Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 375

"Be a little more vigilant," Jun Matsue said, swatting away her outstretched hand. "I don't want to be on the entertainment front page with you in a couple of days."

"I know~"

The teenage idol, on vacation, stuck out her tongue, took a big gulp of wine, and let out a sigh that sounded very much like a middle-aged man.

"what……"

"All you ever do is drink." Jun Matsue rolled his eyes at her, picked up a slightly thick slice of beef liver and placed it on the grill, then started grilling meat for the two of them.

Natsumi Imokawa silently took another glass of yuzu sake, stared at the two people drinking and grilling meat, and sipped it slowly.

Even though the three of them are sitting on opposite sides of the table, why do Matsue and Ms. Kurusu look so close?

It was as if a mischievous cat was fiddling with a ball of yarn; the girl's chaotic emotions bounced wildly in her chest, jumping around erratically.

Strange... She looked at the two people talking in front of her.

I've seen Matsue eat with Mochizuki Haruka and Tomatsu Yuka before, but I didn't feel this way then.

Natsumi Imokawa took another sip of the sake, the icy, sweet and sour liquid flowing on her tongue, leaving a slightly bitter aftertaste.

She stopped picking up her chopsticks and instead held her wine glass, taking sip after sip, comparing in her mind how she differed from others when she was with Jun Matsue and Yosei Kurusu.

When a slight blush appeared on the girl's cheeks, she noticed the difference.

"Matsue and Ms. Kurusu have a relationship like that of very good friends..." Natsumi Imokawa thought to herself.

Or rather, it's like the relationship between a pine branch and oneself.

She watched as Kurusu Yosei raised her glass to the boy, and Matsueda Jun smiled and shook his head, flipping the beef liver on the grill. The butter dripped onto the embers below, emitting a little smoke and a sizzling sound.

When Matsue is with Ms. Kurusu, does he tell her everything...?

Doesn't Miss Kurusu like him? Even though Matsueda rejected her, why are they still so close...?

It was extremely rare for Natsumi Imokawa to look at the people around her with a hint of hostility.

"Why isn't Yuchuan eating anymore?"

The boy's voice brought the girl back to her senses. She blinked and looked at the face that was so close to hers.

"Are you full? Or is it not to your liking?" Jun Matsueda asked with concern. "Would you like some vegetables to cut through the richness?"

“…No need.” The girl shook her head. “I just drank a little too much.”

The boy then noticed that the full glass of sake in front of her was almost half empty—she had drunk it faster than Yosuke Kurusu, and he looked surprised.

Jun Matsue waved his hand in front of her, "You're not drunk, are you?"

"No, not at all." Natsumi Imokawa's face was flushed, and she licked her lips. "I can drink a little more."

"...Drink less and eat more meat." The boy placed the grilled beef liver on her plate. "There's still more than half left for us."

"Mmm." The girl nodded, picked up a piece of meat and put it in her mouth, chewing absentmindedly without tasting it.

Then why did she feel uncomfortable when Ms. Kurusu asked her to take photos before...? She pondered another question.

Because she had become a "tool," a tool used by Ms. Kurusu to get close to the pine branches, the girl recalled the scene.

Previously, I only took photos because I wanted to, but this time it was for Ms. Kurusu.

Moreover, it wasn't just her who was filmed; Jun Matsueda was also in the shot.

"I don't want to take pictures of pine branches for someone else..." the girl whispered.

Jun Matsue, who was eating meat with his head down, looked up and asked, "What?"

"Ah." Only then did Natsumi Imokawa realize that she had spoken her true feelings aloud.

"It's nothing!" she waved her hand hastily.

"...Are you really not drunk?" Jun Matsue looked at the nearly empty wine glass in front of the girl.

Does Imokawa love drinking that much?

"No, no!" Natsumi Imokawa got up from her seat, stood on the empty space next to the table, spread her arms slightly, and walked nimbly in a straight line.

"Look, I can even walk in a straight line!"

“…I understand.” Jun Matsue looked at the girl with flushed cheeks. This girl was drunk even though she wasn’t, which made her look adorably silly.

