Soubu High School.
Today wasn't just any ordinary day—it was exam day. A wave of dread rolled through the classroom like a silent tsunami of doom. The usual suspects—Tobe Kakeru, Hachiman, and a few hopeless otakus—cried out in despair.
"Crap, it's over! There's an exam today!!" "I didn't study at all, I'm dead!" "Same here! My soul already left my body!" "Hayato-kun, we're buddies, right?! Real bros?" "Uh, yeah? What's going on?" Hayama Hayato asked, blinking in confusion.
"Then please! Fail the test with us! For solidarity!" Hayato's handsome face twitched like he'd just been slapped with a math textbook. "Are you even speaking Japanese right now...?"
"Haha, just kidding~ But seriously, Hayato-kun, got any quick tips for cramming? I'm in survival mode!"
While the classroom spiraled into panic, Nozomi sat calmly at his desk, completely unfazed. Well... almost completely. Truth be told, he'd dozed off more than once in class. But!—he had a secret weapon.
He studied regularly with Mahiru and Yukino, two of the top-tier students in the entire grade. Nozomi himself ranked second, while Sumireko dominated the liberal arts division like an elegant war goddess. In that kind of environment, even a slacker would become a scholar by osmosis.
"Hey Nozomi, exams are coming up... got any tricks to raise grades real quick?" Yuigahama Yui had appeared by his desk, leaning in with sparkly, hopeful eyes.
Nozomi sighed.
Oh right. Yui was that kind of student.
The one who somehow got accepted into Soubu High through divine luck. Even her mom had reportedly screamed, "You passed?!" when the letter arrived. And after enrollment, she'd devoted herself entirely to being Miura Yumiko's stylish sidekick. Nozomi had noticed she tried to listen in class, but her gaze always drifted away—usually toward cute accessories or what snacks to buy after school.
Nozomi rested his chin on his hand and replied seriously, "Cheat."
Yui's eyes widened. "Wha—?!"
"Make a cheat sheet or something," he said nonchalantly.
Her face turned pale. "That's horrible! What if I get caught? I'd die from the shame!"
Nozomi gave a helpless shrug. "Then the only way left is to actually crack open your textbook. Skim through it, memorize the key points. If luck's on your side, you might scrape a passing score."
In other words: "You've done nothing all semester, now pray."
Yui puffed out her cheeks and groaned, "Ughhh, I guess that's all I can do…"
Still, she obediently walked back to her desk and cracked open her notes. To be fair, she probably didn't even care about the answer. She just wanted to chat with Nozomi. He didn't mind. A pretty girl making conversation wasn't exactly something to complain about.
Meanwhile, Miura Yumiko looked as unbothered as a cat sunbathing on a windowsill.
Of course she did.
People were always distracted by her mascara and glossy lips, thinking she was some shallow fashion queen. But the truth was, Yumiko studied. Hard. Every night after school, she reviewed class material and even annotated her notes with gel pens. That's why her grades were top-tier, and why she naturally held the crown in her little clique.
Fast-forward to after the morning exams.
The scene shifts to the clubroom of the Service Club.
"Let's check the answers together!" Yuigahama Yui's voice echoed through the Service Club room like a firecracker of misplaced enthusiasm.
Yukinoshita Yukino turned her head slowly, her expression perfectly sculpted into a mask of polite confusion. "…Why would we do something so meaningless?"
Yui blinked. "Eh? How is that meaningless? If we compare answers, we'll get a feel for how we did. That way, we won't be as anxious waiting for our grades, right?"
Yukino looked at her like someone who had just suggested using chopsticks to eat curry. A silence passed between them before she calmly replied, "I'm first in the grade. I don't need to guess."
Yui flinched. Critical hit.
"And Nozomi is second," Yukino added, glancing toward the lone boy who was lounging comfortably like a prince on break. "We study together all the time. His answers are fast, accurate, and annoyingly perfect."
At that moment, Suou Yuki, seated elegantly with a cup of tea in hand, gave her hair a confident flick.
"In my previous school, I was always in the top ten. Not number one like Yukino, of course... but I've got this exam handled," she said with a graceful smile, her voice full of quiet pride.
