As the first exam of the second year of high school approached, the atmosphere in the classroom tightened.

The class focused on reviewing the scope of the test, and there was a flurry of questions about what to memorize among the students.

Despite the situation, Asahi went on with his studies as usual, and Fuyuka, who was ranked first in the grade, did not seem to be in a hurry.

On the other hand, Chiaki and Hinami were desperate to make up for the time they had fallen behind, and for the past few days, the four of them had been studying together after school.

Today, they were seated in a slightly larger area, and the guys and girls were divided into two groups.

“Hmm? Isn’t that Hinappe?”

They heard a bright bouncy voice and the four of them turned around at once.　

Standing there, swaying her semi-long blonde hair, was Asuka Miyamoto.

“Yoshikawa, Kagami…and even Himuro-san.”

The moment she saw Fuyuka, Asuka’s face seemed to strengthen, but it was quickly overridden by a smile.

She greeted them with a “Yo.” and she went on to strike a conversation like it was natural.

“A-chan, what’s up? You studying too?”

“Of course I’m studying, it would be bad if I don’t, right?”

“I know right! This is the time of year when I get really nervous.”

As they called each other by their nicknames and chatted joyfully, Asahi and Fuyuka were left behind.

“Those two are really close, aren’t they?”

“They were in the same class last year, and they hit it off.”

“So that’s why…”

After Chiaki’s explanation, Asahi nodded several times in agreement.

Those two had a lot in common, Asahi thought.

“Hmm, you’re studying with Himuro-san.”

It seemed that the topic had shifted to Fuyuka.

Asuka looked at Fuyuka and then smiled.

“Himuro-san is pretty smart. She’s a perfect fit being a teacher.”

“That’s right, she’s really good at teaching stuff.”

“Y-you give me too much credit…”

“Sounds nice~ Maybe I’ll try to learn from you too.”

Fuyuka, who was sandwiched between the two, was a little confused but joined the conversation.

It was a gathering not usually seen in the classroom, but the conversation was very familiar.

“Are you alone today, A-chan?”

“No, I’m with Ryoma. He’s just parking his bike right now.”

“Oh, yeah, he uses his bike to school.”

When Asahi looked out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ryoma approaching him.

“Asuka, have you found a seat? Hmm? Kagami-kun and…”

Surprised by the unexpected encounter, Ryoma kept his mouth shut.

At the end of his gaze, he saw Fuyuka smiling faintly.

“Yamada-kun, do you use a bike to school?”

“Ah, yeah…”

Ryoma gave a vague response to Fuyuka’s casual conversation.

“What’s wrong, Ryoma? You’re frozen.”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Asuka gave him a worried look, but Ryoma brushed it off with a shake of his head.

‘…Yamada-kun?’

Asahi, on the other hand, felt a tug, but was more concerned about Ryoma’s condition.

“We don’t want to disturb the four of you, so we’ll start studying in the other seats.”

What he was saying was correct, but for some reason he seemed clearly in a hurry.

His fresh smile faded and his expression was hard.

Ryoma’s words and actions were clearly different from normal, and Asahi, Fuyuka and Chiaki tilted their heads.

And the girl closest to Ryoma looked as if she had noticed something.

“…Hey, since we’re here, why don’t the six of us study together?”

Asuka’s voice came through well, but her smile seemed to twitch a little.

***

“I see, so that’s how it works.”

“As expected, Yamada-kun, you’re a quick learner.”

“No, no, no, it’s because you’re good at teaching, Himuro-san.”

In front of the beautiful man and woman who were complimenting each other, Asahi looked next to him, wondering how this happened.

“You were just looking at me. Are you dissatisfied with me, Kagami?”

“I don’t think that.”

“Then focus on this!”

Asuka then moved her body closer to Asahi.

He felt a soft touch on his arm and a strong perfume that tickled his nostrils.

The current seating order was Hinami, Fuyuka, and Ryoma. Facing them were Chiaki, Asahi, and Asuka. The seats were separated by gender, but for some reason, Asuka sat next to Asahi, and they arrived in the present situation.

“Whistle! You too are too close!”

“Preach, preach! That’s a yellow card, you know?”

