(Transted/Edited/Slight Proofread: Snow)

  ???~

  The bell rang, signaling the end of css.

  Taeil usually took his time, moving at an unhurried pace, but today was different. He quickly packed away his writing tools and sat still, waiting for his homeroom teacher.

  Moments ter, the teacher entered the cssroom in his usual hurried, almost careless manner. Just like the day before, the closing ceremony sted less than ten seconds.

  In the past, Taeil would have silently cursed, wondering, What kind of homeroom teacher is that? But today, he was grateful for the teacher’s rushed dismissal.

  ‘Patience. Don't be impatient.’

  Taeil, who had mastered the art of blending in simply by doing nothing—by becoming part of the background—followed his routine faithfully. No rash movements. No unnecessary words. Just a quiet observation of his cssmates.

  A sharp squeak echoed as chairs and desks scraped against the floor.

  ‘One, two, three…’

  Taeil counted the seconds in his mind before standing naturally, seamlessly merging with the flow of students leaving the cssroom.

  ‘I really hope I'm just being overly self-conscious…’

  Ever since his encounter with Iris yesterday, an ominous feeling had clung to him like an unseen shadow. A persistent, nagging sensation—like someone was watching him.

  He couldn’t focus. Not on his usual naps. Not on chess. Nothing could shake the unease gnawing at him.

  ‘No, this isn’t just paranoia.’

  Taeil trusted his instincts. They were screaming at him to act.

  ‘I need to get to the rooftop without being noticed.’

  Slipping into the bustling crowd, he moved quickly toward the old building.

  At Yuuma High, the main building connected the preparatory and liberal arts csses through a long corridor. Taeil, a student of Css 7, was positioned in an isoted corner, making it easier for him to slip away unnoticed. He navigated through the crowd effortlessly, ensuring he wasn’t seen by anyone from the preparatory css.

  ‘One thing’s for sure—I absolutely cannot run into Iris.’

  Why was Taeil avoiding her so desperately? Even he didn’t know.

  His body simply moved on instinct, as if his gut had already decided for him.

  Fortunately, he encountered neither Iris nor any other students on his way.

  When he finally reached the rooftop, he exhaled in relief. The fact that Yuuma High’s rooftop was actually accessible was still a well-kept secret—one known only to Taeil and Ayane.

  Of course, the rooftop was originally Ayane’s go-to spot for eating alone.

  “I feel like I’m doing something bad…”

  It wasn’t anything serious, yet Taeil’s heart pounded with a strange excitement.

  Just in case, he locked the door behind him before sliding down against the wall, letting his body colpse onto the cool rooftop floor.

  Unlike the noisy schoolyard below, the rooftop was peaceful. Faint chatter from students still lingered in the air, but soon, the silence would take over.

  Taeil closed his eyes, resting his head against the wall.

  As the tension in his body eased, drowsiness crept in.

  A cool mountain breeze swept across the rooftop, soothing the lingering heat that had built up from his nerves.

  His mind, once tangled with unease, began to settle. It wouldn’t be hard to fall asleep like this.

  His consciousness started slipping—

  Smack!

  Taeil’s eyes shot open as he spped his cheek to wake himself up.

  “Ah, what am I doing? This isn’t the time to be sleeping. I should be composing or something.”

  Clearing his mind, he got to work.

  He hummed melodies as they came to him, recreating them on his app.

  The lingering unease from yesterday still clung to him, and it seeped into his music. His work carried a heavier, almost burning intensity—but Taeil didn’t care. He just kept going, completely immersed.

  ???~

  Time slipped away unnoticed.

  By the time he snapped back to reality, the school bell had already rung, signaling the end of the day.

  Taeil lifted his head.

  The blue sky had transformed into a breathtaking gradient of red and purple as the sun dipped below the horizon.

  “I should get going.”

  As he stood up, brushing the dust off his clothes, his phone vibrated.

  [Ayane]: (?′??)

  [Ayane]: Shin-chan! Ayane's work as a disciplinary committee member is over!

  [Ayane]: I'll wait at the main gate!

  “Okay…”

  Taeil quickly replied, telling Ayane she’d worked hard, then made his way down from the rooftop.

  Even as he descended, he remained cautious, scanning his surroundings.

  “Shin-chan! Over here, over here!.”

  Ayane, already waiting for him outside, spotted him first. She waved her arm enthusiastically.

  Taeil adjusted his bag and walked towards her.

  “Anything special happened today?.”

  “Of course not! Ayane is an invincible disciplinary committee member!.”

  “I’ve been wondering for a while… Why is the Disciplinary Committee so obsessed with the word invincible?.”

