Stealing Spree

To not waste our day just idling away, Yue brought us to her ‘study’. It was not a normal study where her school materials and bookshelves were stored. Instead, it’s a glorified music room, equipped with the necessary soundproofing, equipment, and ambiance. It actually felt like we entered a high-end studio.

“Welcome to my den,” Yue beamed as she ushered us in. From the twinkle I could spy in her eyes, this girl was excited to show this to us. Not just to me.

I guess with her status, apart from those two friends she told me about and Kaoru-san, she didn’t really have any she’s close to.

Reuniting with me and letting herself in our complex relationship fixed that for her. She now has tens of sisters she can get along with. Even if they disagree on one thing, all of them are united in their affection for me.

“I see. So this is the place I often see you in during our video calls.” I said as I took in the interior of the place.

She had all kinds of instruments one can commonly see in a band – guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and synthesizer. She also has a PC there mounted on top of a workstation where other electronic devices related to her work are placed. That’s where she edits her compositions, livestreams to her fans occasionally, and also relaxes while listening to tunes.

“Hehe. I forgot to bring you all here last night. What do you think?”

The girl excitedly hopped towards it and turned on the monitor. And there, our last photo together which she took at our house before returning was plastered on the screen. It’s her wallpaper.

It’s one of those where she perfectly captured my genuine smile on the camera.

Akane and the other two tried teasing her about it but Yue remained unfazed.

She proudly puffed up her chest as she stated that she was staring at it for at least half an hour every day. Doing so boosts her productivity, or so she says…

My girls are really creative, aren’t they? Maybe in the future, I’ll be the one to take the hit and be embarrassed for them.

Well, it’s in the same vein of how I get reinvigorated whenever I see their smiles or hear their voices.

“Look at us, aren’t we the perfect couple?”

Yue came to me, pointing at the wallpaper again. She’s like a child yearning for affirmation.

“Mhm. You still looked like you’re about to tear up here.” I leaned down to look at it clearly before pointing at her watery eyes which were also perfectly captured by the camera’s resolution.

As it was not the reaction she was expecting, Yue pouted and pointed at me.

“That’s because of you! You teased and tickled me to your heart’s content!”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” I acted oblivious but a smirk formed from my lips.

Upon seeing that, Yue puffed up her cheeks. She closed in and drummed up my chest in protest.

“You’re teasing me again, husband!” She cried.

I saw Akane and Yua shaking their heads while Miho straight-up rolled her eyes.

I guess I was being mean, huh? But isn’t this how I normally am?

In any case, I casually grabbed her wrist to stop her from hitting my chest before hugging her again. Then my hands moved to her head, caressing her dearly which effectively calmed my girl down.

Soon enough, Yue affectionately rubbed her face on my chest as she giggled in extreme delight.

But at this sight, Akane and the other two who were just on her side stepped forward and separated us from each other.

“It’s really impressive you can just start flirting out of nowhere.” Akane sighed in amazement. “Anyway, aren’t we here for something else?”

At that, Yue, who was about to sulk from being interrupted, seemingly remembered something.

Yeah. She forgot that she wanted to show this room to them… I guess that’s my fault.

“Ah. Yes! Hehe… Sorry, blame our husband for being such a tease. Feel free to check out anything here.”

Yue then moved to the middle and stretched her arm out to showcase the room.

Miho nodded and immediately approached the keyboard. Although she still preferred a piano for performance on stage, most of the music she composed was all done on a keyboard.

In any case, instead of pressing a key, the girl seemingly got too engrossed in inspecting it.

I don’t know if it’s different from what she had at home or the one she left at our place but there’s a certain adoration that flashed upon her face.

Noticing that, Yue who was probably waiting for this reaction immediately moved to her.

In an instant, the girl started chatting with Miho about its origin as well as its technicalities.

Most of the terms they were using were unfamiliar to me so I could only watch but not understand. At least, I could see that they’re on the same page.

As for Akane and Yua, they also didn’t act reserved as they went to pick up an instrument to try.

Akane was seemingly fascinated with the bass while Yua picked up a drumstick and sat down on the unassuming drum set.

She hit the cymbals. Stepped on the pedal before starting to drum up a rhythm.

Hearing that, Akane slung the bass on her neck and tried to strum its strings. Alas, she’s a complete novice to it. She only managed to produce a flat tune.

Good thing, it’s not connected to an amplifier.

When she saw me looking at her, Akane signaled for me to come over, asking me to help her.

How should I do that when I was also a complete novice like her?

But well, since I had nothing else to do, I went to her, and together, we bashed our heads on trying to figure it out.

At one point, Yue came to our side and she handed me the guitar.

And from there, she began teaching us the proper way to play it. Not that we could instantly play a song but at least, we’re not as clueless to it anymore.

Just like this, the rest of our morning was spent in Yue’s den, surrounded by musical instruments and their precious laughter.

The bond between us has strengthened yet again. It’s times like these that I feel like I’ve already stepped away from my past.

With all of them happily spending the days like this, those tearful days or my harsh coldness to them was slowly getting buried under our new, wonderful memories.

At around noon, we left the room to prepare for lunch and welcome back Chisato-nee-san and Kaoru-san.

I still wanted to cook for them but those two stopped me from doing so since Kaoru-san and Chisato-nee-san already cooked something from their respective houses.

Did they plan it together? Nah. They have their own reasons for doing so.

I can guess what’s in Chisato-nee-san’s head. She won’t let me return to our city without leaving me something to remember her by.

As for Kaoru-san, it may be just me but I feel that it has to do with my promise to help her with her problem. Yue said she will use the ingredients in her unit whenever she cooks for her. This is the first time she’s coming with dishes she prepared at their house.

Maybe… Just maybe, I managed to convince her that it was worth a shot to let me help her cure her self-criticism.

I’ll invite her again to eat with us.