"After winter break, do you want to co to my hotown for New Year's?"
Futaba Rio paused as she set down the beaker filled with coffee, surprised by Minami's sudden invitation.
More than anything, she hadn't expected him to be the one to take the initiative and ask her.
"What's wrong with inviting my own girlfriend to my house?"
Minami spoke with a relaxed smile, completely unbothered by her confusion.
"D-Don't say weird things."
As a science-loving hobody, Futaba Rio clearly wasn't used to such direct remarks. A faint blush crept onto her normally pale face.
Seeing this, Minami chose not to tease her further.
Everything had to be done in moderation—he knew her personality well enough to realize that if he pushed too far, she'd get too embarrassed and might just kick him out of the lab.
That wouldn't be worth it.
Taking a sip of coffee, he felt warmth spread through his body before he continued speaking.
"So, Rio, what do you think?"
"Give a few days to think about it."
After so consideration, Futaba Rio finally responded.
Going to Minami's hotown was a big deal.
If she recklessly agreed without preparing herself properly, she might end up making a bad impression on his family.
That was why she gave such an answer.
But Minami wasn't planning on letting her off the hook so easily.
He leaned in closer.
The mont he did, the normally composed girl stiffened.
Pushing her into the corner of the room, Minami trapped her in place.
"A few days is way too long."
His handso face inched closer.
Futaba could feel his gaze, his slow and steady breath brushing against her skin.
"One day. I'll give you one day to decide. Starting now, I want your answer by midnight."
"B-But..."
Cornered, the flustered science girl protested in a small voice.
"A day is twenty-four hours. It's already lunch break now, so technically, by midnight, that's not even a full day—it's barely half a day, not even twelve hours!"
"Then half a day it is."
"...Eh?"
"You're the one who pointed it out, Rio. You should take responsibility for your words."
"Huh?"
Futaba let out a small, stunned sound.
She really couldn't understand how things had ended up like this—
She had just been trying to correct Minami's wording!
How co it suddenly beca the half day she requested?
It was probably because Minami was standing way too close.
Her usually sharp mind had turned into a muddled ss.
Under his subtle persuasion, the glasses-wearing girl could only nod dazedly and agree to his completely unreasonable demand.
"Alright."
As he stepped out of the science prep room, Minami felt completely at ease.
Although Futaba Rio had said things like "I'll think about it"—which might have implied hesitation—
In reality, the mont those words left her lips, he already knew she was as good as saying yes.
Her parents had been working overseas for years.
Because of that, Futaba Rio had spent almost every New Year alone in Japan, watching old movie recordings on TV.
Even though she had friends like Sakuta Azusagawa and Yuma Kunimi,
They couldn't always be there for her.
That's why, as a girl who had always been lonely and longed for love and companionship, there was no way she'd refuse his invitation.
And even if she had refused...
Minami had other ways to make sure she agreed in the end.
So really, this so-called "decision-making ga" had been rigged from the very start—Minami's victory was inevitable.
But beyond the fact that Futaba Rio would be spending New Year's at his place,
There was sothing else Minami couldn't ignore—
"A maiden's heart in love..."
He lifted his hand and flicked through the floating simulation screen in front of him.
[System Notice: The Host has collected a 'Maiden's Heart in Love (Admiration).']
Another successful collection.
And this ti, the attached attribute was "Admiration."
It fit perfectly with Futaba Rio's attitude toward love.
She admired but was too afraid to step closer.
She wanted to reach out but was too hesitant to be honest about it.
"Admiration" was the perfect word to describe her.
Minami tapped the simulation screen, closing it, then turned his gaze outside.
Winter break was approaching.
Tokyo's weather grew colder by the day.
Tiny snowflakes drifted from the sky, settling on the ground.
Minami lifted his head.
Once this sester's final exams were over,
He would officially be a third-year student.
And at Shuka High, the teachers mostly adopted a hands-off approach for seniors.
Especially in the second half of the school year after sumr break—
Students could even choose not to attend classes since the teachers had already covered most of the curriculum.
At that point, everything was up to self-study at ho...
Or, for the wealthy students, private tutoring at specialized prep schools.
In other words—
Once he beca a senior, college entrance exams would be right around the corner.
So...
If he wanted to invite the girls to his hotown in Akita,
This winter break would be his last chance.
"Gotta push a little harder."
Minami rubbed his face, exhaling a slow breath.
Straightening his back, he headed toward his classroom, deep in thought.
His plan was simple—
First, invite Hitori Gotoh, Futaba Rio, and Akane Shinjo, since they were also at Shuka High.
Then, figure out a way to gently pressure Nijika Ijichi, Chisato Nishikigi, and Takina Inoue into coming along.
Now that Futaba Rio was basically on board,
The next priority was Akane Shinjo.
With that in mind, Minami decided he'd talk to her about it in the afternoon.
But the very next second—
Ding-dong.
The crisp sound of a LINE notification rang out.
Minami instinctively pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen.
[The World's Shinjo: Minami-kun! I have sothing really important to discuss with you after school today. Can you make so ti?]
"Hm?"
Minami hadn't expected this.
He hadn't even planned to reach out to Miss Shinjo yet—
And yet, she was the one reaching out to him first.
But aside from the fact that she was looking for him, there was sothing else in her ssage that stood out.
"Sothing really important...?"
Staring at the text, Minami let out a thoughtful hum.
Could it be that Miss Shinjo had run into so kind of trouble?
Without overthinking it, he quickly typed a reply.
[Tokyo's #1 Pretty Boy: Alright, I'll co find you after school.]
