It was finally her turn to feel pain; only then could she claim that the blessings had been shared equally.

Page (1/3)

September 21st, Monday.

A light rain had fallen in the early morning, around four or five o’clock, leaving the air thick with the scent of damp earth. In front of Nakameguro Station, Tsukasa Jinguuji parted ways with Sakurako Sazakura, then began the climb up the slope leading to school on his own.

Hoshinomori Hoshino and Kanade Yamada were already standing at the school gate. This week, it was their turn to conduct the morning uniform check—a fair rotation, changing every week.

“Good morning, Jinguuji,” Hoshinomori greeted.

“Good morning, Jinguuji-senpai,” added Yamada.

After exchanging greetings, Tsukasa Jinguuji was about to head toward the school building when Hoshinomori suddenly stepped in to block his way.

“President?” he asked.

Pointing at his collar, Hoshinomori remarked, “Your tie is crooked.”

Tsukasa glanced down, about to fix it himself, but the student council president reached out and gently loosened his blue tie, straightening it before patting it into place with a lovely smile.

“There,” she said.

Jinguuji looked at her silently, a bit at a loss after she smiled at him. He muttered an awkward “Mm,” realized it wasn’t quite right, then took a step back and offered a proper thank you.

Hoshinomori smiled and let him go. She then turned to another third-year boy, ordering him to fix his tie before entering the school.

“Good morning, Sakurako,” Hoshinomori called out.

“Good morning, Hoshinomori-senpai. It’s your turn this week?” Sakurako replied.

“Yep! Oh, and this is Yamada from the student council—he’ll be teaming up with Jinguuji at the sports festival…”

Behind him, the president and his childhood friend were chatting, but Jinguuji didn’t listen in. Without looking back, he walked into the school building.

Before long, his phone vibrated with a text from Sakurako Sazakura.

[I saw that.]

With a headache, Jinguuji rubbed his forehead and entered the classroom of Year 2, Class A.

At lunchtime, he received another message and went alone to the rooftop to wait.

Not long after, a girl with a side-ponytail quietly came up, pushed him against the wall without a word, yanked off his tie, and then bit his neck.

He thought, to do something this bold at school—his childhood friend had certainly grown far more audacious. She would never have dared before.

…

After school, on the fourth floor of the old school building, in the student council room.

As usual, Tsukasa Jinguuji was sorting through the endless paperwork. At long last, he had finished processing every document that passed through his hands.

Once he signed off on the final form, he massaged the bridge of his nose and carried the tall stack of papers to Hoshinomori Hoshino’s desk.

“President, these are all done.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Jinguuji. I just finished organizing the last of my tasks as well—finally, a moment to breathe.”

“You’ve worked hard too, President.”

“Take a little break. I’ll make you some tea.”

“Thank you,” Jinguuji replied, not refusing.

“What about you, You Miyagi?” Hoshinomori asked, glancing at You Miyagi, who was sitting on the sofa.

“No need for me. I have a group meeting soon for the cultural festival. I’ll be off.”

“I see.”

Jinguuji walked over and patted her shoulder. The junior, understanding, scooted over to make room for him.

He took out a copy of Weekly JUMP from his bag and began to read.

Hoshinomori was boiling water, arms folded as she stared intently at the kettle, as if it would boil by the force of her gaze alone.

“Senpai, why aren’t you reading those complicated books lately?” Miyagi asked.

“Weekly JUMP is complicated, too.”

“How so?” she pressed.

“Jujutsu Kaisen,” he replied.

Miyagi instantly understood, then pulled a face as if she’d bitten into something sour.

“True, I don’t get it either,” she admitted.

Soon, Hoshinomori brought over the tea, setting it on the table in front of Jinguuji, then sat across from him.

“Thank you,” the boy said.

“You’re welcome. But… Even if it’s break time, reading manga in the student council room is a little bold, isn’t it?”

“I’m exercising my vice president’s authority—I confiscated this from a classmate. Now I’m checking to see if it contains any inappropriate content.”

“Could you at least come up with a more convincing excuse?”

Clearly, Hoshinomori wasn’t buying it, but she let it slide for now.

