"A club?" Furuhashi Fumino looked up, puzzled. "No, I don't. I've been studying in the library with you and Rii-chan every day after school, right? I definitely haven't joined any clubs."
Ogata Rizu said from the side, "Me neither."
"I see," Hayakawa Haku smiled. "I thought for sure you two would join a club like the Chemistry Club or the Literary Club."
If they had joined, I'd be forced to make them quit.
"How could we? Rizu and I don't have time for clubs." Furuhashi Fumino smiled slightly, her entire posture instantly as beautiful as a blossoming flower. "Though I really do love literature."
Hayakawa Haku's face turned green.
"But even if I wanted to join a club, I couldn't. Ichinose Academy doesn't have a Literary Club," Furuhashi Fumino said.
Hayakawa Haku's expression improved slightly.
"I won't be joining anything. Although our school has a Chemistry Club, I don't want to join it," Ogata Rizu said calmly. "I'm not interested in chemistry."
Hayakawa Haku gave Ogata the most affectionate look: What a good child. I will definitely be good to you forever.
"If there was a Board Game Club, I would probably join that," Ogata Rizu's eyes shone. "I'm more interested in that."
Hayakawa Haku: "…"
This person is beyond saving.
"What about you, Hayakawa-kun?" Seemingly interested in Hayakawa Haku's topic, or perhaps just tired from studying and wanting to relax, Furuhashi Fumino looked at Hayakawa. "You definitely haven't joined a club, but among all the clubs our school has, which ones are you most interested in?"
"Me?" Hayakawa Haku hesitated. "I'm not really interested in any clubs. I feel like I don't like any of them."
"Is that so?" Furuhashi Fumino was slightly taken aback, then smiled. "It can't be helped; after all, Hayakawa-kun is a good student."
"I do have clubs I really hate, though," Hayakawa Haku said.
Furuhashi Fumino's eyebrows subtly moved, and she looked at Hayakawa curiously. "Hmm? Such as?"
"The Soccer Club, the Volleyball Club, the Baseball Club, Swimming…" Hayakawa rattled off a string of names without hesitation, almost all sports clubs.
"They're all sports clubs," Furuhashi Fumino's smile faltered, and she forced a comment. "So Hayakawa-kun doesn't like sports."
In Japanese high schools, sports clubs are at the top of the social hierarchy. Even if a boy's appearance, height, grades, and personality are all average, if he's in a sports club, he still has a chance of finding a decent girlfriend. This is most severe with the Soccer Club—for example, that Tanaka who aggressively pursued Furuhashi is a member of the Soccer Club.
Simply put, high school sports clubs in Japan are the popular "normies," and Hayakawa Haku clearly had no good feelings for them.
"It's not that I hate sports—after all, I'm good at sports. I just hate those clubs," Hayakawa said. "I feel like their recruitment standards are flawed."
"Uh… how so?" Furuhashi Fumino gripped the sofa beneath her.
"Many people in those clubs have boyfriends and girlfriends," Hayakawa Haku said expressionlessly. "Don't you feel like that's a major problem?"
Furuhashi Fumino: "…"
"I think the school should massively cut the funding for those clubs," Hayakawa Haku suggested seriously. "¥50,000 reduction for every couple."
"Isn't that excessive taxation?!" Furuhashi Fumino looked at Hayakawa with disbelief. "And for that kind of reason…"
"What's the problem? It's completely normal to pay a small price for breaking school rules by dating," Hayakawa Haku said with a cold, tyrannical indifference, his voice hollow. "It's the Couple Tax. That's what it is."
Ogata Rizu and Furuhashi Fumino both fell silent.
"I never thought Hayakawa-kun's ideas were so extreme," The science loli sat up straight on the sofa, looking at Hayakawa with astonishment, her eyes bewildered. "I think I need to change my perception of Hayakawa-kun."
Furuhashi Fumino lowered her head, her face slightly red.
Jealousy… a hint.
Hayakawa-kun's words are clearly an expression of jealousy toward boys who have girlfriends, and he's desperately hinting at his own desire for a girlfriend.
Another trap. Boys whose will is centered on their lower body are so full of tricks. Anyone but me would have fallen for it.
Furuhashi Fumino quietly turned her head, not daring to meet Hayakawa's gaze again, and quickly suggested, "Let's get back to studying."
"Okay." Hayakawa immediately stopped complaining and began to study seriously.
Time flew by quickly, and before long, it was late at night.
"Ah…" Furuhashi yawned and stretched tiredly. "What time is it?"
Ogata Rizu looked at the clock. "10:27 PM."
