That was good.

Thanks!

Phew...

(I knew that place's soy sauce ramen was good, but the pork bone broth was a nice surprise.)

(They even seem to have miso ramen on the menu, so I might try that after work next time.)

Bananas with chocolate again?
But this crepe shop has so many other options...

Yeah, but this is what I like.

Hm...?

Those voices...

Oh...

Also, you're always getting that cinnamon apple one.

Because that's one of the few that don't come with whipped cream.

Iori, Mio...

Oh...

Good evening, Hinomori.

Good evening.
Talk about a coincidence. We ran into each other at the live house just the other day.

Yeah, you're right.
After acting all cool and saying we'd see you during our next show too.

Are you heading back from work?

Yes. I was just about to start heading home after stopping by that ramen shop over there for dinner.

We just wrapped up a meeting at the record company. We're aching for some sugar since we've been thinking about this and that.

How about a crepe for dessert?
On me, to celebrate your big debut.

Hehe. You're starting to sound like her senior, Iori.

That's because I am.
We did make our debut before them.

True.

Then, if you don't mind buying your junior a crepe.

Let's eat.

This is good...

I know, right?

This chain's got stores all over, but the one in Shibuya really is the best.

Did you go around and check?

Not exactly.
But I have been able to go to a lot of them...

I remember you having them basically every day until not too long ago.

Huh? Every day?

Hey, you're making it sound like I'm some sort of pig.

The song we were working on at the time was giving us a lot of trouble. So, I started having these to reduce my stress and get the sugar I needed...

I didn't realize you could hit a wall like that, Iori...

It happens.

But that particular song ended up becoming a pain because of our record company's demands.

Oh...

(I was under the impression that STANDOUT has been doing pretty well since they debuted...)

(But I guess a lot happens behind the music.)

Umm... I don't know if this is okay for me to ask, but how did you go about producing this new song you just mentioned...?

Hm? Oh, that was all thanks to Mio.
She got really mad at me.

What? Her? Getting mad at you?

Yeah. She said that I shouldn't write a half-baked song while pouting about what the company told us to do. That if I had a problem, I should channel those feelings into our new song.

I-I didn't say it like that!

But that's basically what you said.

I thought I was doing what people wanted from us as pros, but the lyrics I wrote definitely told a different story.

Mio's words opened the floodgates when it came to editing it.

Honestly, she started to really irritate me, but I was also happy about her getting on my case.

Because we were both taking a hard look at our music as members of STANDOUT. As equals.

And I wouldn't expect any less from you guys...

You jealous?

No...
I can say the same for us.

Hehe. That's what I like to hear.

Thank you for the crepe.
And I really enjoyed our conversation.

You're welcome.

We're both still just getting on our feet as professional bands, but let's keep pushing each other to become better.

Through our music.

Yes, let's. And I hope the next time we meet is on stage.