Upon arriving at the door of the Director's Office, I took a deep breath before gently knocking on the door.
I was half-expecting to be turned away today because of last night but surprisingly, the door swung open almost imdiately, revealing Hayashi-sensei dressed in her usual sharp office attire while topped with her white lab coat, her expression unreadable behind her spectacles.
"You're here. Co in." Hayashi-sensei's tone was quite stiff, evident from the lingering mories of our previous encounter.
Looking closely, little bags could be seen under her eyes. She must've lost so sleep because she couldn't forget the scene she witnessed last night.
"Is now a good ti, sensei? Or... shall I hold off on my report for next ti?"
I carefully worded my question as I looked up at her after stepping in and closing the door behind .
"Now is fine, Onoda. I was expecting you."
With slight hesitation in her tone, Hayashi-sensei's reply remained stiff as if she was still trying to grasp how she should face today.
Gesturing towards the sofa, Hayashi-sensei instructed to take a seat before following after , taking the space next to .
The silence was a little awkward but as always, I remained unfazed and acted as normally as possible, "Sensei, shall I start then?"
Upon saying that, I reached for her hand, grasping it gently as my thumb slid across her palm. Massaging her was gradually becoming a normal thing between us but this was the first ti that I didn't ask her and simply took her hand without her consent.
Her face twitched a bit at the suddenness of my touch, but she didn't pull away. It was as if she was also expecting this from . She turned her head, eting my gaze properly before her eyes narrowed slightly. "Shaless brat, you're going straight to massaging my hand again, huh?"
"What do you an 'again', sensei? I'm just shortening the process." I put on my usual smile as my thumb pressed on her hand's pressure point, loosening the tension on it.
Hayashi-sensei's expression relaxed slightly as she exhaled a relieved sigh. Her finger curled a little, pressing on the back of my hand, urging to continue.
Understanding that, I pressed harder before continuing, "You know how shaless I can be, sensei. That's why... even if you caught us like that last night, my behavior around you wouldn't change that much. Unless you firmly expressed dissatisfaction or disappointnt towards ."
Her face tightened montarily before she sighed again, "I don't know if it's your charm or just your sheer audacity that makes it hard to stay mad at you."
"It's probably both." My shaless smile made its appearance as I continued to massage her hand. Little by little, she beca relaxed as the atmosphere around us lightened considerably.
"Indeed. It can't be one or the other. You're that much of a troubleso brat..."
"Well, troubleso is quite accurate but sensei, you keep on tolerating . Why not give a firm punishnt?"
"Do you want to be punished that much?"
"Not exactly. But you see. It's hard to see you this troubled. And knowing that it's because of , I can't help but feel the need to take responsibility."
Hayashi-sensei clicked her tongue and her brows furrowed, "I'm not troubled, you brat.... I'm just..."
With her voice trailing there, Hayashi-sensei's eyes searched my face for a hint of sincerity. I t her gaze with my own while maintaining the gentle presses on her palm and her pressure points.
Eventually, she was unable to maintain eye contact and leaned back, her head arching upward as she covered her face with her other hand.
I followed her with my eyes, twisting my body slightly, "Well, you don't have to tell if it's uncomfortable, sensei. We can just keep acting the sa as before. I'm here to give you a report on my activity while giving you a bit of relief with my massages while you advise or scold if ever you find sothing unpleasant about it."
Hayashi-sensei didn't reply to that. She maintained her current position, possibly to avoid falling further from my pace.
Well, let's not make it harder for her then. I continued my massage and began my report. As always, I omitted the private monts that I spent with my girls. Then at the end, I added my appreciation for the workshop and how it turned into a successful idea.
Slowly but surely, Hayashi-sensei slipped out of her state as she eventually straightened her back again and listened to my report while watching intently.
I tid the end of my massage to coincide with the last sentence of my report, releasing her from my grasp and then giving her the space that she probably needed.
I initially thought of moving to the opposite seat. However, I instantly dropped that idea since giving her space was just a temporary asure. I'm still planning to slowly shorten the distance between us.
Hayashi-sensei's gaze followed then she looked down at the open distance between us before shaking her head, "Your class won because of the ingenious idea your group produced, you deserved that win. I applaud your girls for not giving you a core position in your class's booth. Just focus on the Literature Club. You're bringing together multiple clubs and you're undoubtedly the core of it. Do your best and show what you can do, shaless brat."
As she finished making comnts about the content of my report, Hayashi-sensei took a mont to gather her thoughts. Then she looked at with a sigh, "You don't have to worry about . This is sothing an adult like has to overco myself."
I didn't reply to her right away. Instead, I just stared at her face, watching the changes in her expression. Eventually, I also released a sigh, "Indeed. It's not up to to ddle with your personal feelings, sensei. I hope I'm not overstepping."
"This brat... Stop saying nonsense like that! Overstepping? You've done that a long ti ago!" As though I stepped on a landmine, Hayashi-sensei raised her voice. She then tapped the space that I opened up, hinting at to return. "Don't think about taking a step back now."
"Sensei, what do you an?"
"Do I have to spell it out to you?"
"No. I understand it but--"
Before I could finish my sentence, Hayashi-sensei interrupted as she closed the gap by sliding closer. Then, she grabbed by my collar.
"Stop making excuses, you brat. Aren't you shaless? So why are you doing this now?"
"Well, I thought you needed the space."
"You thought? Did you ask for my thoughts or did you just assu that?"
Upon hearing that, I was stumped.
Yep. I blundered again. I acted on my assumption rather than wait for her to explicitly ask for it. Lesson learned.
Seeing that I couldn't answer her, Hayashi-sensei pressed further, "Shaless brat, I've lost sleep thinking about you and now you're going to act like this... Really, what should I do with you?"
"I'm sorry, sensei. It's my mistake for not asking," I apologized with sincerity. We looked into each other's eyes, reading our thoughts behind them. Gradually, Hayashi-sensei's grip on my collar loosened.
However, before she could release , I covered her hands with mine, keeping them there. "Then, sensei. Can I continue being shaless around you?"
Her glasses trembled for a mont caused by the violent twitching of her face. I got on her nerves, after all. She then indignantly sighed before making a reckless move.
Before I could react to it, a dull thud echoed in the room as Hayashi-sensei's forehead hit mine before we both winced from the sharp pain caused by it. But despite the pain, Hayashi-sensei kept that connection as she whispered, "R-rember. I'm only tolerating your shalessness. Nothing more. Nothing less."
Understanding the aning in her words, my lips stretched into a smile as my arm, wrapped around her back, pulled her close to , "I understand, sensei. I'll keep that in mind and take responsibility for my blunder."
Hayashi-sensei didn't resist the pull. We stared at each other for a while as she gradually lted into my embrace. Then, her arms slowly slid to my back, holding just as tightly with her face buried in my chest.
I glanced down at her purple crown releasing steam as her face was probably burning from heat. This was definitely not what I was expecting when I ca here to give her the report. But who am I to refuse this developnt?
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