WebNovels

Chapter 2 - The Human Observation Club

[Character: Ayumu Kobayashi]

[Charm: 5]

[Pass]

No wonder it's a real-life game—looks really matter here.

Tetsuro Watanabe put away the panel and walked over to the display window under the club building.

"April 25th, Friday: The Marching Band Club will perform in the auditorium! All teachers and students are welcome!!!"

"Photography Club is urgently looking for models—free photoshoot!!!"

"Literary Club Journal Call for Submissions!!! Submit directly to the Literary Club or via email. Email: ******"

Tetsuro skipped past these activity flyers, searching for clubs still recruiting members.

"Unleash your youth and strengthen your body—Athletics Club welcomes you!"

"Soccer Club is waiting for you!!! Little secret: We have a cute female manager!!!"

"Marching Band Club needs 2 tuba players. Boys preferred, no instrument experience required! Our club aims for the Tokyo Competition—those just here to slack off, don't waste your time!"

Judging from the info on the window, the Marching Band Club was definitely an inspiring, passionate high school club.

Tokyo at 4 a.m., solo practice under the sunset, tears of joy, regret, or remorse on the competition field... Tetsuro could already picture their future.

Sounds like this was what youth was supposed to be like.

Unfortunately, even though Tetsuro grew up in the countryside, he had no strength at all. Even if he could put up with the tuba's heaviness, whether he could play a complete piece—no, whether he could make a sound at all—was a question.

He wasn't going to hold them back.

"Human Observation Club, recruiting.

Activity Content: Observing humans;

Activity Time: At all times;

Member Requirements: Quiet, not fond of socializing, those with a habit of leaving early are preferred."

Even though he hadn't read the student handbook issued by the school, and didn't know the regulations on club establishment in Chapter 3 of Section 5 of the handbook, Tetsuro was sure this Human Observation Club definitely didn't align with any campus spirit.

Could it be a hobby group?

A hobby group referred to "unofficial organizations" that had an activity classroom but didn't meet the requirements for official club status, received no funding from the student council, and operated on members' passion.

Anyway, he'd go check it out first. He couldn't accomplish anything just by imagining things.

As Tetsuro turned around, he glanced at the window to memorize the floor address of the Human Observation Club.

It was noon, and there were few people in the club building. But when he passed the third floor, he heard the sound of horseplay coming from a classroom near the staircase.

The Human Observation Club's activity classroom was on the fifth floor of the club building, in the farthest corner.

Tetsuro knocked three times on the door. Only after someone inside said "Come in" did he push the door open.

The classroom was spacious, but the space left for movement was extremely narrow—boxes, spare desks and chairs, cabinets, and even a faded globe were piled up around the edges.

In the remaining space, there was a long table. To save as much space as possible, one end of the table was pressed tightly against the wall.

A girl sat at the end of the long table closest to the window, bending over to write something. Next to her was an empty bento box that had been tidied up after eating.

"Human Observation Club?" Tetsuro asked.

"Yes." The girl continued writing without lifting her head.

"Hobby group? Or official club?"

"Official club."

"Can I leave early?"

"Yes."

"Can I join now?"

The girl looked up. Only then did the two, who had been talking, finally get a clear look at each other's faces.

The girl was wearing a white shirt with a beige spring cardigan over it. Unlike other girls, whose bow ties were loose, hers was tied neatly.

Her face was as beautiful as cherry blossom petals blown in through a white screen window. Her shoulder-length hair was jet-black and shiny—reminding Tetsuro of the broken 0.5mm pencil lead from math class.

She had a slender waist and a small chest.

Almost instinctively, Tetsuro activated his [Detector].

[Character: Rin Kiyono]

[Age: 15]

[Intelligence: 8]

[Charm: 9]

[Stamina: 3]

[Info: Currently observing various types of humans, but isn't particularly interested in it—she just has no other hobbies. Hates people who lie; hates people who talk too much.]

[No relationship history, romanceable]

Tetsuro felt a little surprised.

His own charm was only 8, and excluding celebrities on TV, he had never met a guy more handsome than himself in real life—though that might also be because his social circle was small.

This girl named Rin Kiyono actually had looks that were almost at the limit of what a human could achieve.

