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The next day.
While Kai was still sound asleep, over on the other side of the city, Yukino Yukinoshita had already woken up early.
As she prepared her own breakfast, she was simultaneously putting together her bento for lunch.
"It seems I prepared slightly too many ingredients."
Looking at the two freshly packed bento boxes sitting on the counter, Yukino haughtily made up an excuse for herself.
Her thoughts drifted back to the lunch she had shared with Kai yesterday. He came from a difficult background and had moved to Tokyo entirely on his own, yet he faced the future with absolute, unshakeable confidence.
Compared to him, even though she was born into an incredibly powerful and wealthy family, she completely lacked the courage to truly rebel against them.
Her biggest act of "rebellion" was probably just moving out to live on her own.
But Yukino knew perfectly well that this tiny slice of independence would end the exact second she graduated high school. She would inevitably be dragged back to the Yukinoshita family to obey whatever future her mother dictated for her.
Thinking about all of this, a complex, conflicted emotion flashed through her eyes as she quickly packed the two bento boxes away.
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"Ohayo, Yui-chan!"
Stepping into the classroom, Kai flashed Yui Yuigahama a bright smile and a casual greeting.
"Yahallo!"
Compared to her overwhelming shyness from the first few days...
...their recent interactions had finally given Yui the courage to actually respond to him out loud.
"Is that the latest trendy greeting? Can I start greeting you like that from now on? Yahallo!"
He said it while casually sliding into his seat next to her.
"Mhm, You can!"
At first, she had been completely terrified that greeting people like that would just make her look weird.
But Kai's enthusiastic response instantly made Yui's heart flutter with joy, and she nodded frantically.
Right at that moment.
Yumiko Miura and the rest of the girls walked through the classroom door. Kai casually raised a hand to greet them.
"Yahallo, Yumiko. You smell amazing today—are you trying out a new perfume?"
Kai's tone was incredibly natural.
It sounded exactly like a totally normal conversation between close friends; even Yui didn't feel like anything was weird or out of place.
"Obviously. It's the absolute newest release."
Even though her family wasn't ultra-wealthy elite, both of Yumiko's parents were high-level corporate executives with a very substantial income.
Because of that, Yumiko could easily afford to occasionally treat herself to high-end luxury goods.
"'Yahallo'? Is that some kind of new trendy greeting?"
"Yep. Yui actually just taught it to me. Isn't it cute?"
"It works when Yui says it. But coming from you? Hard pass."
Yumiko had never been the type to mince her words or act timid. As long as you didn't blatantly disrespect her, she was actually surprisingly easy to get along with.
"That's so mean, Yumiko. Right, Yui?"
As he complained, Kai dramatically leaned closer to Yui.
"Y-Yumiko is actually a really good person."
Terrified that Kai might genuinely think Yumiko was mean, Yui quickly whispered a defense for her friend.
But seeing her frantic, overly earnest reaction, Kai and Yumiko just locked eyes for a second before bursting into laughter simultaneously.
"Hey, hey, hey!"
Just as they were laughing, Hayato Hayama and the rest of the guys walked into the classroom. Seeing Kai completely meshing with the girls, Kakeru Tobe couldn't help but walk over.
"Kai, you've been glued to the girls lately. You don't even hang out and chat with us anymore."
He phrased it like a complaint, but it was dripping with incredibly obvious envy.
What high school guy didn't want to be constantly surrounded by a group of top-tier, beautiful girls? The only difference was that the rest of them only had the guts to fantasize about it in their heads, while Kai was actually out here living it.
"Sorry,"
Kai shrugged, looking at Tobe with an expression of mock pity.
"Tobe, I've already been completely corrupted by the girls' clique. You need to stop talking to me—I'm worried they might get the wrong idea about us."
"Ha! This guy!"
Tobe stood up, faking righteous indignation.
Yumiko and the girls, on the other hand, couldn't stop themselves from laughing out loud at the ridiculous exchange.
Seeing this incredibly harmonious, lively scene made Hayato Hayama smile as well. Watching his friends all getting along and having a genuinely good time was the exact kind of atmosphere he loved the most.
However, noticing how Kai and Yumiko Miura were subconsciously inching closer and closer to each other as they bantered, an inexplicable, tiny knot of unease formed in Hayato's chest.
But remembering that the person he actually had feelings for was Yukinoshita, he forced himself to suppress the feeling. 'Maybe I'm just overthinking it.'
"Good morning."
Right in the middle of their conversation, Megumi Kato quietly walked through the classroom door.
Catching her gaze immediately zeroing in on him, Kai smiled and raised a hand to greet her.
"..."
'He noticed me again.'
Her face maintained its usual, completely deadpan expression, but a strange, unfamiliar emotion began bubbling up inside her.
"Good morning."
She returned the greeting in a soft whisper before heading straight to her seat, her eyes still locked onto Kai's side of the room.
"Who was that?"
Kai's sudden greeting obviously caught Yumiko and the others' attention. They all turned to look in confusion.
"That's Megumi Kato. She's in our class."
Kai said it completely casually.
There wasn't a single trace of guilt or hesitation on his face.
"Huh? Megumi Kato? Since when did we have someone like that in our class?"
Yumiko racked her brain for a solid few seconds, but she genuinely couldn't recall a single memory of anyone by that name.
Beside her, Yui looked equally bewildered. If Kai hadn't explicitly pointed her out, they wouldn't have even realized someone was sitting over there.
"That's so mean. Kato-san is incredibly cute too, you know. Just because you're drop-dead gorgeous, Yumiko, doesn't mean you get to completely ignore the rest of our classmates."
"You...!"
Even though he was technically calling her out, Yumiko couldn't help but feel incredibly happy hearing him say that.
'Since when did this guy become such a smooth talker?'
...Cute?
Kai hadn't lowered his voice in the slightest. Megumi obviously heard every single word—which was exactly the effect Kai had engineered.
Megumi silently lowered her head.
'Cute? Me?'
'Am I actually cute?' Megumi had never once thought of herself that way. In fact, she had always considered herself aggressively, painfully average. If she wasn't, why else would everyone constantly forget she even existed?
But hearing Kai say that out loud caused those strange, unfamiliar emotions swirling inside her to intensify.
She couldn't stop herself from lifting her head and stealing another glance at Kai. Her lips pressed tightly together as she fell into deep thought.
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"Class is starting. Everyone, get back to your seats."
First period.
It was Shizuka Hiratsuka's class.
The absolute second Shizuka stepped through the door, the loud, chaotic chatter in the classroom was instantly vaporized.
That alone was a massive testament to her sheer, overwhelming aura of intimidation.
Resting his chin on his hand, Kai stared up at the podium. Watching Shizuka standing there in her signature lab coat, radiating older-sister energy, he realized he had already established a solid connection with Yukino Yukinoshita.
Maybe...
When Yukino eventually founded the Service Club, he could use that as the perfect excuse to get close to Shizuka Hiratsuka.
Only kids forced themselves to choose just one. Since he had transmigrated into this world, Kai fully intended to take them all.
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