"Toyogasaki these days really does have quite a few outstanding students," Hiratsuka Shizuka said.
"There's a girl in my class with excellent grades and a good personality. She often helps me out with class affairs too. Not only that, she also lends a hand to the student council and is very capable. I did suggest that she officially join the student council, but she turned it down, saying she already had too much on her plate and wouldn't be able to manage it if she joined."
She picked up a piece of the tonkatsu Ichin had ordered, took a bite, and continued, "Then there's also a rather gloomy boy in my class. It's not really a big issue—he's just quiet and not very sociable, but he's a good kid and quite sensible. Sigh… I don't know how that kind of personality forms. He'll be in his final year of high school next, so I'm hoping he can improve a bit during that last year."
"Oh? So you have students like that too," Ichin said with a laugh after hearing her description. "Sounds like your day-to-day life as a homeroom teacher isn't all that dull. By the way, is there anyone at school who causes a stir like Utaha and I did back then? You know—couples and the like."
Finishing the last bit of her ramen, Hiratsuka Shizuka wiped her mouth. "There actually is. Those two students are current members of the student council. The boy is even the student council president. As for the girl, she's also part of the council, but compared to actually working, well… she's more like a mascot? She's very cute, though. Oh right—about that gloomy boy I just mentioned. His family runs a cake shop nearby. The cakes are really good; I've bought from there quite a few times myself. If you're interested, you can go take a look."
"Cake?"
Ichin wasn't particularly interested, but Utaha's eyes lit up with curiosity.
"Ichin, I kind of feel like eating cake right now," she said. "How about we go take a look after dinner? We can treat it as a little walk too!"
"Alright, if you want to go, let's check it out," Ichin nodded, then looked at Hiratsuka Shizuka. "Hiratsuka-sensei, do you have anything else to do later? If not, could you show us the way?"
"Sure," she replied. Taking a sip of water, she pulled out her phone. "It's still early anyway. You two finish eating first—I'll browse my phone for a bit and contact Sonoko while I'm at it."
A little over ten minutes later, Ichin and Utaha were full, and Hiratsuka Shizuka had smoothly arranged the next mixer with Machida Sonoko, brimming with confidence.
Putting her phone away, she looked at them. "Done eating? Then let's head out. Walk there directly?"
Utaha smiled and nodded. "Yeah, a nice post-meal walk."
"OK. It's not far anyway."
Leaving the ramen shop, the three chatted as they walked. In just five minutes, they arrived at a cake shop called "Iori."
The storefront wasn't large, but business seemed quite good. Even though it was already dinner time, they still saw a customer walk out holding a cake, smiling happily.
"Let's go in. Just not sure how much stock they'll have left this late," Hiratsuka Shizuka said.
As they pushed the door open, a middle-aged woman wearing an apron greeted them with a smile. "Welcome—oh my, Hiratsuka-sensei! It's been a while."
"Hello," Hiratsuka Shizuka replied with a smile. "I brought some guests today." She then introduced them. "These two are my former students from a few years ago. We happened to meet for dinner today, so I brought them along to take a look."
"Hello."
"Nice to meet you."
The shop owner glanced at their linked arms and asked curiously, "Are you two a couple?"
"Nope," Utaha said with a smile, raising her hand to show the ring on her finger. "We're already married."
"Oh my! That's unexpected—but I can tell at a glance you're a very affectionate pair. Come on, take a look and see what you'd like. Even though it's evening, quite a few of these were just made."
Inside the glass display case were many cakes—whole round and square ones, as well as neatly cut slices. There was a wide variety, all beautifully presented. Compared to cakes from large chain shops, they didn't lose out at all.
As Ichin and Utaha picked out cakes, Hiratsuka Shizuka chatted with the owner.
Suddenly, the owner clapped her hands. "Ah, I almost forgot! Since you're here, Hiratsuka-sensei, I should at least call Izumi out. Izumi—Hiratsuka-sensei is here! Come out quickly!"
Immediately, a burst of noisy commotion came from the back kitchen, and a peculiar smile appeared on Hiratsuka Shizuka's face.
With the sound of footsteps and a door opening, a boy appeared at the entrance.
The moment he came out, Ichin and Utaha were both taken aback.
This was the gloomy boy Hiratsuka-sensei had mentioned? He had a stylish haircut, pierced ears with earrings, and although he was wearing an apron dusted with flour, it was obvious that the clothes underneath were from a trendy brand.
Around 170 centimeters tall, with handsome features—how was this "gloomy" at all?
Noticing their expressions, Hiratsuka Shizuka laughed. "Surprised? When I first saw him, I almost didn't recognize him either. I even thought the Miyamura family had two sons."
Mrs. Miyamura smiled. "This is my son, Miyamura Izumi. Izumi, these two are your seniors—they're studying at the University of Tokyo now."
The boy named Izumi froze for a moment, then said a bit stiffly, "Hello, senpai. I'm Miyamura Izumi."
"Mm… that name," Ichin murmured.
He finally realized it—although the Japanese pronunciation was different from his own name, and the kanji were written differently, the Chinese reading was exactly the same.
(T/N: It's like Isumi == Ichin, don't mind it.)
Utaha realized it at the same time and laughed. "What a coincidence. Hiratsuka-sensei, is this part of the reason you brought us here?"
"Of course," Hiratsuka Shizuka said with a grin. "Isn't it interesting?"
Seeing that the mother and son didn't quite understand, Ichin smiled and explained it briefly.
Mrs. Miyamura looked even more surprised. "That really is an amazing coincidence!"
"It really is," Ichin said with a smile, then looked at Miyamura Izumi, who was standing beside his mother with a startled expression. "Well, to avoid confusion, I'll just call you Miyamura. Nice to meet you."
After a brief pause, Izumi smiled back. "Yes, nice to meet you, senpai."
He then proceeded to explain their shop's cakes to Ichin and Utaha.
In the end, the two chose four slices, planning to bring two back for Utaha's parents as well.
Hiratsuka Shizuka also picked out two. After paying, the Miyamura family's father came over—they were about to have dinner—so Hiratsuka Shizuka and the others took their leave.
Back near the ramen shop, they said goodbye to Hiratsuka Shizuka and got into the car.
After fastening their seatbelts, Ichin and Utaha exchanged a smile and headed home.
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