“That guy who already sounds like a scumbag didn’t do anything to you, did he—”
Sato typed halfway through the sentence, hesitated, then pressed and held backspace with his thumb, deleting every character in the input box.
[Sato]: Did you have fun?
—Read
[Chouko]: Umm… 🤔 Just barely, I guess. I can’t really sing…
—Read
[Chouko]: By the way, Onii, you’re not worried I might get snatched away by so normie senpai from another school? 😾💢
—Read
Looking at Chouko’s ssages, he gave a bitter smile and sniffed, his nose faintly stinging.
How could he not be worried?!
The very thought of her being tricked or taken advantage of by so scumbag made his heart feel like it hadn’t slept for days, thudding erratically, with a dull, twisting ache mixed in.
But… but he didn’t dare ask. He didn’t dare seek out that truth—
Even if Chouko herself hadn’t changed at all, the mont he started doubting her, his anxiety would burst forth like a dam collapsing, violent and impossible to stop.
[Sato]: I trust Chouko one hundred percent! 👍
—Read
[Chouko]: 😼✋!
—Read
She really was just as cute as ever.
Unbidden, an image surfaced in his mind, Chouko as a child, hands on her hips, laughing smugly after successfully pranking him with a bug and mocking him for being a scaredy-cat.
[Chouko]: So what did you want with this late anyway, Onii?
—Read
Should he send the invitation?
When he first opened the chat and greeted her, his blood had been boiling with resolve, but now that he was actually about to say it, hesitation crept in.
Angry at his own cowardice and indecision, Sato clenched his fist and slamd the mattress twice to vent his frustration. Taking a deep breath, he slowly began typing again.
[Sato]: Chouko, are you free tomorrow? 😁
—Read
[Chouko]: Not free! I’m going on a date with a handso normie scumbag~ 😜
—Read
“……”
That girl—Chouko!
Was she more uninhibited than before? More mischievous?
He frowned in irritation, feeling like his childhood friend who was practically a little sister was exactly the sa as always, and yet, sohow, subtly different.
Then again, Chouko had always been playful since they were kids.
Just as he sank into thought, his phone vibrated again, announcing a new ssage—
[Chouko]: Just kidding~ 😼🤍 Onii, you took so long to reply, did you get so mad you passed out? If you don’t answer soon, I’m calling 119 and getting you an ambulance!
—Read
[Sato]: 😡💦 Don’t joke like that! Chouko, you have to stay away from those normies! Their relationships are a total ss! Guys who do unforgivable things and then dump girls once they’re bored, that kind of thing happens all the ti now! 🐰👊😾
—Read
[Chouko]: Okay, okay, I get it… I think it’s fine though. Onii, you’re starting your nagging lecture mode again. If you don’t hurry up and say why you contacted , I’m putting on a face mask and going to sleep!
—Read
[Sato]: The cram school teacher took the day off tomorrow, and the dinner with my senpai got canceled because of an accident… If you’re free, Chouko, do you want to go out together?
—Read
After finally sending the invitation, he stared hard at the chat log, his heart pounding like he’d just finished a 1,000-ter run in P.E.
[Chouko]: How about eting at nine at the station near the school? 😼❓
—Read
[Sato]: Okay! See you then—good night!
—Read
[Chouko]: Good night~
—Read
“Yahho——!!!”
Sato leapt off the bed, pumping his clenched fist into the air as he shouted in pure excitent.
Of course, he was happy that Chouko had agreed to go out with him, but more than that, what truly thrilled him was the reassurance that despite so changes, her feelings hadn’t wavered.
Sure, she was mischievous, selfish, and a little an, but compared to Kohara-senpai’s girlfriend, who was always sulking and throwing tantrums, Chouko was practically effortless.
As long as he lectured her properly and guided her to fix those bad habits, she would undoubtedly beco the most perfect girl in the world!
Clack.
Sliding open the balcony door, he leaned over the chest-high railing and looked up through the narrow gap between apartnt buildings at the elongated night sky, bleached pale by city lights.
Where should they go tomorrow?
And what should they eat?
His senpai’s complaints about troubleso girlfriends suddenly echoed in his mind—
It was still spring. Chidorigafuchi in Chiyoda Ward should be an amazing spot for cherry-blossom viewing, right?
He’d heard you could even rent boats there and admire the blossoms from the water… Girls would definitely like that, wouldn’t they?!
As he imagined it, mories of running wild with Chouko as children—climbing mountains, splashing through rivers, rose vividly before his eyes. The freshness felt like yesterday, as if they’d only just parted, still each other’s only companion, running and laughing together.
How long had it been since he last saw Chouko?
At 12:53 a.m., Sato tossed and turned under the covers, too restless with anticipation and excitent to sleep. It was as if dozens of tiny people were holding a concert inside his head, performing a full symphony.
Sotis it was the familiar strains of Ode to Joy, sotis lodies he couldn’t rember ever hearing—
And finally, as the concert drew to a close, drowsiness crept in alongside the faint lancholy of a Chopin nocturne, lulling him into a sweet sleep.
Chouko… please wait just a little longer…
Wait until I study harder… until I get into Todai… until I make sothing of myself…
…
One hundred percent trust…?
