All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

Merii Hizuki’s hand trembled as she clicked open the email. Confirming that the attachment was an audio file, she let out a small sigh of relief.

The title of the song, Fly Me to the Star, suggested that Kotomi Izumi hadn’t just completed the melody but had also written the lyrics. This slightly eased the overwhelming tension in Merii’s heart.

Her hands trembled even more as she moved the mouse to play the file, almost as if she might fling the mouse across the room at any second.

Gripped by extreme nervousness, Merii Hizuki hesitated to even sip her coffee for fear that her shaking hands might spill it all over the keyboard.

Click!

The melody began, and Merii’s heart skipped a beat.

From the earphones came Fly Me to the Star, sung through simple electronic synthesized vocals. It resonated both as a sweet love song and a bittersweet lament of unrequited affection.

”I can’t tell you my feelings

I remember so many different lives

And act them out because I want your attention

Oh, fly me to the star”

In an instant, Merii Hizuki—known for her discerning ear when it came to music—felt chills rise all over her body.

A shiver coursed through her as she leaned back into her leather chair, overwhelmed by the buzz reverberating in her ears. It left her feeling dizzy, as if a single wrong move might send her tumbling to the floor.

After calming herself, she set the audio player to loop the song repeatedly.

Over and over, she immersed herself entirely in Fly Me to the Star, letting the song draw her into its unique world of sound.

Even with just synthesized vocals, Merii Hizuki felt her heart entirely captured, pulled deep into the intricate emotional landscape of the music.

At some point, her body instinctively began swaying with the rhythm. Her lips softly hummed along to the melody.

The coffee in her cup gradually went cold. Outside, the dark night sky brightened slowly as the first hints of dawn painted the horizon.

Lost in the song Kotomi had sent, Merii Hizuki only realized she had stayed up all night when the first light of sunrise crept through her window.

She picked up her phone and caught her reflection in its screen—a vivid expression of awe etched across her face.

Despite playing Fly Me to the Star on loop for hours, Merii didn’t feel the least bit fatigued. Instead, her entire body hummed with an electrified sense of exhilaration.

Without pausing to rest, Merii Hizuki grabbed her phone and dialed the number of a certain rookie singer.

...

”Mi-Miri-san!!”

Even though she was this year’s rising star at Heavenly Spider Talent Agency, the young singer’s voice trembled nervously as she answered the unexpected early-morning call from Merii Hizuki, the company’s top manager.

Whatever traces of drowsiness remained vanished the moment she saw Merii’s name on her phone screen.

”Are you awake? Come to the company to record,” Merii said tersely before hanging up.

...

While Merii Hizuki had spent a sleepless night captivated by music, Kotomi Izumi, on the other hand, enjoyed a peaceful and satisfying sleep.

After habitually snoozing her third alarm, Kotomi finally sat up lazily, stretching her arms with a relaxed yawn.

Such a picturesque scene.

Though it had only been a weekend, so much had happened that it felt like a brand-new beginning.

The rain had stopped.

Today’s sun was shining brightly.

After putting on her school uniform, Kotomi grabbed her backpack and headed downstairs. Just as she reached the dining room, her mother had finished preparing breakfast.

”You’re up early today.”

”Hehe, it’s because I went to bed so early last night,” Kotomi said proudly.

Realizing that sleeping early and waking up occasionally is fine, Kotomi still prefers her usual habit of sleeping late and waking up late—it’s just more comfortable!

The freshly toasted bread, topped with maple syrup and a small cube of butter that melted and seeped into the soft texture, offered a heavenly combination. With each bite, the triple sweetness of the bread, maple syrup, and butter created a rich harmony that blossomed in her mouth like an angelic trio. It was an unforgettable delight.

Though sandwiches were delicious, Kotomi always leaned toward maple syrup toast.

”I’m full!”

After finishing six slices of toast, Kotomi downed her glass of milk, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and got up to leave.

As she reached the living room to grab her bag, Kotomi noticed that Phoenix, who usually turned into a wild ”flying cat” every morning and evening, had recently been unusually quiet and well-behaved.

Initially worried that the cat might be ill, her mother Akina Izumi had taken Phoenix to the vet for a check-up, but all tests showed she was perfectly healthy with no issues.

The veterinarian suggested that the cat might just be in a bad mood but didn’t show signs of depression. The final conclusion? The cat could still be mourning a breakup.

At that moment, Phoenix was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, staring at the vast sky outside after finishing her cat food.

Standing beside her, Kotomi observed the profound expression on the cat’s face, as if contemplating the vicissitudes of life. For a second, she half-expected the cat to reach out a paw for a cigarette, puff away, and meow: ”Let the smoke carry my sorrows away.”

As much as she felt bad for laughing at the idea, Kotomi noted that Phoenix’s heartbreak had made her unusually docile these past few days.

Otherwise, on a normal day, especially during mornings and evenings, Phoenix would have already turned into a bouncing wildcat.

Kotomi couldn’t help but imagine the absurdity of seeing a cat, or perhaps a sea cucumber—no, a cat—soaring into the sky.

Now, however, Phoenix often nestled in her sofa, cat bed, or near the windowsill, staring at the sky or the flowers in the yard, resembling a philosopher reflecting on the meaning of life.

It was oddly endearing.

Kotomi sat down beside Phoenix and said, ”Hey Phoenix, should I sing All the Way North for you again?”

The cat turned her head, looking utterly horrified.

Is my owner secretly a dog?!

Before Phoenix could escape on her four legs, Kotomi had already started singing:

”The world in the rearview mirror, it’s a goodbye moving further and further

You start to turn backwards, but you’re still beautiful from the side

I chase you with my gaze, yet it is your tears that I hear.”

Satisfied after finishing another rendition of All the Way North, Kotomi left home, meeting Megumi Kato under the streetlamp as usual. Together, they walked hand in hand, sweetly heading to school.

Meanwhile, back at home, Phoenix sat in her cat bed, mimicking Rodin’s The Thinker, as if transformed into a philosopher of the feline world.

Beside her, Dragon, looking like a small gas tank, stood with her tail upright, gazing at Phoenix with a mix of shock and confusion.

Once again, it was proven: the natural nemesis of cats, indeed, is dogs.

...

As soon as Kotomi entered Class 1-F, she was greeted by Yui Yuigahama, who ran up and hugged her tightly.

”Wuuu, Kotomi, I’m so glad you’re okay! I almost died of fright when I saw the news this morning!”

Yui clung to Kotomi, crying in front of Megumi Kato.

Thankfully, there weren’t many students in the classroom yet. Otherwise, this scene would inevitably spark a new wave of gossip about Kotomi.

It was already an open secret that Kotomi frequently hugged Yui and Mashiro, with her often embracing them in school hallways or during breaks.

First hugging Yui, then Mashiro—it was practically a daily occurrence.

Naturally, such displays of affection didn’t go unnoticed. Idle students discussed it during breaks, and soon rumors began spreading like wildfire.

Over time, students created elaborate backstories about Kotomi, Yui, and Mashiro’s ”complicated relationships,” birthing fictional tales of campus love and heartbreak. The rumors even evolved into various ”versions,” with the latest being Version 5.0.

If Kotomi ever dared to pull off a ”left-arm Yui, right-arm Mashiro” move, it would undoubtedly make headlines as the scandal of the century at Sobu High School!

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