"We've studied this late already," Furuhashi Fumino exclaimed. "Time to take a bath and sleep."
"You two go ahead," Hayakawa Haku said without looking up. "The hot water is ready; just draw a bath. I'll look at this for a bit longer and go last."
"Then…" Furuhashi Fumino looked at Ogata. "Rizu-chan, you go first?"
"Yes, okay." Ogata Rizu nodded, immediately got up to grab her toiletries, and headed to the bathroom.
Suddenly, only Furuhashi and Hayakawa remained in the living room, and the atmosphere became somewhat tense.
This is bad. Now that Rizu has gone, I'm alone with Hayakawa-kun.
I feel a little bit in danger.
"…" Furuhashi Fumino held her hands protectively in front of her, watching Hayakawa who was seriously studying with his head down, feeling a chill on her shoulders.
"What's wrong?" Hayakawa Haku noticed Furuhashi's gaze, looked up, and asked, "Is there something you don't understand?"
"…Ah." Furuhashi Fumino was startled, leaning back slightly before cautiously replying, "No."
Hayakawa Haku glanced at Furuhashi with confusion, then lowered his head and continued to write and draw.
"Hayakawa-kun, are you writing notes?" Hayakawa Haku's movements caught Furuhashi's attention. She leaned in and saw a notebook densely filled with writing, assuming he was preparing after-class notes for her and Rizu again. She couldn't help but frown. "Didn't I tell you? This is too much trouble for you; don't write them anymore."
"I'm not writing notes," Hayakawa Haku said with a completely baffled expression. "Those notes were for you to study at home. Since you're both here now, why would I write them? If you don't understand something, just ask me directly."
"Then what is this?" Furuhashi Fumino looked over with a stern face, only to find that it truly wasn't notes. The notebook was filled entirely with various science and math problems.
"What are these?" She looked at them with a puzzled gaze, feeling that the problems were very familiar—she seemed to have seen them in class or on previous monthly exam papers.
"These are the questions I'm predicting for your monthly exam," Hayakawa Haku yawned, his eyes tired. "I've been pondering this for the past few days. Considering the current pace, even if everything goes well every night for two weeks, passing the exam is too rushed. So, to be safe, I have to use some test-taking techniques."
"Our school's teachers are quite predictable with their questions. Every monthly exam, they pull a few original questions from previous tests and class material. I'm going through them to see if I can guess some of the questions for you."
Furuhashi Fumino: "…"
"I don't think it will have a huge impact, since the sheer volume of problems is so large. Even if I predict a lot, it won't be super accurate. It mostly still comes down to luck, but if you two just look at a few of them, there are a couple that have good potential," Hayakawa Haku picked up last month's math exam paper from the table and showed it to Furuhashi. "For example, this problem—it's practically a nine-out-of-ten chance it'll be on the test. And this one, given the school teachers' style of questioning, is also highly likely to appear, maybe just with a different number…"
Hayakawa Haku went on and on, but Furuhashi Fumino's gaze wasn't on the exam paper in his hand. Instead, it was focused on his face, on the fatigue and weariness that he couldn't hide between his brows.
"…" Furuhashi Fumino quietly lowered her head and whispered, "Thank you, Hayakawa-kun."
"It's nothing," Hayakawa Haku shook his head, trying to wake himself up a little. "Anyway, I can sleep early tonight. I should be able to get enough rest. I haven't slept before midnight in a long time. It feels a little strange."
He muttered to himself.
"Hayakawa-kun…" Furuhashi Fumino suddenly looked up, her pretty face flushed red as she looked at Hayakawa. "I remember you asked me before about whether I would date…"
Hayakawa: "Uh… yes, what about it?"
"What I said then was no… because I was afraid it would interfere with studying," The literature girl turned her head away, avoiding the gaze of the person in front of her, anxiously twisting a strand of hair by her ear, and mumbled like a mosquito. "But if my grades improve, and I really have a chance to get into my dream school, I might, perhaps, possibly…"
Her face was completely red, and she whispered as if casually, "I might want to find a boyfriend…"
Hayakawa Haku: "…"
[O_O]
"It's just a possibility!" Furuhashi Fumino saw Hayakawa's strange expression and frantically waved her hands in alarm. "I'll still have to see the specific situation at that time!"
"Furuhashi-san…" Hayakawa Haku was silent for a long time. Finally, he looked at Furuhashi and advised her in a strange yet sincere tone, "Even if your grades improve, you must still continue to strive for progress. You can't give up halfway."
Furuhashi Fumino: "…"
You dense, clueless idiot! Just stay single for the rest of your life!!