Monday lunch break in Class 2-A was always a chaotic affair. The moment the fourth-period bell rang, the classroom transformed from a place of academic suffering into a bustling social hub. Desks were pushed together, bento boxes were unpacked, and the air filled with the overlapping chatter of teenagers whose main concerns were club activities, upcoming exams, and who was dating whom.
Kamishiro Renji slid open the classroom door, stepping back into the lively atmosphere after a brief trip to the faculty office. As usual, his mere presence caused a subtle shift in the room's dynamic. A few girls near the door paused their conversations to offer him bright, slightly nervous smiles, while a couple of guys gave him casual nods of respect. Renji returned the greetings with his trademark effortless smile, the perfect, untouchable Prince.
Internally, however, he was already packing his bags for paradise.
He made his way to his desk near the back by the window, and as expected, Hoshino Takumi had already dragged his own chair over and was halfway through a massive, messy store-bought lunch.
"Oh, Renji! You're back!" Takumi mumbled around a mouthful of yakisoba, waving his chopsticks dangerously through the air. "I was starting to think the math teacher held you hostage."
"Just had some paperwork to file." Renji replied smoothly, taking his seat.
Standing beside Takumi's desk was Aihara Hina. She was holding a small, neatly wrapped Tupperware container. Her cheeks were dusted with a light pink blush as she gently placed it in front of her childhood friend making it obvious that she was already over physical exam's mishaps.
"Here, Takumi-kun," Hina said softly, her voice practically dripping with classic childhood-friend affection. "You always just buy carbs from the cafeteria. I made some extra tamagoyaki and spinach this morning. After all, you need your vegetables."
Takumi's eyes practically turned into stars. "Hina, you're a lifesaver! I was totally craving your tamagoyaki! You'd make an awesome wife someday!"
It was a carelessly thrown compliment, the kind Takumi dealt out without a second thought, but it was enough to make Hina's face turn bright red. She looked down, completely flustered, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her cardigan.
Renji watched the interaction while opening his own sleek, multi-tiered bento. He didn't feel a shred of jealousy. In his past life, seeing the protagonist and the heroines flirt right in front of him through the screen might have sparked some bitterness about the reality of his own world. But now? He just found it amusing.
Besides, he had far better things to look forward to than high school hand-holding.
A few rows away, sitting at her own desk, was Nishimura Mika. She wasn't part of their circle, preferring to keep her distance from Takumi's loud antics other than times when she goes to tease him. She was elegantly eating a store-bought egg sandwich with one hand while rapidly scrolling through social media on her phone with the other. Her platinum blonde hair was perfectly styled, and she looked thoroughly bored with the surrounding high school ecosystem.
Renji picked up his chopsticks and neatly divided a piece of grilled salmon.
"Enjoy the peace and quiet while you can, Takumi." Renji said casually, not looking up from his food. "I just submitted my leave of absence to the faculty office. I won't be here from tomorrow until next Monday to help you clean your mess."
Takumi stopped mid-chew, a piece of egg dangling from his chopsticks. "Huh? A whole week? Are you sick?"
Hina also looked up, her expression immediately shifting from bashful to concerned. "A week? Renji-kun, is everything okay?"
"Don't worry, I'm perfectly healthy." Renji assured them, taking a bite of his rice. "It's work-related. I have a domestic modelling gig. A brand rented out a massive indoor tropical studio, so I'll be on a closed set for five days."
Takumi swallowed loudly. "Whoa. Five days? That's serious business. What are you modelling? Winter coats? I heard they shoot winter stuff in the summer and summer stuff in the winter."
"Not exactly," Renji replied, his tone remaining perfectly even, though a spark of mischief danced in his dark blue eyes. "It's a summer swimwear catalogue. I'll be modelling their new line of swim briefs."
He deliberately left out the "skin-tight" and "low-rise" details, the reaction when they see it themselves would be hilarious. But, even without those details, the word swimwear did exactly what it was supposed to do.
Hina visibly stiffened. Her brain, completely unprompted, supplied an image of Kamishiro Renji, tall, broad-shouldered, and athletically flawless, standing half-naked on a beach set. Her face, which had just recovered from Takumi's compliment, flushed an entirely new, deeper shade of crimson. She quickly looked down at her shoes, suddenly very interested in the floor tiles.
Over at her desk, Mika, who was eavesdropping from the moment Takumi exclaimed about Renji's five-day outing, stopped scrolling her phone. She didn't turn her head, but her posture straightened slightly. 'A five-day exclusive swimwear campaign?' she thought. 'That's quite a project to take on. They only give those to established models and certain features. He really is operating on a different level.'
Takumi, completely oblivious to the sudden spike in temperature around him, leaned forward excitedly. "Swimwear?! That's awesome, man! You're gonna be on the cover of magazines looking like a pro surfer! Wait, wait..." Takumi's eyes narrowed as his shonen-protagonist brain connected a few dots. "Is it a solo shoot? Or are there... girls?"
"It's a couples' shoot, so there will be one." Renji answered, calmly picking up another piece of salmon. "The theme is 'Sensual Summer Getaway'."
"Sensual?!" Takumi gasped, practically climbing onto his desk. "Bro! Who's the co-star?! Is it a foreigner? A supermodel? Don't hold out on me!"
Renji took his time. He chewed his food, swallowed, and took a sip from his water bottle. He let the anticipation build just enough before he casually set the bottle down.
"Don't shout after hearing the name… It's Kanzaki Rio." Renji said.
