Then, Morino Hoshino...
Student Council Room.
Hoshinomori Hoshino quietly heated water in the kettle. On the sofa in the reception area, a tall boy and a petite girl sat upright, both with an intimidating pile of club pamphlets laid out before them, yet neither reached for a single one.
In this situation, Tsukasa Jinguuji could hardly resist the urge to defend himself. He could have simply walked away earlier, yet in the end, he and Yagiya Yoh followed Hoshinomori Hoshino back to the student council room. The cup of black tea he’d been served was still steaming.
All of this, he thought, was entirely thanks to the complete lack of remorse displayed by the underclassman beside him—this, despite being top of her year.
Utterly disgraceful.
“Hey, hey~ Senpai, senpai~~”
Yagiya Yoh called to him softly, but Jinguuji Tsukasa had no intention of acknowledging her. Undeterred, the girl began to nudge his arm repeatedly with her narrow shoulder.
With a resigned glance, he finally looked at her.
“What?”
“Did you do something to upset the president? She seems really mad—she hasn’t said a word.”
“I think, out of everyone in this school, you’re the least qualified to say that to me.”
“Ehhh~~~ Are you blaming me just because your hands got a little dirty, senpai?”
“What do you mean, my hands got dirty?”
“Didn’t you just grope the president’s, uh, indecently large chest?”
“Don’t malign me. Both my hands were flat on the floor.”
“Huh? In that kind of situation, could any boy really resist climbing a mountain? So suspicious~~”
“And whose fault do you think that is?”
“The president’s, for having such big boobs?”
“It’s yours!”
“Eh?! I’m not that lewd, you know. I’m as pure as an angel—with AA cups, to boot.”
“Who said anything about boobs?!”
“You two.”
“Yes!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Hoshinomori Hoshino, seemingly oblivious to their whispered bickering, addressed them with the same calm expression, “Would you like some black tea?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“I’d rather have milk, actually.”
“Sorry, Yagiya-san, but all I have is black tea.”
“Black tea’s fine, but I want sugar, please.”
This girl really is something else, Jinguuji Tsukasa thought.
Three cups of tea were set on the table, one noticeably darker than the others. Jinguuji Tsukasa and Yagiya Yoh sat together on the sofa; Hoshinomori Hoshino faced them, tucking her hair behind her ear, lifting her cup, and sipping lightly.
“So, have you two decided which club you’ll be joining?” Hoshinomori Hoshino asked directly.
It seemed she had no intention of revisiting what had happened downstairs. Tsukasa felt a small wave of relief. It wasn’t his fault, but if Hoshinomori Hoshino insisted on holding someone accountable, he’d be hard pressed to stay uninvolved.
“Hmm... How should I put this? I’m still hesitating—it’s tough to decide,” Yoh said.
—
Yagiya Yoh’s tone was grating enough to test anyone’s patience, even Tsukasa’s. If this were a fighting game, her opponent would have their rage meter maxed out and would launch a finishing move right at the start.
“I heard, Yagiya-san, that you were not only the star of your junior high girls’ volleyball team, but also served as student council president.”
“And for three years, you took first place in every major exam. Even I couldn’t manage that. With all that talent, wouldn’t it be a shame not to make the most of your high school life?”
As expected of Hoshinomori Hoshino; even with Yagiya Yoh, she was patient and gentle, her voice as soft as water, coaxing and kind.
But the girl called Yagiya Yoh was impervious to such tactics.
“I think I’ll pass, after all.”
“Oh? Why?”
“Because there’s something else I want to do in high school.”
“Something else?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Yagiya Yoh simply nodded with a smile, offering nothing further.
Jinguuji Tsukasa suspected she was just making things up, simply to avoid joining any club—though he had no proof.
“Club activities at Shinsakura High are truly fun. Before I became student council president, I joined a club too. But as student council duties grew, I couldn’t manage both, so I became a ghost member. I felt bad for the club president and the others, so I quit.”
“Wow... That sounds really stressful.”