"If you don't eat now, the meat in your bowl will get cold."

Natsumi Imokawa quickly sat back down. "Um, where were we?"

"Let's talk about the scandalous video incident before Kurusu." The boy looked at the bold girl who was holding a piece of grilled meat in one hand and a wine glass in the other.

"Have you finished handling it on your end?"

"I guess you could say it's been suppressed, but I guess you could say it's been suppressed." Kurusu Yosei's voice became even more cheerful.

"Since there were no further revelations, those smears are not very convincing and will soon be forgotten."

"But there's one thing that's really outrageous!" The girl put down her chopsticks and wine glass, took out her phone from her pocket, and showed it to the two of them.

"Now they're starting to search through every single picture I've ever posted in my social media feed—"

“Hats are trying to find evidence that I live with a man, while fans are trying to refute them. In short, everyone is scrutinizing every single one of my photos as if they were wearing a microscope.”

"The reflection of a spoon, the image of a pupil, the shadow of a person on the wall—this is outrageous!"

“It’s a bit scary…” Natsumi Imokawa’s expression was somewhat disgusted.

"Right, right~" Kurusu Yosei patted the boy next to her on the shoulder, her smile not being heavy.

Natsumi Imokawa sized up the girl sitting opposite her. Ms. Kurusu was indeed a rather interesting person…

Despite being a famous idol, he has no airs. He's quirky and witty, and although we haven't met many times, he gives off a very friendly vibe.

But seeing her and Matsue in front of her made her feel somewhat annoyed... Thinking this, Imokawa Natsumi picked up the wine glass in front of her again.

She paused for a moment, then pouted slightly and shook the cup in her hand, which was dripping with water.

The wine is all gone.

After spending an hour and a half at the yakiniku restaurant and enjoying a delicious meal, the wealthy and generous idol stood up and announced that she would treat everyone tonight.

Although Natsumi Imokawa appeared quite sober, worried that the girl, who smelled of alcohol, might encounter some accident on the way, and since it was on their way anyway, Jun Matsueda and Yosei Kurusu took her home first.

Standing in front of the apartment building in Nishi-Ogikubo, Natsumi Imokawa turned around and looked at the boy and girl behind her.

"Well, I'll go home now."

Jun Matsue nodded. "If you've been drinking, go to bed early and don't stay up late."

"Let's drink together again next time~" Yosei Kurusu waved vigorously.

"Okay, bye."

Bye-bye~ Remember to send me the photos~

See you Monday.

The girl turned around and went into the apartment, but a few seconds later, she peeked out from behind the first-floor door and watched the two figures disappear into the distance.

Once they get home, will they still chat and play games together?

Natsumi Imokawa remembered the game controller she had specially bought for the computer desk in the recording studio.

After watching the two figures disappear around the corner, Natsumi Imokawa walked into the apartment building and stepped into the elevator.

The first thing the girl did when she got home was to turn on her camera and transfer the files to her computer—she found the photos of Yosuke Kurusu and Jun Matsueda together and sent them to the most recently added contacts in her contact list.

"Thank you so much~" The shiny gold avatar replied with a chibi version of Yosuke Kurusu holding a rose in his mouth.

"You're welcome."

Natsumi Imokawa closed the chat window, stared at the photos on the screen for a few seconds, and then clicked the mouse to delete all the group photos that didn't belong to her.

Those photos no longer exist, whether on a computer or in a camera.

The girl's face was reflected in the dim light of the screen. She sighed with a relaxed sigh, a sigh tinged with the bitterness and tartness of grapefruit wine.

Ms. Kurusu should probably go back to being an idol... That's what Natsumi Imokawa thought in the end.

Chapter 635 Random Things

The next morning, Jun Matsue woke up later than usual.

Today is Sunday, a day when no part-time work is required. The boy stared at the ceiling for a while before finally sitting up from the bed.

He hadn't drunk any alcohol, yet he slept soundly last night. Perhaps watching the girls drink made him feel inexplicably drunk.

