Chapter 283

"So, this is how you do it..."

Miyuki, who had been earnestly explaining with her mechanical pencil, abruptly turned toward Tetsuya. Seeing his complete lack of focus, she spoke.

"Tetsuya-kun."

"..."

"Tetsuya-kun...!"

"...Huh? Yeah?"

Her stern tone finally snapped Tetsuya out of it. With his mouth slightly agape and a dumb look on his face, he replied.

"Did you say something?"

It looked like he had a lot on his mind... or maybe he was genuinely just half-asleep. The more I looked at him, the more baffling he became. Not that I had any desire to figure him out.

"What did I just say?"

Tetsuya scratched the side of his head at Miyuki's playful challenge.

"Just now...? Uh... that the answer is number three?"

"Not even close."

"R-really...?"

"Why have you been spacing out so much?"

"Sorry... I'm just sleepy... I'll focus."

Tetsuya stretched, raising his arms and twisting his torso from side to side. Did he even realize there was a glass resting right on the edge of the table? It looked like it was about to tip over.

Clink.

The very moment the thought crossed my mind, Tetsuya's elbow clipped the glass. It teetered, right on the verge of plunging off the table.

Realizing my worry had become reality, I shot my arm out the split second Miyuki's gaze flicked toward the tipping glass. I snatched it right out of the air.

"Ma-Matsuda-kun...! Are you okay?"

Miyuki gasped in shock. Tetsuya had ordered hot coffee instead of iced, and since some of it had splashed onto my hand, she was clearly worried I'd been burned.

Fortunately, it had been a while since the coffee was served, so it only felt slightly warm. I assured Miyuki that I was fine, then gathered every napkin I could find and wiped down the table, quickly dabbing away the spots of coffee that had seeped into the books.

"Careful."

Tetsuya flinched at my warning as I busily scrubbed the books dry, and quickly apologized.

"I-I'm sorry."

I despised Tetsuya, it was true, but this was a completely understandable accident. Whether he was mentally shattered or just groggy, it was a common mistake, and his apology sounded sincere. I had no intention of chewing him out.

"I'm really sorry, both of you."

Making a mistake was one thing, but since he caused the mess, he should have at least made a token effort to grab some napkins instead of just apologizing. This was exactly why I couldn't stand the guy. He put on a nice-guy act, but deep down, he was the most selfish one of all.

"It's fine. It happens. Did it get on your clothes?"

"Huh? Oh, no..."

"That's a relief."

Miyuki smiled gently, seemingly with no intention of scolding him either. She reassured the awkward-looking Tetsuya once more, then went to the counter for wet wipes and napkins to clean up the coffee splattered on the floor. Then, abruptly, she grabbed my wrist, pulled my hand close to her chest, and began carefully wiping it with a fresh wet wipe.

"Go to the restroom and run your hand under cold water. I'll finish cleaning up here."

"I'm not even burned. Why bother?"

"Listen to me, idiot."

Washing it off would have been enough, but she insisted on meticulously wiping down every single one of my fingers. Even her scolding tone was dripping with affection. It felt nice to see just how much she cared about me.

"Alright."

"Hurry back."

After she finished wiping my hand, I stood up from my seat, only for Miyuki to lightly pat my butt like a mother coaxing a stubborn child. That was a habit of mine—she must have picked it up.

Why was Miyuki being so physically affectionate all of a sudden? Sure, she no longer cared about hiding our relationship, but casually patting my butt—something most people were pretty sensitive about—was completely unexpected.

Did she realize Tetsuya had feelings for her and want to force him to give up? Or was she conscious of how Renka acted around me?

It was probably neither. Her real reason was definitely me. Just a little while ago, I had been a completely impatient delinquent. She was probably just proud of me for letting an accident like this slide without throwing a fit.

As I headed to the restroom, I stole a quick glance at Tetsuya. His face was completely crumpled. He was utterly failing to manage his expressions. He forced a neutral look onto his face shortly after, but it was obvious Miyuki's actions had dealt a massive blow to his mental state.

Now that he fully realized Miyuki and I were seeing each other, how would he react? Given that he had flirted with Renka even while having feelings for Miyuki, I doubted he would sob his eyes out over it.

The study session Miyuki had planned fizzled out shortly after. Tetsuya simply couldn't focus at all.

"Are you that bothered by the spilled coffee?"

Miyuki finally closed her book and asked. Tetsuya flinched, then reluctantly nodded.

"Y-yeah...? I am."

He agreed, but anyone could see he looked exactly like a guy who had just suffered a broken heart. Whether she was oblivious to his feelings or just ignoring them, Miyuki let out a soft chuckle.

"You're acting a lot like your childhood self today, aren't you?"

"My childhood self?"

"Yeah. Back then, whenever you made a mistake, you'd get super anxious just like this, Tetsuya-kun."

"D-did I...? I don't really remember."

"That's understandable. They say other people usually remember your childhood better than you do, anyway."

"Ah, I guess that's true. I might not remember much about my own childhood, but I still have a vivid memory of yours."

