[Tuesday, School Gate]
The cherry blossom festival in Japan typically starts in mid-March and lasts until mid-April, for a full month.
Today was the last day of April, but the cherry blossoms by the roadside were still in full bloom. When the wind blew, pale pink petals swirled in the air, drifting far away.
"Kaito-kun, I like you."
The girl in front of him wasn't tall, petite in figure, her sleek black hair braided into twin braids. She wore black-rimmed glasses on her cute face, and at this moment, she gathered her courage to block his way and confessed loudly.
Kaito wasn't surprised.
During this time, he had encountered girls who blocked his way just to confess more than once. From mature big sisters in their thirties to energetic JKs at sixteen. Big and small, all kinds. But he had rejected them all every time.
"Thank you," He politely expressed his gratitude.
The girl was stunned, seemingly not expecting this outcome.
'I like you—yes or no?'
He chose "or."
She grew a bit anxious and repeated again, "Kaito-kun, I really like you!"
Kaito pondered for two seconds, then seriously said, "I really thank you."
The girl ran away crying.
Her sobs, full of sorrow, were carried far by the wind, heartbreaking to hear, tear-inducing to see.
Kaito paid no mind to the curious stares from onlookers and turned his head toward Togawa Sakiko, who was lost in thought beside him.
"What are you thinking about?"
The two were neighbors and had always taken the same train to school.
Only, in the past, Sakiko used to find clumsy excuses to part ways with him before entering the school gate.
Ever since becoming his secretary, she seemed to have figured things out. At the very least, she could now walk into school openly side by side with him.
"Just thinking… that girl just now was kinda cute," Sakiko snapped back to reality, her smile carrying a rare hint of mischief, "Kaito-kun, don't you feel it's a pity?"
"Pity?"
Kaito glanced at her, "Secretary Sakiko, should I interpret this as you mocking your boss?"
Q: Where is Sakiko's most sensitive spot?
A: Directly docking her pay. She can't handle that.
'As the director of the office, my authority is absolute. Little Sakiko dares to rebel?'
Sure enough, hearing such a threat, Secretary Sakiko bit her lip, like a newcomer to the workplace being bullied by a ruthless boss, with no one to turn to for help, silently enduring the injustice.
But in those amber eyes, a smile flickered and quickly vanished.
She naturally didn't take this kind of joke seriously. On the contrary, it gave her a sense of closeness between them, blooming a small flower of joy in her heart.
———
Entering the classroom, unsurprisingly, hot gazes came from all directions.
Kaito was used to it. Returning to his seat, it was yet another day of love letters stuffing his desk compartment.
Same old, same old. He had no intention of opening them. He gathered them all and threw them into the trash can by the back door, prompting a wave of wails.
The morning classes were fairly easy. The clock hanging on the blackboard quickly pointed to the number that represented "twelve."
As the crisp lunch bell rang, it was suddenly already dismissal time.
"Yumiko, I heard a new ramen shop opened in the cafeteria. Want to go try it?"
"I still think beef bowl is better. Hey, hey, Yumiko, come with me!"
As one of the top-tier normies in the class, Miura Yumiko was surrounded by close friends the moment class ended.
Amidst the noisy chatter, the blonde beauty waved her hand with a smile, "Sorry, sorry. I really want to have lunch with you all, but I already made plans~"
The girls looked at each other, only to see Yumiko striding cheerfully to the back of the classroom and boldly reminding, "Kaito-kun, Gotou-san, it's time to head to the clubroom!"
Kaito gave a slight nod, and together with the bouncing Yumiko and the timid Bocchi-chan, they left the classroom.
Once they were gone, the classroom exploded.
"That damn Yumiko! She's totally showing off, right? She's absolutely showing off!"
"Just because you're in the same club as Kaito-kun, you think you're hot stuff? Try bringing me in too!"
"If I could join the Supernatural Research Club, I'd even be willing to make Kaito-kun my boyfriend!"
"?? Girl, why are you taking both things?"
———
[Clubroom]
As soon as they entered, Yumiko blinked and asked curiously, "President, I heard a girl stopped you for a confession this morning?"
Hearing that, even Bocchi, who liked hiding in the corner pretending to be a mushroom, secretly perked up her ears.
"News spreads that fast?", Kaito, with his long legs, had already walked to the bookshelf. He casually pulled out a manga and flipped through a few pages, a bit surprised.
"President, you really have…", Yumiko clasped her hands behind her back, pretending to be an old-timer, and sighed, "No clue how popular you are!"
As the most talked-about student in Shuka Academy, without a doubt, Kaito's fame had even spread to the neighboring Hanasaki—oops, Hanasakigawa Girls' Academy.
The school forum had already built a confession thread for him, with tons of people bumping it daily. The comment section was a full-blown madness zone.
Yumiko had gotten especially into browsing the forum lately, just to see what crazy love letters the students of Shuka wrote each day. It brought endless amusement and a weird thrill.
'You never expected it, huh!'
'The untouchable god-tier guy in your eyes, I get to ride him every night!'
'Cough cough, okay, saying "every night" might be a bit of an exaggeration.'
That ecstasy of passionate harmony was certainly unforgettable, but it really did take a toll on the body.
Yumiko had to take a few days off before she felt up to it again.
The afternoon sun sliced the golden light into pieces, its drunken warmth lighting up the tiny floating dust in the air, creating a Tyndall effect.
A faint floral scent drifted in with the breeze, lifting the short hair by the window and revealing those shallow chestnut eyes. Deep like whirlpools, drawing in moths to the flame.
In the quiet room, only the occasional soft sound of a page being flipped echoed. Yumiko bit her lip, in the silence, she could clearly hear her own heartbeat.
She wanted to kiss, to hug, to go on dates, to count his curled, dark lashes in the middle of the night.
If it were a random outsider, they'd probably just fantasize about dating the campus heartthrob and end up hiding under the covers, softly moaning to themselves.
But Yumiko was different, she and Kaito were in a serious relationship.
'Don't you get the value of being the official girlfriend? (tactical lean back)'
'What do you want to do?'
Seeing the girl slowly inching closer, Kaito raised an eyebrow and asked with his eyes.
'Of course, kiss! kiss!'
Yumiko's beautiful eyes sparkled, and behind her, one could almost see a fluffy big tail wagging, reminiscent of a golden retriever begging for affection.
Kaito glanced at the pink-haired girl in the corner. Bocchi was currently facing away from them, seemingly replying to messages?
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