A week later — early morning, school gate. Students bustle around, chatting before school. Rei and Haruki walk together, school bags slung over their shoulders.
"Dude. How did your date went?"
Haruki gave it some thought, a little frustrated, looking around.
"I don't know actually. It looked like she was having fun. I'm not sure."
Haruki got curious and said in a casual tone.
"So? Any progress—besides learning she lives like… three doors down?"
"Told you already—"
Haruki stops walking, raises an eyebrow, disappointed.
"You really think that lame plan is gonna work?"
"I thought you were pulling some Johan Liebert level genius move. When you called me in the middle of the night. But.."
Rei sighs, pointing at Haruki like a toddler, mad.
"You hung up before I could explain everything…"
Haruki got even more disappointed and replied mockingly.
"So now it's my fault? Your 'master plan' is to keep staring at her until she gets curious and talks to you?"
Rei shakes his head side to side like a child, disagreeing.
"You're missing so many key points."
"Whatever, man. I'm telling you—it's not gonna work."
Rei giggled, smirked in confidence, before saying.
"Oh, but it is working."
Haruki tilted his head, crossed his arms, suspicious.
"How… exactly?"
Rei moved confidently, acting like he was the center of attention.
"I've been secretly executing the plan all week."
Haruki facepalms, unable to believe Rei's words—or more like, he doesn't want to believe them.
"Oh god..."
Haruki just stoud there in silence while Rei continues about his delusions.
"She's getting curious. I've noticed her glancing at me more often."
Haruki just stood there in silence while Rei continued with his delusions.
"Dude, that's just your imagination. I used to think the same thing when I had a crush."
Rei instantly replied in a persuasive voice.
"No, this is different—"
Rei starts explaining his master plan in more detail. Haruki looks down, not really listening.
Here we go again… I was exactly like that. It's hopeless.
As Rei rambles, Miharu walks by behind them. Haruki happens to spot her, but Rei has no clue.
Haruki is stunned after noticing. Miharu is clearly staring at Rei with a soft blush on her face.
She's so focused that she doesn't even notice Haruki watching her. She's even walking slowly. Miharu silently whispers.
"You dummy…"
She then catches Haruki's glance, her face turning even redder as she quickly looks away and walks off, flustered.
Haruki is still processing what just happened… and honestly? So are we. His stunned expression grows stronger as he gives it some thought.
What… just happened…?
Rei is still explaining his plan when Haruki suddenly places both hands on his shoulders and starts shaking him.
"Bro—how? Just how?!
How did your plan actually work?! You're popular and handsome, yeah, but Miharu is one of the toughest girls to crack!
You pulled it off just by staring at her?!"
Rei gets dizzy, making goofy faces, not really understanding Haruki's actions.
"Whaaat happened…? First stop—shaking me! My brain's spinning!
Haruki lets go and explains what he witnessed as they move inside the school.
Rei and Haruki lean against the wall, away from the morning crowd. Rei, blushing and in a cracked tone, says.
"Wait… She really blushed?"
Haruki grins heavily, lightly punching him in the chest out of excitement.
"Oh yeah, big time! You're blushing too, aren't you? Haha!"
"You're not joking, right? I didn't even notice her."
Haruki deadpan.
"Because you were too busy explaining your master plan."
Rei gives it some thought, crosses his head, and looks up, daydreaming.
"So it really happened?"
If you're asking me—yes. Yes, it did. Talk about missing using your powers just to clarify things. There's a reason I make fun of you.
Rei pumps his hands on his cheeks, embracing what was said.
"Ohhh, it DID!"
Haruki blinks and rubs his eyes, confused and clueless.
"Are you… talking to yourself?"
Rei maintains his composure and tries to act confident, but his blushing cheeks tell a different story.
"Of course. I need an expert's opinion. That's why I talk to myself all the time."
Haruki blinking, tilted his his, speachless.
"...Aeh!?"
"Alright, tell me—what did you do to her? I swear I saw her lips move like she was saying "you dummy"..."
Rei smirks, full of overconfident pride, and begins explaining.
"Okay, about a week ago, Yuzuki and I had another argument at my place. She stormed off and accidentally left her phone behind. A notification pops out on her phone, it was Miharu. You know what I saw "
"Hot pics?!?"
Rei gets a little mad and bonks Haruki for not listening properly.
"Ouch~!"
"Get your head out of the sewer."
Rei continues without wasting time, looking straight at Haruki.
"I found Miharu's contact info. Turns out, she and Yuzuki are friends—not close, but they chat. Since it was late, I had all night to go through those messages… and I discovered something."
Haruki interrupts, feeling compelled by a joke he made up in his head.
"Forbidden love letters??"
Rei glares, squeezing his eyes shut out of frustration.
"SHUT. UP."
"Ok ok, sorry!"
Rei leans in and lowers his voice.
"She's a closet otaku. I mean hardcore. Her favorite anime all share one common trope, and after watching them, I found out about her fantasies and tastes."
Haruki leans in, intrigued, actually paying attention to his words.
"In simple terms, her fantasy… she wants to be treated like a princess. She wants a man who can read her mind and act accordingly, without her saying a single word."
They pause for a second, and then Haruki realizes and raises his voice.
"Since you read all the chats, you know what she likes and dislikes."
Rei places his hand on Haruki's mouth in panic and whispers.
"Keep it down."
Rei continues.
"Exactly. So I started staring at her—but casually. When she caught me multiple times, I'd smile and look away, just the right balance of interest without being creepy."
"I mean… if I were a girl and a guy like you did that to me, I'd probably fall too. You're just lucky."
Rei dictates the sentences without any hesitation, thinking he's just bluffing.
"Nah, I don't think I'm even that handsome…"
Haruki smiles and giggles to himself, his mind drifting into deep thought as he realizes the truth, ignoring Rei's words with a serious face.
He doesn't even realize it... Sure, Yuzuki spread all kinds of rumors about him, but on a scale of looks, Rei's a solid 9. Top 3 in school..... No he's number 1. Even my ex had a thing for him. Girls keep their feelings hidden because of Yuzuki. If he just focused on his studies, he'd be unstoppable.
Rei catches him not paying attention and snaps his fingers to bring him back to reality.
"Hey, are you listening?"
Haruki snaps out of it but doesn't overreact. In a casual tone, he asks.
"Huh—sorry! What were you saying about princess treatment?"
Sorry rei it's better if you don't find out the truth.
"Right, so after the volleyball match when we were distributing drinks, I noticed her struggling in the crowd. She's short, introverted, and barely spoke. But I knew she liked kiwi juice—so I went back to the staff room just to get one for her."
"Did she take it?"
Rei's inner child comes out; excitedly, he smiles brightly and replied.
"She did. Smiled and said, "Thank you."
Haruki smirks and teases him in a flirty tone.
"Thank you~" Haaa~ Look at you blushing! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?
"You were the one who hung up on me!"
"Oops~ Sorry!"