A few days later in the afternoon, Makoto was chatting casually with Itsuki in class, while partly paying attention to several boys in front of them laughing and joking.
Those boys somehow got two sheets of bubble wrap; at first, only one was squeezing it in his hands, which attracted the attention of his friends, and soon others gathered around.
"My father already said that everyone will have dinner together today. Fushimi, you'll come too, right?"
Itsuki's attention was fully on Makoto, her beautiful eyes full of anticipation.
"I'll definitely come to mooch dinner," Makoto shamelessly declared.
Itsuki smiled happily: "Welcome to mooch dinner."
"Are you specially welcoming me, or are you speaking for everyone else?" Makoto suddenly asked.
Itsuki was stunned, her face slightly flushed: "Of course everyone welcomes you..."
As she spoke, she realized she was too shy and it was inappropriate, so she decisively shifted the focus to her older sisters:
"Like Ichika, Nino, they all really welcome you. Oh right, Yotsuba too. She has a good impression of you."
Makoto put on a thoughtful look: "So, that means only Miku doesn't welcome me?"
"Well, not really. Miku usually doesn't talk much, but she's actually a very gentle person. Maybe she's secretly paying attention to you."
Itsuki's honest nature came out as she quickly explained.
Then she hesitated and said: "But my father is a very serious person. If he says something that bothers you, he means no harm. Please understand."
Makoto stared at her earnest little face for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "You were just praising Miku's gentleness, but actually you are the gentlest of the five."
"No way." Itsuki's cheeks turned even redder, but her smile brightened a lot.
At this moment, those boys squeezing the bubble wrap made a crackling noise again, attracting many students to look over.
Itsuki was drawn too: "That's bubble wrap, right? Why do boys like playing with this stuff?"
She then glanced at Makoto in front of her, thinking he was more mature and wouldn't do such childish things.
However, as soon as she had that thought, Makoto stood up.
Under her puzzled gaze, he walked toward those boys and waved to Hayato, who had already heard the noise: "Wanna join?"
"Sure."
Hayato smiled and came over.
Itsuki: "???"
With the two of them joining, more boys gathered around. Some weren't even interested in bubble wrap, but since the atmosphere was lively, joining in was fun.
Boys in puberty were always full of energy.
Yumiko held her pretty face, expressionless: "Why did Makoto also go over there?"
She turned to Itsuki, who was also dazed, and secretly wondered: Does Itsuki-san care about Makoto more now? Is it just my imagination?
She had noticed the friendly conversation between Makoto and the others before but hadn't interrupted because she was chatting with friends.
Now seeing Itsuki also watching closely, she couldn't help but suspect.
They were classmates and saw each other every day. Yumiko often paid attention to Makoto, so she was the one who could most keenly feel Itsuki's changes.
"By the way, Yumiko, the photos you shared on social media are really beautiful. Did you hire a professional photographer?"
A friend said enviously.
Yumiko couldn't help but feel proud and raised her pale chin: "Yes, he's really professional."
"Can you share a little info?" The girl was a bit embarrassed. "I want to shoot some nice photos to keep too."
"That's definitely not possible. Without his permission, I can't just reveal his info."
Yumiko said this, thinking to herself, how could I share my private photographer with you all?
Although everyone went to the park together last time, Hayato took the initiative to take their friends elsewhere to play, so they didn't see how good Makoto's photos were.
Because the photos Yumiko shared were of such high quality, everyone in the comments was saying they must have been taken by a professional.
Naturally, her friends thought the same, and since Yumiko herself was deliberately keeping it a secret, no one suspected Makoto.
"Is that so?"
The girls beside Yumiko all showed disappointed expressions.
Then someone said, "Wait, since you said that, does that mean you're really close with the photographer?"
Yumiko kept a proud smile: "Of course."
"So the beautiful photos you took aren't just the ones you shared on social media, right? I guess there are even better ones?"
"Yeah, maybe even some more intimate private shoots."
Listening to her friends teasing with laughter, Yumiko was actually stunned.
Private shoots?
That's not a bad idea.
Not only could she further show Makoto her charm, but it could also strengthen their relationship.
Besides, with her looks and figure, a private shoot would definitely be especially appealing.
Yumiko turned to look at Makoto, her beautiful eyes sparkling continuously.
If everyone got along better, maybe she could get her own private photographer sooner.
She had been seriously researching online these days—finding a photographer with high skills not only costs a lot of money but they might not even want to shoot for you.
The most important thing was to be wary of ill-intentioned people.
It was rare for her to find someone her own age who was a master photographer, and also had looks and physique that fit her aesthetic.
With a normal teenage girl's vanity and love of beauty, Yumiko definitely didn't want to miss out.
...
After school, in the club activity room.
Ichika hadn't arrived yet; Yukino was quietly talking with Itsuki. Their relationship was improving quickly.
Just like Makoto said, Itsuki, who treats everything seriously, actually got along very well with Yukino.
And Yukino admired that kind of girl.
Since the kiss incident the other day, Yukino had adjusted her emotions with strong mental resilience.
Even though she met Makoto at school every day, she no longer showed any unnatural expressions.
Only when she occasionally saw Ichika did an inexplicable feeling of resistance arise inside her.
Being inexperienced with love, she didn't fully understand that this resistance actually contained multiple emotions:
Guilt, embarrassment, and annoyance.
Because she knew Ichika liked Makoto.
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