Chapter 1

Hinata: To everyone passing by, hello! ☆

I’m Aoi Hinata!

Yuuta: And I’m Aoi Yuuta!

Hinata: We’re about to do a juggling performance! If you think it’s cool, why not stop and take a look?

Yuuta: It’s free of charge, so just enjoy yourselves until the very end ♪

Hinata: I’ll start us off! Here I have one little beanbag—now two, three... and all together, seven of them!

Okie doke, let’s get this ball rolling!

Hup—! Hoh—! ...Hup hup hup—♪

Ahaha, thanks for the resounding applause!

Next it’s Yuuta’s turn! I’ll pass the baton ☆

Yuuta: Baton passed ☆

Everyone, your attention please! Let’s try juggling on a unicycle!

Ready, set~ Hoh—! Hup hup hup—♪

Thank you very much for your applause! And for our final trick, both Aniki and I are going to take on a daring challenge ♪

We’re going to juggle these clubs! These bowling pin-like things!

Hinata: But hey, don’t go thinking that this is just another plain ol’ juggling act! We’re the twin idols, 2wink!

The clubs keep moving, back and forth, back and forth between us! Behold, the skill born from the synchronization of our body and minds ♪

~ ...... ♪

Yuuta: ~ ...... ♪

Hinata: All right! How’s that?

Hehe, everyone’s gaping like a fish! Yayyy, huge success!

Yuuta: Huge success ♪

Hinata: And with that, we bring our street performance to a close! Ah—take a flier before you go, okay?

Yep, it’s for the nearby bakery’s reopening. We’re planning another performance on the day of, so you should definitely stop by!

Yuuta: We’re really looking forward to seeing you there ♪

Hinata: ......

Yuuta: ......

Hinata: Fwaaah, that was exhausting! I’m ready to collapse!

Yuuta: Ahaha, good work, Aniki. We’ve been going since noon without a single break...

I’ve been juggling the whole time, too, so my back is killing me and my arms feel like they’re going to fall off.

Hinata: Well, thanks to that, we were able to distribute all of the fliers in just one day.

Yuuta: Yeah. The guy at the shop said it’d be a big help if we finished handing them out before tomorrow.

Hinata: You think we can get a little extra something then? If he can’t pay us, I’d be happy just getting some bread for tonight’s dinner. Saves us on cash.

Yuuta: Huh? We should eat a proper dinner, you know... And besides, I don’t really think just bread is enough after we’ve been exercising so much.

Hinata: We’re pretty big eaters, huh? In any case, we should go let him know we’ve finished the job.

Yuuta: All right. I don’t have the strength to run, so let’s take our time walking over.

Hinata: ‘Kay, let’s hold hands and watch the sunset ♪

A few minutes later

Hinata: Excuse us! We’re all done handing out the fliers ♪

Yuuta: No, no, you don’t have to thank us. Please just keep supporting us from now on!

Hinata: What, you’ve got another job for us already? What is it? It’d be even better if it’s something similar to idol work ♪

Hmm... a commercial to liven up the downtown area, huh? And you want us to do it?

A commercial would be a good way to show off 2wink’s appeal, so there’s no reason to refuse. What do you think, Yuuta-kun?

Yuuta: It’s fine, isn’t it? We aren’t doing anything with 2wink right now... or I guess I should say there are no requests coming in.

Besides, this might help bring in more opportunities for us.

Hinata: Yep! So please let 2wink handle this job!

Eh? You want us to take care of the filming if possible?

Hmm... so it’s already been decided to shoot the commercial, but no one’s hired a cameraman or anything yet...

So you’re paying for the video production, but you want us to figure that part out for ourselves.

Can do! We’ll make a commercial so great, you’ll be overjoyed that you requested us! Please look forward to it!

Yuuta: W–wait, Aniki. Don’t make promises you can’t keep! It’d be one thing if we were just performing, but we also have to film it, too? I’m not on board with that, for obvious reasons!

Hinata: Now now, Yuuta-kun. Calm down~ It looks like they’re in a bind, so I think we’d be helping them out. It’s fine, it’s fine! We’ve got this ☆

Yuuta: Easier said than done. We’ve never filmed a commercial before.

And what are we gonna do about the cameraman? If one of us films it, then there’s only gonna be one of us actually on-screen.

And anyways, it’s not a movie if we don’t even have someone to direct it, right?

Hinata: Oh, that’s true. Then, should we get someone to direct it...?

Yuuta: Director, hm... Do you have anyone in mind? Do we even know anyone good at that kind of thing?

Hinata: Mm, I dunno. I always get this impression that directors are like, eccentric oddballs...

Yuuta: Hang on, Aniki. You’re gonna piss off every director in the world by saying that.

Hinata: Eccentric... oddball... ah—! What about Hibiki-senpai?

Yuuta: Oh yeah, he’s the president of the drama club, so he might know a thing or two about films.

But we’ve barely even talked to him. Would he really accept if we asked him?

Hinata: Don’t worry about it! Just the other day, I said hi to Hibiki-senpai, and we ended up becoming friends!^[1]

Yuuta: Hmm, that’s news to me. When and where did you even “say hi to Hibiki-senpai and become friends,” Aniki?

Hinata: Umm? W–well, don’t sweat the details!

Anyway, it looked like Hibiki-senpai liked me. I’m sure he’ll accept if we ask him.

Right-o! We’ll talk to him tomorrow at school!

I’ve been a big fan of Hibiki-senpai since the Circus, y’know! I’m glad I have an excuse to talk to him now ♪

Yuuta: Ah... after the Circus ended, you couldn’t stop talking about how great Hibiki-senpai was.

I don’t know how this will go, but I hope we get a good reply from him.

jp proofing: iridesenescence
eng proofing: Blake