Then came Sumireko, the mysterious liberal arts queen of the club. She pushed her glasses up with scholarly dignity.
"I specialize in liberal arts," she said, "but I can handle science and math well enough. Failing a class? That's a realm I refuse to set foot in."
Yui wilted like a flower in winter. "Wait… so I'm the only one in the entire Service Club at risk of flunking?!"
Nozomi didn't sugarcoat it. "To be precise, yeah. In our little circle, you're the only one standing at the edge of academic doom."
He leaned forward slightly, voice teasing. "Yumiko and Hina always review the day's material after school. And you? What do you do when you get home, Yui? Scroll through your phone? Play with your dog? Watch variety shows?"
Yui scratched her cheek, clearly cornered. "W-Well… I didn't realize the others were actually studying. I mean, we never talk about grades or anything…"
Yukino let out a dramatic sigh and rolled her eyes. "As a Soubu High student, isn't maintaining academic discipline a given? Or did you enroll here thinking this was some kind of fashion academy?"
Yui rubbed the back of her head, awkward and a little embarrassed. "Even my mom thought there was a mistake when she saw my acceptance letter…"
For a moment, the room went completely quiet. Nozomi could feel the laughter bubbling up in his chest. He struggled to contain it but ultimately gave in with a chuckle. "Hey, luck's a form of talent too. Don't beat yourself up over it."
Yui slumped in her seat, lips trembling. "But I can't not care! If I fail, I'll have to take makeup classes—over and over until I pass! That means no weekends, no fun, just eternal studying!! It's basically a prison sentence!!"
Yukino gave her the side-eye. "If you're that terrified of failing, maybe you should consider actually studying."
She continued coolly, "And I wouldn't recommend checking answers. Especially when you're surrounded by… well—this."
Yui's shoulders drooped lower and lower. In a clubroom filled with Soubu's elite academic monsters, she stood alone as the loveable, failing underdog. If she checked answers now, it'd probably crush what was left of her morale.
Nozomi let out a small sigh and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Look, failing isn't the end of the world. Worst case, you take tutoring. And with Yukinoshita here—the grade's top student, no less—you've got a cheat code right in this room."
He leaned back, grinning devilishly. "Though, fair warning… our dear president has a tutoring style that's more 'ice queen drill sergeant' than gentle senpai."
Yukino folded her arms and offered the faintest of smiles—cold and regal. "If you want my help, be prepared. I don't go easy on incompetence."
But Yui, rather than cowering, clenched her fists with determination burning in her eyes. "I'll do it! I'll work hard, Yukino-chan!"
Nozomi chuckled again. It seemed Yui had caught on to something most people missed—behind Yukino's glacier-like aura, there was a strangely reliable warmth.
After the afternoon exams…
Nozomi packed away his materials with the relaxed grace of someone who had just finished a side quest on easy mode. He slung his bag over his shoulder and headed straight for the clubroom.
Soubu's teachers were like grading machines—by tomorrow, the results would probably already be up. But Nozomi wasn't worried. He could already guess the results for everyone. Yui, on the other hand? She was walking a tightrope over a pit of academic doom.
Nozomi slid open the door to the Service Club. The soft scent of herbal tea greeted him. Inside, only one person sat at the table—Yukino.
She looked up from her book, blinked once, then gave him a slightly suspicious look. "…Weird. Yui didn't follow you in here? I could've sworn she ran after you after the test."
"She got roped into helping in the library," Nozomi said, dropping his bag with a soft thud. "Sanshokuin and Suou kidnapped her for labor."
Yukino frowned. "…I see."
Then, as if suddenly realizing something, she began to rise from her seat. "If there's no club work today, I'll just—wah?!"
Too late.
Nozomi had already shut the door behind him and—without asking—scooped her up like a princess.
He slid into her seat with a grin, and gently lowered Yukino into his lap.
"Who said there's nothing to do?" he said with a sly smirk. "Yukino, I have a new request for the Service Club—and I'm appointing you to complete it, solo."
Her cheeks flushed slightly. "…You really don't know how to behave, do you?"