"Wait... Haruki , you're that manga artist? The one everyone's been talking about—Mizushiro?" Miyu's voice sliced through the chatter in the karaoke room.
The room fell completely silent.
Haruki paused. Then nodded.
"Yeah... that's ."
He could've tried to dodge the question, but what was the point? The rumors had already circulated for months. Denying it would just make things worse.
Among Ryuko's friends, Mizushiro's na had long been linked to her. Out of curiosity, most of them had looked him up online checked photos, interviews, and articles. So the mont Haruki walked through the door, several had already quietly recognized him.
Now, the final confirmation had dropped.
But what shocked everyone more was sothing else entirely.
Miyu and Yuzuki were classmates with Ryuko's cousin Misaki. And from their reaction, they also shared classes with Haruki .
Which ant...
How could they not know who he was?
He was one of the most talked-about nas in the animation industry and yet his own classmates had no idea?
It sounded ridiculous.
But in reality, it wasn't so strange. Mizushiro was famous, yes—but only within animation and manga circles. not everyone followed industry gossip, let alone real nas behind pen nas. And Haruki ? At school, he rarely showed up, barely spoke, and kept to himself.
Still, the mont added weight to the silence.
Ryuko, watching all of this, felt her stomach twist.
She'd known Haruki preferred to keep his identity private at school. And now, thanks to Misaki inviting her classmates, everything had slipped out.
Would he be upset?
She glanced at him.
But Haruki wasn't angry just tired. A little resigned.
Ryuko let out a small breath of relief.
Truthfully, Haruki had never expected to keep his anonymity forever. Two quiet years was more than he'd hoped for. If this was how it ended, so be it.
The only classmate he actually knew was Misaki, and they weren't exactly close. He had no real attachnt to anyone. There was no reason to pretend.
Without much fanfare, he turned toward Ryuko and handed her two neatly wrapped boxes.
"Happy birthday," he said. "These are for you."
Ryuko blinked in surprise.
Two gifts.
One box was long and flat. The other was a square, maybe fifteen centiters on each side.
Jewelry?
A watch?
No, too bulky... maybe accessories?
"Can I open them now?" she asked.
"Of course," Haruki said, suddenly a bit nervous. "I hope you like them."
Everyone leaned in, curious.
The crowd expected sothing expensive. After all, he was rich, successful and clearly into her.
Ryuko carefully opened the long, flat box first.
Inside was... a keyboard.
Not a cute one. Not thed.
Just a sleek, professional-grade chanical keyboard.
The second box contained a matching gaming mouse.
The room went dead quiet again.
A keyboard and a mouse?
Even Ryuko's roommates, who were used to Haruki 's weirdness, stared in disbelief.
This was his gift?
No jewelry? No perfu? No romantic gesture?
Yuzuki and Miyu, still reeling from the whole "famous classmate" reveal, suddenly felt a strong urge to back away and pretend they didn't know him.
But Ryuko just looked at the gifts for a second... and then smiled.
"Thank you," she said softly. "I love it."
She ant it, too.
She wasn't expecting jewelry or perfu. And she would've felt awkward accepting anything overly expensive or intimate. They weren't officially dating, not yet. If Haruki had bought her sothing like that, it would've made things complicated.
But a keyboard and mouse? That was perfect.
She understood what he was thinking. They'd played gas together before. This was his way of saying he rembered what she liked.
What she didn't know was just how expensive this keyboard and mouse set was.
Haruki had gone to a high-end digital shop in the center of the city. After an enthusiastic pitch from the store owner, he'd walked out with a top-tier setup professional-grade, low-latency, custom switches, and ultra-precise tracking.
Basically, serious equipnt for soone who actually knew how to use it.
"Do you really like it?" Haruki asked, finally relaxing.
"As long as it's from you," Ryuko replied, grinning, "I like it."
Haruki cleared his throat and looked away.
Then Ryuko stood and addressed the room.
"Everyone, this is Haruki . A friend of mine."
She didn't ntion Mizushiro. Most people already knew anyway.
"Friend?" soone laughed.
"Co on, Mizushiro-sensei! We're all fans can we get your autograph?"
"Sign my sketchbook!"
"Can I get a selfie with you? Just one?"
The room exploded into cheerful requests.
Haruki looked briefly overwheld, but he didn't refuse. There weren't many people here, and he could get through it in a few minutes.
"Let's keep it casual," he said as he signed a notebook. "You can just call Haruki , we're all Ryuko's friends. No need for pen nas."
Yuzuki and Miyu stood quietly nearby, still processing the whole situation.
It wasn't until this mont that the reality hit them: the quiet, unimpressive guy from their departnt was the sa person dominating the animation charts nationwide.
They turned toward Misaki, stunned.
"You knew?" Yuzuki asked.
Misaki sighed. "Yeah."
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"I promised him I'd keep it quiet. Honestly, if I'd known he was coming today, I wouldn't have brought you two."
She looked at them both.
"I doubt this'll stay a secret anymore. But... can I ask you to keep it quiet anyway?"
Yuzuki nodded solemnly. "Of course. We won't say a word."
Miyu nodded too.
Misaki raised an eyebrow.
She didn't believe them for a second.
But she'd done her part. If Haruki got outed, at least her conscience was clear.
Back in the room, the mood was upbeat. With Haruki here, the party had reached its high point. Even though his gift choice was... unconventional, Ryuko looked genuinely happy, and that was all that mattered.
So of her friends just shrugged.
Maybe this was just how geniuses were.
Her three roommates, though, were thinking differently.
They exchanged glances.
They knew Ryuko better than anyone else here. They'd seen her flustered texts, quiet monts, late-night pacing.
They also knew Haruki had rejected her confession before and that she hadn't given up.
Now that he was here, smiling awkwardly with a mouse and keyboard as a birthday gift, they were asking the real questions.
Is he just clueless?
Or sothing else?
A steel wall of obliviousness?
Secretly not into girls?
Ayae narrowed her eyes.
"No way... she's been chasing him for half a year and this is all she gets?"
"Maybe he's just slow?" Tsumugi offered.
"Or maybe he's trying not to lead her on," Satsuki added.
"No way," Ayae whispered. "He ca all the way here. Gave a gift. That's not nothing."
The three of them looked back at Ryuko, who was laughing beside Haruki , clearly happy.
They reached an unspoken conclusion.
Whatever the situation was, Ryuko still hadn't given up.
Which ant it was ti to act.
As loyal roommates… they would absolutely help her close the gap.
Operation Wingwoman: Activated.
Shout out to Shinobu Nakahara, HH XZ, Sait aka for joining my p-atreon! your support ans everything to .
(TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-atreon/Alioth23 for 60 advanced chapters)
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