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It was all Sumire’s fault.
All it took was an offhand comment about school idols being amateurs in the show business industry to get into Keke’s bad books, and she never saw the end of it ever since. Their endless petty arguments became a staple in the school idol clubroom, and the rest of the Liella! members accepted their relationship dynamic as it was.
And yet, Sumire could not help but be drawn to Keke, both as a clubmate and a friend.
Perhaps it was that magnetic personality of hers, or perhaps it was that moment when Keke expressed her desire to see her become the centre during their first Love Live! regional performance. When Keke placed that tiara in Sumire’s hands, it was as if Keke pulled her out of her world of mediocrity, giving her the chance to shine like she never did before.
And for that, Sumire felt an overwhelming desire to repay the favour back to Keke.
“You don’t have to come over to cook dinner for me this often, you know,” Keke commented as she watched Sumire stir the ingredients simmering in the pot.
“That’s because you’re absolutely hopeless, Keke,” Sumire responded with a small sigh. “If not for me, you’d be having takeout or convenience store dinners all the time.”
“Keke’s definitely improved in her cooking, okay!” There was indignation in Keke’s voice. “Just last week I managed to steam a pack of frozen dumplings without overcooking it!”
Sumire rolled her eyes, then proceeded to dish the food and carry them to the modest dining table within Keke’s equally modest apartment. It wasn’t a fancy dinner - a plate of stir-fry vegetables and a bowl of Shanghai wonton soup - but Sumire hoped these Chinese home-style dishes suited Keke’s taste.
“How is it?”
Sumire watched as Keke drank a mouthful of piping hot soup, then carefully bit into a piece of wonton.
“怎么煮得那么好吃...” Keke muttered under her breath.
Sumire raised an eyebrow. “What are you even saying…”
“Uhm! I mean, it tastes nothing like my grandmother’s wonton soup! But I wouldn’t have high expectations coming from you, Sumire.”
“Hmm, really…” Sumire hummed, staring back at Keke doubtfully. Although she barely understood Chinese, she knew that ‘好吃’ meant ‘delicious’, and more importantly the sparkle in Keke’s eyes gave everything away.
“S-stop spouting nonsense! Hurry up and tuck into the food too!”
“Actually, I was wondering, why didn’t you ever learn to cook?” Sumire asked as the both of them continued eating their dinner.
“Keke never had the opportunity, I guess? When I was young, my sister and I would stay over at my grandmother’s place while my parents went to work, and she’d cook meals for us. And when we were older, my sister would insist on cooking when we were at home.”
Sumire observed a wistful smile form at the corner of Keke’s lips as she recounted those memories. She was the baby of her family after all, and was used to being doted on by everyone. And now here she was, alone in Japan to pursue her ambitions to become a school idol, away from her grandmother, her older sister and the rest of her family.
“Do you ever feel lonely? You know, having dinner alone most of the time?”
Keke’s cheeks flushed a light pink. Sumire gulped, secretly hoping the question that subconsciously escaped from her lips did not make Keke feel uneasy all of a sudden.
“You’re really annoying, Sumire! I’ve already told you not to meddle with my personal life, I’m perfectly fine being in Japan all by myself! Anyway, I talk to my family over the phone almost everyday, so I never really feel lonely either.”
Sumire’s eyes narrowed.
“B-but I do appreciate you coming over to have dinner with me from time to time…” Keke mumbled, her words barely audible.
“Well, I’m always a phone call away if you need anyone to bicker with in person,” Sumire remarked with a giggle as she began to clear the now-empty dishes on the dining table.
When she's not noisy and argumentative, Keke can be really cute too, Sumire mused to herself.
Being privy to the fact that Keke could be asked to return to Shanghai if Liella! didn’t win Love Live! plagued Sumire’s mind since their first year of high school, which carried over to their second year of high school. With the competition’s stakes getting higher after each round, that fear gnawed at Sumire more and more, to the point where she resolved within herself to play the villain and insist on only letting the second years perform if that managed to give their group an edge at the competition.
This all culminated into a heated argument with the group and Keke herself, followed by a teary confession at Sumire’s family shrine about how important Keke was to her and how she wanted Keke to continue singing on stage together with her.
After all that had happened, Sumire wondered what had compelled her to shoulder Keke’s burden on her own. As an aspiring talent in the show business industry, where stepping on each other to climb to the top was commonplace, such a selfless act would only put herself at a huge disadvantage.
But perhaps Sumire was acting on her own selfish desires as well, she reasoned. Above all, she couldn’t bear the thought of being in a group without Keke by her side, endlessly poking fun at her, playing silly games with her, and making her high school life just a little more colourful.
She wondered why she felt that way, though.
It was their third year of high school, and the topic of their future after graduating from high school hung over them like a cloud. When Keke made a trip back to Shanghai over the summer break to discuss her future plans with her family, Sumire knew that there was a possibility that she could return to China for university, leaving Japan for good.
