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"Hmph, do you understand the meaning of joining this conversation?" Old Father sounded a little displeased.
"This humble one is now the second son of the Yanami family," Kiyono blinked.
"What a quick change—you didn't say that just now."
"Men are very flexible creatures."
The two men drifted into aimless banter.
The hard-won atmosphere shattered. Old Father frowned and put on a stern face.
"What do you want to say?"
Kiyono turned, his gaze settling on Yanami—gentle, as if filled with moonlight.
"I'll leave my second novel for you to be in charge of."
The young man grinned.
Thump, thump, thump—her heartbeat surged.
You—you person! This is too unfair!
Yanami clenched the hem of her skirt, glaring at him with a complicated, misty gaze.
"Oh? Does Kiyono mean he'll use his privilege to help Anna become an editor? In that case, she could indeed earn money easily." The middle-aged man drew out the end of his sentence, deliberately misinterpreting him.
Kiyono shook his head. "That's not what I mean. I'm saying I will wait for her—until the day she becomes an editor."
So long as you don't give up, we will definitely move forward together.
Heat bloomed in her chest.
To avoid showing an embarrassed face before her parents, Yanami took a deep breath, exhaled, then straightened and looked at her father.
"I will definitely become an editor!"
Her confusion was gone.
There was no need to sugarcoat, pretend, fear, or worry about difficulties. It was enough to let her parents see her resolve. She knew they would help her unconditionally.
Her father's opposition had likely been to test her heart—if she didn't have even this much courage, how could she ever succeed?
A long silence.
Her father looked at her; gradually, a gentle smile formed.
Japanese high school life is wonderful—so most people think. Schools offer freedom, classes end early, clubs are vibrant, and kids have time to do what they like, to enrich themselves after school. It's common to work after graduating high school or to attend an ordinary university. Precisely because of this, students' grasp of common sense and their average academic qualifications tend to be low. After rushing through graduation, their lives are set.
This is an elite society. If one truly wants a good career and an enviable university, the effort, dedication, and heart-wrenching struggle required are no less than in any other country.
He hoped his daughter could enjoy a relaxed, beautiful youth, but he also wanted her future to be secure.
Now, his daughter had firmly chosen a harder yet brighter path.
In that case, what a father could do was support her with all his might.
For a moment, heartache, emotion, and relief—complex feelings surged through him.
A thousand thoughts condensed into a single, soft line.
"Go ahead and try, Anna."
"—Mhm!"
Yanami was so elated she couldn't sit still; she dragged Kiyono out for a walk.
"The sky is so beautiful tonight."
Night fell, the stars and full moon seeming close enough to touch.
The blue-haired girl looked up, her sky-blue eyes reflecting the brilliant, clear night as if sparkling.
"Congratulations," Kiyono said with a smile, instinctively reaching to pat her head—then withdrawing his hand.
"It feels so unreal…"
Starlight covered the road. Yanami trotted two quick steps ahead, turned, and—with hands behind her back—walked backward to match his pace.
Choosing her future felt strange—like a sigh of relief, and also like loneliness, as if carrying something heavy.
One thing was certain: she would no longer be lost.
She needed only to run along the path she had chosen.
Even if she failed—and failed again—she had to keep going.
Now she was walking the same road as Kiyono. When she saw that dazzling young man again, she would no longer feel sorrow, tightness in her chest, or that old sadness. She would step forward with head held high, carrying a fervent, steady heart—like this powerful yet gentle person.
She could become like him.
The very thought made her happy.
"Maybe in the future, I'll become Tokyo's most popular editor."
"Now is fantasy time."
"How much can you make by cultivating a best-selling author?"
"Let's get into university first…"
"Thank you," the girl said suddenly.
"This is a choice you made yourself. There's no need to pin it on me. With or without me, you'd still walk straight ahead like this," Kiyono said softly.
The night breeze blew toward tomorrow. Under the night sky, Yanami studied the boy's face; his figure was clearly reflected in her pupils.
Ten years from today, will I be able to stand beside you with my head held high?
"Starting tomorrow is summer vacation. Cherish this last beautiful time in your lives, kids!"
Ama-natsu Sensei shouted from the podium.
Don't make it sound like we're all about to die… Kiyono joined the chorus of student grumbles.
"Oh, right—one more thing."
