Chapter 101: Senior Sena

We returned to the villa after our sightseeing adventures. Darkness had already fallen, cloaking the sky like a veil.

As the first stars began to twinkle in the night sky, fireworks erupted in the distance, announcing the start of the festival. The fireworks painted the dark blue canvas with bursts of vibrant color.

Boom—!

As the brilliant fireworks bloomed against the darkness, Mizuki squealed, grabbing Reina-senpai’s hand and running out into the yard.

“Wow~! Reina-senpai, look! They’re so beautiful!”
“Mizuki, don’t run so fast!”

Reina-senpai laughed, like a child herself, as she ran alongside Mizuki under the cascading fireworks.
I sat comfortably in a chair on the terrace, quietly enjoying the fireworks display.

Boom, boom—!

Each explosion of color illuminated us in a dazzling display. The fireworks brought back vivid memories of the spring festival. The moment Aya confessed to me at the night café under the blossoming fireworks.

I unconsciously touched the promise ring on my left ring finger.
The cool metal against my skin felt comforting.

“…”

Aya quietly sat down beside me. She smiled gently and took my hand without a word.

“Rina, are you cold?”

Now that she mentioned it, I did feel a slight chill. Was it because of yesterday’s rain shower? Or simply the night air? I realized I was shivering slightly.
But with Aya next to me… I barely felt the cold.

“I’m not cold at all with you here, Aya.”

Aya blushed, and we looked up at the night sky together. The fireworks exploded brilliantly above us.

“Wow! So many!”
“They look like baby’s breath!”

Mizuki and Reina-senpai’s cheerful laughter reached us from the yard. They were running around like children, taking pictures.

“Mizuki and Reina-senpai seem to be having fun.”
“Yes, Mizuki was very attached to my sister when they were younger.”
“…I see.”

I snuggled closer to Aya, leaning against her.
Glancing back, I saw Sena-senpai sitting at the edge of the terrace, gazing up at the night sky.

She looked perfectly at peace, alone.
With her long silver hair flowing around her, she looked like an ethereal fairy.
As if sensing my gaze, Sena-senpai smiled faintly and waved. I waved back.

Boom—! Boom—!

Fireworks in unique shapes exploded high in the sky, illuminating the night.
I leaned against Aya’s shoulder as we watched.

“Aya, thank you.”
“Huh? What for?”
“Just… for being here with me.”

Aya smiled shyly and squeezed my hand tighter.

As the fireworks began to dwindle, Aya suddenly looked at me and smiled gently.
“Rina, when we go back to Tokyo, would you like to go to the summer festival together?”

“Summer festival?”
“Yes. It’ll be mid-August when we get back, right in the middle of summer festival season. I thought it would be nice to wear yukatas and stroll around together.”

Yukatas…!
Just imagining Aya in a yukata made my heart flutter. I tried to play it cool and nodded.

“Sure! You’d look amazing in a yukata, Aya. I think blue would suit you perfectly.”
“Then, how about red for you, Rina?”

We smiled at each other.
Our laughter was drowned out by the sound of the final fireworks illuminating the night sky.

Boom, boom, boom—!

As the dazzling fireworks display ended, Mizuki said in a disappointed tone,

“Aw~ It’s over.”
“But wasn’t it beautiful? It was lovely.”

Reina-senpai smiled, gently patting Mizuki’s back. I’d only ever seen her looking frail and unwell, so seeing her so lively and energetic today was a pleasant surprise.

It seemed like her illness wasn’t something that physically debilitated her.
I’d been leaning against Aya’s shoulder for so long that I’d somehow ended up lying on her lap.

“The fireworks were even more beautiful because I watched them with you, Aya.”

Aya’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, and then she gently stroked my hair.
“Me too, Rina.”

We slowly got up and went back inside. I quickly made my way to the guest room and claimed my bed.

“Reina-senpai, you should take the second floor tonight!”
“Eh… I guess I have no choice.”

“You have your own room, senpai! We’ll sleep in the guest room.”

Reina-senpai exchanged glances with Aya, smiled slightly, and nodded.

“Okay, goodnight everyone!”

Aya glanced at me, looking slightly disappointed, but she eventually followed Reina-senpai upstairs.

That left Mizuki, Sena-senpai, and me – a rather unusual combination.
We each lay down in our beds in the guest room, but of course, Mizuki couldn’t stay quiet.

“Rina-tan~! Last night was nice, wasn’t it?”
“Eh?! What was?!”

I was flustered by Mizuki’s sudden question. She found my reaction amusing and pressed further.

“Heehee~ I saw you and Aya-ring having a nice time during your nighttime stroll on the beach~ And then you two fell asleep in the same bed~ Hehehe…”
“N-No, we didn’t!”
“Come on, Rina-tan, your face says it all~?”

Sena-senpai, who was by the window, watched us silently.
Although I couldn’t see her expression clearly, she seemed to be smiling.

“You two look really good together.”
“Eh… Senpai, you mean Mizuki and me?”
“No, Aya-chan and Rina-chan.”
“Eeeee…!”

Flustered by Sena-senpai’s sudden attack, I buried my face in my pillow. Mizuki’s cheerful laughter and Sena-senpai’s soft chuckle filled the room.

****

About ten minutes after I’d buried my face in my pillow, Mizuki, who had been chattering excitedly, fell fast asleep. Hearing her peaceful breathing, I relaxed and closed my eyes.