  “Right? Ayane thinks it’s strange too. Hehe.”

  She added the word into her vocabury after following her seniors for so long, it had just become second nature to her.

  “You didn’t leave anything behind, did you?.”

  “Nope! What about you, Shin-chan?”

  “Am I you?”

  “Why are you trying to make a fool out of Ayane!?.”

  Taeil chuckled, brushing off her compint as he kept walking.

  Not letting it slide, Ayane hurried after him and clung to his arm, demanding an apology.

  “Apologize to Ayane right now! Apologize! Apologize!.”

  “Alright, alright. I’m sorry, okay?.”

  “I don’t feel any sincerity!.”

  “I see… so Ayane doesn’t even know my true feelings…”

  For added effect, Taeil put on a sorrowful expression, his eyes drooping dramatically.

  But his attempt at looking sad was so forced that Ayane couldn’t help but let out a snort of ughter.

  “Shin-chan, even if you suddenly get scouted by an entertainment agency, you still wouldn’t be able to act.”

  Taeil, momentarily caught off guard by the critique, turned his head away and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

  “…I won’t do it.”

  With a slight nod, he surrendered.

  “Ehehe.”

  “Was that really that funny?.”

  “Yeah! Because Shin-chan swore off acting forever!”

  “What, so you think I could never be an actor?”

  “Exactly!”

  Ayane decred with a bright, confident grin.

  Taeil sighed, slumping slightly.

  Lately, he hadn’t been feeling great about his appearance. Ayane, noticing his sudden drop in energy, lightly patted his shoulder in encouragement.

  “It’s okay! Shin-chan will become an amazing singer instead!”

  “Did I ever say I was going to be a singer?”

  “…Wasn’t that the pn?.”

  Taeil’s question made Ayane pause, looking genuinely surprised.

  Every night, she had seen him pying the guitar, humming songs he had written. Naturally, she assumed that was his dream.

  “I wish I could,” Taeil admitted, “but honestly… I don’t have high expectations.”

  “Why not?! You’re trying so hard!.”

  “There are things in life you can achieve if you work hard enough,” Taeil said with a small shrug. “And there are things that are impossible no matter how hard you try.”

  Ayane pouted at his attitude, frustrated that he treated becoming a singer as if it were an unreachable goal.

  She wasn’t particurly pleased that the person she loved had given up on something so important—without her even knowing.

  “But Shin-chan, I was already preparing to be your number one fan.”

  “I’ll just accept the thought behind it,” Taeil replied with a small smile.

  ‘Was he really giving up?.’

  Ayane tilted her head, studying his face.

  Calm. Unshaken.

  Contrary to her expectations, Taeil showed no trace of regret. If anything, he smiled as if trying to reassure her.

  Ayane hesitated before asking,

  “Then… Why does Shin-chan py the guitar like that every day?.”

  “Because I like it.”

  At some point, Taeil’s steps had slowed to a stop. He lifted his head, gazing at the sky.

  Even though the summer evening had stretched te, the sky was still bright. A hazy moon shimmered above them.

  The moon doesn’t shine on its own.

  It only appears to glow because it reflects the sun’s light.

  “Technically, becoming a singer isn’t that hard,” Taeil said after a pause. “There are no qualifications required, and nowadays, anyone can release an album.”

  But the path to becoming a singer recognized by the public—to stand on his own as a shining star—that was another story.

  It was a grueling, unforgiving path.

  Taeil had abandoned that dream long ago.

  “Honestly,” he admitted, “I always wanted to be in a band rather than a solo singer.”

  “Then why didn’t Shin-chan join the light music club?.”

  “…No.”

  If the school’s light music club had been serious, he might have considered it. But in the original work, the club had no real presence—just a group of ordinary students pying for fun.

  Forcing his ambitions onto them felt cruel. They weren’t chasing the same dream, just enjoying their youth.

  Rather than join and complicate things, it was better to stay out of it entirely.

  For Taeil, he wasn’t looking for fleeting moments of youth or a band that would etch his name in some nostalgic memory.

  He was searching for something deeper.

  But Ayane—who was already skilled at shaping the futures of others—felt that pushing beyond this point would be overkill.

  “…Ugh. Sometimes, even Ayane doesn’t understand what Shin-chan is thinking.”

  Taeil let out a dry chuckle. “Haha. Me neither.”

  He resumed walking.

  The sun had finally set, and under the quiet night sky, a boy and a girl walked side by side.

  A heart-stirring scene of youth.

  But Taeil remained indifferent.

  After observing his expression for a moment, Ayane spoke up again.

