[Ririka pov]
"Hey Hajime, you can take a break."
I lounged on her couch. She glared at me. "We still have a deadline. You know you want me to finish that outfit before the manga convention, right?"
"Y... Yeah!" I reply
Banchou laughed. "We don't have much time."
*Raden clears her throat*
"Whose fault is that?" She asks
"Yeah, you beat each other up!" Kanade-san tells us, which we just laugh about since it's over now.
Ao-kun wasn't here since Hajime didn't invite her, and she leaned into my ear.
"Are you missing Ao-tan?" She asks
"N... No!" I hiss
I looked at Hitomi, who was being fed by Todoroki.
"I wish I had someone like that." I say
Banchou shrugged. "Raden is free."
"If I were to date Raden, our whole friend dynamic would be ruined-I'm not the type to spoil her, and if she were my girlfriend, I would have to spoil her!"
"Agreed...." Raden hums
I fidgeted, staring at Hajime before speaking up. "Hypothetically, what if I liked Ao-kun?" I ask
"Ah yes, hypothetical..." Banchou teases
"Be serious!" I shout
"I am! Continue..." Hajime replies
"So if I hypothetically liked Ao-kun, then we'd have to do something about Kanade." I say
"What did I do, Shachou!?" The blonde girl is confused as to why she has anything to do with this.
"You know Ao-kun is in love with you."
"I... Yes, but it's different when it's only one-sided feelings; letting her on is bad-I am scared that she will hate me if I reject her."
"Kanade, in my case, I have actually grown closer with Hajime, and with this transparency, I feel as if we can still grow from here-Ao-kun has an unhealthy amount of affection for you. End this before it gets too far."
"When I first moved to Japan from Korea, she was the first friend I made. I saw her drawing manga, and I acknowledged her. From there on, she harbored feelings; it was love at first sight."
Kanade finished her explanation, and I shook my head.
"No, it's validation; she latches onto any form of validation for herself; it is why she is selfish; it's the reason why I hate her."
Raden sighs "She is right; Ao-kun is the type that wants people to praise her; she is in search of validation; she wants to succeed in the manga industry, but clearly she isn't fully satisfied with her own art yet, so she needs others to say it's good."
"Yeah, Ao-kun has a long way to go."
*I close my eyes*
Why is it that Ao-kun is like this? Even if her manga is serialized, will she be satisfied? What type of criticism would be good for her?
Her notebook evening inside of that notebook seemed like they were good ideas, but she isn't satisfied with the designs. She is partially a perfectionist, but this doesn't help if she can't see what she drew is perfect.
"Enough of the praising..." I mumbled out loud, which Hajime caught on to with a cheeky grin.
"You and Ao-san have an interesting relationship right Shachou?" Kanade asks.
YOU ARE READING
Delinquent's Crescendo
RomansaOtonose Kanade makes a deal with Todoroki Hajime to become her model. That is all she thinks of it; however, could there be more to that than she thinks?
