calm, you could even say a little emotionless.

To be honest, I was always amazed at how he could express so much emotion while acting when he was usually so reserved. I was especially amazed at how quickly he was able to improve his skills in romantic scenes, which he hadn't been very good at before.

"Hey you, follow me," came Rina's commanding voice.

While I was thinking about it, Rina was already standing in front of Ken with her arms crossed and a commanding look on her face.

It was rare for her to approach Ken like that, and she usually only did so when she wanted to discuss club related matters.

Like Ken, she was a good actress, and like Ken, she seemed cold on the outside, but could show so much emotion and expression in her acting. Especially in the romantic scenes.

"Follow you?" Ken interjected, a little confused.

"Yes," Rina said.

With a calm expression on his face, Ken got up and followed her out of the classroom.

As they disappeared behind the classroom door, down the hall, I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Ken, knowing that Rina must have come to argue with him.

But then again, Ken was the only one who could "handle" her.

Although Rina was always polite to me, unlike Ken, I was a little afraid of her cold nature. But I had an inexplicable feeling that Ken and Rina's relationship was equal. He wasn't afraid of her.

While I was thinking about it, Miyu suddenly asked, "Can we step back for a second?"

Looking up at her and saying, "Sure..." I got up from my seat and walked with her to the back of the classroom.

"Any new information on the costume?" she asked.

"No, but Jina called me and said she'd talk to Jiro."

"I see... Did she say anything about the storage room?"

"The storage room?"

"Remember? I gave her the key yesterday."

"Oh no... She didn't mention anything."

"I see..."

Miyu and I both looked towards the classroom door, and even though Rina and Ken couldn't be seen behind it, it was as if we could both imagine that they were arguing about something right now.

"What are they talking about?" I asked.

"Rina said she had something to tell him about the movie."

"I see..."

"And we're going to the storage room afterwards, she said she had to check on something."

There was a short pause.

"Have they always been like this?" Miyu asked suddenly.

"Hmm? You mean Rina and Ken?"

"Yeah, I mean what were they like before?"

"They never seemed close. Most of the time, they just ignored each other."

"I wonder why they're like that..." she said.

"Didn't Rina tell you anything? Why she doesn't like him?"

"Not really, she doesn't like to talk about him."

"What about you two? Do you ever fight?"

"Hahaha, no, she adores me, we've always been close, and she's as overprotective as ever."

"I see," I said.

"Is that why you haven't confessed to him yet? Because Rina doesn't like him?" I asked after a short pause.

"No, not really. Even if Rina doesn't like him, that doesn't mean she can stop us from going out. The reason I haven't confessed is simply because I'm afraid he'll reject me."

"You think he'll reject you?" I asked.

"Yeah. I don't think he's interested in me yet. But I plan to make him fall in love with me. Now is a good chance. Especially since we're playing a couple in love. I already have a plan," she said with a mischievous smile.

"A plan, huh?"

"Yeah... hehehe, I'm going to kiss him during the dance scene."

I was a little surprised.

"Wait, but Ken said that scene was unnecessary and we all agreed to remove it."

"Well, I'll just pretend I forgot, lol."

I looked at her and she was completely relaxed, as if she hadn't just revealed this secret plan to the club president.

Isn't she afraid that I will interfere with her plans? Although... She probably knew that I wouldn't tell anyone...

I happened to know many of my friends' and club members' secrets. It was easy for people to trust me with them because I never revealed them. What they didn't know was that I didn't reveal those secrets not because I knew how to keep them, but because I was afraid of creating drama among the club members.

Still, I had to stop her.

While I was thinking about it, Miyu exclaimed, "Ok, I'll talk to you later!"

She then rushed to the exit of the classroom where Rina was waiting for her.

"Bye..." I said a little quietly.

"Bye!" she shouted to Ken, who was returning to his seat.

"Bye," he replied.

As Ken returned to his seat, I returned to mine.

"She's a pain in the ass, isn't she?" said one of the students sitting near Ken, "Is she bothering you again? Why don't you tell her to leave you alone?"

He was obviously talking about Rina.

"Why do you care?" Ken replied calmly.

Even though Rina and Ken didn't get along, they never talked bad about each other behind each other's backs.

"Hey, don't be so rude. I'm sticking up for you."

"Ah, I don't think you need to stick up for him," said the other guy.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I wish a girl would look at me the way Rina looks at Ken."

"She looks at me like I'm an insect," Ken said, looking in his direction with a confused expression.

"That's the point!"

"..."

"Keep your fantasies to yourself," Ken said after a pause.

"Yeah, I agree, you're such a freak," said one of the girls who was also sitting close to them.

At that moment, my phone rang again.

This time, it was Miyu calling me.

Why is she calling me? She was just here... Did she forget to tell me something?

As soon as I answered the call, her energetic voice hit my ear, "The costume is here! It's back!"

I didn't immediately realize what she had said, and all that came out of my mouth was an incomprehensible, "Huh... What?"

"The costume is back in its place!" she said, "I just opened the storage room with Rina and the costume is there!"

"Y-you're not kidding?"

"Of course not! You can come and see for yourself!"

I really didn't know what to say...

On the one hand, I was incredibly happy to have the costume back, but on the other hand, I didn't really understand what was going on... I didn't understand who was behind it...

Was it a prank? Or did Jina do something? Maybe it's because she talked to a member of the club and the culprit decided to return the costume? Maybe it was really Akito who returned the costume? But she just talked to him, he couldn't have returned it so quickly.

Just who was it?! Who was the culprit?!

I really... I really need to call Jina.