More importantly—

She took a sip of tea and said casually, “Hey, Jinguuji, ever since you walked in, I’ve been very curious about your white shirt. Can you guess why?”

He replied without missing a beat, “President, have you been hypnotized by Miyagi’s app and need me to confiscate her phone for you?”

Page (2/3)

“Huh? Why drag me into this?” Miyagi protested from the side.

Hoshinomori smiled faintly. “Jinguuji, are you deliberately trying to get my attention? Some boys in my class use similar tricks as an excuse to talk to me or ask me out. I thought you’d have better moves.”

“Besides, even without such tactics, if you asked me to hang out after school, I probably wouldn’t refuse.”

“So, not wearing a tie is a way to ask you out? I’ve learned something new today.”

“Enough jokes. You’d better come up with a convincing reason—one I won’t be able to tell is a lie.”

“Um, could you two not flirt in the student council room? There’s still an underage person present,” Miyagi said quietly, feeling ignored.

“What are you saying, Miyagi? We’re all underage here. By the way, shouldn’t you be heading to the group meeting with the cultural festival clubs now?” Hoshinomori reminded her with a smile.

“Ugh… Damn this black-hearted organization!” Miyagi muttered as she left, clearly disgruntled.

Now, only Hoshinomori and Jinguuji remained in the student council room. Yamada was at kendo club today.

“So? Are you going to give me a reason now?”

“If I said I forgot my handkerchief and wiped my mouth with my tie after lunch, how would you feel about that?”

“If you can present a tie with sauce stains as evidence, I’ll apologize for doubting you.”

“Sorry, I lied.”

Hoshinomori’s lips curled into a faint smile before she sighed.

“To be honest, I’m a little hurt, Jinguuji. This was the first time I’ve ever tied a boy’s tie, and I didn’t expect it to end like this.”

The student council president, usually so composed, now wore a look of vulnerability that nearly sparked guilt in Jinguuji.

As expected of the former drama club star.

Realizing this, Jinguuji steeled himself, refusing to be swayed by her performance.

But the expression on her face reminded him too much of the moment they broke up over the summer—a memory he found hard to bear.

While he was still searching for an explanation, Hoshinomori suddenly burst out laughing, her composure breaking into a cascade of cheerful giggles.

“Jinguuji, you look just like a man caught red-handed in a hotel room with his secretary, fresh out of the shower, as his wife bursts in with a crowd. It’s hilarious.”

Jinguuji’s face darkened. “Could you not use such vulgar metaphors?”

“Why not? Isn’t that exactly the kind of joke high schoolers love? I have even wilder comparisons, but I’m too embarrassed to use them in front of my junior.”

She really was something else, bringing a copy of ‘Forbidden Colors’ into the student council room. Jinguuji couldn’t help but be impressed.

“But don’t worry. Since you won’t say, I won’t press. It’s after school anyway, and not wearing a tie isn’t a big deal. I’m not that harsh on my juniors.

“It’s just… on a personal note, I do feel a little lonely. It was my first time tying a cute junior’s tie. If it were one of the boys in my class, he’d probably strip naked and wear only the tie to bed tonight.”

“No, that’s just plain perverted.”

She laughed out loud. “Great comeback.”

Jinguuji watched her laugh, and when she finally composed herself, she returned to her usual dignified demeanor.

He thought to himself that she probably never showed this side to other students. In front of them, she was always poised and admired, someone people wanted to chase after.

“But tomorrow, make sure to wear your tie properly.”

“I understand.”

And just like that, the matter was put to rest.

When it was time to leave, the two returned the key to the staff room together, swapped their shoes for loafers, and headed toward the school gate.

To Jinguuji’s surprise, Sakurako Sazakura was standing alone at the gate, quietly holding her bag.

“Sakurako,” Hoshinomori called, approaching cheerfully.

“Senpai.”

“Sorry, we were late because we had to return the key,” Hoshinomori apologized, sounding like a boyfriend late for a date.

Sakurako waved her hands. “It’s fine. Here, this is the manga you lent me, and my notes.”

