Oikawa Toru's comment about "making big money" didn't exactly register with many of them.
Tobe and the others just assumed Oikawa was joking, while the two sports idiots, Ōoka and Yamato, continued rambling on in their own little worlds.
"Tobe, you should pick the humanities track with us!"
"Yeah, yeah! Then we can all hang out together again. Besides, getting into university through the science track is way harder than through humanities."
"Exactly! If you pick humanities, getting into university will be a piece of cake. Then you can spend four whole years having fun. Dating, living together, whatever. University life is the best! You might even find yourself a really cute girlfriend, Tobe!"
In a way, Oikawa was actually a little envious of idiots like Ōoka and Yamato.
They could spend their entire lives living in a world of their own imagination.
Perhaps, to them, going to university and going on vacation were basically the same thing.
As for the future, Oikawa seriously doubted that the word had ever even appeared in their heads.
"You guys actually make some good points. I really should think about it. But I'm not choosing humanities just to get a cute girlfriend or anything. I'm thinking about my future. Besides... besides, there's someone I already like." Tobe stammered his way through the last sentence.
The moment he said the words "someone I like," he suddenly adopted the shy demeanor of a schoolgirl and sneakily glanced toward Ebina.
Unfortunately, Ebina merely gave him a calm smile in response.
Oikawa took the entire exchange in.
He couldn't help feeling a little sentimental.
What was that saying again? You always chase what you can't have, while the one who's loved takes it for granted.
Perfect. It couldn't have been more fitting.
"What about you, Yui? You're probably going to choose humanities, right? Your math grades are so terrible." Ebina looked toward Yui Yuigahama with a teasing smile.
Yui didn't seem bothered in the slightest. She nodded happily. "Yep! I'm choosing humanities. Math is just way too hard."
"So many people are choosing humanities? Maybe I should also pick it!" Tobe was still talking entirely to himself.
Hayama, who had been staring out the window the whole time, suddenly turned around. "Tobe, I'd suggest giving this a little more thought. This is something that could affect your entire life. If you don't make the right choice, you might regret it later."
Hayama had always been that kind of upright, earnest guy.
Perhaps that was why everyone naturally gravitated around him as their center. When it came to most things, he genuinely thought about what was best for the people around him.
At the very least, those words would never have come out of Ōoka or Yamato's mouths.
Some of the decisions that shaped an entire life were often made almost casually.
Choosing between the humanities and science tracks was one of those things. Treating such a decision carelessly could very well leave your future self regretting it.
"Really? Then I guess I should give it some serious thought." Tobe said the words, but judging by his expression, he didn't seem to be taking them all that seriously.
Hayama frowned slightly.
But he didn't say anything else, simply turning his gaze back toward the window.
And with that, the discussion about the survey came to an end.
There was still plenty of time before class, though, so the students began chatting about all sorts of gossip.
Ōoka suddenly looked rather mysterious. He raised an eyebrow at Yamato.
Yamato immediately understood what he meant, then deliberately spoke up in an exaggerated voice. "Ah... right! Oikawa, I think I saw you and Yui hanging out together during the New Year holidays. You two... aren't you dating?"
The moment Yamato said that, the classroom exploded.
Every pair of eyes turned toward Oikawa and Yui.
Miura's mouth fell open in shock, while Ebina looked between Yui and Kawasaki with an amused expression.
A large portion of the class had been drawn into the conversation as well.
"Oikawa and Yui are really boyfriend and girlfriend?" Tobe stared at Oikawa in disbelief.
The message in his eyes seemed to be, 'How could someone have such terrible taste?'
After all, in Tobe's mind, Ebina was a hundred times better than any woman.
Even so, he was secretly thrilled by the news.
".."
Kawasaki continued looking down. But the hand that had been writing suddenly stopped.
A moment later, a deep black dot appeared on the page of her workbook.
Yui's face instantly turned bright red. She hurriedly waved her hands. "No, no! Oikawa-kun and I aren't dating! We were just picking out a present for Yukino!"
"Even if we were, what business is it of yours?" Oikawa turned his head and stared sharply at Yamato.
His usual gentle demeanor had vanished completely. The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Yamato swallowed nervously. The aura coming off Oikawa was intimidating enough to make him genuinely afraid.
Yamato shot Ōoka a desperate look for help.
Ōoka immediately tried to smooth things over. "Oikawa, Yamato was just joking. Don't take it so seriously."
"And what business is it of yours?" Oikawa's voice was cold. "I'm talking to him. Is he mute?"
Ōoka's voice faltered under Oikawa's cold stare, and he instinctively took half a step back.
