The mornings in Seiryo High were always the same.
Sunlight poured through the windows facing the east, golden and warm. Already the halls echoed with unnecessary voices. Someone was going to be late. Someone was going to forget their homework. None of it involved Yuuto Kurokawa.
He preferred it that way.
He entered Class 2-B as usual—quietly, seeking to remain invisible, going directly to his seat towards the back.
At least that was how things worked before.
No longer.
Because somehow in defiance of logic and nature.
He now also had a girlfriend.
A counterfeit version. But nonetheless.
He let his gaze slide to the middle of the room, in time to catch the sound of her voice crack out like a firecracker
"Good morning, Kurokawa-kun.
There she goes.
Hikari Amamiya. Blonde, effervescent, loudly boisterous. The complete opposite of all that he strived to be.
And now—for reasons that still escaped him—his pretend girlfriend.
Heads turned. Conversations stopped. Yuuto froze mid-step.
She was not joking about this.
He continued to walk without greeting her, hoping that she'd let it pass if he didn't.
No such luck.
Hikari was already standing up by the time he made it to the last row, a playful smirk spreading across her face as she rested against his desk.
Aw, you're already ignoring your girlfriend? You're hurting me.
Yuuto's brow furrowed. "We agreed that it was fake."
"Fake dating's still dating," she said sweetly. "At least pretend to be happy to see me, Kurokawa-kun."
He looked her straight in the eye. "You're causing a scene."
Exactly. You sell the act that way.
She made a heart shape in her hands in front of him. A cluster of pupils standing by the windows snickered. One of the pupils whispered something that sounded uncannily like "They're definitely together."
Yuuto sat down. He dug into his bag and produced his text book but the warmth in the tips of his ears gave away his outwardly serene visage.
He was positive that she noticed.
He was correct.
"You're blushing already," Hikari whispered, crouching beside his desk. "Not even the second day, and I'm winning."
I'm not blushing.
She smiled. "You are. And it's adorable."
Yuuto looked away, focusing on the blackboard even though homeroom hadn't started yet. This game had rules.
One: They had to pretend in public.Two: whoever got in love first lost.Three: no stepping back.
He'd agreed to it assuming that it would fizzle out in a few days. That Hikari would get bored. But she didn't even look a little bored now—she was energized.
As if this was her preferred type of challenge.
There was still more work to do.
In mathematics, she handed him a note nicely folded in the shape of a heart. He unfolded it gingerly beneath the desk.
There was a stick figure drawing inside of two individuals grasping hands beneath a cherry blossom tree.
Guess Who?
He didn't respond.
She tapped him on the foot under the desk in English. When he turned to glare at her, she mouthed the words, "You looked bored."
During lunch, Yuuto already felt as though he'd gone for a marathon in utter quiet.
He unclosed his bento on the desk, hoping—Hoping!—Hikari would grant him some peace.
No such luck.
"Come on, let's have a meal together, Kurokawa-kun," she bubbled up without even asking him permission first. "Couples do that, don't they?"
Yuuto didn't answer as she pulled out her adorable pink lunchbox. It contained little bear-shaped rice balls. Naturally.
"This has umeboshi," she indicated. "You'd like to have a bite?"
I'm eating my own lunch.
"Oh, stingy," she teased and popped it in.
Across the room, someone murmured, "They're eating together…"
Yuuto pinched the bridge of his nose. Things were getting out of hand quicker than he'd anticipated. And Hikari wasn't letting up.
She sang a song to herself under her breath—off-key and intentionally—and leaned in closer to him each time that she spoke. Her shoulder touched him twice. He didn't recoil but didn't retreat either.
"You're a natural in the role of straight man," she told him.
"I'm not playing."
She grinned. "Exactly. That's why it works."
Yuuto looked at her—quickly. She was really a character. A bright yellow hairpin to match the bow in her uniform, eyes shining with mischief, her stance loose as though the world didn't bother her in the least.
She got what out of that?
Was it purely a dare?
Or perhaps there was something else?
"Staring at you already?" she whispered, her eyes narrowing into a smile. "Be careful, Kurokawa-kun. That's how things begin."
He looked away instantly. "Don't flatter yourself."
She laughed, a light airy sound that pulled the corner of his mouth up despite him.
He resented the way that she seemed to fall right into his space. As though she'd always occupied the spot.
No. Such thinking was risky.
It was only a game. A ridiculous, foolish game.
He'd maintain a distance. He wouldn't fall. He'd succeed.
…then propped her elbow on her raised knee and rested her chin on her hand and smiled up at him as if he alone was in the room—
He was no longer so sure.
To be continued…