The petite teacher smiled. "Two people need to stay after school to clean the pool. Do we choose a democratic lottery, or my personal dictatorship as your teacher?"
Silence dropped over the room.
Students looked around, seeing only reluctance on each other's faces. In the stillness, a pair of slender arms—almost sparkling—shot up.
"Teacher! Since no one wants to do it, then Kiyono and I will clean it!"
Yanami's pretty face brimmed with compassion; she looked every bit the Virgin Mary at that moment.
Faces lit up around the room, and applause broke out. Only Kiyono remained expressionless.
"Are you two trying to sneak off and do something bad?" the unmarried teacher suddenly interjected.
"No, no way!" Yanami slapped the desk.
I—I don't think it's entirely not, right? Komari, in the corner, sneered silently.
Yanami and Kiyono alone at the pool? Lemon looked thoughtful.
"Go on then; there's no one else anyway," the teacher waved lazily. "The task is yours. Remember to get the cleaning tools from the office later."
What is all this…? Kiyono, saddled with a task out of nowhere, was speechless. He was no longer the diligent, hardworking best employee he'd once been!
When the dismissal bell rang, summer vacation officially began.
The warm sun slanted, and a hint of melancholy permeated the classroom. Ama-natsu Sensei had been right: this was their last carefree summer vacation. Next year, after graduation, they wouldn't have time to be this leisurely…
Even students who usually couldn't wait to leave lingered, savoring the final moments.
Kiyono didn't think much of it—he could go to high school again, even multiple times. He was winning big!
He and Yanami went to the office, collected the cleaning supplies, and headed to the pool.
"Isn't it already pretty clean?" Kiyono muttered.
With the water drained, the bottom of the pool was an incredible blue. Residual water reflected a cool, clear light under the sun—pure summer.
"Kiyono, wait here a bit. I'm going to buy some snacks!"
Yanami set down the bucket and floor brush and dashed off, leaving Kiyono blinking.
Watching her disappear, his confusion curled into a smirk.
This old Yanami has been getting more and more presumptuous lately.
Time to give her some tough love.
Silently plotting, he still rolled up his pant legs and started cleaning from the shallow end.
After a while, Yanami returned with a plastic bag.
"Ah… wait for me. I wanted us to clean together." She set the bag brimming with snacks down, tied her hair into a high ponytail—the kind he often saw in restaurants—and slipped off her shoes and black cotton socks.
Kiyono glanced over. She stood beside him, spraying along the pool's edge with a hose. With all the clear water splashing, her long, smooth legs and feet were jeweled with droplets, and the hem of her skirt was damp. The unintentional glimpse of her girlish side was inexplicably sexy.
She, of course, had no idea.
Kiyono occasionally lowered his head to focus until every corner of the pool was spotless. When he looked up, he met Yanami's gaze; he coughed lightly.
They tossed their buckets aside and sat. Without realizing it, twilight had already painted the sky. A whistle drifted from the sports field.
"So tired."
"Kiyono, has your stamina dropped lately?" Yanami mimicked Lemon's tone.
…Kiyono was speechless. He'd been sitting at home all day recently—how could his stamina be good?
"Here." Yanami pulled a bottle of orange juice from the bag and tossed it to him.
Kiyono caught it and downed half in one go.
The girl lifted a bottle of mineral water and drank with relish. She stood at the highest point of the pool, the setting sun gilding her profile, her long lashes, and the sweat tracing her neck—everything dazzling.
It's like a CG…
Looking at it this way, were the two or three hours of work just a prologue?
Kiyono wondered.
"Let's eat!" The girl quickly tore open another snack; Kiyono could only look on helplessly.
Crunch, crunch. Biting into the end of a chocolate bar, Yanami gazed toward the horizon, her voice clear. "I just feel… so nostalgic."
She turned and smiled at the boy.
"It was like this when we were working part-time too, right?"
She sounded as if speaking about something from long ago.
Even though they'd spent so much time there.
Last year's summer vacation.
This summer vacation.
Finally…
Kiyono raised an eyebrow, teasing, "Why are you getting sentimental now?"
She only looked at him and smiled. Slowly, Kiyono found himself averting his gaze.
Yanami set her snacks down, then patter-patter—she walked barefoot through the scattered water, stopping directly behind him.
Her moist, cherry-tinted lips moved slightly.
"Kiyono, stand up—but don't turn around yet."
Her voice sounded unusually seductive.