With that simple response, Minami slipped his phone back into his pocket and headed toward his classroom.
Lunch break was about to end.
It was ti to tackle another round of Shuka High's exams.
For most students, Shuka High's final exams were like fighting Goetia, beast I—sothing they had to give their all just to barely survive.
But for Minami, final exams were nothing more than a well-trained pet.
He breezed through the two afternoon subjects without breaking a sweat.
Judging by the ti, it was just about right for him to head toward Shinjo Akane's classroom.
Since today was an exam day,
School ended way earlier than usual.
Aside from a few unlucky students stuck with cleanup duty and the sports club mbers still training on the field,
Shuka High was practically deserted.
Walking down the empty corridor,
Minami soon arrived at Akane's classroom.
"Ah, Minami-kun, hello!"
"Hey."
He greeted a flustered female student who had just finished her cleanup duty and was rushing out of the classroom.
"Is Shinjo-san inside?"
"Ah... Shinjo-san? Yeah, she's still in there."
"I see. Thanks."
With a brief exchange, Minami stepped into the classroom.
He didn't even need to look around.
The mont he lifted his gaze,
He imdiately spotted her—
A pinkish-purple-haired girl sitting in the second-to-last row near the center of the room.
And the mont she saw him—
Shinjo Akane stood up and waved enthusiastically.
"Minami-kun—! Over here, over here!"
The second Minami started walking toward her,
Akane wasted no ti—
She imdiately grabbed his arm in a close, almost intimate manner,
And pulled him down to sit beside her.
"What's wrong, Akane?"
Noticing that her usual bright smile seed a little strained,
Minami softened his voice and asked calmly.
"Ah... yeah, sothing did happen."
Feeling the warmth of his concerned gaze, Akane scratched her head awkwardly.
Then, under his patient stare,
She spilled everything—
It turned out that her parents had found out about her and Minami.
And tomorrow,
They wanted to et him.
To be honest, even Akane hadn't expected her parents to notice Minami's presence so soon.
After all, she had been deliberately trying to keep him a secret.
This sudden turn of events had completely caught her off guard.
That was why she had contacted him during lunch.
And now—
She sat there, anxiously waiting for his response,
Her heart pounding in uncertainty.
But what happened next completely shocked her.
Even though this was such a big deal,
Minami only pondered for a brief mont before looking up—
His expression completely composed.
"I see."
No panic.
No hesitation.
He looked as if he had everything under control.
Akane blinked in surprise.
After all, when she first found out her parents knew, she had spent hours spiraling in panic.
But for Minami, all he had to say was, "I see."
His calm deanor seed to have a contagious effect.
The previously flustered Shinjo Akane gradually cald down.
"Minami-kun, aren't you even a little worried?"
She sat down, resting her chin on her hand as she asked.
"Honestly, there's nothing to worry about."
Minami's tone remained as composed as ever. "Panicking won't change the fact that it's happening. Instead of wasting energy on that, it's better to prepare yourself and face your parents head-on."
Truthfully, Minami was a little surprised by this turn of events.
According to his simulated tiline,
He was supposed to formally et Akane's parents near the end of senior year.
This unexpected developnt had caught him off guard.
But thinking about it from another perspective—
His relationship with Akane in reality had progressed far faster than in the simulation.
So it wasn't exactly strange that this eting was happening sooner than expected.
Besides—
"You've actually been preparing yourself to face them for a long ti, haven't you, Akane?"
Minami flipped the question back at her.
And just as he expected—
Akane fell silent.
Because he was right.
Ever since she had first started having dreams of a future where she and Minami walked forward together in happiness,
She had already begun ntally preparing herself for the day she would confront her parents.
Even though this mont had arrived much earlier than she had planned, disrupting her original expectations. Since it was happening, there was no choice but to face it head-on.
So—
"Minami-kun, will you co with to et my parents tomorrow?"
The pinkish-purple-haired girl finally voiced the thoughts in her heart.
There were things she wanted to say, things she wanted her distant, neglectful parents to hear from her own lips and if Minami could be by her side, Then without a doubt, she would have the courage to move forward.
"Of course."
Minami reached out and poked Akane's soft cheek, chuckling.
"Honestly, even if you told not to co, I'd still go with you."
After all, as soone directly involved in this situation,
There was no way he would let Akane face it alone.
"...Thank you, Minami-kun."
As she listened to his words and looked at his face,
Akane felt a sense of relief wash over her.
She slowly took his hand and then leaned into his embrace.
After that,
Minami and Akane went over all the possible details and scenarios for eting her parents.
But there wasn't nearly enough ti after school to finish planning everything.
And with Tokyo's winter nights falling so quickly,
The sky outside was already beginning to darken.
Just as Minami was about to suggest wrapping up their discussion for today—
Akane suddenly turned her head, a thought flashing through her mind.
"Oh yeah, Minami-kun, do you want to stay over at my place tonight?"
She cleared her throat awkwardly, her pretty face tilting away in embarrassnt.
"I an... we haven't really co up with a solid plan yet... and this way, we can just head straight to et my parents tomorrow morning."
"..."
Minami looked at her.
And kept looking.
Until the bold, pinkish-purple-haired girl in front of him finally couldn't withstand his gaze anymore.
Only then did he let out a resigned sigh and nod.
"Fine, fine. But listen—considering what we have to do tomorrow, we absolutely can't do anything else tonight. Understood?"
For once, he made a serious declaration.
After all, tomorrow was a big day.
He needed to keep himself in peak condition.
So no matter what—
Tonight, he had to stay pure and restrain himself!
Reviews
All reviews (0)