An all-expenses paid round trip generously sponsored by Mengmeng brought Sumire and the rest of Liella! to Shanghai shortly after, and Keke revealed her intention to study at a university in Beijing after graduation. This time round, Sumire respected Keke's wishes and did not meddle with her personal choices, but she knew deep inside that this was not what Keke truly wanted. Keke shone the brightest when she was singing and dancing on stage, and her passion for school idols was second to none (except Mei, arguably).
And so Sumire decided to be selfish for one last time.
Right before their performance at the Shanghai school idol festival, Sumire told Keke how she wanted to see her continue to perform on stage. Even if Keke had already made up her mind, even if it was just a short moment between the both of them, the fact that she had tried put Sumire’s heart at peace.
And to her surprise, Keke followed her heart in the end.
“You didn't have to invite me all the way to your home and cook dinner for me, you know,” Sumire commented as she sat at the dining table, watching Keke hunched over her stove.
“You’ve always been cooking for me, so I wanted to return the favour by giving you a taste of Keke's hometown delicacies,” Keke replied. “And also, I wanted to thank you for saving me back then in Shanghai.”
“I… saved you?”
“What you and Kanon said to me before we stepped on stage gave me the final boost of confidence to take that leap towards my dreams.”
Sumire felt her cheeks turn hot. “R-really? Then why not invite Kanon too?”
Keke puffed up her cheeks. “You’re really dense sometimes, Sumire.”
Keke laid out two plates of Napolitan on the dining table, which was met with a quizzical look from Sumire.
“I’m pretty sure Napolitan isn’t your hometown’s cuisine…”
Just then, the doorbell rang.
“Ah! Right on time!” Keke rushed to the door, and returned to the dining table shortly with two cups of YayTea.
“YayTea?” Sumire asked. “That trendy cheese tea which is really popular in China?”
“Yup! I was overjoyed to find out they opened their first branch in Tokyo!” Keke nodded enthusiastically. “It’s one of Keke's hometown delicacies!”
“Heh, can YayTea be considered a hometown delicacy…?”
Keke rolled her eyes in response. “Anyway, I want you to try Keke’s Napolitan as well.”
Sumire ate a mouthful of the pasta. To her surprise, the noodles were just the right level of al dente, the sauce was not overly sweet nor was it too salty, and the ingredients were cooked just right.
“What do you think?”
“Mm… hao chi .” Sumire mumbled.
“好吃?!” Keke parroted Sumire’s words in surprise.
“It really does taste quite good, Keke, I’m surprised too.”
“Sure, but since when did you know Chinese?!”
“I may not understand Chinese, but I know what ‘delicious’ means, okay!” Sumire retorted with a smirk. “I know some simple phrases in various languages, being in show business after all.”
“To think you were acting clueless the whole time,” Keke sighed.
When they were finished with dinner, the both of them sat on Keke’s couch, sipping on the remainder of their cheese teas.
“Actually, Sumire, I’ve always wondered - why are you so nice to me?” Keke spoke, her voice lower than usual. “I mean, since the beginning I’ve always been teasing you and calling you an isopod, but you’ve always been looking out for me and sticking together with me all the time.”
Sumire stared at her fist clenched upon her lap, as she felt her cheeks turn hot. “I guess it's because… you're one of the first few friends in high school that I can really be myself with.”
“I am…?”
“Because of my background as a child actress and the way I carried myself, most people in school seemed to be intimidated by me. Even the few friends I had never truly felt close, as they always kept a polite distance from me.
And then you came along, not giving a damn about my show business experience, and bickering with me to no end. It felt refreshing for once, to have an equally silly friend that I could be my silly self with everyday.”
Sumire paused to take a final sip of her cheese tea, then continued. “That's why I’m thankful that you're my friend, Keke. Even though we don't always see eye to eye, I enjoy your company a lot.”
“Really…” Keke hummed, a cheeky grin appearing on her face. “I thought it's because you've fallen in love with Keke.”
Sumire let out a stunned yelp before clapping her hand on her mouth. “O-of course not! Why would I be in love with you?”
Sumire braced herself for Keke’s snarky retort, something she was so accustomed to over the past 3 years. However, she was met instead with silence, and a slightly crestfallen expression on Keke’s face.
Don’t tell me… she’s actually taking this seriously?
“Are you… upset?” Sumire asked pensively.
Keke almost dropped her cup of YayTea onto her lap. “Ah!! I’m not-”
“Is it because you’ve fallen in love with me?”
Keke’s cheeks instantly flushed red, and her jaw fell open, but no words came out from her mouth.
“Oh, so my guess was correct, huh?” Sumire poked her on the cheek, a smirk on her face.
“Do you… really not feel the same way about me?”
Sumire let out a hearty chuckle. “I was just joking, Keke. I do love you too.”
Despite her nonchalant tone, Sumire’s heart was racing at a million miles a second at that moment.
I finally said it. After three years of chasing after her and wrestling with my own feelings, I finally said it.
When Sumire's heart rate finally slowed to a somewhat human pace, she slowly looked back up at Keke, and at that moment, their eyes met.
“If that's the case… you better not break Keke's heart, okay?”
With a firm grip, Sumire clasped Keke's hands and pulled them close to her chest. “Of course. I wouldn't hear the end of it from you otherwise.”