She—Shihou Chouko—stared at the ssage from her Onii, Sato Kaoru, and felt as if she’d accidentally bitten into the lemon slice in a tempura platter. An overwhelming sourness flooded her mouth, her throat burning dry as though she hadn’t drunk water all day, too parched to even make a sound.
I’m sorry, Onii…
Thinking back to that morning, how she’d kissed Harutaki without thinking… rembering that “date” in Shibuya, letting a boy hold her hand as they walked through the streets…
If it had only been the two “dates” at Starbucks and DUMBO DONUTS, she could still have argued that she was rely a little curious about Harutaki, that she’d only accepted out of politeness toward a classmate.
Even when Harutaki had saved her from that trashy senpai at the karaoke mixer, she could’ve told herself that her fluttering heart and tangled emotions were nothing more than gratitude for being saved, mixed with lingering fear.
But when she woke up in Harutaki’s house, found herself lying on a boy’s bed, and was threatened with being violated—
She really couldn’t hold on anymore.
I’m sorry, Onii…
Chouko is going to beco dirty…
Her first ti… she wouldn’t be able to give it to the boy she loved most.
Yet as Harutaki stubbornly refrained from touching her, she slowly ca back from her terror—
The humorous, witty, handso, and intelligent boy before her might not actually be the “scumbag” the rumors painted him to be.
Her worries about having changed out of her uniform, her fear of those so-called “threat photos” he ntioned, all of it vanished the instant she looked into the bathroom mirror.
Pop. Pop.
Like firecrackers going off during the New Year, bubbles burst one after another.
But these “firecrackers” weren’t celebrating a new year, they were celebrating her trust in, and longing for, Harutaki.
The delicious food she’d eaten earlier surged back into her mind, the joy and happiness making every cell in her body feel like it was cheering, instantly filling the hollow left behind after her fear had faded.
Then, soaking in warm bathwater, the relief of surviving, and the guilt of having doubted Harutaki despite his warnings—ca crashing down like a sudden sumr downpour, fierce and unstoppable.
And when he said, “It’s precisely because I like you that I respect you,” she had no choice but to face reality: the towering statue of Onii in her heart had finally begun to shake.
If the expectations and admiration Chouko held for Sato were given form, they would be the world tree of myth—Yggdrasil.
The Onii who’d played with her and pulled pranks with her since childhood was the divine tree that had sheltered her world.
And Harutaki—Hoshikawa Harutaki—the “scumbag” who had beco famous across the school in less than a month.
He was Surtr.
The branch of destruction that set the world tree ablaze.Laevateinn, wreathed in roaring crimson flas.
His kindness. His thoughtfulness. Every bit of care he showed her beca sparks, steadily gnawing away at the deep-rooted foundations of that world tree.
“You’re really cruelly clever, Harutaki-kun…”
Half reproach, half complaint, she cupped her cheeks and rolled onto her stomach on the bed, thinking ruefully that even knowing he was drawing closer under the guise of perfect restraint, she couldn’t muster the strength to resist at all.
Buzz.
Buzz.
Her phone vibrated. Seeing Onii's anxious lecturing and warnings on the screen, she couldn’t help but smile softly.
The joyful scenes of her “dates” with Izumi, Sae, Minako and Harutaki—flashed vividly before her eyes. The strange, lingering aftertaste of that opera cake, bitter yet sweet, still seed to rest on her tongue, mixed with the fizzy, refreshing tang of strawberry soda.
“A scumbag, huh?”
A faint curve ford at the corner of her lips as Chouko recalled Izumi talking about experiences so similar to her own. She found herself wanting to rip off Harutaki’s pants and demand to know whether he was even a man.
If you’re a man, then just decisively take advantage of a beautiful girl already!
With a “scumbag” this flawless, how was she supposed to find any excuse to keep her distance?!
If only she could dump all the responsibility onto Harutaki—otherwise, wouldn’t it make her look like a cheating, two-timing bitch instead?
The thought made her feel ashad of her own pettiness and shalessness.
“…Phew.”
Letting out a shallow breath, she tossed her phone aside, propped herself up on the bed, tugged down her rumpled clothes to cover her pale skin, and walked lightly over to the wardrobe.
It was ti to choose what she’d wear tomorrow when she went out with Onii.
What first caught her eye was the outfit she’d bought the last ti she’d gone on a “date” with Harutaki and the others—
a pure white sleeveless knit top, paired with a black sheer blouse with dropped shoulders, and a khaki canvas skirt.
Izumi really did have good taste. Despite acting completely un-girly at school, the styles she picked out suited Chouko perfectly.
If she wore this to et Onii, he’d probably be stunned into silence, right?
The thought of Sato ’s shy, flustered expression made her smile—yet just as her hand reached for the hanger, her arm froze midair.
“I’m a little selfish. I want the privilege of enjoying the cuteness of you two adorable girls all to myself…”
Harutaki had said that.
…Maybe I should change, she thought, and instead took out the clothes she used to wear.
A white blouse with vertical lace frills down the front, layered under a milk-tea–colored knit vest, paired with a long black skirt.
It wasn’t trendy—if anything, it felt a little retro. But she was confident that no matter what she wore, she’d still look pretty. Still look cute.
That was her first ti dressing up for you, Hoshikawa Harutaki— a special outfit prepared just for you alone.
…
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