Pickup「軟派, Nanpa?」 is the fifty-third chapter of the Oshi no Ko manga series. It is written by Aka Akasaka and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari. It was released in Weekly Young Jump on August 26, 2021.[1]
Summary[]
Melt laments over his poor performance in the adaptation of Sweet Today. He takes a walk to clear his mind but he encounters Ruby and her friend Minami, who have come to the rehearsal for the stage play to visit Aqua. Ruby recognizes Melt from Sweet Today and introduces herself. Melt tells her that the rehearsals are over for the day her and brother has already left with Akane. Ruby is confused since Aqua has been coming home at different times lately. A shy Minami points out that there is a chance that he comes home late since he's doing lewd things with Akane. Ruby gives a conflicted look but declares that she refuses to believe her friend's assumption, and that she will lose all respect for her brother if he actually does.
Ruby then asks to use the restwoom and while she is away, Minami is approached by one of the 2.5D stage actors, Sakuya, who tries to pick her up and asks for her contact information. However he is abruptly interrupted by Melt who tells him that there's an emergency meeting with the director. After moving away from Minami, Melt then reveals that he was lying and explains that Sakuya was picking up a friend of Aqua's sister, and it felt unprofessional. Sakuya then admonishes Melt, attacking his lack of talent and how his performance is dragging the whole play down, before taking his leave. Reflecting on his words, Melt recognizes that his is lacking in acting talent, and he has known about it ever since acting with Aqua.
At the end, Ruby comes back to the Ichigo-Pro office, happily proclaim that he got a contact of his brother's friends, most possibly Sakuya. Her teammate then both tell her about how the 2.5D Stage Actors usually play around. They warn her not to meet up with them if possible and promptly block his contacts from her phone.
Characters[]