“Thank you. Oh, my notes are in my bag. I’ll get them for you.”

Jinguuji silently watched his two ex-girlfriends, who looked for all the world like a couple. Sakurako didn’t even glance his way. He wondered if he should just slip away.

Sakurako crouched down—her bag must have been heavy—unzipped it, and took out the manga, which she’d placed in a paper bag.

As she pulled the paper bag out, the corner caught on a blue strip of cloth—a second-year boy’s uniform tie—which fell to the ground.

She quickly picked it up and shoved it back into her bag, then handed the manga to Hoshinomori.

“Thank you, senpai.”

Hoshinomori smiled, pretending not to have seen anything.

“How was the manga? Did you like it?”

“Yes, very much!”

Page (3/3)

“I’m glad.”

The two girls exchanged a smile, while Jinguuji instinctively took a step back. How to put it? It was just the intuition of a man—or perhaps, the intuition of a scoundrel.

“Oh, Jinguuji, would you walk with me to the station? And if you could help carry this, that would be wonderful.”

Before he could react, Hoshinomori handed him the manga Sakurako had just returned.

She pressed her hands together in gratitude, her profile glowing in the sunset, beautiful enough to take one’s breath away.

“Thank you. You really are so gentle, Jinguuji.”

Ah, this isn’t good.

He glanced at Sakurako. As expected, although she was still smiling, he could practically see the vein throbbing at her temple.

She must have overexerted herself at club activities, definitely. Jinguuji lied to himself.

“Sakurako, would you join us?” Hoshinomori asked.

Sakurako glanced at Hoshinomori, then at Jinguuji, and nodded.

So the three of them climbed the slope together. Unlike the previous weekend, this time Hoshinomori walked in the middle, close to Sakurako.

Jinguuji trailed a few steps behind, as if he wasn’t part of their group at all.

“Jinguuji, you’re walking awfully far away,” Hoshinomori teased with a smile.

“I’m used to it,” he replied.

“Oh! It must be awkward for you to walk with two beautiful girls. So innocent~”

He ignored her teasing.

On the way to the station, Sakurako seemed to have lost her usual energy. She occasionally glanced at Jinguuji, who walked alone, making small talk with Hoshinomori.

When they reached the station, Hoshinomori took back the manga and thanked Jinguuji again.

“I’m heading this way. You two are together, right? Bye!”

“Yeah,” Jinguuji responded.

“Bye, senpai.”

Hoshinomori walked off in the opposite direction. When her figure had disappeared into the crowd, Sakurako suddenly let go of her bag, spun around, and threw her arms tightly around Jinguuji’s waist.

She clung to him with the desperation of a wounded beast.

Startled, Jinguuji stammered, “Sakurako? This is the station… what if someone sees…”

“…Don’t say anything, Tsukasa!”

She pressed her head against his chest, breathing in his scent. After barely five or six seconds, Sakurako quickly let go and stepped back, forcing a smile.

“Sorry, I got carried away. No one we know saw, right?” she asked.

Luckily, they were the last students to leave, and there were no other Shinzakura High uniforms around.

Seeing her like this, Jinguuji felt his heart soften. How could he blame the girl who had always stayed by his side, who had always loved him?

He thought, Sakurako must know she shouldn’t hug him here, but the fact that she did meant her feelings had built up to the point that she could no longer hold them in.

Jinguuji gave her the gentle smile he reserved only for her and said softly, “Let’s go home.”

“…Thank you, Tsukasa.”

“You dummy.”

From a distant corner, a pale blue shadow lingered, watching until their figures disappeared before quietly leaving.

Thank you to “Guan Kan Xian Niao Xian Hua” for the reward.

===

A 4,000-word update for now.

This is a temporary launch, with no backlog. I’ll try daily updates of 8,000 to 10,000 words for a week.

Please understand the challenges of writing romance—it really can’t be rushed.

I’ve taken previous feedback into account and will try to write longer chapters with real plot movement.

At 2,000 words per chapter, it would just be dialogue.

The update frequency will definitely increase compared to before the official launch.

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Thank you.

(End of this chapter)