Yui had never seen Oikawa like this before. Seeing how awkward and tense the atmosphere had become, she quickly forced a smile. "Oikawa-kun, Ōoka and Yamato were just saying something without thinking. They didn't mean any harm."
Oikawa looked at Yui, feeling a headache coming on.
Ōoka and Yamato were never exactly good people to begin with. During the school trip, they had treated Tobe's confession more like entertainment than anything else. This time, they had probably just wanted to stir up some juicy gossip.
But as the person actually involved, Oikawa found the whole thing disgusting.
"Apologize to me and Yui." Oikawa's eyes were sharp enough to cut, his gaze fixed on Ōoka and Yamato like a blade.
"Oikawa, we're all classmates here. There's no need to take things this far, is there?"
The idiot who said that was Tobe.
Oikawa didn't even bother responding to him.
Ōoka and Yamato fell silent. Their expressions even carried a hint of anger. They clearly felt that Oikawa was humiliating them by refusing to let the matter go.
A faint sense of hostility filled the classroom.
Oikawa placed one hand on his chair. "If you say something inappropriate, then you apologize. That's only natural."
"Oikawa, Yui, they really did speak without thinking." Hayama stood up with an apologetic smile.
He turned toward Ōoka and Yamato.
After hesitating for a moment, the two finally apologized to Oikawa and Yui. "Sorry. We shouldn't have said that."
Ebina immediately smiled. "You two idiots, maybe figure out what's actually going on before you start talking. If Yui were dating someone, how could I possibly not know?"
Then she smoothly changed the subject. "Ōoka, didn't you say you went to Osaka over the holidays? Was it fun?"
Tobe also hurriedly joined in, dragging Ōoka and Yamato back toward their seats.
The serious atmosphere in the classroom gradually faded, replaced once again by laughter and chatter.
Oikawa withdrew his gaze.
After yawning, he simply lay his head down on his desk.
Everything seemed to return to normal, as though nothing had happened at all.
Except that, every now and then, someone would sneak a glance in Oikawa's direction.
...
At lunchtime, Oikawa unexpectedly found himself hungry.
Kawasaki, meanwhile, calmly ate both lunches she had brought with her, right in front of him. And then, she spent the entire afternoon burping because she had eaten too much.
She barely made it through two classes before Oikawa sent her to the nurse's office.
The female school nurse had a particularly strong impression of the two of them.
The moment she saw them walk in together, her expression became distinctly peculiar.
She looked at Kawasaki teasingly. "You've got a fever again?"
Kawasaki's normally icy expression immediately turned bright red.
She stood there awkwardly, her hands fidgeting helplessly as though she had no idea where to put them.
Then she viciously pinched Oikawa around the waist.
Oikawa's face twisted in agony, but he ultimately didn't make a sound. The school nurse watched the scene with an expression that was equal parts sympathy and satisfaction.
"So, what happened?"
Oikawa explained. "She ate too much and her stomach's bothering her."
The nurse continued questioning him. "What exactly did she eat?"
"Well..." Oikawa hesitated. "She ate the lunch she brought for me, too. There was some tonkatsu, grilled fish, and a little tempura."
"Why on earth did she eat that much?" The nurse looked genuinely puzzled.
Kawasaki's hand tightened around Oikawa's waist.
"So she ate her own lunch and the one she brought for you?" The nurse's eyes lit up with curiosity. "What happened? Did you make your girlfriend angry?"
Her expression became even more gossipy. "Are you two-timing her?"
Oikawa forced a smile. "Ma'am, could you please just give her some medicine?"
The moment he called her ma'am, the nurse's expression instantly darkened.
Her eyes seemed to emit a faint red glow.
A moment later, she pulled a pill from the medicine cabinet and handed it to him. "Have her take this, then massage her abdomen for a while. She should feel better soon."
"Then you can do it!" Oikawa secretly rejoiced. Finally, he had found a way to escape Kawasaki's clutches.
She was still digging her fingers into his waist, hard enough that he was seriously tempted to scream.
"Unfortunately, I suddenly have something I need to take care of, so you'll have to do it." The nurse smiled brightly. "Or she can massage her own stomach. Either way works."
With that, she walked out of the infirmary.
The spacious room was now occupied by just Oikawa and Kawasaki.
After taking the medicine, Kawasaki lay down on the bed with her back to him and began rubbing her stomach herself.
"See? Why make things harder for yourself?" Oikawa sighed and sat down beside her.
He placed a hand on her lower abdomen and began gently massaging it.
Kawasaki looked a little miserable as she turned her face away.
