"Mm~ Slept so well."
Hoshinomiya gave a long lazy stretch, got up feeling comfortably full of sleep, then went to wash up. As she absentmindedly rubbed her lower back, the moment she thought of Yukio, her cheeks flushed and she muttered, half annoyed, half shy,
"What a ridiculously energetic bad student…"
But when she came out of the bathroom and saw the breakfast waiting in the microwave, her mood brightened again. Humming a tune to herself, she heated it up and started eating.
"…Although, this is a lot of breakfast, isn't it?"
Looking at everything laid out before her, Hoshinomiya suddenly felt her heart go soft and sweet.
Having a younger man fuss over her and take care of her like this… was actually pretty nice. Pretty sweet.
And this happiness obviously had to be shared with someone!
What do girls like most? Jewelry? Bags? Luxury brands?
Wrong.
What they really like isn't the items themselves, but that sense of special superiority: I have what others don't. What others have, mine is better.
They buy jewelry, bags, and luxury goods not just because they look nice, but because the purchase buys them that edge over other women.
In everyday life, you could see it all the time—girls showing off a brand-name bag just to draw in envy and compliments.
Naturally, Hoshinomiya understood this perfectly. So with a sly little smile, she bounced out of her staff dorm and stopped in front of her neighbor's door.
If she listened closely, she could hear some faint sounds inside. So she immediately raised her hand and knocked.
"Sae-chan~ I made way too much breakfast. Come help me eat some, okay?"
At the same time, inside Chabashira's staff room… she and Yukio froze at the exact same moment.
They looked at each other.
The lively atmosphere from earlier instantly evaporated, leaving behind a silence so sharp you could hear a pin drop.
Once both of them processed what was happening, Yukio had to lower his voice to smother his laughter.
"Pfft—pff, hahaha…"
He was dying. He could instantly guess Hoshinomiya's smug thought process.
The problem was—Hoshinomiya's house had already been stolen by Chabashira.
And she still came over happily trying to show off?
Chabashira's face was scarlet. She was so mortified she could barely speak.
Earlier that morning, she had agreed to Yukio's deal.
At that time, she'd truly thought it through—briefly, but deeply—before giving her answer. So when the words "I accept" left her lips, she'd been so tense she broke out in a sweat.
Maybe he'd noticed the sweat on her forehead, because instead of immediately pushing for anything, Yukio had suggested he go do his morning run first and let her head back to her own room to wash up.
After he finished running, he came over, borrowed her shower…
And then, well—things progressed into the adult part.
Only halfway through that part, the door to her dorm suddenly got knocked on by Hoshinomiya.
Then she even invited her out for breakfast?
This was insane.
When had Hoshinomiya ever been that nice?
Ten years ago, the two of them had been classmates in the same class. After graduating and returning to work here, they'd been colleagues for another six years.
If anyone in this school understood Hoshinomiya best, it was Chabashira.
And vice versa—if anyone understood Chabashira best, it was Hoshinomiya.
Which was exactly why Chabashira knew—Hoshinomiya was not the type to get up and make breakfast. And absolutely not the type to make too much and invite her over to share it.
So of course she was panicking now. Had Hoshinomiya noticed something?
Was it… was it because she and Yukio had been a little too loud just now?
So now Hoshinomiya was using this ridiculously flimsy breakfast excuse to snoop around?
That would be really bad!
Her heart raced and her face burned. With Yukio still grinning at her, she instinctively pinned her hopes on him.
"Stop laughing! Think of something!" You were the one who set those terms in the first place!
Yukio waggled his brows, utterly delighted. "There's nothing to think about. As long as you don't go out there, Hoshinomiya-sensei won't find out anything."
When she thought about it, that did make sense.
Chabashira let herself relax a little. It wasn't like Hoshinomiya could legally kick the door down.
Outside, getting no response, Hoshinomiya knocked again.
"Sae-chan~ Don't pretend you're not home, okay? I can hear you moving around in there."
Inside the room, Chabashira kept glancing back over her shoulder at the door, worry etched onto her face.
Her repeated head turns made her high ponytail swing, the tips brushing over the bridge of Yukio's nose again and again, making him almost sneeze.
And now Hoshinomiya was saying she could hear movement? That made Chabashira even more frantic. She blurted back in a rush:
"I-I just don't want to talk to you! And look at the time, I've already had breakfast!"
"Hm?"
Hoshinomiya's senses went on full alert.
Silence again?
And Chabashira's voice had sounded shaky and nervous. That was not right. Not right at all.
Her brows arched, a spark of excitement flashing in her eyes.
"Ahahaha! Sae-chan, what's with that panicky voice?
"And you used to open the door even when you didn't feel like talking to me. You'd at least say so face to face—that's your precious manners, right?"
"So why can't you open the door now? What happened to those manners? Or is it that you can't open the door? Hehehe~ Sae-chan, it's that, isn't it? It's that, right?"
"Come on, tell me, Sae-chan—are you using manual mode or electric mode in there?"
Mode your head!
I'm using full-body, human-powered auto mode! Inside, Chabashira's face was as red as blood. Her heart felt like it was trying to jump right out of her throat.
Thank god Hoshinomiya had only assumed the noises were from some toy. She hadn't guessed the truth at all…
That thought finally let Chabashira breathe.
She shot Yukio a fierce sideways glare. Yukio just shrugged, still highly amused, and even shifted his weight slightly, making her even more ashamed and angry.
She didn't just want to roll her eyes at him—she wanted to smack him a few times too.
"Don't go quiet on me, Sae-chan~ What is it, huh? Let me see, let me see~"
Hoshinomiya was relentless. Both Chabashira and, not long ago, Yukio himself, had first-hand experience of just how clingy she could be.
So Chabashira decided to end it quickly, even if it meant tossing her dignity out the window.
"F-fine, yes, yes! It's exactly what you're thinking! So I'm very, very busy right now! Could you please leave?!"
"Geez…" Out in the hall, Hoshinomiya clicked her tongue in awe.
Spring break really was something else, huh. Who would've thought even ice-cold, iceberg-like Sae-chan couldn't resist this season?
But there was no way Hoshinomiya would leave just because of that. Her greatest obsession in life was getting back at Chabashira.
Even if it was just interrupting her fun time, she was thrilled.
So instead of going away, she started pounding on the door even harder, making it rattle and boom.
"Don't be like that~ Sae-chan, what's so fun about a toy? I'll introduce you to someone, okay? Super amazing~ Way better than your cheap little toy!"
Inside, Chabashira was practically choking on her own rage.
She wanted nothing more than to yank herself off Yukio, throw on a coat, go to the kitchen, grab a knife, storm outside and fight Hoshinomiya to the death.
Who else could Hoshinomiya be introducing? Obviously… him.
This whole stunt of hers was really something else.
Wasn't this basically—
Your house got robbed, and now you're inviting the thief back over as a guest for round two?
....
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