“Tsk. Hinappe and Yoshikawa are too strict.”

The lovebirds quickly warned Asuka.

Noticing the commotion, Fuyuka looked up and froze for a moment. But without saying anything, she turned back to her notebook.

“Alright, let’s resume studying. Starting from this problem, right?”

“Y-yeah…”

At Asuka’s urging, Asahi also returned his attention to his studies.

She seemed to be able to teach him grammar problems that he had been having trouble with, and her explanations were surprisingly detailed and easy to understand.

“I thought you were also an idiot, Miyamoto…”

“Fufu. Don’t put me in the same category as Yoshikawa, okay?”

“A-chan is a returnee and speaks English fluently, right?”

Asuka looked pleased with herself, and Chiaki groaned.

“My bad, gonna get a drink. Miyamoto, please stand up for a sec.”

“All right. Come back soon, you hear?”

Asahi asked her to make some room for him, and he went out to the aisle.

As he was about to go to the drink bar, he was immediately called to wait.

“Asahi, get some for me!”

“Here, here! Mine too, please!”

“…Good grief.”

Chiaki wanted a cola and Hinami wanted melon soda.

After listening to each order, Asahi held three glasses, wrapping them with both hands.

Then, Fuyuka stood up vigorously.

“I-I’m going too!”

“Aren’t there still some drinks left in your glass?”

“Oh…but I thought it would be hard to carry three glasses by yourself.”

Fuyuka spoke sluggishly, but Asuka, sitting back down, interrupted her.

“Kagami, you have big hands. You’ll be fine.”

“How do you know that?”

“I saw it earlier when I was writing.”

Asuka laughed mischievously.

Seeing this, Fuyuka felt her cheeks puff out a little.

“I’ll go then. I wanted to add another drink too, and it’s safer if we each carry two.”

“That’s right. Then, take care of Chiaki’s.”

“Roger.”

The situation was settled with a crane’s call from Ryoma, and the two headed for the drink bar.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you.”

“It’s okay. It’s no big deal.”

Laughing as briskly as ever, Ryoma sipped at his glass of cola.

The carbonation overflowed with a swooshing sound, and the momentum slowly weakened and squeezed.

“Say, Kagami-kun.”

When Asahi turned to look next to him when he was called, his eyes met with Ryoma’s.

He could feel the tension in the air, as he looked more serious than ever.

“I’m thinking of confessing to Himuro-san.”

“…Why are you telling me this now?”

“It’s the same as before. I just thought I should talk to you about it, Kagami-kun.”

Ryoma smiled good-naturedly, but his eyes were not smiling.

Asahi’s mind and heart couldn’t catch up with the sudden declaration of confession that came straight at him.

However, Ryoma continued to open his mouth.

“So―”

That one word strongly and heavily resonated in Asahi’s mind.

***

“Welcome back~”

Welcomed by Asuka, Asahi takes a seat in the middle.

“Here, melon soda.”

“Thanks~!”

“This one’s a cola.”

“Hmm, not bad.”

“Why are you being so bossy?”

Asahi poked Chiaki in the side with his elbow and heard him groan.

“Dear Ryoma, it is a great honor to be blessed with your precious cola.”

“Yeah, you’re welcome.”

This time, Chiaki bowed politely, and Ryoma responded with a smile.

They didn’t seem to know each other that well, but they were classmates and had a connection through soccer, so they could be called friends.

“Kagami, you don’t look so good, do you?”

“Are you okay?”

“Take it easy, man.”

“…It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

Asuka noticed, followed by Hinami and Chiaki, who were concerned, but Asahi stoutly denied it.

Ryoma had resumed his studies as soon as he returned to his seat, but Fuyuka, next to him, peered at Asahi with an anxious expression.

Asahi made eye contact and informed her that it was alright.

一I wish I could convey this feeling with you.

The reason he was thinking about this was because he was influenced by the previous words.

Fuyuka was still curious, but she turned to her reference book and proceeded to study.

Asahi also sipped the coffee he had made at the drink bar, trying to distract his mind.

‘Bitter…’

The coffee, which he forgot to put sugar in, left a bitter taste in his mouth for a while.