The Yukinoshita of today was undeniably different from the Yukinoshita of two months ago.
It wasn't just her classmates many students throughout Sōbu High had noticed the change.
She was beautiful, came from a privileged family, ranked near the top academically, excelled in sports, and even when she casually messed around on the piano, the music teacher would single her out for praise.
Aside from the fact that she didn't seem easy to approach, there really weren't many flaws one could point out.
She wasn't angry or defensive about her so-called dark past, either. She seemed surprisingly unbothered by it all.
Of course, some said that Yukinoshita always looked like a stone-faced robot anyway, so of course she'd seem unbothered by everything.
But now, when someone brought up her past whether it was with sarcasm or outright malice there were even people who would speak up in her defense.
"Everyone makes mistakes. Yukinoshita's trying to change, and she's already done a great job."
"Yeah, we all know she used to be a jerk, but do we have to bring it up every single day?"
"Besides the whole 'love assassin' thing, did she even do anything else that bad? Is it really necessary to talk about her like she's evil incarnate?"
"Honestly, if she was able to steal your boyfriend that easily, maybe your boyfriend just sucked? Yukinoshita did you a favor. Lol."
Of course, not everyone was on her side.
"If saying 'sorry' fixed everything, why would we need cops? And she's never even apologized!"
"She's ruined so many people's relationships. That alone is enough to condemn her!"
"You're just blinded by her face, aren't you? Forgiving someone just because they're pretty get a grip!"
Even Yui had heard about the drama unfolding on the school forum. But Yukinoshita herself seemed completely unfazed.
When Yui brought it up and tried to offer some comfort, Yukinoshita just looked confused.
"Really? That's happening?"
But Yukinoshita wasn't a celebrity who lived off public approval. She never cared much about whether people liked or hated her.
In fact, she was more used to being disliked. Being hated came more naturally to her than being liked.
So she tossed the topic aside in the blink of an eye, turning her attention back to Yui's notebook and marking one of the math problems with a bold circle.
"Stop thinking about that stuff. This type of question is really variable. Your problem-solving approach needs to be more flexible."
"How… how do I make it more flexible?" Yui asked, already sensing she wouldn't like the answer.
"Simple. Let's start with twenty problems of the same type and see how you do."
"Ehhhhhh?!"
Yui let out a pitiful little cry, cradling her face in despair. "Have mercy, Yukinoooo…"
Yui's soft peach-pink hair always gave her a gentle, refreshing vibe, and her eyes, a shade deeper than her hair, sparkled with energy.
She was fair-skinned and beautiful, but more than just pretty Yui was adorable.
Whether she was pouting or pleading, she could pull it off effortlessly. A textbook example of that bubbly, full-of-girl-power kind of cuteness.
The kind of girl most guys would dream of marrying sweet, kind, thoughtful, and just incredibly lovable.
Any other guy would've surrendered the moment she acted like that. But Yukinoshita remained unmoved.
She considered for a second. "Yui."
"Hmm?"
More puppy than cat, really. That kind of noisy, loyal little pup that only ever had eyes for its owner, happily wagging its tail when things went well, and whimpering miserably when they didn't…
Yukinoshita had to restrain the urge to reach out and ruffle her hair, averting her eyes instead.
She had been wondering if she was being too strict with Yui, but before she could dwell on it, the pink-haired girl had already bounced back, firing herself up with renewed energy.
"Twenty math problems? No problem! I'll crush them today!"
"They're hard," Yui muttered quietly beside her, "but I won't let Yukinoshita down."
Well, she certainly had the spirit for it.
Yukinoshita couldn't help thinking that Yui really was a simple and lovable girl.
Truth be told, after losing over a year of her life, Yukinoshita was still only sixteen mentally technically a year younger than Yui.
She flipped open her own textbook and said offhandedly, "It's enough if you don't disappoint yourself."
"Don't say something so cold, Yukinoshita! You're actually super sweet, you know!"
"That's disgusting, Yui."
Junko Kamizawa thought it was obvious to just about anyone in class how close Yukinoshita and Yui had become.
Although, to be fair, maybe it was just Yui who felt close. After all, she was the kind of person who could get along with pretty much anyone.
She was warm, affectionate, and incredibly clingy basically Yukinoshita's natural enemy.
Compared to Yumiko, the tsundere queen who talked a big game but never acted, Yukinoshita seemed way more likely to fall for someone like Yui…
That sudden idea made Junko freeze up.
No way. No way. Yukinoshita had clearly shown special interest in Yumiko when she first transferred into Class 2-F. That couldn't have been fake.
But then again…
What if the reason Yukinoshita treated Yumiko differently was because Yumiko was Yui's best friend?
What if she had already given up on her friendship with Yui, and was now trying to make it up to Yui's closest friend?
—So then.
Could it be that the one Yukinoshita had truly liked all along… was Yui?
Back in first year, Yukinoshita and Yui were widely known as best friends.
Junko hurriedly slapped her own cheeks, trying to literally beat that terrifying thought out of her head.
If that really were the case, then the delicate balance of their whole friend group would be completely shattered!
In the seat in front of her, Keika turned to look back at Junko, confused by her sudden self-inflicted face slaps.
And just like that, Junko found her mind drifting back to Yukinoshita's first day in their class.
If you lined up their desks in a slanted row, it would go from Yui to herself to Yumiko to Keika, like a tilted slash mark across the room.
That day, she and Yumiko had been secretly texting in class, and when she looked up, she'd caught Yumiko staring at the front of the room, absolutely stunned.
A look of pure, unmistakable awe.
And then she thought about Yui, sitting behind her on the left, and wondered
What kind of expression had she worn when Yukinoshita first walked into that room?
Could it be… that she too, had felt her heart stir in that very moment?
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