It was ridiculous how quickly he perked up the moment Miyuki brought up an old memory, acting as though they had just bonded over it. Miyuki wasn't reminiscing out of nostalgia—she was just trying to comfort him.

"Then... let's stop studying for today. Shall we do a makeup session tomorrow?"

I wasn't about to let that slide.

"You promised we wouldn't study tomorrow. Why are you breaking it?"

"That was on the condition that you both focused."

"You never said that. You only said if we studied today, we'd rest tomorrow."

"I don't remember saying that, so what can I do?"

Look how shameless she was. Just like patting my butt earlier, she really was picking up all my bad habits. I let out a scoff of disbelief, and Miyuki giggled, waving her hand.

"I'm joking. But it's true we didn't get much done today, so take pictures of the workbook and solve the problems on your own. After that, I'll grade them."

Honestly, it wasn't even my fault that we couldn't study... She could be so cruel. Still, it was very much like Miyuki.

"Do we really have to go that far?"

"Yep. Does that sound good to you too, Tetsuya-kun?"

Tetsuya reflexively nodded at Miyuki's sweet, gentle tone.

"Huh? Yeah, I mean... I don't mind."

"Then it's decided... Shall we rest a bit before leaving? Let's order one more drink each. What do you guys want?"

"I'm good. I'm full from the dessert earlier."

"Really? Okay. I'll have a matcha latte, and Matsuda-kun, you can drink a cherry ade."

I had been quietly listening to them, but I immediately objected.

"Why don't I get a choice in the matter?"

"Because I want to steal sips of yours. Was there something else you wanted to drink?"

"No."

"See? I knew you were going to say you'd drink whatever, so I chose for you."

"You just said it was because you wanted to steal sips."

"Here's my card."

It was hilarious how she would spout whatever nonsense came to mind, then immediately change the subject when she got backed into a corner. I let out a chuckle, waved off her card, and headed to the counter. Chinami, who had been chatting with Renka, greeted me with a bright smile.

"Do you need more napkins?"

"Napkins?"

"Didn't someone spill coffee on the floor? I offered to clean it up, but Hanazawa firmly insisted on doing it herself, so I was getting a bit worried."

"Ah... we took care of that. It's perfectly clean now. I'm actually just here to order some drinks."

"Is that so? What can I get for you?"

"A matcha latte and a cherry ade."

"You aren't having peach iced tea?"

She did this every time I came up to order, repeating the exact same question without fail. Chinami was starting to look genuinely disappointed... I figured I had better soothe her feelings.

"We're planning to leave in a bit. I'll order two cups of it then."

"Ah, understood! By the way, is your study session already over?"

"Yeah."

"Why so soon?"

"Just... things got a bit distracted, I guess."

I finished paying while we continued our chat and turned to head back to my seat. Just then, Renka excused herself from Chinami and suddenly called out to me.

"Wait."

"What is it?"

"...Uh..."

Renka hesitated. Glancing sideways at our corner table and then at Chinami, she looked back at me and jerked her head to the side. She was signaling me to follow her toward the Changing Room. It looked like she had something she needed to say.

I trailed closely behind Renka as she opened the door to the Changing Room and stepped inside. When she turned around and glared at me with her arms crossed, I simply shrugged.

"Why? Do you want some candy?"

Renka's serious expression instantly morphed into utter bewilderment.

"...You actually brought it?"

"Of course I did. Want to see?"

The moment I shoved my hand into my pocket and produced the distinct rustle of a candy wrapper, Renka let out a gasp of horror and frantically tried to stop me.

"I-I'm not eating it...!"

"Then I'll give you two on your next shift."

"I told you I'm not eating it. And if you're going to give them to me, since you're off until tomorrow, you should be giving me three: one for today, one for tomorrow, and one for the day after. Does your brain not work at all?"

"You want to eat three?"

"No... I'm just pointing out that you're an idiot."

"Alright. I'll give you three. I just have to divide them into morning, lunch, and dinner like last time, right?"

"Ah, damn it...! I said I'm not eating them...!"

"Alright, fine. So why did you call me in here?"

At my question, Renka, who had been completely flustered by my teasing, instantly recovered her composure. She stared at me for a moment before speaking in a low voice.

"Hey."

"Speak."

"...I saw it."

"Saw what?"

"Hanazawa... doing that to you..."

She phrased it vaguely as 'that', but her meaning was perfectly clear. She had seen Miyuki patting my butt and was demanding an explanation. She had a good eye. Then again, given how often she had been peeking over at our corner table, it would have been weirder if she hadn't noticed.

"What is that?"

"Don't play dumb...! You guys aren't just regular friends, are you...?"

I had figured she would say something like that. As far as Renka knew, I was only dating Chinami. Seeing Miyuki's sudden physical affection must have thrown her completely off guard.

Still, Renka witnessing that scene was exactly what I wanted. I had already accomplished one of the goals I had in mind when I came here today. Now then, how should I play this?