— — — — — —
When Oikawa walked into the Service Club room, he found Yukino still studying.
"Good luck with your studies, Yukino."
There was a hint of teasing in his voice.
Yukino shot him a flat look in response.
"Oikawa, yahallo!"
"Hey, Yui."
Yui and Oikawa exchanged greetings. While Yukino gracefully closed her textbook and set it aside. Then she reached for a pile of dorayaki from nearby.
After that, she walked over to the kettle, poured the freshly boiled water into a teapot, brewed herself some black tea, and returned to her seat with a cup in hand.
Yui grabbed both her own mug and Oikawa's. A short while later, she came back carrying steaming drinks.
"Thanks."
Holding the hot mug between his hands, Oikawa suddenly felt as if he had been transported back to summer.
Ah... summer, hurry up and get here already. Waking up and seeing the cheerleaders practicing below his classroom every morning...
The thought alone made him want to shout to the heavens.
"So, Oikawa," Yukino said, breaking the silence. "Have you come up with any good ideas?"
She was referring to the matter of Iroha Isshiki running for student council president, the only request currently on the Service Club's plate.
"If we're going to handle this by the rules, then I think the only option is to get someone else to run against her." Oikawa blew gently on the steam rising from his mug before continuing. "And that person needs to have a certain level of popularity around school. Otherwise, there's no way they'll overshadow Isshiki. To be honest, she's not nearly as easy to beat as people think."
"Oikawa-kun is right." Yui nodded. "I asked Hina and Yumiko about Isshiki-san too. They said she's really popular. A lot of boys are crazy about her."
"From what I've seen, she doesn't mind losing," Oikawa said. "She just doesn't want to lose badly."
"Girls care a lot about their pride, after all." Yukino pulled out a sheet of paper covered in names. "These are all the students I could think of who might potentially run for student council president."
"There are quite a few names, but none of them seem very likely. Especially this year. Every student council officer is stepping down, and that's making people nervous. If being president ends up taking too much time, it's bound to affect their studies."
People were practical, after all.
The reason nobody wanted the position this year was probably because it would hurt their grades.
At Sōbu High, more than eighty-five percent of students planned to attend university after graduation. Everything else came second to that goal.
In previous years, student council president had been a popular position because it offered valuable experience and bonus points for university applications without being overly demanding. This year was completely different.
Yui tilted her head. "Then why are all the student council officers quitting this year?"
"Because the cultural festival and the sports festival were too successful," Yukino answered calmly. "Next comes the Christmas event. A lot of them don't have confidence that they can match what was done before. And if they keep relying on Oikawa and me, they'd feel rather embarrassed. So they've decided to use the change of leadership as an opportunity to withdraw altogether."
Back during preparations for the sports festival, Meguri-senpai had quietly hinted at this possibility in the student council group chat. But she was about to graduate anyway, so she didn't mind. If anything, she was extremely grateful for the help Oikawa and Yukino had provided.
The second-year student council members, however, felt differently.
Especially whoever became the next president. They would inevitably be compared to Oikawa and Yukino.
And how exactly were they supposed to compete with that? Academically, Yukino and Oikawa were competing for the top rank among the second-years.
As for ability... the incredible success of the cultural festival and sports festival still felt like it had happened yesterday.
Several synchronized sighs echoed through the Service Club room. The Isshiki problem was practically a dead end.
Unless either Oikawa or Yukino personally entered the election, there seemed to be no real solution.
But that was impossible. Yukino had no interest in the position. And Oikawa had even less intention of getting involved.
He still had a year and a half of high school left, and he planned to spend that time gaining experience for the publishing company he wanted to establish in the future. There was no way he was going to waste it on something like student council work.
If this were university, it might be different.
He would probably consider running for student council president there. After all, standing at the top of a place like the University of Tokyo meant gaining access to decades' worth of connections and influence.
That was an opportunity with real value.
But Sōbu High? No thanks.
"For now, let's keep looking for a suitable candidate. If we really can't find anyone..." Oikawa shrugged. "Then we'll just have to let Isshiki become student council president."
"Honestly, in some ways, she'd probably be pretty good at it."
If you couldn't solve the problem... then solve the person who raised it.
"Candidate registration doesn't close until the Monday after next. We still have plenty of time to think about it before then," Yukino said.
And with that, the Service Club's activities for the day came to an end.
...
..
The sun was setting.
Because of the Service Club's latest request, Oikawa had ended his tutoring sessions with Kawasaki.
To be fair, she didn't really need intensive tutoring anymore. Her fundamentals were already solid. If she ran into a problem she couldn't solve, she could always ask Oikawa about that specific topic.
