"I think I've fallen for Keima-kun."
This ti, the chopsticks in Karuizawa Kei's hand actually fell, hitting the table with a sharp "clack." She hurriedly picked them up, lowering her head in a defensive gesture as if focusing entirely on the task.
But her heart rate had already spiraled out of rhythm.
Matsushita Chiaki didn't notice her abnormality; she was entirely caught up in the excitent, leaning in closer. "Oh? Do tell! Give us the details!"
Sato Maya's face was as red as a ripe cherry, but she didn't back down. Since she had already said it, she might as well speak her mind. This feeling of "finally being able to share a secret" made her both nervous and exhilarated.
"It... it was... that day when he helped solve that problem. I suddenly thought... he's so amazing."
Recalling that mont, her eyes beca sowhat dreamy, and the corners of her mouth curled up involuntarily.
"Do you guys know? I struggled with that math problem for so long. I asked several people and no one could solve it. Finally, I had no choice, so I plucked up the courage to ask him." She paused, cupping her face with her hands, practically radiating pink bubbles of affection.
"He lifted his head and looked at —just one look! Those eyes were so calm, like a still pool of water. Then he took the workbook, scanned the problem, and casually drew two auxiliary lines—just two lines, so casually! Then he said, 'Draw the auxiliary line here,' and went right back to his ga."
"I went back to my seat, followed the lines he drew, and solved it in two minutes! Two minutes! A problem I couldn't solve for days, he fixed with one glance!" She clenched her fists, her eyes shining with startling intensity. "At that mont, I felt like he was glowing."
Matsushita Chiaki froze for a second. This was a bit different from what she had imagined. She had expected a more romantic, heart-fluttering plot point. Why did the story coming out of Sato Maya's mouth feel a bit... strange?
However, she didn't overthink it, propping her chin on her hand and nodding. "And then? And then?"
"And then I started noticing him," Sato Maya continued, her voice filled with a young girl's unique yearning, every word sounding as if it had been dipped in honey.
"During class, I'd secretly watch his profile while he played gas. Have you noticed? He's incredibly focused when he plays. That look of concentration is really handso."
"After class, I'd notice who he talked to—actually, he barely talks to anyone; he's playing gas most of the ti. But occasionally soone asks him a question, and he helps them. He doesn't say much, but he hits the nail on the head every ti.
During study sessions, I'd sit as close to him as possible. In that corner of the library, you know. Even though he's always looking down at his ga, I just feel... having him there is very reassuring."
As she spoke, her face grew redder and her voice grew softer. "The more I look at him, the more special I think he is. It's not the 'handso' from an idol drama, but a kind of indescribable... mm... sense of security."
Matsushita Chiaki nodded again, smiling at Sato Maya. "It sounds like you've truly fallen for him."
"Yes!" Sato Maya nodded vigorously, then covered her face shyly. "Actually, I surprised myself too. I never thought I'd like this type of guy. I've always liked the sunny, cheerful, athletic types. Keima-kun is... the exact opposite."
"But when it cos to feelings, who can say for sure?" Matsushita Chiaki laughed. "Liking soone is just liking soone; it has nothing to do with logic."
"Right, right, right!" Sato Maya nodded repeatedly. "That's exactly how I feel. Even though he's completely different from my ideal type, I just... I just can't help but want to look at him."
She suddenly rembered sothing and turned to Karuizawa Kei. "By the way, Kei, there's sothing I wanted to confirm with you first."
Kei's heart skipped a beat. For a while now, she had been keeping her head down, pretending to eat seriously. In reality, she had been poking the sa piece of fried chicken for ages; it was practically shredded. Her mind was a ss. Every word Sato Maya said hit her heart like a small hamr.
"He lifted his head and looked at ..."
She knew that feeling, of course. She had been looked at by him too—that calm, ripple-less gaze. But strangely, that gaze didn't feel cold; it felt safe.
"He's incredibly focused when he plays..."
She knew that focus well. During study sessions, she often stole glances at Keima. He'd be looking down, fingers dancing over buttons, the light from the screen flickering on his face. That focus was handso.
And... Katsuragi Keima was the only one who knew her true self. That was a feeling she'd never had before. It felt as if there was soone who truly understood her. In Kei's eyes, Katsuragi Keima was also a special person.
Did she like him? She didn't know. But she had all the feelings Sato Maya was describing.
"Kei?" Sato Maya's voice pulled her back to reality.
Kei snapped her head up. "Wh-what?"
"What's wrong? You look a bit strange." Sato Maya looked at her with concern.
"N-nothing!" Kei waved her hands frantically. "I was just... just spacing out. What did you say?"
Sato Maya looked at her and asked seriously: "Do you like Keima-kun?"
The question was too sudden, too direct. Kei's brain went blank for a split second. She opened her mouth to speak, but her throat felt blocked. The surrounding noise seed to fade away.
She saw Sato Maya's sincere eyes—eyes that held no hidden agenda, only pure concern and curiosity. She saw Matsushita Chiaki's gaze, which held a hint of playful observation. She felt her heart beating so fast it felt like it would jump out of her chest.
Did she like him? Did she not? She didn't know. She only knew that hearing Sato Maya say she liked him made her chest feel tight and uncomfortable.
But could she say it? Could she admit in front of her friends that she liked the boy they called a "gar nerd"? Could she say she also... just after Sato Maya had announced her feelings?
No. She couldn't.
"I... I would never like a gar nerd like that!"
Her voice was several pitches higher than usual, and her speech was incredibly fast. "All he does is play gas all day, he doesn't care about anything, and the way he talks is so weird—'celery' this, 'NPC' that—who can even understand him?! And the way he looks, always with his head down, he doesn't even look at people when he talks. He's not sunny at all! I prefer guys who are a bit more cheerful! Yeah, more cheerful!"
