LU Chapter 20

# Chapter Twenty - "Idols' Night Out"

### Dam-Bi

    After getting changed out of my costume, gossiping with some of the girls in the hall about their weekend plans, and getting all of my things together, it was time to go home and relax after a long week of hard work. I wasn't even sleepy anymore! Thanks to the scary events that took place backstage, but still! Those are problems for when we're in the studio, and I have tomorrow off, so they're future-Bibi's problem. There's just one curious little thing I need to take care of first before I head home and slip into my comfy slippers…

    "Heya Eimicchi. Sooo, who's your friend with the *amazing* fashion sense?"

    "My, am I really that unrecognizable?"

    Eimi was standing around outside the locker room joking around with, I assumed, one of the stagehands or girls from the costume shop that I didn't recognize yet. Whoever she is, she's dressed to the nines. Positively super cute! Decked out in a lovely black silk blouse on top of a long, forest green plaid pleated skirt with very striking diags of crimson which lead all the way down to a pair of patent leather Chelsea boots, the entire ensemble was fairly obviously bespoke. Even her handbag was made of the exact same material as the skirt, and she even had a matching scarf wrapped around the strap. This was, without a doubt, the kind of girl I can do business with. Her outfit is so stylish it makes Eimi's cashmere cardigan, heavy pleated skirt, and platform pumps look like one of Akira's tracksuits. I may even tell her so, just on principle.

    "Told you nobody would recognize you."

    "How intriguing. Do I truly look that different just from a change in attire, Ms. Han?" The girl tucked an errant strand of silky brown hair behind her ear, which was a pale shade of pink from my compliment, disturbing the glinting cabochons of amber set in silver and rose gold - with just a sprinkling of small diamonds for flourish, naturally - that complimented her outfit expertly. Hearing my name spoken in exactly that manner provided the spark that jump-started my recognition. This bombshell with the tight ponytail and classy highland-inspired outfit is actually…

    "Megumin?! Whoa, what happened? You look amazing!"

    "Thank you, Ms. Han. I feel quite strange, but your opinion does put me at ease somewhat. I hoped it would be pleasing if I embraced my other side for the evening."

    "Well you were successful! We should get all dressed up sometime and go out on the town. I bet we'd turn everyone's heads. But, uh, wait, your 'other side'? You haven't been talking to Anette, have you? Is it still okay to call you Megumin?"

    "I mean my mother's side of the family, Ms. Han. I made sure to select the correct pattern for the tartan, and my jewelry is authentic to the coast of my grandparents' estate."

    "Fun! Well the important thing is that now you know you have options to look cute."

    "Ms. Han, you'll make me blush. In fact, this was a request by-"

    "Hey! It's none of her business. Sorry Bibi, but we've got plans and we're running late."

    "Oh, okay…"

    Megumi, despite her change in style, bowed slightly just as she usually would before Eimi grabbed her by the hand and dragged her off down the hall.

    Of course, I followed right after them.

    This is too interesting to let get away that easily.

    "Hold up! Where are you two off to like that? Do you have a double date or something?"

    "I said it's none of your business."

    "A double date? My, that would be interesting. No, Ms. Inagawa merely asked me on-"

    "Megumi!"

    "-a regular date."

    Huh.

    I can't tell if that surprises me or not…

    "Don't say it like that! She'll get the wrong idea! Then she'll go blabbing to everyone who'll listen… Ugh…" Eimi threw her hands in the air and sighed heavily. "It's a girls' night out, okay? It's not *actually* a date."

    "I believe the magazine called it a 'practice date', did it not?"

    "Yeah but don't call it that. Bibi, it's just two friends having fun after a rough week, like whatever it is you get up to with your friend what's'ername nearly every weekend."

    "Ms. Inagawa, you should be kinder to me. I believe Ms. Han recently proposed that she take me out for an evening as well. It seems I have options for company."

    "That sounds fun! I've always wanted to go on one of those! Let's make it a double date for real! I even know the perfect place! Please?!"

    "No way! Absolutely not! We already have a reservation at a place way nicer than whatever hole in the wall you're thinking of."

    *"Pretty please?!"*

    "That sounds lovely, Ms. Han. A meal always tastes better when it's shared with friends. I'm afraid a 'double date' usually requires two couples though, and Ms. Inagawa did ask for my company first. Who will be your date for the evening?"

    "Give me fifteen minutes to find someone. Don't go anywhere! This is going to be so much fun!"

    Thankfully I was already super cute and stylish in my leggings and oversized boyfriend sweater, and all my makeup was already done from shooting today, so all I had to do was secure an appropriate companion for the evening. I could call my bestie whose dorm isn't far away, but the way Megumi is already teasing Eimi about it being a date she may get the wrong idea and think I have a crush on her again - which I totally do not. Plus she'd probably spend the whole night trying to hit on Eimi, and that could give *Megumi* the wrong idea. Some of the girls have already gone home, but a few especially hard working ones are bound to still be around, and thankfully one of them is who I decided to look for.

    "There you are!" In the hallway outside of the main conference room I located my friends that I knew would probably still be here. "Are you guys done for the night?"

    "Junko still has some stuff to do we were going to help her out with. Do you wanna help too?"

    "Juney, you and Kira-Kira can handle it, can't you? I need to borrow Hanarin for something urgent!"

    "Ayeah we can totally handle it."

    "I suppose we'd be fine. What's the emergency? Do you need our help too?" Junko stared at me with that don't-you-dare-steal-my-Hanarin look she gets, which honestly is half of the fun of hanging out with Hanarin sometimes.