Honestly, he'd wanted to end the tutoring arrangement for a while now. A thousand yen wasn't much, but he didn't particularly want to keep taking money she worked so hard to earn.
The problem was that Kawasaki had never agreed to stop.
Only after the Service Club matter came up had she finally relented.
Oikawa still remembered the look on her face when he'd brought it up the night before... She had looked like a puppy that had just been abandoned by its owner.
Her expression hadn't changed much on the surface, but the sadness underneath had been impossible to miss.
"How much have I taken from Kawasaki altogether?" He pulled out his phone.
All the money she'd paid him had been kept in a separate bank account.
"A hundred and sixty thousand yen... Seriously? It's already that much?" Oikawa blinked in surprise.
During the school term, he had tutored her for an hour a day. At first she'd paid 700 yen, then later 500.
During vacations, it had been four hours a day for 2500 yen.
And Sōbu High really did hand out a lot of holidays.
He chuckled and shook his head. By the time they graduated high school, the total would probably exceed a million yen.
A million-yen graduation gift...
Oikawa found himself wondering what he should get her.
Riding his bicycle beneath the evening sky, he headed home. The weather was still tolerable, but once mid-December arrived, he'd probably switch to taking the bus to school.
As he chased the fading light down the road, a sudden burst of poetic inspiration swelled in his chest.
For a moment, he felt like composing a poem. Unfortunately, before a single line could form, an obstacle appeared in his path.
"Senpai, fancy meeting you again." Isshiki greeted him with an innocent, cheerful smile.
"Were you waiting for me?"
"Hehe~ you figured it out, Senpai. So amazing~"
Oikawa stared at her. At this hour, standing around after school? Even an idiot could tell she had been waiting for him.
"Need something?"
"Can I not just talk to Senpai because I..." She paused. "Actually, yes, I do have something."
Seeing Oikawa start to pedal away, Isshiki hurriedly corrected herself.
"What is it?"
"Well..." She smiled sweetly. "I wanted to ask how my request is going. Any progress?"
"Not yet."
Oikawa wasn't entirely sure what Isshiki's real objective was, but he had a feeling it would be troublesome.
If she genuinely wanted updates on her request, she could have just stopped by the Service Club.
"Senpai, can I add you on LINE? That way I can contact you anytime."
"No, you can just come to the Service Club." Oikawa refused almost instinctively.
Almost immediately, Isshiki put on a hurt expression.
The reaction from the people nearby was instant. Most of the students leaving school at this time belonged to sports clubs. Several of them even started walking over, their faces practically asking: "Isshiki, is this guy bullying you?"
A headache began forming behind Oikawa's eyes.
With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and gave her his LINE ID.
A friend request appeared almost immediately.
The moment he accepted it, a message arrived: [Senpai, let's get along from now on!]
Oikawa rubbed his temples. "Can I go now?"
"Of course." Isshiki beamed. "Senpai can leave whenever he wants. I just wanted to add you as a friend. Isshiki doesn't have any bad intentions."
Honestly, it was hard for most guys to dislike her when she acted like that. Even if you knew perfectly well how calculating she could be.
Before leaving, Oikawa tossed one last comment over his shoulder. "You'd actually make a pretty good student council president. I think you should give it a shot."
As he rode away, Isshiki watched his retreating figure.
A slow smile spread across her face.
Operation: Get Closer to Oikawa Tōru — Mission Accomplished.
...
..
Six o'clock that evening—
The doorbell at Oikawa's house rang.
The visitors were Kawasaki and Keika.
"Oikawa-niisan!"
The moment the door opened, Keika launched herself into his arms.
"I missed you, Oikawa-niisan! How come you haven't come to play with me lately?"
Oikawa caught her automatically, looking thoroughly confused.
Then he turned toward Kawasaki. "What are you two doing here? And what's with all those groceries?"
He noticed the bags she was carrying. One of the black plastic bags gave off a faint fishy smell. There was probably fresh fish inside.
"Keika said she missed you and wouldn't stop asking to come see you." Kawasaki sounded helpless. "And I needed to make dinner anyway, so I figured I'd just come here."
Before she could finish speaking, Oikawa had already taken the grocery bags from her hands.
A faint smile immediately appeared on Kawasaki's face.
"I see. What about Taishi?" He grinned. "Don't tell me you two just abandoned him somewhere."
Carrying the groceries in one hand and holding Keika's hand with the other, Oikawa headed toward the kitchen.
"Oikawa-niisan, your house is huge! And there are so many toys! Wow, and all these manga too!!"
Tiny eyes. Massive shock.
Keika stared at the shelves packed with novels, manga, and toys. Her mouth hung open in amazement, her eyes overflowing with envy.