"You're the first boy in this school who dares to stare at me like this for so long," Rin Kiyono's lips curved slightly, but there was no trace of a smile—only disdain and mockery.

Even so, her cherry-colored lips still made people feel pleasant.

"Sorry." Tetsuro looked past the [Panel] and met her gaze directly.

Thinking he was asking a favor, so he should say something nice, he continued: "I've never seen someone as good-looking as you, Kiyono-san. I accidentally got distracted."

After hearing this, Rin Kiyono instead rested her chin on her hand and fell into thought.

Tetsuro had the excuse "You're so beautiful—I've heard your name from friends" on the tip of his tongue. Then he started thinking: since he could wrap up the club membership so quickly, should he go take a nap in the library later, or go straight to Ms. Koizumi to report that he had joined a club?

"Do you like guys?"

"What... did you say?" Tetsuro quickly corrected himself and looked at the girl in front of him in shock.

Did he run into a fujoshi (a girl who enjoys BL, boy's love)?

Was this so-called Human Observation Club actually a place where they analyzed all the boys in the school, paired them up in their minds, and then derived psychological satisfaction from observing them?

Rin Kiyono ignored Tetsuro's expression and spoke more firmly: "Answer me."

"I don't like guys." Tetsuro said.

The girl fell into thought again, this time for much longer than before. Even though he had nothing to do next, Tetsuro didn't plan to waste time waiting.

He spoke up: "If I'm sure I can leave early, I want to join the club now."

As for whether the Human Observation Club was actually a fujoshi gathering place, or who they planned to pair with whom—it had nothing to do with him. Anyway, he was going to leave early; joining the club was just a formality.

"Sure." Rin Kiyono lifted her face, which had returned to its usual calm, and nodded: "You, as a guy, may like to lie, but you have observation value. I'll allow you to join temporarily. Here's the membership application form."

"I really don't like guys." On this point alone, Tetsuro hoped everyone would remember.

But Rin Kiyono had already lost interest in him. She picked up her pen and started writing again: "You can leave early, but you must attend club activities. Also, come to the club once a week on Fridays—don't worry, it won't take much of your time."

"Club activities?"

"Currently, it's submitting a piece to the Literary Club. The deadline is before school ends this Friday."

"What does that have to do with human observation? Besides, I'm not good at writing essays either."

Rin Kiyono didn't lift her head, just said coldly: "If you're not good at writing, then write a withdrawal application instead."

I haven't even joined yet... Tetsuro looked at the blank membership application form in his hand.

Whatever. It didn't say the submission had to be accepted. He could just squeeze in some time to write something casually. It was way better than wasting two precious hours joining another club.

After filling out the application form, Tetsuro looked up and saw Rin Kiyono still writing carefully. So he left the form on the desk and walked out of the activity classroom.

He went straight to the library, but didn't take a nap.

"Excuse me, do you have the Literary Club's past journals here?" Tetsuro asked the librarian on duty in a low voice.

"Wait a minute, let me check for you."

"Thank you."

Soon, the librarian looked away from the computer: "Area D, bottom shelf of the second bookshelf from the left."

Tetsuro thanked her again.

There were quite a few journals—it seemed the club had a tradition of publishing one every year, probably.

Tetsuro flipped through them casually and found an article written by a second-year student about observing first-years. He then sorted out its overall structure, and later wrote a piece about first-years observing second-years, following the same pattern.

But submitting this as-is definitely wouldn't work. He had only glanced at the Literary Club's submission notice, but he remembered the word count requirement was quite high.

He needed to fill the text with some gorgeous, profound vocabulary, and add a couple of haikus about longing for the future or reminiscing about the past.

After organizing his thoughts in his mind, drowsiness gradually came over Tetsuro. He looked back at the old clock on the library wall—there were still 30 minutes before the first afternoon class. He pushed the journals aside, lay his head on the desk, and took a noon nap.

As for whether his submission would be accepted, or whether it would be published in the journal—he didn't hold out hope, and didn't care about it at all.

The warm spring breeze of late April would occasionally brush Tetsuro's cheek with the unweighted corners of the journal pages. Every time that happened, he would shift into a more comfortable sleeping position.

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