Chapter 397

Early the next morning.

I came down to the lobby and saw a familiar face walking in through the front doors, so I gave a casual wave.

“You're up early for once.”

Hiyori twitched her pretty brow, as if the surprise in my greeting rubbed her the wrong way.

She walked over with a coffee in one hand and something thin and rectangular in the other, speaking in a sullen tone.

“That's a stereotype, you know.”

“My bad. Want to work out together as my apology?”

“Why work out this early?”

“Because it's morning. Don't you know how good a morning workout is?”

“I don't, which is why I'm not doing it.”

“But what is that?”

I gestured with my chin at the business card in Hiyori's hand. She waved it around, letting it flutter, and answered.

“I don't know. Some middle-aged guy gave it to me. He said he worked for an agency and told me to contact him if I was interested.”

“At this hour?”

“Yep. He said he stopped by for coffee and caught me when he saw me.”

“Is that so? Let me see.”

I took the card Hiyori held out and examined it closely.

It was from something Entertainment. Was it a modeling agency? Or for idols?

Since the company name was plainly listed, I could look it up later.

Whatever it was, Hiyori looked to be in a good mood.

Getting scouted on the street—something that only happened to beautiful people—seemed to have boosted the confidence she already had in her looks even further.

She was so easy to read. And I liked that about her.

With that thought, I handed the card back to Hiyori and asked.

“Are you going to contact them?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don't want to?”

“That's a convincing reason.”

“Right? But why did you come out so early, sunbae-nim?”

“To work out.”

“Even all the way out here?”

“You have to be diligent to lose weight.”

“My goal is just to maintain my figure, so I don't have to do it, right?”

“Stop trying to get out of it and follow me. You're wearing sneakers anyway.”

“Ah, it's not like you're dragging away a student skipping class... Can't you see I'm holding a coffee?”

“It's even better to run after drinking coffee.”

Hiyori put on an exasperated expression at that.

But that only lasted a moment. After checking that Miyuki was nowhere around, she slowly nodded, seemingly quite satisfied that it would just be the two of us working out.

“Fine. We'll do it after I finish my coffee.”

“Give me half.”

“Why would I do that?”

“So I can absorb some caffeine too.”

“For free?”

“You're going to feed it to me mouth-to-mouth?”

“Ah, what the heck! How did you even interpret what I said to come up with that?”

It was funny seeing her so startled and flustered.

She was such an amateur, considering she was usually the one to initiate these kinds of jokes.

I chuckled and pointed to a nearby circular bench for Hiyori, whose face was starting to flush.

“Sit.”

“I was planning to do that anyway, you know.”

Hiyori snorted and moved her long legs.

They were refreshingly long and graceful. Though slender, the line from her thighs down to her calves was perfectly shaped, giving off a strong sense of healthy beauty...

They were the kind of legs that made me want to touch them every time I looked at them.

Taking the seat next to Hiyori on the bench, I interlaced my fingers behind my head and cast a sidelong glance at her as she sipped her iced coffee through the straw, ice cubes bobbing inside.

She was pretending to be coy, but for some reason, it didn't suit her today.

Was it because she was pouting her lips slightly? Her usual haughty image was gone, leaving only cuteness behind.

“You look good with short bangs, sunbae-nim.”

It was a random remark from Hiyori as she drank her coffee and watched the passing students.

I fiddled with the bangs covering my forehead and answered.

“I'm going to cut them during vacation.”

“Oh? I was planning to get a haircut then too. Want to go to the salon together?”

“Sure. But how much are you cutting?”

“I'm just going to trim it a bit overall.”

Anything but the cowlick.

Playing with it had become one of the joys of my life, so I absolutely had to protect it.

“It looks fine right now, though?”

“I just don't like it.”

Chatting with her like this made the realization that vacation was coming soon really hit home.

There was still a little time left, but I was already getting excited.

And I would definitely be busy.

Unlike last summer vacation, I now had Miyuki, Renka, Chinami, and even Hiyori, so I felt like even having two bodies wouldn't be enough.

“I'm done drinking.”

“Already?”

“Yep. Hold on a second.”

Hiyori carefully wiped the straw with a tissue she seemed to have grabbed from the cafe, flipped it upside down, stuck it back in the cup, and handed it to me.

It was obvious she was embarrassed about sharing a straw, bringing a chuckle to my lips.

Laughing at her lingering shyness over something as simple as sharing a straw, I accepted the coffee and brought it to my lips.

“Why are you laughing?”

I shrugged instead of answering, simply taking a sip of the coffee.

“I asked why you're laughing.”

Hiyori wasn't giving up, determined to get an answer out of me.

Feeling the distinct aroma of the cold, bitter coffee swirling in my mouth and charging my energy for the day, I spoke casually.

“Because I felt like it.”

“But why.”

Our Hiyori was very persistent.

She knew the reason better than anyone, so I wondered if there was really a need to ask.

As I drank the coffee and reached out to rest my hand on Hiyori's small head, she tilted her neck away.

Tap.

As a result, my hand lost its target and landed on Hiyori's neck. It wasn't my intention, but deciding this wasn't bad either, I stroked her neck up and down.

Was it because what we did yesterday was pretty intense?

Even though she was on the receiving end of this flirting for the first time, Hiyori wasn't embarrassed; instead, she looked up at me with a challenging gaze.

However, she seemed to like my warm touch against her cool skin, as she soon relaxed her eyes and put on a gentle expression.

I gave her neck a light slap, letting out a sharp smack.

“Ah! Why did you hit me?”