Hoshinomori Hoshino smiled faintly. “It wasn’t really stressful. The time spent together was wonderful—I just couldn’t do both well enough.”
“Well enough?”
“As in, balancing both the student council and club activities.”
Yagiya Yoh kept dropping sugar cubes into her tea, making a soft plopping sound, followed by the clink of her spoon as she stirred the cup.
“President, did you join the student council and club because you loved them?”
“Of course.”
“Heh~~~ Is that so? I thought you just wanted to be everyone’s idol, and that’s why you worked yourself so hard.”
“Idol?”
“Isn’t it? You’ve got student council duties, club activities, and you still have to maintain top grades. That’s not a fulfilling high school life—that’s a black company simulator. I don’t want to do anything like that. I don’t want people to expect things of me, or to become the Yagiya Yoh they imagine. If someone wants to be that amazing person everyone talks about, let them fight for it until they drop.”
Her words surprised Tsukasa—a wisdom unexpected at her age. Remarkable.
“Look at Jinguuji-senpai—total bookworm. Can’t do anything but study. Probably goes straight home to hit the books every day; that’s why he’s always top of the class, right?”
Sorry, the truth is, after school I was always hanging out with other people’s girlfriends. I’m really sorry. I’ll never do it again.
The boy repented silently in his heart.
Hoshinomori Hoshino fell silent for a long time, as if lost in thought, then turned to Tsukasa.
“What about you, Jinguuji-san?”
Noticing the conversation had shifted, Tsukasa glanced at Yoh, who was beside him, sipping her tea and burning her tongue in the process.
“Well... Forcing yourself is never good. Just maintaining the top grades is already exhausting. I really don’t have the energy for club activities.”
Obviously, he was lying again.
—
A hush fell over the student council room. The sound of Yagiya Yoh blowing on her tea to cool it down became unusually prominent.
“I understand. I’m sorry for troubling you both,” Hoshinomori Hoshino said, rising and bowing slightly to her juniors.
Disappointment was written plainly across her face. Tsukasa wanted to say something, but when he met her gaze, he wisely swallowed his words.
To Hoshinomori Hoshino, he was nothing more than a stranger, just another underclassman for now.
With a touch of sorrow in his heart, the boy stood and left the student council room.
A sudden autumn wind gusted through the open window, rattling the panes and scattering papers from the desk behind the girl. She crouched to gather them, picking up each sheet one by one.
Standing in the doorway, Tsukasa couldn’t help but look back. His steps felt inexplicably heavy; he lingered, unable to move on.
Yagiya Yoh looked up at him—within her dark eyes, a shadow wrapped in loneliness flickered.
“Senpai?”
Tsukasa was silent for a moment. “It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
The door of the student council room closed softly behind them.
—
—
In the corridor of the old school building.
“Did something happen between you and the president before?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Because the way you look at her is exactly how a guy looks at his girlfriend. Ew, so cringey.”
He paused, then said lightly, “Can’t I just enjoy looking at pretty girls?”
“Then why don’t I see you looking at me like that?”
“Huh? Who are you?”
“Ugh!”
Yagiya Yoh broke into a run. Only when she was far ahead did she turn back to face him.
The autumn sunlight shone down, bathing her as if she stood in a pillar of light.
“Hey, I might not have someone I like, but I do know one simple truth. I’ll give it to you, as an apology for what happened today.”
Tsukasa said nothing, standing in the shade, watching her from afar.
The petite girl in the sunlight spread her arms wide, as if she wanted to embrace the decaying autumn with all her might.
“High schoolers should fall in love to their heart’s content!”
Her exuberant cry echoed through the first-floor corridor of the old building, trailing out the window and drifting aimlessly into the sky.
“Where did you get that advice?” the boy asked.
“It’s the gospel according to Yagiya Yoh.”
“……”
“Bye now, Jinguuji-senpai! Keh keh keh!”
Her small figure disappeared at the end of the corridor, her uniquely joyful footsteps fading into the distance, until they could no longer be heard.