  “That reminds me… about that band performance you suggested this morning…”

  “You can’t make it?.”

  Taeil guessed as he considered Ayane's busy schedule.

  His expression darkened, and Ayane, noticing this, quickly shook her head in arm.

  “No, no, no! Not at all! If anything, Ayane really wanted to see BARD’s performance at least once!”

  “Really? You’re not lying?.”

  “There’s no way Ayane would lie to Shin-chan! Unless… it was the other way around.”

  Taeil let out a soft chuckle. “Haha. You’re right. I should reflect on that.”

  “Really now…”

  As his voice grew more animated, the color returned to his once pale face.

  ‘Your thoughts are so easy to read, Shin-chan…’

  Ayane smiled awkwardly, recalling the overly enthusiastic advice from her senior, Sakurako.

  "Never push! Just pull! Pull and pull! Make him fall for you! Got it!?."

  ‘...Is that really the kind of advice a senior should be giving to a junior who’s still a minor?.’

  Ayane shook her head, brushing off Sakurako’s dramatic words. It was clearly a mistake to take advice from someone whose only knowledge of love came from romance novels.

  “What time is the concert?” she asked.

  “I think it starts around lunchtime on Saturday…”

  Taeil frowned as he pulled out his phone to check the broadcast schedule.

  “What’s wrong?” Ayane asked, noticing his change in expression.

  “I might be a little pressed for time. Would brunch work instead?.”

  ‘Eating out in the morning?.’

  ‘Isn’t this basically a date?!.’

  Ayane quickly nodded, fidgeting with her fingers.

  “Y-yeah, yeah! Ayane is okay with that! Completely okay!.”

  “Alright then,” Taeil said with a small smile. “I’ll head to Tokyo early in the morning, we’ll have brunch, and then we’ll go see the show. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Tokyo—anything in particur you want to eat?”

  Ayane opened her mouth, ready to say anything’s fine, but suddenly paused.

  ‘Wait… this is my chance.’

  At that moment, Sakurako’s words resurfaced in her mind.

  "Food choice is crucial on a date! You need to eat something neat and easy, or better yet, something cute! Like a crepe! Imagine getting a little sauce on the corner of your mouth, and then he wipes it off and calls you cute!.”

  "Isn’t that just your personal fantasy, Senior?"

  "Of course, my personal desires are included a little! But this is every girl’s dream in the world!.”

  Unfortunately for Sakurako, Ayane was not one of those girls.

  She mentally discarded the idea of strategically cute food and instead recalled a much more reasonable piece of advice from Hayate, the head of the disciplinary committee and arguably the most reliable person she knew.

  "Just be yourself. Don’t force anything. If you fake being cute, it’ll feel unnatural. Just eat what you like and enjoy the moment."

  Now that was advice she could actually follow.

  With a newfound sense of confidence, Ayane looked up at Taeil and smiled.

  “Then… can we get omurice?.”

  Taeil blinked. “Omurice?.”

  “Yeah! The kind with fluffy eggs and lots of demi-gce sauce!”

  Taeil chuckled. “Alright, omurice it is. We’ll find a good pce in Tokyo.”

  Ayane clenched her fists in excitement.

  ‘Yes! No awkwardness, no overthinking—just good food and good company.’

  ‘And maybe, just maybe, a perfect day together.’

  “How about also getting something to drink?,” Ayane quickly suggested.

  At this very moment, her senior Hayate’s advice came to mind.

  "Haha. What about bubble tea? I’ve heard that a lot of guys actually want to try it but feel too self-conscious to order it themselves. My boyfriend loves it when I ask him to go with me."

  "As expected from Hayate-senpai! But... that might be a bit much for Ayane."

  "Wh-what’s with that look!?"

  Ayane instinctively crossed her arms over her chest as she caught Sakurako staring.

  "No, it’s just… looking at you, I feel like milk tea might not be the best choice..."

  "SENIOR!.”

  Ayane forcefully ended her fshback.

  ‘None of my seniors are helpful at all!.’

  Still flustered, she quickly blurted out, “Nevermind, I-I’ll look into it!”

  Taeil chuckled at her reaction. “You don’t have to think too hard about brunch. We’ll be out until dinner anyway. If you can’t decide now, just think about what you want to eat ter.”

  His casual reassurance eased some of her nerves, but… this was a rare chance.

  A date, even! She wanted it to be special.

  With that in mind, Ayane wasted no time. The moment she got home, she dashed toward her mother, Yuna.

  “Mom…!”

  Yuna turned, surprised. “Daughter?.”

  “HELP ME!”

  And thus, Operation ‘Mom Makeover’ was officially underway.