Stepping out of the bedroom, I glanced at the flipped-up sign on the door of the next room—a sign that Yosuke Kurusu wasn't planning to get up early today.

After washing up, the boy walked out of the bathroom, took a walk around the apartment, opened all the windows to ventilate, and then returned to the living room. He took out some ingredients from the refrigerator and prepared breakfast for himself.

As he turned on the gas stove and watched the pale blue flame illuminate, Jun Matsue remembered something else.

Mochizuki didn't go back to her apartment last night, and even though Kurusu had been drinking, she didn't do anything and just went to bed quietly.

Did she suddenly change her personality?

Or is it that she appears nonchalant on the surface, but is actually still influenced by public opinion?

The boy only came to his senses when the butter in the pan started to bubble and sizzle under the heat. He put the cold toast into the pan and slowly fried it over low heat to bring out the subtle aroma of whole wheat bread.

Or you should talk to the agent more...

After breakfast, Jun Matsuoka went out onto the balcony and looked around. It was still a bright and sunny summer day, but the usually turbulent sky was much calmer today, with only large, soft clouds slowly drifting across the city.

The boy went to the restroom, came back with a damp rag, and wiped the railings and windows, which were covered with dried raindrop marks.

Beyond the balcony was the bedroom. After wiping the windowsill on that side, he went to the apartment next door, belonging to Mochizuki Haruka, and tidied up for the girl who wasn't home.

Fifteen minutes later, Jun Matsue returned to the living room and stretched lazily.

"Consider it your morning exercise."

After taking a quick shower, the boy returned to his bedroom, closed the door, and drew the sparkling clean curtains.

The noisy chirping of cicadas that was rampaging through the room was driven out the window and immediately subsided. Jun Matsue took out his workbook from his bag, turned around and turned on the air conditioner.

As a final step, he took out his phone and opened the chat window with the rabbit avatar.

"Ready to study."

“What a coincidence~” the girl with the rabbit avatar replied quickly, “I just sat down at my desk too.”

The boy was skeptical, but Tomatsu said she had just sat down at her desk and had probably been studying for a while—she never minded telling a little lie for the sake of that "what a coincidence."

Jun Matsue opened his book. "Then we can video chat?"

"Okay~" The girl sent a rabbit emoji with bright, expectant eyes, followed immediately by a video call invitation.

With a tap of the green button, Tomatsu Yuka's pure and beautiful face appeared on the screen, even softening the sharp sunlight.

"Good morning, Jun-kun~" Tomatsu Tomoka waved.

"Good morning, the weather is nice today." Jun Matsue placed his phone horizontally on the table so that the camera could capture his entire upper body.

"Tsun-kun looks pretty energetic." The girl yawned and observed the boy's expression. "I'm still a little sleepy."

"...because I did some work after I got up."

Matsueda Jun looked at the light nightgown swaying in front of the screen; it was obvious that Tomatsu wasn't wearing a bra this time either.

"Do you start working right after getting up?"

Tomatsu Yuka rested her chin on her left hand, assuming a listening posture, while the end of the pen she held in her right hand pressed against her chest, adding a touch of soft deformation to the curves of the pure white fabric.

"I just wiped the windowsill and railings; it didn't take much effort." Jun Matsueda picked up his pen and opened his workbook.

"Tsun-kun is so diligent~" The girl's soft tone was particularly pleasing.

She watched the boy turning the pages of the book and felt a little disappointed—Tsun-kun was spending far less time on her chest than before.

Could it be that Mochizuki Haruka fed him?

With her meager figure, could she possibly satisfy Jun-kun's desires...? The girl thought sourly to herself.

Tomatsu Yuka shook her head. She couldn't waste the time she spent video chatting with Tsunku thinking about such things.

"I wouldn't call myself diligent, it's just that doing housework makes me feel better." Jun Matsue looked at the neat bed behind her. "Making my living environment comfortable and harmonious with my own hands can also be a form of exercise. That's the meaning of labor, I guess."

“He’s caring and loves doing housework, Tsun-kun is perfect as a stay-at-home husband~” Tomatsu Tomoka winked.