Taking Hiyori—who started snapping at me and exaggerating the pain as if she finally had an excuse to complain—I led her out of the Hotel.

Even though I made her run at a high intensity so she wouldn't have the energy to wander around, Hiyori only panted right when the workout ended; as soon as she finished showering, she went out to see the city with her friends.

Her energy was absolutely incredible. We would be spending our first night together soon, so I'd have to see if she was like that then too.

The rest of the day passed without a hitch.

However, I was incredibly bored.

Because it was the last day of the school trip, Miyuki was walking around the Hotel and the surrounding area with the Student Council, keeping a close eye on the students.

Because of that, I had nothing to do and spent my time idly inside the Hotel.

I was already filled with desire from seeing the school nurse yesterday... My blood was boiling.

Should I say I'm sick and ask for a checkup? If I purposely scratched my nipple, I wondered if she would take a look at it.

Enduring until evening while entertaining all sorts of delusions, I wrapped up the final night of the school trip intimately with Miyuki.

The next morning was busy from the start.

It was because we hadn't been able to pack our bags while having passionate sex.

Thanks to that, a minor incident occurred: Miyuki, having helped me out, had to come down in time for roll call without even washing her hair, and ended up getting teased by the Vice Representative.

It was a good thing we had showered after finishing up last night, or she would have drawn everyone's attention looking completely grubby.

“Everyone, get on the bus.”

At Miyuki's instruction—having finished the head count with her hat pulled down low—the students boarded one of the buses lined up at the Hotel with faces full of regret.

The bus heading back to the Academy was as quiet as the first day of the trip.

Everyone was immersed in the lingering feelings from all the memories we had built.

A tour bus under sunny weather, and Miyuki sleeping soundly next to me just like on the first day...

A pleasant scent drifted over—the kind you would find in a romantic comedy, making me feel warm and cozy just by smelling it.

As I sat there swimming in sentimentality, holding Miyuki's hand where it rested on my lap, I dozed off from mental fatigue and only snapped back to my senses when the bus arrived at the Academy.

Miyuki also opened her eyes at the exact same time I woke up.

She yawned defenselessly, covering her mouth with her hand.

Seeing her look around half-asleep before her eyes went wide as she rushed over to the teacher brought a fatherly smile to my face.

I stepped off the bus and quietly listened to the homeroom teacher deliver the announcements to the students, then stretched when I heard the word to dismiss.

I wasn't exactly proud of myself, but I thought it was a satisfying trip since Miyuki's wariness toward Hiyori had lessened.

“I need to go to the Student Council Room for a bit. Could you wait for me?”

Miyuki asked, resting a hand on my arm.

I nodded as if it were a given and answered.

“I'll be in the car, so take your time taking care of business.”

“Okay, thanks.”

After parting ways with Miyuki, I looked for Hiyori in the area where the first-years were gathered.

However, the blonde hair that should have immediately caught my eye wasn't visible today.

Did she already head back? If so, that was a little disappointing...

Just as I was about to call Hiyori with those thoughts in mind, I heard it. “Matsumatsu.”

The voice I had been anticipating rang out from behind me.

I turned my head and couldn't help but burst out laughing when I saw her.

It was because the crossbody bag Hiyori was wearing was as big as her own body.

“Why is your bag so big?”

“It's big because I had a lot to pack. I just saw Miyuki Hanazawa go into the building. Where is she going?”

“The Student Council Room.”

“I guess they have a meeting?”

“The trip is over, so they probably have to finalize the budget or something.”

“So you're waiting here?”

“Yeah. Are you heading straight home?”

“No. I'm going to karaoke with my friends.”

“You have great stamina. What about the cut on your foot? Is it okay?”

“It huuurts.”

“Looks like you're fine.”

“I just said it hurts, so why are you saying I'm fine? Anyway, please come to our classroom after school tomorrow. I have something to tell you, sunbae-nim.”

She had something to tell me.

If anyone else had said that, it would have made my heart pound, but since it was Hiyori, I couldn't help but feel there was some sort of scheme behind it.

“To do what?”

“I'm on cleaning duty.”

“You want me to help you?”

“Yep.”

“Why are you talking nonsense?”

“How is this nonsense...! Do you know how hard cleaning is...!”

That was definitely an excuse; she had another objective, didn't she?

I could roughly guess what it was, but Hiyori never acted according to my expectations at times like these.

I was looking forward to whatever quirky idea she might come up with, so I decided to play along.

“I'll just supervise, then.”

“Ah, why...! And I have another favor to ask.”

“Since I brought my car, you want me to take your bag for you?”

Was she surprised because the words she was about to say had popped right out of my mouth?

Hiyori's eyes doubled in size.

“How did you know?”

“I had a feeling you'd ask that the moment you mentioned karaoke. I just have to bring it to you tomorrow?”

“Yes. Is that okay?”

“Give it here.”

When I held out a hand, Hiyori wore a bewildered expression and was about to hand over the crossbody bag on her shoulder, but then shook her head.

“I'll walk with you to your car, sunbae-nim.”

“Just hand it over and we can walk together. You won't grow any taller carrying that around.”

“I like my height right now, so it's fine if I don't grow. Let's go.”

After saying that, Hiyori took the lead and began walking toward the parking lot.

Watching Hiyori take large strides while lifting her arms to her chest as if imitating a soldier in a military parade naturally brought a smile to my face.

She radiated a lively energy just by being around; I couldn't help but think that if she had shown that side of herself to Miyuki, Miyuki would have opened her heart a long time ago.

“Aren't you coming?”

At the urging of Hiyori, who glanced back over her shoulder, I took a step forward and said, “I'm coming.”