Chapter 318

“Can’t you stop staring?”

Miyuki spoke in an embarrassed tone, sipping her Strawberry Milk through a straw.

Propping my elbow on the desk and gazing steadily at her, I answered firmly.

“No.”

“It’s making me uncomfortable.”

“This isn’t the first time, so why the sudden complaint?”

“Because you’re staring too intently. But your hair has gotten really long, hasn’t it?”

Saying so, Miyuki fiddled with the hair at the nape of my neck.

Her fingers combed through my hair.

Deciding the sensation wasn’t half bad, a smile crept onto my lips.

“I need to cut it.”

“Can I try cutting it? Just the back?”

“Go ahead.”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah.”

“What will you do if I mess it up?”

“Then it’ll just be weird.”

Was she dumbfounded by my carefree answer?

The corners of Miyuki’s mouth curled all the way up.

Looking closely, rather than being dumbfounded, she seemed to be in a good mood. Probably because I gave off the impression that I trusted her implicitly.

“Just go to a salon and get it cut.”

“Why? Too much of a bother?”

“Oh, whatever...! I’m just saying that because I’m scared of ruining it...!”

Miyuki nudged my arm affectionately.

From the seat in front of us, the Vice Representative watched the two of us and clicked her tongue as if we were an eyesore.

If she was jealous, she should just say so.

Swallowing those words, I gestured with my chin toward Bread Girl, who was munching away on her snack.

“Let me have a piece of bread too.”

“Ack...?”

“I’ll buy you a new one later.”

“Cough.”

Letting out her distinctively positive cough, Bread Girl offered me a fresh piece of bread, while Miyuki shook her head as if to say I was hopeless...

It was a very peaceful day. Except for the incident with Hiyori that morning, anyway.

Once all our classes ended for the day, it was time for club activities.

Miyuki left first, claiming that she was busy with Student Council work again today, and I leisurely headed toward the Kendo Club Room.

I saw Tetsuya walking ahead of me, but I didn’t bother catching up to him.

There was no real need to.

By the way, his physique had definitely improved.

It was slight, but his back had broadened. Couldn’t something be done about that signature shaggy hair of his, though?

He worked out so hard, yet walking around like that made him look like a serial killer.

If Miyuki, who had been busy these days, saw Tetsuya and me now, would she say we had grown distant?

Tetsuya did call Miyuki often, but lately, she hadn’t asked me about my relationship with him.

Perhaps Tetsuya was leaving this kind of stuff out entirely and only talking to her about everyday things.

Lost in these thoughts as I walked, I soon arrived at the Club Room.

After exchanging greetings with the club members chatting out front, I opened the door.

“Welcome to the Yeboni Academy Kendo Club!”

I saw Chinami standing by the door, bowing deeply.

“Ah, it’s you, my junior.”

Blanking out for a moment at the erratic welcome—so different from yesterday—I came back to my senses at the sweet scent of peaches wafting off her.

“What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean, what am I doing? I’m greeting people to leave a good impression on the new students who want to join the club.”

I thought that receiving such an energetic greeting right in their faces would be more burdensome than welcoming.

Then again, since Chinami was such a bright person to begin with, maybe they really would like it just as she hoped.

“Did you change your strategy?”

“Yes. I felt like sitting at the desk made me look arrogant.”

“I doubt that’s true, though.”

“Is that so? Anyway, I think it’s better to make eye contact when greeting each other.”

“Did the coach allow this?”

“Of course. He entrusted everything related to the club applications to me. Instead of standing around, you should go change into your Training Uniform and stand next to me to follow my lead.”

“Understood.”

“Welcome to the Yeboni Academy Kendo Club!”

Chuckling at Chinami as she energetically greeted an existing member who had just walked in, I thought that being around her somehow made me feel like I had returned to my childhood, and I entered the Changing Room.

*

Pitter-patter.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

It was the time our usual, ordinary club activities ended.

Having driven out to the city center alone to buy the school supplies requested by Miyuki, who was still at the Student Council, I clicked my tongue at the sudden downpour.

I liked the rain, but three days in a row was too much.

Was this a divine revelation that my future would be murky? This was going too far.

I looked for an empty spot near the stationery store, but there were no spaces at all.

I didn’t even have an umbrella, so I’d have to buy a new one.

With the rain pouring down so unpredictably, I would have to start keeping one in the car from tomorrow on.

I parked my car in a public Parking Lot quite a distance away from the store.

I could have just turned on my hazard lights and pulled over by the side of the road, but today I felt like strictly following the traffic laws.

I didn’t know why. I just wanted to.

Perhaps it was because I remembered Hiyori saying this morning that she would be hanging out downtown today, and I harbored a faint expectation that I might run into her.

Putting on the windbreaker I kept in the car, I ran to a nearby Convenience Store, bought an umbrella, and headed to the stationery store.

And inside, I ran into someone uncomfortable.

“Huh?”

Tetsuya was there.

My luck was absolutely rotten. It really was a small world.

Brushing the rainwater off my shoulders and shoving my umbrella into the stand, I approached Tetsuya, whose eyes widened upon spotting me, and spoke.

“It’s Miura, huh? What are you doing here?”

“Me...? I came to buy a mechanical pencil and some other things. You?”

“Miyuki asked me to buy notebooks and stuff.”

“Miyuki did?”

“Looks like she needs them for Student Council work.”

“Ah... really? She told me yesterday that the supplies they use in the Student Council were getting old.”

What was the point of telling me that?

Was he trying to emphasize his special status by showing he knew about it sooner?

Or was he subtly hinting that the things he was buying right now were meant for Miyuki?

No. Let’s not think negatively.

It makes it seem like I’m being influenced by that gloomy bastard.

