Gentle Sound Girls

When Jiang Yu arrived at the café, the sight of every seat filled to the brim startled him. His coworkers, who had always handled their shifts with ease, now bustled about, walking back and forth with barely a moment to spare. Perhaps it was because the weekend was near? Jiang Yu stroked his chin, speculating.

He could tell that most of the unfamiliar faces in the café belonged to students from nearby high schools. Many had changed into casual clothes after school, but the youthful awkwardness and shyness on their faces betrayed their true identities.

Unable to fathom the reason for this sudden influx, Jiang Yu glanced at the time, then headed straight for the changing room.

Unbeknownst to him, the real cause was a video surreptitiously recorded by Takao, a popular uploader in the NICONICO music community. Without Jiang Yu’s knowledge, the video had already gone viral for several days, and many viewers had been pestering Takao for the location of the café where the performance was filmed.

Thinking it nothing of consequence, Takao casually shared the café’s address, which led to the arrival of these students.

It's worth mentioning that after many otaku had seen the video, they recommended it to their friends. As a result, plenty of non-otaku students also came across the video and planned to visit the café over the weekend, eager to witness the skillful pianist in person.

Startled by this crowd of obviously inexperienced students, Jiang Yu quickly composed himself and, under the curious gazes of many, completed his performance for the day.

He played a series of classic pieces as usual, finishing with Canon. Under the admiring eyes of his peers, Jiang Yu wrapped up his shift.

Completely absorbed in his music, Jiang Yu failed to notice the group of girls by the window, whispering among themselves.

To call them a group might be a stretch; there were only four, just enough to fill a table.

Among them sat a girl with short, chestnut hair, a headband holding her bangs away from her forehead, her voice lively and bright as she remarked, “Wow, this person plays really well, don’t you think?”

The girl addressed turned her curious gaze around the café, as if she had never been in such a place before. With a soft laugh, she replied, “Yes, his technique is about the same as mine, but that last piece is a true classic. I could never play it as well.”

“Ah, this boy is amazing!” exclaimed another, her face blissfully blank as she ate dessert and listened. She glanced at a solemn girl across from her, whose long black hair was styled in a hime cut, and said, “Mio, you should eat more—the desserts here are delicious!”

The black-haired girl gave a helpless smile. “Not everyone is like you, Yui. Some of us actually gain weight when we eat.”

The chestnut-haired girl couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s right, Mio—your body type puts on weight so easily, especially when—mmph!”

Flustered, the girl called Mio lunged forward and clamped a hand over her friend’s mouth. Meanwhile, Yui, the absent-minded one, simply tilted her head at the scene before returning her attention to her dessert.

Sawa Kotobuki watched her friends with a gentle smile, amazed at having met such an interesting group after entering Sakuragaoka High School. She had originally intended to join the choir, but a conversation with classmates Mio Akiyama and Ritsu Tainaka swayed her to join the Light Music Club instead.

To meet the minimum requirement of four members, Ritsu then recruited a girl named Yui Hirasawa.

From then on, the Light Music Club began its everyday activities, which, for the most part, consisted of tea and idle chatter after school. After all, Yui, the guitarist, didn’t even own a guitar yet, and her knowledge of the instrument was almost nonexistent.

But Sawa was patient enough to wait for her friends to grow. Besides, she hadn’t joined the club to perform in public anyway.

Still, as she watched the boy playing piano on stage, Sawa couldn’t shake the feeling that he looked familiar, as if she’d seen him somewhere before.

Her attention was soon diverted by the commotion between Mio and Ritsu. Stirring her coffee, she smiled quietly at her friends’ antics.

...

After a slight bow to excuse himself, Jiang Yu left the stage with an apologetic smile. He loosened his tie and let out a long breath, a sudden dryness clawing at his throat.

At that moment, someone handed him a glass of clear liquid. Without hesitation, Jiang Yu took it and gulped it down.

“—! Pfft… cough, cough…” He spluttered, spraying the drink everywhere.

The moment the supposedly plain water touched his tongue, Jiang Yu realized something was off—a faint trace of alcohol lingered in the taste.

Unsure of the drink’s strength, he immediately spat it out, only to choke in his haste and crouch down, coughing violently.

A hand patted his back gently, and a familiar teasing voice said, “Jiang, you shouldn’t drink things from strangers so carelessly.”

Still catching his breath, Jiang Yu looked up at Ayane Mizuno’s playful smile and said helplessly, “Ayane, please don’t tease me… And what was that, anyway?”

He lifted the glass in his hand.

“Oh, just a little sake.”

“Don’t serve alcohol to minors!”

“Pff, hahaha, sorry, Jiang! Here, this one’s water.”

Accepting the new glass, Jiang Yu sniffed it cautiously. After confirming it was indeed water, he sipped it carefully.

“Don’t tease Jiang, Ayane. Kids really shouldn’t drink,” Kyoko Kato said, stifling a laugh as she approached. Her stern expression melted into a smile as she turned to Jiang Yu.

Knowing he’d just been pranked by his senior and his boss, Jiang Yu could only play along, assuring them he wouldn’t hold a grudge.

When it came time to collect his pay, Jiang Yu hesitated a moment, then asked Kyoko Kato once more about the time for tomorrow morning.

He received her teasing question—“Going out with your girlfriend?”—along with the answer: “Come to the café entrance at 8 a.m.” Embarrassed, he made a quick escape.

All the while, he thought to himself that it was just a simple outing with an otaku friend—sorry to disappoint, Kato-san!

But really, how was he supposed to explain to his boss that his otaku friend was being mistaken for his girlfriend? If anyone has advice, please respond quickly…