Under normal circumstances, Oikawa probably would have let his imagination run wild, thinking about all the ridiculous things that happened in school infirmaries in certain anime.
But he wasn't in the mood for that right now.
Kawasaki really did look both uncomfortable and hurt.
_ _ _
"Even if we end up in different tracks, that just means we won't be in the same class anymore. It's not like we won't be able to see each other."
After a lot of coaxing, Oikawa finally understood. Kawasaki wasn't this upset because of Yui.
She was upset about the humanities and science tracks.
She would never outright ask Oikawa to choose the same track as her. But that didn't mean she wasn't sad about the possibility of them being separated.
She'd been distracted all morning, and during class she kept zoning out.
"I won't be used to it. I... I'm going to miss you." Kawasaki's voice was tinged with sadness.
A tear quietly slipped from the corner of her eye.
"You idiot." Oikawa wiped away the tear and continued massaging her stomach. "If you miss me, just come see me whenever you want. Better yet, let's come up with a secret signal. Send me a message saying 'Monday,' and I'll come find you."
"Why Monday?"
"Because today is Monday."
"Oh." Kawasaki seemed a little happier.
A smile returned to the corners of her lips.
After thinking for a moment, she pulled out her phone.
Not long afterward, Oikawa's own phone lit up.
He checked it and found a string of messages from Kawasaki on LINE:
They were all Monday.
"What a dummy." A smile appeared on Oikawa's face.
He looked at Kawasaki and slowly leaned toward her.
At that exact moment, a cough came from outside the door.
The school nurse walked back in at the worst possible moment, carrying two bottles of yogurt drink. Judging by the number, Oikawa clearly hadn't been included in the plan.
As soon as she entered, she gave Oikawa a wicked grin.
Kawasaki bit her lip, her entire face turning scarlet. Once again, her hand found its way to Oikawa's waist.
...
..
After school, Oikawa quickly left the classroom and headed straight for the Service Club.
The clubroom was considerably warmer than the classroom.
Today, for once, Oikawa managed to beat Yukino there and became the first person to arrive.
He switched on the electric heater, sprawled across the table, pulled out his phone, and started scrolling through Twitter. Everyone would just have to suffer through another week of waiting until eight o'clock next Sunday for the next episode of Your Lie in April.
A little while later, Yukino walked in with her schoolbag.
She gave Oikawa a slightly haughty glance before picking up the electric kettle and putting some water on to boil.
Soon, the sound of boiling water filled the Service Club room.
About four or five minutes later, Yui and Iroha Isshiki walked in together.
They were carrying a birthday cake.
"What's this?" Yukino looked at the birthday cake in Yui's hands.
Yui smiled. "We were going to have snacks anyway, right? And we never got to eat your birthday cake that day, so we figured we'd make up for it now. Hehe."
"There really was no need." Yukino was always terrible at being honest.
She was obviously happy, yet she insisted on saying things that completely contradicted her feelings.
"Happy New Year, Oikawa-senpai!" Isshiki greeted him brightly.
Oikawa asked flatly, "Why are you here?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Isshiki puffed out her cheeks, clearly offended. "You make it sound like you don't want me here. I'm the student council president, you know!"
Still looking a little miffed, she grabbed a chair and dropped herself into it, making herself perfectly comfortable in the Service Club room.
She looked perfectly comfortable. Almost as though she were a regular member of the club.
Just then, the water began to boil.
Yukino walked over and started brewing some tea.
Isshiki leaned closer to Oikawa and spoke quietly. "Senpai, thanks again for what you did that day! Oh, and my birthday is April sixteenth, by the way!"
"Pretty sure nobody asked."
Isshiki completely ignored Oikawa's complaint.
She opened the box containing the birthday cake, picked up a knife, and began cutting slices for everyone.
At this point, she really did look the part of a student council president.
"Happy birthday."
Although Isshiki's arrival had been somewhat unexpected, the atmosphere in the Service Club remained cheerful.
Everyone ate cake and drank tea, looking almost as though they'd prematurely settled into a peaceful retirement.
Thinking about it, if growing old could really be this peaceful, it might actually qualify as happiness.
"Oikawa-senpai, I heard you and Yui-senpai are dating. Is that true?" Isshiki's sudden question made the atmosphere in the entire room turn strange.
Yukino lifted her head and stared coldly at Oikawa.
"No!" Yui hurriedly began explaining, her expression flustered. "That day, I was just with Oikawa-kun because we were picking out a present for Yukino."
Oikawa rubbed his temples and looked at Isshiki with a headache. "And where exactly did you hear that?"
