Yuujin walked into the classroom like any other day, with Taylor quietly following behind and plopping into his seat without a word.
Yuujin sank into his chair, resting his head against the wall, just watching as Max burst into the room with his usual over-the-top energy.
"Polar bear! You pumped for today?!" Max slammed his hand on Yuujin's desk, leaning in way too close.
"Uh… pumped?" Yuujin muttered, tilting his head, trying to make sense of this sudden excitement.
"You heard me! Aoki texted me—he got the notebook, which means you finally get to write the lyrics for the song!" Max bounced back from Yuujin, tossing his backpack onto his chair like it was second nature.
"Wait… really? And that's… big news?" Yuujin yawned, eyes following Max as he flitted around the room.
"Big? Absolutely! We got a chance to perform at a show! And if you actually write the lyrics, we're gonna sing your song!" Max spun the chair in front of Yuujin around to face him, leaning casually on the desk.
"You guys haven't given up on me yet? I literally couldn't come up with a single thing," Yuujin said, rubbing his hands together nervously.
"No way. We haven't seen your magic yet. But… we do have a deadline. If you flop, we hire someone else and… well, we'll probably step back from you," Max said, as casually as if he were talking about lunch plans.
"So… you just throw people away like it's nothing?" Yuujin crossed his arms, eyes narrowing.
"Not like that. I usually keep in touch with people who've written for us before, but… Aoki and Taylor? They like to cut off contact completely," Max explained, running a hand through his hair.
"And Yuri? She seemed… nice…" Yuujin said, fiddling with his fingers as Max watched quietly.
"She's not much of a talker. Quietest in the group. Sends the fewest messages. Oh, and I need to add you to our chat! Can I get your number?" Max pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil, clearly not waiting for an answer.
"I… I don't usually join group chats…" Yuujin tried, but Max already had the paper in front of him.
Yuujin sighed and took the pencil, pressing so hard that it snapped in half as he wrote the last letter.
"Whoa! Easy there!" Max laughed, grabbing the notebook. Yuujin noticed Taylor stepping closer, arms crossed, watching silently.
"Adding him to the chat already? We don't even know if he can actually write anything," Taylor muttered, rolling his eyes. Yuujin shrank back instinctively.
"But this way he'll get updates about the band," Max argued.
"Yeah, we can just tell him in person every day," Taylor said, snatching the paper from Max, tearing it up, and walking over to the trash.
"Why is he like that? I thought he actually cared about the band," Yuujin murmured, leaning back in his chair.
"Well… he does. But he hates surprise new members, like you. When Aoki met you, he texted us all in the group. Taylor didn't like that at all," Max said, settling back in his chair as class continued—even though the teacher hadn't shown up yet.
"He's so unpredictable… I never know when he'll be nice or annoying. And now he knows about my parents. I can't let him distract me," Yuujin thought, resting his head again against the wall.
Time passed, class went on, and finally, lunch arrived. Max and Taylor immediately invited Yuujin to join them as soon as the bell rang, walking together side by side.
Lunch was pretty normal, until they made it to the music room, where Yuri sat alone, testing a violin.
"Mana Yuiii!!!" Max practically pounced into the room, circling her like a whirlwind. "Looking magnificent as always!" Yuri laughed softly at his energy.
"You guys know about the news Aoki mentioned, right?" Yuri asked, walking over to the table with her phone.
"If it's about the show, I think everyone's already in the loop," Taylor said, sitting on the couch.
"I'm still catching up. They just said you got the chance to perform. I thought you already had…" Yuujin added, sitting on the couch a little away from Taylor.
"We tried performing before, but they said we needed more practice. That was at the end of last year. Now we have a real shot!" Max said, bouncing in his seat.
Everyone went quiet, unsure what to say, until someone burst in, moving fast.
"GUYS! DID YOU SEE THE MESSAGES?!" Aoki slammed the door behind him.
"Of course! You could see how excited he was," Yuri said with a chuckle.
"He seems… genuinely happy? Did he always want to play in public?" Yuujin wondered silently, watching Aoki.
"Finally! I'm gonna prove to those second-year idiots that our band can crush a live show!" Aoki shouted, then tossed a small notebook at Yuujin. "Time to start prepping! Yuujin, you're super important—you're writing the lyrics!" He grabbed Yuujin's face gently, smiling wide.
"Look… I'm not sure I can do this, and…" Yuujin started, but Aoki cut him off.
"Relax! I know you're nervous, but you won't perform—just write. You'll get the credit, that's it." Aoki released him, grabbing his guitar and heading toward the mic.
"Do I have any say in this?" Yuujin mumbled, looking down.
"Only if you fail. Then you don't need to ask—I'll kick you out myself," Aoki said, tuning his guitar while Yuujin drifted into thought.
"Why should I put myself in front of a bunch of strangers? I don't want to write about my life… but I also can't just scribble anything, like some love song. I don't know what to do… he… he trapped me in something I'm not sure I can give," Yuujin thought, looking up at them vaguely, half-listening.
"Are you okay, Yuujin?" Aoki and the others asked.
"Huh? Okay with what?" Yuujin asked, genuinely confused.
"You've got just four weeks… and a few days to write the song," Aoki said, serious now. The others leaned in, clearly interested.
"Four weeks… but… I…" Yuujin's head sank, fists clenching, hands clammy.
"Four weeks… there's no way I can do this," he whispered, and the room went silent.