Sōbu High School.
The school broadcast system suddenly crackled to life at a time when it absolutely shouldn't have. Just as everyone began wondering if it was a malfunction, a youthful, clear male voice gave a light cough and finally spoke.
"Miura-senpai, hello. I'm Akihito Ishida!"
The voice echoed through the entire school. All the students who had just gotten out of class and were still chatting or laughing immediately fell silent for a moment, before erupting into chaos like a pot boiling over.
"Holy crap! This is a love confession over the school broadcast!"
"Akihito Ishida's got some serious guts! He's actually hijacked the school speakers!"
"I heard he locked himself in the broadcast room! No one can get in to stop him right now!"
"This is insane! Who let him into the broadcast booth? Using the system during unauthorized hours he's toast. And the people who let him in are gonna get dragged to the discipline office too!"
"He's confessing to that Miura-senpai? The legendary Miura-senpai?! Ishida's insane!"
"This is so romantic... do you guys think he'll actually succeed?"
Even in Class 1-D which had just been through a wave of gossip a few days ago buzz spread like wildfire, filling the room with excitement once again.
A bunch of students leaned eagerly against the windows, peering toward the second-year building where the broadcast booth was located.
After all, the girl at the center of this chaos was none other than Yumiko Miura, the school's infamous celebrity known and admired by literally everyone on campus.
The target of countless boys' crushes, and the model of countless girls' aspirations.
"Shozuko, do you think Ishida has a shot?"
Iroha Isshiki asked slowly, her speech peppered with hand gestures for clarity.
Shoko Nishimiya blinked, then began writing in her notebook. Even the simple act of her putting pen to paper was gentle and elegant.
Her skin was fair, her eyes soft as water, her nose gracefully shaped, and her lips a delicate pink. Even in a moment like this when the entire world seemed to be buzzing with noise she radiated a calm and peaceful aura.
Isshiki was beginning to understand why the person who had written that post didn't transfer Nishimiya to another class, despite what had happened in 1-D earlier that semester.
Shoko Nishimiya simply didn't belong in this world.
She was too kind, too forgiving. Even someone like Kuraki or Yoshida could still receive a smile from her after everything.
Nishimiya was that gentle. But the world wasn't.
Putting her in another class with new people and unfamiliar surroundings would probably only make things harder for her.
Only in Class 1-D, within this fragile little microcosm of balance, could Nishimiya slowly learn how to grow.
[I don't think she'll accept,] she wrote after a moment's thought.
Then she added:
[I don't think Miura-senpai is the kind of person who would like this sort of confession.]
Shoko really was perceptive sharp and sensitive.
For someone like Miura, this grand display would probably just feel... embarrassing.
Meanwhile, the bold confession from the broadcast room continued.
"Miura-senpai, from the moment I first saw you, I started to believe in love at first sight!"
"Miura-senpai, I've already applied to join the Public Morals Committee. I want to be someone who can support you. No someone you can depend on!"
"Miura-senpai, I might be just a year younger than you, but I promise you, no one in the world could like you more than I do not even if you added up all the others combined. I know I'll never lose to Hayama-senpai!"
In Class 2-F, Hayato Hayama had been resting his chin in his palm, face full of that signature wistful expression that practically screamed Ah, this is youth... as he listened to the confession.
Then he heard his name.
Hayama: "...???"
What the hell?! What does he have to do with this?
Yumiko's been acting like she couldn't distance herself from him fast enough these past few weeks! She was practically drawing boundary lines between them just to make things clear!
Yumiko, say something!
Please explain already!
Miura's face shifted through several shades in rapid succession. She immediately turned to Yukino Yukinoshita, worried she'd see a face twisted in jealousy, practically breathing fire.
The whole class hell, the whole school was caught up in the chaos. Of course Yukino wasn't just going to stay out of it.
She looked toward the broadcast room with a faint curiosity, but inwardly, she was already judging this first-year boy's odds of success and they weren't looking good.
Yumiko Miura might seem brash and assertive on the outside, but she was actually reserved, sometimes even a little shy. She liked cute things. She liked pink. She was a little princess at heart.
There was no way she'd go for someone who used such a loud and public method to confess.
She was probably more into someone like Hayama gentle, steady, cheerful, and reliable.
Watching Miura glance nervously her way, Yukino paused, then pieced it together.
So Miura doesn't like the underclassman, but she doesn't know how to reject him?
Well, that made sense. She was popular, sure, but this kind of dramatic confession? Probably the first time she'd ever had to deal with something like this. Of course she didn't know how to handle it.
Yukino's expression was calm and gentle as she offered a suggestion. "Why not just tell him you like Hayama-kun? That should get the message across."
Miura flinched and took a full step back in horror.
In her mind, Yukino's calm suggestion had just been decoded by the internal Miura-brand Translation Machine into:
[Miura, not only are you stringing along a first-year, you're also tangled up with Hayama. What are you, some two-timing, flirtatious, drama-stirring siren? Disgusting!]
In her imagination, Yukino was stomping her foot in fury, that disapproving look cycling through her brain like a gif on loop.
No. This couldn't go on. She had to clear things up before it got any worse!
Miura bolted out the back door of the classroom, sprinted to Hiratsuka-sensei's office with all the grace of a J-drama heroine, flashed her brightest smile to get the backup broadcast room key, and then made a beeline for the booth.
By now, a massive crowd of students had gathered outside the broadcast room. When they saw Miura running up, they instinctively parted to clear a path.
A few even assumed she was there to accept the confession.
But instead, Miura flung open the broadcast room door, shoved the still-love-struck Ishida out, and slammed the door shut behind him.
Moments later, her voice rang out over the school broadcast system.
"This is Yumiko Miura. I'm sorry, Ishida-kun, but I don't accept your confession."
"And for the record Hayama-kun and I are just childhood friends. We're not involved. I really hope people stop misunderstanding our relationship."
"And lastly... to a certain someone please don't be mad."
"———The only things I like are soda and cream puffs, okay?"
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