Episode 1: "Operation: Totally Not in Love"
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Minami Aoi's alarm went off at 6:45 a.m. sharp. She turned it off by chucking her pillow across the room and groaning into her blanket.
"Senior year," she mumbled. "Time to pretend I don't have a crush on Kaito Riku for the 642nd day in a row."
Minami wasn't dramatic—she just had a flair for internal monologues and secretly counting how long she'd been in love with a boy who once stole her eraser, smiled, and said, "Oops. Yours was cuter."
Wearing her perfectly ironed school uniform and last year's good luck socks, she marched into Sakuragaoka High, repeating her three golden rules:
1. Don't sit near him.
2. Don't talk to him.
3. Don't. Make. Eye contact.
By 8:17 a.m., all three rules were broken.
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The Chaos Begins
Homeroom was a warzone. Everyone was scrambling to pick their seats for the year, and thanks to being literally one second late, Minami got the last desk in the back row—right next to Kaito Riku.
"Yo," he grinned, spinning a pen between his fingers like a ninja. "Guess we're desk buddies, huh?"
Minami stared at her water bottle like it held the meaning of life.
"Haha, yeah. Lucky me."
Kaito had that kind of smile that made your brain buffer. He smelled like mint gum and bad decisions. His messy hair always looked like it belonged in a shoujo manga, and somehow he made the school's hideous tie look cool.
"Minami Aoi," he said thoughtfully. "Your handwriting's, like, really neat. You planning to be a spy or something?"
What does that even mean?? She laughed anyway. Rule #4 was born: Don't get flattered by nonsense.
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Lunchtime Catastrophe
In the cafeteria, Minami weaved between crowds, clutching her tray like a battlefield medic. Just ten more steps to her usual table—
BOOM. The world spun. Her tray flew. Her rice met gravity.
Minami landed—not on the floor—but on someone's lap.
Not just someone.
Kaito. Again.
"You okay?"
"Yep," she squeaked. "Just fulfilling my daily embarrassment quota."
Laughter erupted all around them. Kaito just grinned, brushing a speck of rice from her hair with such casual ease it short-circuited her soul.
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The Announcement
Principal Kanzaki's voice crackled over the intercom.
"Attention, students! This year's Dare Week theme is: Fake Dating! All participants will be assigned partners by lottery… unless you volunteer publicly before Friday."
Cue screams. Drama. Chaos.
And then—the twist of the day.
"I volunteer!" Kaito stood up.
Everyone turned.
"With Minami Aoi!"
The cafeteria gasped. Someone dropped a fork. A couple in the back broke up out of sheer shock.
Minami nearly passed out.
"It's just for the dare week," he said smoothly, winking. "Unless you're scared~"
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The Suspicion
That night, Minami stared at her ceiling. There was no way Kaito just randomly picked her. He could've had any girl, or boy, or sentient jellyfish. So why her?
She opened her locker the next morning to find a folded note:
He knows.
Her heart dropped.
Who knows? What does he know??
Was this still a comedy… or something else?