She nodded vigorously as she spoke, as if trying to convince herself. "Ideally soone very outgoing, who likes sports, and takes the initiative to find things to talk about—that's what a normal guy is like! Soone like Katsuragi is... too weird!"
The mont the words left her mouth, she regretted them. A strange feeling welled up inside her. Was it regret? Or sothing else? She didn't know. All she knew was that those words sounded fake even to her own ears.
Upon hearing her answer, a look of relief washed over Sato Maya's face. "That's great!"
Kei froze. "What's great?"
"I was worried about you at first, Kei." Sato Maya smiled brightly, looking entirely relaxed. "See, you two are quite close. You often sit next to him at study sessions and sotis talk to him. I thought... I thought maybe you liked him too, or at least had a crush on him."
She patted her chest. "Since you don't like him, I can relax."
Kei opened her mouth to speak but found no words.
'Relax? What is she relaxing for? What can she possibly be relaxed about?'
"Now I can make my move without any reservations." Sato Maya took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and a fierce fighting spirit burned in her eyes. "So—I want to ask him out!"
Kei's eyes went wide. "What?!"
"A date?!" Matsushita Chiaki almost jumped up in excitent, putting down her chopsticks. "Maya, you're going on the offensive?"
"Mm." Sato Maya nodded with determined eyes. "I want to try. I don't know if he'll agree, but I want to try. How will I know the result if I don't try?" She looked at Kei. "Kei, what do you think? Do you think he'll say yes? How do you think I should ask him?"
Kei felt her heart skip a beat. She looked at Sato Maya's expectant eyes and that sincere, excited, yearning face. What could she say? Could she say "no"?
No. She had just said she didn't like him. With her own mouth.
"I... I think it's great." Kei heard herself say. Even she felt the smile was stiff, as if the corners of her mouth were being pulled by strings. "Good luck!"
Sato Maya looked at her with touched eyes, her own rims turning slightly red. "Kei, thank you! I knew you were the best!" She lunged forward and hugged Kei.
Kei stiffened, not knowing how to respond. She just chanically patted Maya's back. "Y-you're welco..."
Matsushita Chiaki watched the scene from the side, the smile on her face deepening.
"Maya is so brave!" she chid in. "Good luck~ we'll all support you."
But her gaze remained fixed on Karuizawa Kei. In those eyes was a hint of playfulness, a hint of realization, and a touch of "I know exactly what's going on" cunning.
For the rest of lunch, Sato Maya excitedly discussed her dating plans.
"How should I ask him? Directly? Or should I be more subtle?" She cupped her face, looking dreamy. "If I'm too direct, will it be too sudden? Will he be scared? But if I'm too subtle, will he not understand? Soone like him seems especially dense when it cos to feelings."
Matsushita Chiaki offered her advice seriously. "I think being direct is better. With him, he really might not understand if you're too subtle. Just say it directly: 'I want to go to the ga center with you.' Simple and clear."
"Makes sense!" Sato Maya nodded repeatedly. "Then where's the best place? The ga center? He seems to really like it there."
"The ga center, definitely," Matsushita Chiaki said.
"But I rember... that's where Kiryuin-senpai asked him last ti..." Kei said softly. She certainly couldn't forget what happened that day.
"But you have to cater to his interests. If you ask him sowhere else, he might find it a bother. But if you ask him to the ga center, he'll definitely consider it."
"Right, right, right!" Sato Maya took out her phone to take notes. "Ga center. Direct invite."
"Also," Matsushita Chiaki continued, "Maya, should you dress up a bit? I an, I think you're already very pretty, but dressing up a bit more never hurts."
"Dress up?" Sato Maya looked down at her school uniform. "I definitely won't have ti to change after school, so I'll have to go in my uniform. That should be okay, right?"
"Sure," Matsushita Chiaki laughed. "The uniform looks good, too."
"..."
Sato Maya breathed a sigh of relief, then got nervous again. "Kei, what do you think I should talk about? Gas? I don't understand them at all! If he starts talking to about gas and I don't understand a single word, what do I do? I have zero experience with this!"
Kei snapped back to the conversation.
"Huh? Talk... talk about anything, I guess..." Her voice was a bit dry, but she wanted to sound like she understood Keima well. "He doesn't talk much, but as long as you speak, he'll listen. You can talk about anything; it doesn't have to be gas."
"Is that so?" Sato Maya nodded thoughtfully. "Then I'll just talk about daily stuff? School? The study sessions?"
"Anything works," Kei said. "He's the type who seems indifferent to everything, but he listens to everything seriously. When you speak, he looks at you. Even if he has no expression, he's really listening."
After speaking, she froze. How did she know all that? Because she had experienced it. Every ti she spoke, Katsuragi Keima would indeed look up and listen to her seriously.
Sato Maya didn't notice the abnormality and continued her excited planning. "If he agrees, should I treat him to a al? If I do, what should we eat? What does he like?"
"He doesn't seem to be a picky eater," Kei said. "It feels like he's not that interested in food and eats anything. Oh wait, he doesn't seem to like sweets very much!"
"Then a café should be fine," Sato Maya noted. "What about after the al? Should we walk around so more?"
"We'll see," Matsushita Chiaki laughed. "The first date doesn't need to be packed. Just keep it natural."
Sato Maya nodded along. "Chiaki is right! I've noted it all down!"
Kei sat beside them and went back to burying her head in her food. Hearing their conversation, every word felt like a thorn pricking her heart.
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