"Haha, go play with whatever you want." Oikawa ruffled her hair with a laugh. "Your sister and I are going to the kitchen to sort out dinner."
"Okay!"
Keika immediately dove toward the manga shelves, looking like she'd happily stay there forever.
Once they reached the kitchen, Kawasaki finally answered his earlier question. "Taishi went to a friend's house. I sent him your address, so he'll probably be here soon."
"Um... And you don't need to do that. I can wash the vegetables myself."
Ignoring her protest, Oikawa took over.
Inside the bag were carrots, potatoes, and chicken breast.
"Curry tonight?"
"Yeah. And grilled sardines. Plus boiled sea snails." Kawasaki pulled out a package of sardines and a bag of sea snails from another grocery bag. Clearly, she'd planned the menu ahead of time.
She tied on an apron and, without hesitation, went straight to where Oikawa kept the rice.
It was almost as if she already lived there.
"You don't have to help," she said. "Go play with Keika."
Oikawa didn't answer.
Instead, he turned his head and quietly looked at her.
Today, Kawasaki was wearing a light-blue sweater with a simple round collar that covered her neck completely.
A pair of pale wide-leg pants completed the outfit, giving her a soft, comfortable look.
Her hair still carried the faint scent of shampoo. It was slightly damp, as if she'd washed it specially before coming over.
"What?"
Still scrubbing the sea snails, Kawasaki glanced at him. "Why are you staring at me?"
"Nothing." Oikawa smiled. "I just think you look especially pretty today."
Kawasaki's hand paused.
A faint blush immediately colored her cheeks.
The corner of her lips lifted ever so slightly.
"Give me that. You go cut the vegetables." Oikawa took the fork from her hand, claiming the unpleasant-looking task for himself.
Kawasaki didn't argue. She simply removed her gloves and handed them over.
"Okay."
As he carefully scrubbed the sea snails, Oikawa asked, "It's Christmas next month. Is there anything you want?"
"No."
"..."
He sighed. "You know, those one-word answers of yours make people lose the motivation to keep talking."
After a brief pause, he continued, "Then let's have Christmas dinner together. You, Taishi, and Keika. I'll treat everyone to something amazing."
Kawasaki peeled a potato as she said, "I can cook at home. It's cheaper."
"Oh, come on." Oikawa laughed. "I'll let you in on a secret. I'm actually pretty rich."
"That has nothing to do with it. It's just wasteful." She answered without a trace of hesitation.
That was genuinely how she felt.
Whether Oikawa had money or not wasn't what mattered.
She liked the rich Oikawa. She had liked the poor Oikawa too.
In fact, Kawasaki wasn't entirely happy that he had money. Because everyone knew what people said: Men change when they get rich.
And Oikawa was already troublesome enough. If he got any worse...
For some reason, that thought made her a little unhappy.
"I like rich Oikawa-niisan!"
Keika's voice suddenly rang out from the living room.
"Oikawa-niisan, if Saki-nee doesn't want to go eat with you, I'll go!"
"When I grow up, I'll definitely be prettier than Saki-nee! So you should invest in me!"
The little rascal had looked completely absorbed in her manga. But apparently she'd been eavesdropping the entire time.
Oikawa burst out laughing.
"Does everyone in your family have superhuman hearing or something?"
Then he turned toward the living room and teased, "Keika, when you grow up, I'll marry you instead. I won't want your sister anymore. You'll definitely be way prettier than her."
The next second, Kawasaki's hand found his waist.
A miserable scream echoed through the house.
It was quickly followed by frantic begging for mercy.
...
Outside, the last traces of sunset faded from the sky. The moon quietly took over its nightly shift.
But inside Oikawa's home, laughter filled every corner. Normally, only silence and loneliness filled the house; it was Kawasaki alone who usually made it feel truly alive. Honestly, he had hated the "orphan package" the protagonist started with—it was just too lonely living alone.
"Will Loid leave at the end?"
Finishing his tasks, Oikawa sat on the couch and watched Spy × Family with Keika, analyzing what might happen in the next season.
Meanwhile, Taishi played on his PS nearby, occasionally turning around to ask Oikawa how to defeat a difficult boss.
"Dinner's ready."
Kawasaki's voice drifted out from the kitchen.
Oikawa stood and headed over.
The kitchen was a little smoky. But the rich aroma of curry easily overwhelmed the smell.
Kawasaki was standing at the stove, frying fish.
Without turning around, she said, "The sea snails should be done by now. Do you want garlic sauce or wasabi?"
Oikawa walked up behind her.
Then he wrapped his arms around her waist.
Resting his chin lightly on her shoulder, he lowered his voice.
"I like you."
"Really, really like you, Kawasaki."
.
.
.