Takumi froze. The gears in his head ground to a spectacular halt.
For a solid three seconds, Takumi just stared at Renji, his mouth slightly open. Then, the realization hit him like a freight train.
Takumi pushed himself to his feet so violently that his chair tipped backward, hitting the floor with a loud CLACK. He slammed both of his hands onto Renji's desk, causing Hina's Tupperware to jump.
He took a deep breath, filling his lungs to maximum capacity, and screamed.
"KANZAKI RIO?! THE GRAVURE GODDESS?! YOU'RE DOING A COUPLE'S SWIMSUIT SHOOT WITH HER?!"
'So much for warning him not to shout…' Renji thought speechlessly.
The effect was instantaneous.
The entire classroom of Class 2-A went dead silent. The chatter, the laughter, the sound of rustling bags, everything ceased. Thirty heads snapped toward the back of the room.
Then, the explosion.
The classroom erupted into absolute, unadulterated chaos.
"Kanzaki Rio?!" one of the boys shouted from the front row, dropping his chopsticks. "The J-cup Kanzaki Rio?! The one from the Weekly Young Jump cover?!"
"Kamishiro is going to be half-naked with her for a couple's shoot?!" another boy wailed, literally falling to his knees and clutching his chest as if he had been shot. "God is dead! There is no justice in this world! Why was I born with this face?!"
"A couples' shoot?!" The girls in the room completely lost their minds, but for very different reasons. A frantic, high-pitched whispering swept through their ranks.
"Oh my god, Kamishiro-kun in a swimsuit..."
"Did you see him during the 50-meter dash? His leg muscles are amazing..."
"I'm definitely buying that catalogue. I don't even care about the girls' swimsuits!"
"He's going to look so mature next to an adult idol..."
Renji sat in the eye of the hurricane, completely unfazed by their commentary. He let out a long, quiet sigh, brushing a stray grain of rice off his desk that Takumi had spat out during his outburst.
"I literally told you to keep your voice down, Takumi," Renji said, mildly exasperated. "You're literally making a point to do the exact opposite. And pick up your chair."
Though internally, Renji was grinning from ear to ear. 'But I can't deny the satisfaction this kind of reaction brings, and it never gets old. Glazing is a hell of a drug.'
Takumi scrambled to pick up his chair, but he was still vibrating with manic energy. "Keep my voice down?! Renji, are you insane?! You're going to be breathing the same air as the eighth wonder of the world! You have to get an autograph! No, get a hand-shake! Better yet, don't wash your right hand for a month!"
While Takumi was busy worshipping at the altar of the gravure idol, Hina was having a completely different reaction.
She stood there, her hands instinctively coming up to cross defensively over her chest. Hina was incredibly well-endowed herself, a fact she usually hated, but Kanzaki Rio was an adult. A professional woman who confidently weaponized her J-cup figure for a living.
Suddenly, Hina felt a profound sense of inadequacy. She looked at Renji, who was calmly eating his lunch amidst the screaming boys, and felt a massive, intimidating gap between them. He wasn't just the handsome guy in her class; he was a professional who belonged to a glamorous, adult world that they couldn't even begin to comprehend.
She glanced at Takumi, who was still raving about Kanzaki Rio's 'specs', and felt a small, sharp sting of annoyance. Takumi was her crush, but currently they were still just childhood friends, so seeing him drool over an adult idol while her other childhood friend who was actually going to work with her being so calm made everything feel strange and off-balance.
A few desks away, Mika was watching the scene unfold with sharp, calculating eyes.
She rested her chin on her hand, looking at Renji through her long eyelashes. She wasn't jealous in any sense; she was too proud for that. But as a girl who spent hours perfecting her makeup, curating her fashion, and trying to project a mature aura, she felt a distinct twinge of competitive intimidation.
'He's doing a sensual shoot with Kanzaki Rio.' Mika thought, her nails tapping lightly against her phone case. 'He's going to be surrounded by adult industry professionals, makeup artists, and top-tier photographers. And he's not even nervous.' Mika looked at Renji not just as the annoying, perfect Prince, but as a guy who was frustratingly impressive.
The warning chime for the end of lunch echoed through the PA system, cutting through the wailing of the boys.
"Alright, show's over." Renji said, neatly packing his empty bento box into its sleek black carrying bag. He stood up, towering over Takumi, and slung his school bag over his shoulder.
"I will be going now; I have already taken permission for early-leave along with my five-day leave notice. I'll see you guys next Monday," Renji said, looking down at Takumi. "Try not to make any kind of mess while I'm gone. I'm not going to be here to help you handle that."
"Hey! I can survive a week!" Takumi protested, though he immediately looked unsure. "Probably."
Renji chuckled, then turned his gaze to Hina. He offered her a warm, perfectly normal smile. "Keep an eye on him for me, Hina. Make sure he actually eats real food. Don't let him buy expired melon bread from the discount bin just to save extra money for manga."
Hina blinked, pulled out of her insecure thoughts by his gentle tone. She nodded quickly, her cheeks still a bit warm. "O-Okay. I will. Have... have a safe trip, Renji-kun. Do your best at work."
"Thanks." Renji replied.
He turned and walked out of the classroom. As he stepped into the hallway, the noise of Class 2-A slowly faded behind him, replaced by the quiet anticipation of the week ahead.
Renji shoved his hands into his pockets, a relaxed, genuinely excited smile finally breaking across his face. He was leaving the high school rom-com behind.
'Time to hit the adult playground.' he thought, his steps light.