At 3:39 in the afternoon, Harutaki cleared his throat, looking helplessly at Sae, who had been pacing around his desk for nearly three minutes with her phone clutched in hand.

“Ahem… Hinata-san…”

“Just call me Sae, lil’ bro!”

Fast reaction! So she had been watching him all along!

Sae suddenly spun around, slamming both hands on his desk with a loud bang, nearly making him kick the leg of his chair in shock.

“Um… Sae-san, you’ve been circling around here for a while now.”

“Wh-what? I was just chatting with Minako… uh, she said Izumi’s not feeling well and needs someone to look after her in the infirmary.”

That excuse was way too dumb!

He had no idea what Minako and Nogami were thinking, sending Sae to lure him in?

“That’s worrisome. Then you’d better go take care of Nogami-san, Sae-san. I’ve got an appointment to get to, so I really should… ”

The moment he felt that soft, springy pressure against his arm, Harutaki froze mid-motion while packing his bag.

He should’ve known. Sae wasn’t here to fish, she was more like someone dropping a live wire straight into the pond.

“I mean… is Nogami-san really feeling unwell?”

“Mm… well… let’s just say she’s really uncomfortable.”

Sae awkwardly twisted her body. If it were Minako doing that, it’d probably come off as a seductive, man-eating serpent. But with Sae… it looked more like a cheap, plastic toy snake trying its best.

Still, there was a refreshing scent of deodorant spray on her, distinct from the floral sweetness of Nogami or Shirasagi-senpai. It made him picture her in her natural element, running laps around the schoolyard, body glistening with sweat, vibrant and athletic.

Her personality and tone might not be the least bit feminine, but the softness pressing against his arm was undeniably that of a girl’s.

It hit him then: the loud, rough-around-the-edges Hinata Sae was still, without a doubt, a beautiful girl in her prime.

He had definitely underestimated her. Every time he saw Sae, she was hanging around with Nogami and Minako.

With those two’s overpowering feminine presence, Sae, with her boyish energy, was easy to mistake for one of the guys.

And since she herself seemed completely unaware of it, constantly hugging or slinging an arm over his shoulders, he couldn’t help but think of her as a good bro.

“Hey, Sae-san, can I ask something? The school pool, can non-swim club students use it?”

“Eh? The pool? After school everyone’s got practice. There might be an empty lane sometimes, but to avoid interfering with training, the coach doesn’t let outsiders use it.”

She didn’t really get why Harutaki suddenly brought up the swimming club, but after a moment’s thought, she still answered earnestly.

Harutaki, realizing how smoothly he’d shifted the topic, thought to himself, What an easy kid to steer…

“Then could I ask you to talk to your coach? Maybe let me borrow a lane or two? Morning jogs aren’t cutting it lately, but if I hit the gym, I’d need to take the train and pay for a membership…”

Long-distance running strained the joints, but swimming, now that was the ideal, no-impact exercise for ordinary folks.

Plus, he’d save the commute time and get to enjoy the sight of high school girls training in competition swimsuits.

A true win-win.

Well, for him, it was more like win-win-win.

“Ugh, what a hassle.”

“Whether it works out or not, I’ll treat you to some DUMBO Donuts afterward. Deal?”

“…Is that… is that a date invitation?”

Her voice wavered slightly, but then she quickly added,

“I-I mean as friends, of course!”

“Yeah, let’s call it that.”

Harutaki thought about it, two guys eating donuts together didn’t seem that strange either.

“Then it’s settled!”

As she grinned and bumped fists with him, he took the chance to grab his bag and take a few careful steps backward.

“I’ve got something to do now, so since that’s all cleared up, I’ll be off. Bye.”

“Bye-b, wait, hold up!”

He’d barely taken two steps before she called after him. His neck stiffly creaked back around, like rusty gears grinding.

“Almost forgot! You still haven’t given me your contact info, Hoshikawa!”

With a sigh of relief, he fished out his phone and scanned her QR code to add her on LINE.

There. Now I can finally leave, right?

“If you ever need help, just call me. I am the fifth-highest-ranked student in our year, after all.”

“Then how about a race, running or swimming?”

Why was she only sharp in this kind of situation?!

…

“Ugh, I feel kinda bad for Izumi, but if I’d forced Hoshikawa to the infirmary, he’d definitely hate me for it…”

Sae muttered under her breath as she walked down the quiet, after-school hallway.

She wasn’t exactly dense, just straightforward. Of course she’d noticed Harutaki’s unwillingness. But remembering how he’d practically bolted at the end still made her pout.

Are we really that scary? she thought gloomily. Or maybe even when I was that close, he still didn’t feel a thing… Do I seriously have no charm at all?

Creak.

The infirmary door slid open, and she was met with two pairs of eyes, Nogami’s and Minako’s, looking straight at her.

“Sorry, Izumi. I couldn’t reel him in.”

Sae scratched her head, flashing an embarrassed grin.

“I was practically hanging off him, and he didn’t even flinch! I told you, you should’ve sent Minako instead. Her chest alone could’ve smothered him unconscious and brought him right back!”

“Tch. That damn guy, ”

Nogami’s first reaction was an odd flash of relief that Harutaki hadn’t fallen for Sae’s “bait,” but right after came a rush of irritation at being rejected again.

“What’s so great about Shihou Chouko anyway?! So what if her boobs are almost as big as Minako's? The second she says the word date, Hoshikawa’s there wagging his tail, ”

“Not to make you mad, Izumi, but acting like that’s exactly why boys won’t like you~”

Still flipping through the September issue of ViVi, Minako didn’t even look up as she commented.

“L-like I care if he likes me! It’s not like a master has to please her dog!”

“Tsundere only works if you actually show the dere part too, you know.”

“Y-you’re so shameless, so indecent, Minako!”

Minako sighed and shot a look at her flustered, red-faced friend.

Honestly, what was she being tsundere to her for? She wasn’t even the guy in question.

“I didn’t even say how to be dere. Izumi, maybe you’re the one with the dirty mind here?”

“Ghh, !”

…

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