If he picks a fight, I’ll beat him up; otherwise, it’s best to ignore him.

My luck was terrible today. I got caught in the rain, and I even ran into Tetsuya by chance.

But thinking about it the other way around, good things always follow a streak of bad luck.

I have a feeling some good luck will come my way today.

In truth, it was nonsense, but I decided to just think of it that way.

You have to think positively for every day to be enjoyable.

“Is that so? Go back to what you were doing.”

“Yeah. You too.”

I had absolutely no intention of continuing the conversation, so I brushed past him and picked out the items Miyuki had requested.

As soon as I paid for them, I left the foul-smelling stationery store and headed toward the public Parking Lot.

Pitter-patter, pit-a-pat.

I liked the sound of the rain falling on the umbrella fabric.

The rain getting heavier was a problem, but the echoing sound wasn’t bad at all.

Walking through the rapidly darkening city center, I watched the signboards of restaurants nestled within the alleys light up.

Seeing them turn on in sync with my footsteps made me feel like the main character in a music video.

Drunk on the atmosphere like that, acting sentimental all by myself as I walked down the street— “Hello?”

I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard a familiar voice from an alley I had just passed.

The sound of the rain was quite loud, but that gentle tone pierced right through it and struck my ears perfectly.

‘It’s Hiyori.’

I had been hoping something like this would happen ever since I arrived downtown, so this was great.

It felt as if the foul mood from running into Tetsuya was washing away.

Why didn’t I see her?

It might have been because the entrance to that alley was incredibly dark.

A guilty feeling washed over me for failing to spot the heroine who would become my final puzzle piece.

But who was Hiyori exchanging greetings with?

I’d find out soon enough. If it was a guy, I’d have to split his head in half.

Hiding my curiosity, I retraced my steps to the alley. “Do you want to try this? It’s delicious.”

I saw Hiyori crouching on the ground, holding something out.

There wasn’t even anyone there, yet she was tilting her umbrella forward.

Wondering what on earth she was doing, I squinted and noticed a small, black-and-white shape in the corner of the alley.

‘A cat?’

The figure was a cat.

Too big to be a kitten, but too small to be a full-grown adult... the adolescent-looking cat sat there blankly, looking back and forth between the canned food Hiyori was holding out and her face.

It seemed like a stray, and with Hiyori’s fundamentally kind nature, she probably found it hard to just pass by.

But Hiyori... why aren’t you opening the can?

If you want to feed it, shouldn’t you at least let it smell the food to tempt it?

If someone just shoved a lump of metal at me, I’d react the same way.

Our Hiyori really... wasn’t quite at Chinami’s level, but she was definitely full of a certain ditzy charm.

Leaving the skirt aside, when did she prepare those sandals? Incredible.

The cat sitting quietly didn’t seem too guarded, but I felt like it would run away the moment I called out to Hiyori.

However, I was worried about Hiyori getting caught in the rain if I just stood by and watched.

After deeply contemplating what to do for a brief moment, I finally decided on a compromise.

“Asahina.”

Sticking only my face around the corner leading into the alley, just like Chinami, I called out to Hiyori in a whisper, but she must not have heard me, as she kept shaking the can while staring at the cat.

“Asahina...!”

“Hm?”

When I raised my voice slightly, Hiyori finally turned her head toward me.

She rolled her eyes around as if searching for the source of the sound.

Upon spotting my face half-protruding from under the umbrella at the corner, she tilted her head and asked.

“Matsuda sunbae-nim? What are you doing there?”

“Open the can...!”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“I said open the can...!”

“The can? Ah...”

Realizing the blunder she had made, she smiled sheepishly.

And then she carefully peeled the lid off the can.

Worried that the cat might get hurt while eating, she removed the lid completely; when the cat shifted slightly to show interest, her face lit up as she set the can down.

At the same time, the cat slowly lifted its front paws and hesitantly approached the food.

After sniffing around, the cat immediately buried its face in the can, its mouth working rapidly.

It must have been terribly hungry.

Hiyori remained perfectly still, continuing to hold her umbrella over the cat.

Certain that the distracted cat wouldn’t run away now that it was eating, I carefully approached Hiyori and stood behind her.

Then, I bent my knees and lowered my umbrella to make sure she wouldn’t get rained on.

“Thank you.”

Glancing at me over her shoulder to express her thanks, her wet uniform clung to her, clearly revealing her skin underneath, just like under the tree last time.

It was a similar yet different feeling from back then. It seemed like special things always happened with Hiyori on rainy days.

Pretending not to notice the bra strap protruding prominently against her back, I scratched my nose and spoke.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to a cafe with a nice atmosphere with my friends.”

“There’s a cafe like that around here?”

“Yes. It’s just a little further inside. They say it’s great for taking photos with an old alleyway vibe.”

“Why are you outside, then?”

“The cafe is small, so I came out to get some fresh air for a bit. Sunbae-nim, what’s that in your hand?”

She must have spotted the cat shivering in the rain when she came out, quickly bought some food, and hurried back.

“This? Stationery, notebooks... just a bunch of stuff. But aren’t you cold?”

“I’m colddd. Give me your jacket.”

She demanded the jacket I was wearing as if it were only natural.

Letting out a dry chuckle, I took off my windbreaker and draped the hood over Hiyori’s head.

Then, casually pulling the sleeves of the windbreaker over her shoulders, Hiyori turned her gaze back to the cat.

It felt somewhat awkward now that the usually little devil-like girl had fallen silent.

It was almost to the point where I wondered if she had already been completely tamed.

Hoping that the cat would quickly return to its nest, I stood perfectly still, passing the time by staring at the small, rounded back of Hiyori’s head, squished down by the hood.