"Well, I'm the soccer club manager, after all. I naturally hear all kinds of rumors." Isshiki smiled proudly.
"You're still the manager?" Oikawa looked genuinely surprised.
Isshiki seemed to be even more capable than he had expected.
"What's wrong with that? Being a manager doesn't interfere with being student council president. Besides, I'm really bored these days." Isshiki blew gently on her tea before taking a sip.
A look of pure enjoyment appeared on her face.
Apparently, Oikawa wasn't the only one who thought Yukino made excellent tea.
"Oh, right, Senpai. I was really happy with our date the other day!"
Oikawa happened to be drinking tea at that exact moment.
He immediately choked and started coughing.
The next second, he felt two sharp gazes fall on him.
"Date?" Yukino's voice was as cool as ever. "Oikawa-san, you really don't discriminate, do you? You'll even go after your kohais."
She narrowed her eyes. "What a scumbag."
"Oi-Oikawa-kun, you actually went on a date with Isshiki? Don't tell me you prefer girls with smaller...?" Yui asked anxiously.
At those words, Isshiki tilted her head and glanced at Yui.
But the moment she took in Yui's impressive figure, she clicked her tongue in annoyance.
The retort she had been about to make died in her throat.
Compared to Yui-senpai, she really did seem a little... lacking.
Ugh! It was frustrating, but she couldn't exactly find anything to argue with.
"Who said I like smaller girls?" Oikawa reacted as though he'd been personally insulted. He shot to his feet and declared indignantly, "I, Oikawa Toru, would rather stay single for the rest of my life and never find a girlfriend than settle for a girl with a small chest!"
"Is that so?"
Oikawa's words seemed to hit one of Yukino's particularly sensitive nerves. The temperature inside the Service Club seemed to drop several degrees in an instant.
Yui pretended not to notice and quietly snickered to herself.
Oikawa could practically feel a murderous gaze burning into the back of his head. But he glared at Isshiki instead.
She cheekily stuck out her tongue before explaining, "What, Senpai? I mean, I like Hayama-senpai. I only asked you to help me plan out a date. You didn't have to react so strongly!"
"Unless..." Isshiki suddenly looked three parts shy.
Then, lowering her voice, she said, "Senpai, do you secretly like me? Is that why you don't want to see me confess to Hayama-senpai?"
"Absolutely not," Oikawa answered so quickly that it was almost impressive. "I think you and Hayama are a perfect match. I sincerely wish you a long and happy marriage, with lots of children."
"Tch." Isshiki puffed out her cheeks.
Yui, meanwhile, seemed to have only just processed the important part of the conversation, "...Isshiki-san, you like Hayama?"
"Yep. I really, really like him."
There wasn't even the slightest trace of embarrassment on Isshiki's face. She sounded as though she'd had the answer prepared for exactly this question.
"You're going to confess to Hayama?"
Isshiki shot Oikawa an annoyed glance. "I'm still thinking about it. I asked Oikawa-senpai to help me practice my confession before, but he was so half-hearted about it that he completely destroyed my confidence. Now I don't even feel like I can confess to Hayama-senpai."
Oikawa was speechless.
Half-hearted?
He was half-hearted?
He'd found all the clues himself during the escape room. And when they'd played table tennis, he hadn't just gone easy on her. He'd practically handed her the entire ocean.
And on top of that... She freaking kissed me!
She called that half-hearted?
Oikawa was completely unable to defend himself.
He also couldn't exactly tell everyone that Isshiki had forced a kiss on him.
Isshiki, for her part, wore an expression of absolute confidence, as though she knew perfectly well that Oikawa wouldn't dare expose her secret.
It was incredibly frustrating.
The moment Yui heard that the person Isshiki liked was Hayama, all the wariness in her heart disappeared.
She smiled brightly. "Oikawa-kun, if Isshiki-san is planning to confess to Hayama, you should help her more!"
"Yui-senpai, you're seriously the sweetest!" Isshiki's voice became ridiculously sugary. "If only I had a figure like yours, Senpai. Maybe then Oikawa-senpai would even come over and help me on his own!"
She leaned toward Yui with an exaggeratedly adoring expression. "Senpai, I'm so jealous of your body!"
"Ah! No, no, it's really nothing!" Yui hurriedly waved her hands, but the smile on her face made it obvious that she was secretly enjoying the compliment.
Oikawa, however, didn't find the exchange funny in the slightest.
The gaze behind him seemed to have become even sharper.
He had absolutely no doubt that he'd just been added to Yukino's kill list.
.
.
.
༺ If you're interested, you can read more chapters ahead on pat👉 patreon.com/_Coreal ༻