In the summer when I was in fifth grade, a fireworks display was held in the town. My father called me because he was working overtime and said he couldn't make it back.

It didn't really matter if it was five o'clock. She didn't like crowded places, noisy places, and fireworks blooming in the sky. This scene could be seen on TV, so she wasn't very clear on the significance of going to watch it live.

Just seeing the back of my younger brother walking back to the room in despair made me feel heartbroken.

"Sister, I'll take you there." After coming back to his senses, he couldn't help but say the words.

During the lively celebration, my still young brother was infected by the atmosphere and ran around. Helpless, Wu Geng had to hold his hand to prevent him from getting lost.

——

On the way to the conference room, Wu Geng, who was holding Nishino's hand, thought of these inexplicably in his mind.

During the fireworks display at that time, I didn’t expect that so many people would gather at midnight. The usually deserted streets only seemed to wake up from a deep sleep and yawn during festivals.

Along the way, Wu Geng held his younger brother's hand and watched the fireworks blooming in the sky on the river bank. Accompanied by the exclamations around him, the fireworks were brilliant for a moment, then swallowed up by the cool night, and then another one exploded.

The night sky was covered in bruises but remained unscathed.

"Have Nanase been to the fireworks display?"

As soon as I sat down in the conference room, Wu Geng suddenly asked.

Unexpected questions.

"...went there with my family."

But he answered anyway.

That's it... Wu Geng nodded.

"I don't like fireworks displays," she continued under Nishino's doubtful gaze: "There is a lot of people, and I always see the fireworks blooming first, and then the explosion sounds belatedly. I always feel a kind of misplaced incongruity.

I feel good about it. But I can’t say I hate it. In comparison, I hate that one more.”

Nishino followed Wugeng's line of sight and saw two fixed cameras. The dark lenses revealed a pale and cold feeling, showing a calm and unhurried atmosphere.

"Especially now." Wu Geng added.

Uneasiness and expectations were stagnant in the conference room. The air stopped flowing, and the sounds were dormant. One or two coughs were like thunder at night, which was uncomfortable and sudden.

Nishino stared at the camera lens for a while, then lowered her head and saw the wrinkles on her skirt. She tried to smooth them out with her hands, again and again, but failed.

Just like there must be a shadow under the light, the pleats and the skirt seem to have a fateful marriage. It will stay here until the red thread is cut off.

Nishino blinked his sour eyes, as if he was about to shed tears.

"Everyone."

It was Shitara's voice, which seemed to be wired from the studio. The volume was not loud, but the space that was dominated by silence a second ago was like an arrow penetrating the barrier. The members were forced to escape from their own thoughts.

Emotionally detached.

"Can you hear me? Everyone."

"...can hear it." was one of the few responses.

(ex){}&/The ringtone was like a long knife as thin as a cicada's wing, cleverly cutting through the dull air. When Wu Geng realized it, Shiraishi had already answered the phone.

"Yes,...yes, thank you, thank you..."

After saying words of thanks intermittently, Shiraishi left the scene, and then the congratulations of "congratulations" started to ring out.

The seat Shiraishi left looked like a torn wound in the room. Wu Geng thought of a small hole burned out by the exploding fireworks in the night sky at the fireworks display. Of course she knew that it was the afterimage of memory on the retina, but

Corresponding to the scene in front of her, she felt that the wounds and holes were real.

The applause of congratulations rang out, and I felt like I was being pulled by an unknown force. I clapped unconsciously at midnight. The applause solidified the wound and turned it into something visible to the naked eye. It lay there and just existed.

Sayuri Matsumura, Nana Hashimoto, Rina Ikoma, Kazumi Takayama...

Immediately afterwards, mobile phones rang one after another, and each member who left left a wound. The remaining members solidified it with congratulations in the form of applause.

This seems to have become a ritual.

Until, the ringtone next to her rang, Nishino Nanase answered the phone, tears welled up in her eyes, she covered her mouth, choked with sobs, and looked at the girl beside her.

Wu Geng smiled and said silently: "Congratulations." In addition to being happy for the girl, she felt more fortunate. If Nishino had received the last call, Wu Geng might have cried at this moment.

It's not that he regrets not being chosen, but that he doesn't want her to see him look like a defeated dog.

After leaving the most vivid wound, Nishino left sobbing. He was the first to applaud at the fifth watch.

The room did not become empty due to the departure of the members, but instead became more crowded.

Finally, the last phone rang.

Wu Geng exhaled with relief, her hands and feet were numb, and her head was like a tram arriving at the station. The carriage that was crowded a second ago was suddenly empty. She didn't hear the voice on the phone clearly, but responded subconsciously. When she came to her senses, she picked up the receiver.

There is a busy signal on the other end.

At the fifth watch, she stood up and left. Something was pulled out of her body and stopped in place. The girl ignored it and walked straight out of the room.

Applause rang out from behind.

She didn't look back.

——

At this point, the members selected for the debut single are as follows:

The Seven Gods of Luck: Mai Shiraishi, Sayuri Matsumura, Nami Hashimoto, Rina Ikoma, Kazumi Takayama, Erika Ikuta, Minami Hoshino.
Chapter completed!