    "Eimicchi is going on a date with Megumin and wants to make it a double, so I'm stealing Hanarin for the evening. How about it, Rinko? Wanna go get dinner with them?" Rinko looked vaguely confused at what was happening as I grabbed her hand and tugged her over to my side. A wellspring of laughter proceeded to erupt from Akira, and Junko made a face similar to an android suffering a complete meltdown in its positronic brain. I know exactly what she's worried about, but she really doesn't need to be. It's not that kind of date. "Don't worry Juney, I'll get her back to the dorm safe and sound. If anyone tries anything we'll just sick Eimi on them. See you later! Bye-bye!"

    "I c-can't do that! That's disgusting! Um, no offense…"

    "Come, Ms. Han. The article in PonPonPetit very clearly listed this as one of the things to try on a practice date, and as the one who proposed the idea to Ms. Hanazawa, the impetus is on you to take the initiative."

    "T-To be fair, you seem to be taking the initiative an awful lot with Eimicchi."

    "Well, this is hardly our first time dining alone together."

    "Not to mention that we've covered half of this in our game at one point or another, so it's not like anything we do phases the other anymore."

    "Just between us, I do believe Mina enjoys it."

    "I-I told you not to call me that!"

    "Apologies, Ms. Ina-"

    "Don't call me that either!"

    "Please forgive me, Eimi. I suppose pet names are something which must be worked up to."

    Most of this evening had been a blast. No, really, even though Eimi is here. I don't think even Chiyo gets as flustered as she's been half the night under Megumin's onslaught of relentless cutesiness. Even as we talked, Megumin skillfully picked up a large piece of charcoal-grilled short rib and angled her chopsticks toward Eimi's face. Eimi didn't even hesitate or flinch, carefully biting the piece of beef like she was used to this. As she chewed she plucked a square of green pepper from the grill, dipped it in a ramekin of sauce, and presented it to her "date", who mirrored the motion. As Megumin tried to hold back her disgust, which I'm fairly confident is not over Eimi's germs but over the choice of offering, Eimi snickered to herself and grinned.

    "Ms. Han, Ms. Hanazawa, are you familiar with the myth of Prometheus?"

    I exchanged glances with Hanarin. I couldn't recall ever hearing that name, and she looked just as confused as I am.

    "Is that some kind of *romantic* story?", Hanarin took the initiative and asked exactly what I was thinking.

    "Not at all. It's a story about a man, Prometheus, and the great god Zeus. They wished to determine, when an animal was sacrificed to the gods, how much belonged to the gods and how much to the humans. To trick Zeus, Prometheus took the bones and skins of an offering and skillfully disguised them to appear appetizing, then took the good meat and fat and hid it within the ox's stomach. Zeus was asked to choose which half he wanted in sacrifice, and he chose the beautiful pile of bones and fur. What do you think happened?"

    "Zeus got mad and zapped ‘em?"

    "Indeed, Ms. Hanazawa. This story teaches us an important lesson. An offering of unpleasant food, no matter how skillfully covered up, deserves punishment."

    Before the meaning of her fable could sink in and nearly faster than we could see, Megumi flicked Eimi's knuckles with her chopsticks. Eimi yelped and pulled her hand away cursing, rubbing the back of her hand on her skirt as Hanarin and I giggled. Megumi was unmoved by the act, snatching another piece of wagyu off the grill.

    I would say that this was pretty mean, but small smacks and pinches seem to be a recurring theme when these two have a girls' night.

    "I guess we have no choice…" At least not if we want to avoid Megumi's discipline, as she proceeded to watch us carefully to make sure we weren't going to cheat.

    The point of a night out like this is to learn how to think when you're actually on a real date. I guess that means choosing the right morsel of food is important, right? Looking over the grill, we were nearing the end of our meal, hence why the conversation had shifted away from gossip and onto this subject. Hanarin likes meat with most meals, so that's probably the best option to go with. I chose a large, juicy looking piece of beef - I've seen how vegetables are rewarded at this table, and Hanarin gets to pick next - picked it up carefully, and presented it to her. She opened her mouth wide and said "ahh" for some reason, letting me place it right into her mouth before she bit down on it.

    "My turn…" Or a pair of sounds that were meant to mean that, as Rinko was mumbling through her chewing. Without more than a glance she picked up the most delicious looking piece - which I had had my eye on anyway - and moved it in my direction. I opened my mouth wider than I normally would in case Rinko needed a larger target, before suddenly feeling like everyone in the restaurant must surely be watching me right this moment. This caused me to let out something I could only describe as a squeak the moment the beef touched my lips, which in turn caused Rinko to jump and drop the morsel directly into my lap, causing me to squeak again as it hit my napkin.

    "Sorry!"

    "It's okay!" I panicked, thinking this must be an even more embarrassing thing to happen, and immediately grabbed the slice of beef myself and, to hide the evidence, shoved it quickly into my mouth. Eimi laughed, followed quickly by Megumi's small tittering giggles.

    My face felt like it had slammed into the grill when I realized why they were so amused.

    *They gave me Rinko germs…!*

    I feel like I could crawl under the table and never come back out.

    "See? It's no big deal. Nothin' happened."

    "I dunno…", Rinko considered. "Megumi got your germs and now she's hitting people with chopsticks. Maybe it'll make *me* better at picking out clothes now that I have Dam-Bi's…" She stared at the sticks in my hand for a few moments contemplating that possibility before setting hers down across her plate. "Nah. Where are we going for dessert?!"

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