Kyouko reached for his hand gracefully and smiled.
"Kyouko. Just call me Kyouko. It's nice to meet you, Haruki."
"Oh... that's a lovely name. It suits you." Haruki let out a soft smile.
Kyouko glanced away shyly, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
Haruki lowers his voice slightly. "I don't want this conversation to end when the chocolate is gone... or when your book is finished."
He smiles, leaning back slightly while keeping his eyes on hers. "It's rare to find someone I can talk about books with like this. If you'd like... maybe we could talk about other books sometime?"
Seeing Kyouko smile, Haruki subtly takes out his phone. "If it's okay with you, would you like to exchange contacts? I'd be happy if you could recommend me books next time."
Alright... let's see if she'll give her LINE ID.
Haruki smiled when Kyouko nodded, slowly taking out her phone while he already had the QR scanner open on his LINE app.
And since she's using the same phone model, there's a way to make her flustered about this~
"Oh? We have the same phone model." Haruki said with a smile.
"Ah... Yes... actually, someone gave it to me." Kyouko said with a smile.
Alright... time to use that line~
Haruki's expression faltered for a moment, his eyes softening with a hint of quiet disappointment. He looked at her gently, his voice dropping slightly. "I see... Sorry, I didn't realize. From your boyfriend...?"
Kyouko's eyes widened slightly, and she shook her head quickly, her voice a little flustered. "N-no! This is from my family!" Her cheeks flushed pink at the misunderstanding.
Ah... yes... the fluster~ She's really too immersed in her role, or she already forgot~ Which I love~ She's really being a completely different girl.
Haruki's smile returned, genuine relief in his eyes. "Ah... I'm glad... I wouldn't want to be stepping on anyone's toes."
Kyouko shook her head, still slightly flustered.
"Would it still be okay to exchange LINE?" Haruki said with a smile, lifting up his phone, waiting for her response.
Kyouko smiled, a little shy. "Mm... okay..." She reached for her phone, her fingers trembling slightly as she fumbled with the screen. She pressed the LINE button clumsily, searching for a way to exchange contact.
Haruki gently leaned closer, his shoulder brushing against hers. "Here, let me show you." He reached over, his fingers brushing against hers as he guided her through the menus. "Tap here... then this button... and your QR code will appear here."
"Th-thank you..." she murmured as Haruki scanned her QR code with his phone.
"I'm glad ours didn't end at 'excuse me.'" Haruki smiled at Kyouko, adjusting his glasses. "It was really nice talking with you, Kyouko. Would it be too forward... if I messaged you sometime? Maybe we could talk about books, or just share what we're reading?"
Kyouko looked at the new contact on her phone, then suddenly blinked and looked up at Haruki's smile. Her expression shifted from the shy "library girl" to her normal self.
"Wow... you're really good at this, huh Haruki?" Kyouko's voice returned to its familiar tone. "I didn't know you could easily get a girl's contact like this."
Haruki narrowed his eyes and smiled, tilting his head down and wiggling his eyebrows playfully.
"Someone said earlier 'I'll do it seriously, just believe in me~'" he teased, imitating her voice from their morning conversation. He stood up, puffing his chest out proudly and narrowing his eyes in a mock-serious expression, striking a dramatic pose.
"And look who broke character first~" he added with a triumphant grin. "The great teacher Kyouko-san couldn't even maintain her role for one conversation!"
Kyouko's cheeks flushed pink as she swatted his arm lightly. "Mou! I was just... testing you!"
"Testing me?" Haruki chuckled, sitting back down. "Or did you forget you were supposed to be 'Kyouko-san' for another few hours?"
Kyouko pouted, crossing her arms. "I didn't forget! I was just... impressed. You really do know how to talk to girls."
Haruki's smile softened. "See? I told you I didn't need lessons."
"But you still need practice!" Kyouko insisted, though her protest lacked its earlier conviction.
"No~" Haruki wiggled his eyebrows and evaded when Kyouko bit her lower lip and tried to slap his arm. "I don't think we need to continue practice~"
"You still need! You may have passed the first test, but what if during a date you get awkward or do something girls hate, hmm?" Kyouko widened her eyes and leaned forward, her ponytail swaying with the movement.
Haruki smiled and glanced at her eyes, beautiful, big eyes with those long lashes.
"You easily break character, Mom! There's no way you're going to help me like this if you can't even stay in role for one conversation."He leaned back, crossing his arms. "Besides, what's there to teach?" Haruki smirked. "After getting the number, ask her out, meet somewhere like a cafe or somewhere nice."
"No~ that's not how it works! Do you think a girl will reply the moment she gets the first message? Hmmph! Clearly you don't know about girls~" Kyouko puffed her cheeks. "So you're going to try to impress 'Kyouko' on LINE. See if you can manage to invite her out properly."
"No~ you'll definitely make it harder on purpose," Haruki accused playfully, pointing a finger at her. "You'll ignore my messages for hours just to get back at me for teasing you now. I know you~"
"Mou! I won't do that!" Kyouko swatted his hand away. "All you need to do is find a good spot for your first real meeting. Somewhere public but not too crowded, somewhere with a nice atmosphere where you can talk comfortably. Like that little cafe near the park with the garden view, or the bookstore with the reading corner upstairs."
Haruki chuckled, enjoying how flustered she was getting. "Alright, alright... I'll message 'Kyouko-san' later and try to impress her with my amazing conversation skills."
"You better!" Kyouko stood up, smoothing her skirt. "And don't you dare break character before 6 PM!"
( End Of Chapter )