At 9 PM, Haru contacted the driver to pick up gumi and escort her downstairs.
"Yukinoshita is amazing."
As they reached the building entrance, gumi suddenly spoke up.
Haru turned his head to look at her. She was looking back at him too, her eyes shimring under the city nightscape.
"Amazing? In what way?"
He wasn't quite sure what she ant.
gumi let out a soft breath, like she was weighing her words carefully.
"In every way. From the way she pressured Utaha-senpai right from the start… to the way she completely ignored my signal. It's like she stuck to her intentions from beginning to end."
Just as Haru was about to respond, gumi's voice grew even quieter.
"Did you notice? Once again, I was left out."
Once again?
Haru blinked. And then it hit him.
The keyword here was again—this wasn't the first ti she felt this way.
"Do you like Utaha-senpai?" she asked plainly, though her tone was calm.
"I do," Haru answered, without evasion or denial.
"What about Yukinoshita? If you're going to be that kind of playboy, she must be furious with you."
Haru nodded. That much, he couldn't deny either.
gumi fell silent.
Under the low night sky and the flickering city lights, frad by the glow of traffic and street lamps, her figure seed to be wrapped in a gentle halo.
She had been present the whole ti during the King's Ga. But in the end, whether it was Yukino or Utaha, neither of them really acknowledged her presence.
Almost like they had silently agreed to leave her out.
Just like the last hot spring trip.
She knew full well—Utaha was wary of her, and Yukino considered her formidable.
Yet the mont she wanted to get involved, the two of them, as if lowering their guard, simply ignored her altogether.
She'd told Haru before: being overlooked made her uncomfortable. Sotis it even hurt.
Sensing the tension, Haru tried to say sothing to ease the mood."Kato, I—"
But before he could finish, a nostalgic voice called out from the side:
"Ah, youth is truly a wonderful thing~"
Both Haru and gumi turned toward the sound.
An old man was walking with a little girl, likely his granddaughter. He looked at them with warm eyes full of mories.
"My son used to stand here too, whispering sweet nothings to his wife late at night, right outside their apartnt. Just like you two."
Haru winced.
"Sir, it's not like that—"
"Not like that? Ah, young people always get shy. My son was the sa. But you're a couple, right? Sweet talk is only natural—you don't need to be embarrassed."
The old man bead knowingly, and his granddaughter curiously peeked at them.
Haru didn't want to argue further, but gumi suddenly bowed politely and said,
"Thank you for your kind words. I'll take them to heart."
"That's the spirit! Wishing you both happiness~"
The old man waved cheerfully and strolled off with his granddaughter.
Watching their backs, Haru wasn't so much embarrassed as he was exasperated.
"You don't mind being misunderstood anymore?"
gumi, hands folded behind her back, said softly with a smile,
"It's rare to be noticed like that. And if soone mistakes for your girlfriend, I'd rather take it as a blessing than try to correct it."
Haru let out a helpless laugh and glanced at her fair, glowing face.
"So I should be thanking you for the reminder?"
gumi tilted her head playfully, her deanor far livelier than before.
"If you want to thank , I'll accept it properly."
Then, as if just rembering sothing, she added,
"Right—what were you trying to say earlier?"
"I forgot," Haru said with a sigh. "You threw off so much I lost my train of thought."
"I see."
gumi brought her finger to her chin like she was thinking deeply.
After a mont, she tapped her chin and said softly to herself,
"I get it now. Amamiya-kun may be like a superhero when it cos to serious matters, but in daily life… you're a bit of a dense playboy."
"I won't deny the playboy part," Haru said, "but what do you an by dense?"
gumi lowered her hands and gently clasped them at her waist, standing demurely.
Then she said quietly,
"There were four of us in that ga. Even if they chose to ignore , why did you ignore too?"
Haru froze.
All her earlier comnts had been leading up to this one point.
If her playful line about being mistaken as his girlfriend was the setup—
This was the real, honest reveal of her feelings after being excluded by both Yukino and Utaha.
In the glow of the streetlights, her eyes sparkled like the ocean reflecting starlight. Her long lashes fluttered like tiny butterflies, casting soft shadows over her flushed cheeks.
Haru stared at her, watching the faint red bloom on her face as she grew more shy.
After a long pause, he tried to lighten the mood.
"You call a playboy, and then say sothing like this to ? You're gonna give the wrong idea."
"If you do get the wrong idea instead of brushing it off, I might be happy about that."
She lifted her chin slightly, eyes still brimming with a quiet determination. Her brows arched subtly as if expressing protest, or maybe anticipation.
Haru could clearly feel her heart racing. Despite her flustered breathing, she was trying to stay composed.
At this mont, all the lights around them seed to fade, leaving only her gaze—bright as the stars, illuminating the night.
"Amamiya-kun… I'm very curious about you."
Surprised by her sudden shift in tone, Haru asked,
"Curious about what?"
"A lot of things."
She spoke slowly, as if narrating sothing ordinary.
"Thanks to your help and guidance, I've gotten so much stronger. My endurance, agility, reflexes… I can feel myself improving."
Haru smiled at that.
"That's the charm of training."
But gumi shook her head.
"If it were just that, I'd probably need to get a dical checkup."
"Oh? Why?"
She blinked cutely.
"Because in all my years, I've never felt this much physical change. If it wasn't because of you, it'd feel like a sudden mutation or sothing. I'd definitely need to see a doctor."
"Fair point. In that case, maybe I'm the one who needs a checkup."
gumi didn't follow up on that joke. She simply smiled, hands still behind her back, her tone soft:
"Looks like you won't ignore anymore."
Haru wanted to argue—he hadn't ant to ignore her. He was focused on dealing cards to Yukino, and between her and Utaha clashing, he barely had ti to focus on anything else.
But he knew gumi didn't want to hear excuses.
So instead, he just nodded.
"Okay."
gumi lowered her eyes, her tone unreadable.
"You suddenly got so gentle. You know… sotis gentleness can beco cruelty."
Just as Haru opened his mouth to respond, he caught the scent of her faint floral perfu.
She stepped closer and hugged him softly.
Her chest gently pressed against him, her breath tickling his collar.
And at the sa ti, she whispered,
"Soone like you, who could've easily dodged that like a superhero—but didn't… that's exactly why I've figured you out."
Haru was stunned.
She had him completely figured out.
~~~~~~~~~~
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