Ch. 78.1 - 3 + 1 Pt1
"Sae, don’t fall for his tricks. Hoshikawa is obviously enjoying your chest. He’s a filthy, shameless pig."
Nogami looked like she might actually stand up and yank Harutaki off her best friend, but remembering they were in public, she could only warn Sae not to let him take advantage any further.
Yet what happened next was extremely unusual—Sae snapped out of it, her face suddenly flushing red. She hurriedly pushed Harutaki back to where he’d been sitting, and—worried the others might misunderstand—she fumbled to explain:
"H-hugging’s totally fine between very good bros… right?"
"No. Treating Hoshikawa-kun as a ‘very good bro’ is already a serious problem."
Minako, seated beside her, muttered dryly.
What a strange guy, she thought. Whether it was Izumi or Sae, neither of these girls ever took male friends seriously. Yet when it came to Harutaki, they actually showed hints of normal-girl embarrassment.
Even if it was only a tiny bit—it was still Nogami Izumi.
The same Nogami Izumi who delighted in grabbing weaknesses and bullying others for fun. Who savored the despair and grief of those weaker than her. The infamous “Queen of Evil” whose reputation echoed through the whole school, even upperclassmen had feared her before she’d even enrolled.
Minako had never seen Izumi show such tolerance toward anyone outside herself and Sae.
"Hoshikawa-kun… you didn’t, um… take advantage of Izumi back then and do anything strange, did you?"
She wanted to understand him better.
Like a meteor streaking across their lives, he had appeared suddenly and, in the blink of an eye, claimed part of Izumi and Sae’s attention. But besides his name—Hoshikawa Harutaki—his handsome looks, sharp mind, and surprisingly strong athletic ability, Minako knew nothing about him.
He was practically a walking mystery.
Minako had no idea what had happened during the days she and Sae were forced to distance themselves from Izumi because of the school’s tense atmosphere. How exactly had Hoshikawa gotten close to her? How had he slipped past that Everest-like emotional wall of hers?
Just with some cliché “hero saving the damsel” event?
Don’t be ridiculous.
She scoffed silently.
With Izumi’s personality, the only thing she’d do afterwards is mock Hoshikawa mercilessly, like she had earlier.
And yes, she did use that incident to tease him… but watching them interact, Minako found it looked more like a bickering couple flirting.
Childish, comical, but enviably warm. The kind of everyday miracle Minako felt she could never have.
And Hoshikawa, he was definitely dangerous.
Or at least, a threat to her.
Smooth, socially adept, and sharp at reading the mood. Everything Minako excelled at—Hoshikawa could do too, possibly even better.
Then what purpose did she still serve at Izumi’s side?
"Of course—of course nothing weird happened!"
Before Harutaki could answer, Nogami jumped in, clearly panicking, terrified he’d blurt out something stupid, like mentioning how he’d confessed to Shihou earlier.
Because if—if—Hoshikawa dared reveal that she, Nogami Izumi, had actually kissed him first…
How was she supposed to respond?
Even with her thick skin, she couldn’t possibly say out loud in front of everyone:
"Your first kiss wasn’t from the girl you like, it was taken by me, Nogami Izumi."
That would make it look like, after losing to Shihou, she’d shamelessly “assaulted” him to cheat.
And it’d sound like she was chasing him.
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
What kind of master chases after her own dog?!
"Tch. If he had tried anything with me, do you think he’d still be sitting here?"
She pointed at Harutaki, whose expression had turned oddly stiff, while shooting him a warning glare not to open his big mouth.
"I-I think Hoshikawa-kun… even if he’s a scumbag… isn’t the type to do anything actually unforgivable to a girl…"
Chouko finally mustered the courage to defend him. Even if she did want to see him embarrassed, she couldn’t slander the boy who had basically saved her life.
"I mean, when Shihou-san fainted and lost consciousness, I didn’t do anything to her."
Harutaki seized the opening, steering the conversation exactly where he wanted it to go.
"Fainted?"
"This is the second incident I mentioned before."
He waved lightly at Nogami, signaling her to wait for his explanation.
"Yesterday afternoon, remember? I told you after school I was busy because I had promised to accompany Shihou-san to a mixer."
"Hoshikawa-kun…"
Pretending not to notice Chouko’s rising panic, he thought:
Shared experiences, especially dangerous ones, naturally build empathy.