That’s when it happened.

Rustle—

The blanket was gently lifted. I opened my eyes, and a familiar silver hair, faintly illuminated by the moonlight, entered my vision.

“Sena-senpai…?”

Sena-senpai snuggled close to me, slipping under the covers.
I almost stopped breathing from the surprise, but seeing her beautiful purple eyes up close… my heart fluttered.

I was already weak for Aya, with her silver hair and blue eyes, and Sena-senpai, with her similar silver hair and violet eyes…

Thump, thump…

My heart raced, and I remained silent. Sena-senpai chuckled softly and spoke.

“[Rina-chan, you understand Korean, right?]”

The sudden Korean made my heart beat even faster.

“…Huh?”
“[Don’t pretend you don’t.]”
“[Yes…]”

I’d thought about playing dumb and responding in Japanese, but… I resigned myself and replied softly in Korean. My own voice and Korean pronunciation felt incredibly awkward.

“[As I thought. That’s interesting. Did you learn it because you like K-pop?]”
“[Well… My cousin is half-Korean.]”

I quickly used my cousin as an excuse.
Sorry… Miyu-unni…!

“[But you speak it so naturally?]”

Sena-senpai smiled knowingly.

“Ah… That’s…”

I hesitated, switching back to Japanese, but it seemed I’d already been found out. Sena-senpai was looking straight at me. Her clear, violet eyes made my heart skip a beat.

“[…I’m guessing it’s something like reincarnation.]”

Caught completely off guard by her unexpected words, I failed to maintain my composure.
Sena-senpai, noticing my expression, chuckled.

“[As I suspected. Me too.]”
“[What? Then… Senpai, you too…]”

Sena-senpai closed her eyes and nodded slightly in response to my question.

“[Yes. Something similar.]”

A shiver ran down my spine. I thought I’d kept it a secret from everyone… To be discovered by someone so unexpected, in such an unexpected place…

But it made sense. I’d hesitated with my Japanese sometimes, stared blankly at Korean text… There were bound to be slip-ups.

Sharing this unexpected secret, we looked at each other and smiled softly. It was a strange and slightly embarrassing feeling.

“[Well, it’s not a story that many people would understand. Nobody believed me except my mom.]”

Sena-senpai smiled gently under the moonlight. Reincarnation was certainly a difficult concept for most people to grasp. Perhaps that was why it was easier to open up to each other.

“[Should we exchange LINE contacts?]”
“[Yes! Let’s.]”

I immediately took out my phone and exchanged LINE accounts with Sena-senpai. Then, emboldened, I spoke.

“[Senpai]”
“[Yes?]”
“[Do you know how cute you are?]”
“[I do.]”
“…”

I was slightly annoyed by Sena-senpai’s confident, unfazed reply. I hadn’t expected that!

“[You know you’re really cute too, Rina-chan?]”
“[I’m not…]”
“[You are. Aya liking you is proof of that.]”
“[I’m not…]”
“[You two are so well-suited.]”

Sena-senpai looked at me with warm eyes.

“[Senpai, even in Korea, between women…]”

I started to protest, but Sena-senpai chuckled.

“[Are you worried I’ll steal Aya from you?]”
“[No, Senpai, even in Japan…!]”

I let out a whispered shriek, making sure not to wake Mizuki.

“[That’s not going to happen. But you two are such a cute couple that there’s no room for me to interfere anyway.]”
“[N-No… That’s not true…]”
“[Then were you a man in your past life?]”

I felt a chill as if I’d stepped on a landmine while trying to backpedal. Sena-senpai’s playful grin and the curve of her violet eyes were more captivating than I expected, and she possessed a commanding presence that filled the room.

“[You’re right.]”
“[Senpai…?]”
“[You must be popular. Do you get a lot of confessions?]”
“[Yes… Do you, Senpai?]”
“[A man turned woman is bound to shine.]”

Sena-senpai chuckled and then looked away, casually dropping a bombshell.

“[If you want to marry a woman, you can just go to the Netherlands.]”
“[Senpai…]”

Her playful expression turned serious.

“[Please take good care of Aya-chan.]”
“[…Suddenly?]”
“[You said you’d send me a wedding invitation, right?]”
“[Ugh… Then you have to live until then.]”
“[Guess I should start looking at flights to the Netherlands?]”
“[You’re so mischievous, Senpai.]”
“[It’s my job.]”

Sena-senpai chuckled and continued.

“[Thankfully, I’m feeling better these days.]”
“[But you look so frail…?]”
“[Last year was the worst. I couldn’t even perform at the concert.]”

Sena-senpai smiled faintly, a hint of sadness in her voice. Her smile looked a little forlorn.

“[Ah… I see.]”
“Rina-chan.”
“Yes?”
“Are you… interested in becoming a VTuber?”

Taken aback by the sudden question in Japanese, I immediately shook my head.

“Eh?! No! Not at all! That doesn’t suit my personality at all!”

Sena-senpai seemed slightly disappointed by my vehement denial.

“Tsk, that’s too bad… Reina-chan and Aya-chan had the same reaction.”

Looking dejected, Sena-senpai slipped out of my bed and went back to her own.

“You two look good together.”
“Aren’t you dating Reina-senpai?”
“No way… I’m the type who gets burned when I date.”

Sena-senpai closed her eyes, a smile on her face.
After a while, I could hear her regular breathing.