The rumors about Kouhei and Yuuna being seen leaving the same apartment complex were spreading like wildfire through the school grounds, bouncing from classroom whispers to hallway gasps and bathroom gossip.
"No way… Are they actually dating?"
"Wait, seriously? Okumura? That guy's so lowkey, but now that I think about it… he does have this mysterious charm. I can't believe I never noticed before."
"It's just like those anime clichés, right? You know—the guy everyone writes off as a background character turns out to be stupidly cool and handsome. Then the main heroine, like the class president or something, falls for him slowly and it turns into this sweeping romance? Yeah, this is so that."
"I mean, out of all people, them? That's wild…"
Even though Kouhei and Yuuna hadn't made any kind of announcement, the fact that they were seen walking out of the same apartment complex together—side by side, with the early morning light washing over them like a soft spotlight—was enough to ignite a thousand assumptions. Students drew their own conclusions with no need for confirmation. After all, seeing is believing.
The impact hit hard. Some of the first-years were heartbroken with the guys with their heads down, and the girls holding back sighs or tears. Yuuna wasn't just admired but she was also idolized. First-year boys saw her as the embodiment of class and perfection, and girls looked up to her with admiration or even affection.
But Kouhei… he wasn't just a nobody either. Without even realizing it, he'd grown popular—especially among the younger girls. He never noticed it. He didn't see the way eyes followed him. But it was real.
"I really thought Okumura-senpai was already kinda famous…" one first-year girl said, a dreamy glint in her eyes. "I wanna be his girlfriend, seriously."
"Wait, he's the guy who played basketball, right?"
"Yeah! He looked so cool then. My heart went like kyuuunnn~! I mean, come on! Isn't it adorable? When he was in his first and second year, he was basically invisible—and people even said he was an otaku or something. But then he just… grew. Like, taller, with that deep voice now? And that body—he's lean but clearly strong. He's got that soft-but-ripped look. I have such a weakness for that kind of glow-up…"
"You're totally into those types, huh?"
Meanwhile, away from the main stream of gossip and giggling, three girls walked through the hall, their steps echoing softly as they headed toward the student council office. They were Nagisa, Misuzu, and Yumi.
"Looks like Okumura-san's getting very popular," Yumi said in her usual elegant tone, covering her mouth with her hand like she was hiding a secret behind that subtle smile. "If this keeps up, things will get very interesting."
But when she looked to her side, she noticed something off.
Nagisa and Misuzu had stopped walking. They weren't smiling. They weren't saying a word.
Yumi raised an eyebrow, tilting her head slightly like a curious cat. "Huh? Did something happen to you two?"
"…Not really," both girls replied flatly, almost in sync. Their tone was meant to be indifferent, but the slight stiffness in their voices said otherwise.
The truth was… it bothered them.
The way everyone was talking about Yuuna and Kouhei being a couple... it actually stung more than they wanted to admit. A sharp, unexpected pang of jealousy twisted quietly in their chests. Somewhere deep inside, they wanted to be seen like that too. They wanted the fluttering rumors, the giggles, the blushes, as well as the attention. They wanted that kind of recognition. They wanted people to whisper their names in the same breath as his.
But they couldn't just blurt out the truth. They couldn't tell everyone they were dating Kouhei too. That wasn't how this worked. And it's not like Yuuna had gone around flaunting it either.
Yumi watched the two of them with growing confusion, unable to piece together why they were acting this way. But before she could say anything else, they finally arrived at the student council office.
Only, they weren't the only ones arriving.
Coming down the hall, with a nonchalant swagger and a teasing grin, was Yui—clinging to Kouhei's arm like a proud girlfriend staking her claim. Her hand looped tightly around his, her body pressed in close like she belonged there. To anyone else, it screamed that they were in a relationship.
But for those who knew her well, it was obvious that this was just Yui being Yui. She was teasing him. Playing around. Stirring up chaos with that mischievous charm of hers.
And walking right beside them, unfazed, was the ever-composed Yuuna.
She didn't flinch. She didn't react. Her expression remained serene, graceful, and unbothered—as if Yui's behavior didn't matter in the slightest. As if she had nothing to prove.
That unsettled everyone.
Wasn't Yuuna supposed to be dating Kouhei? Why wasn't she reacting? Why wasn't she showing even a flicker of jealousy?
The hall grew quiet. Eyes followed. Whispers started to buzz again, this time layered with doubt.
"…Are they really dating?"
The certainty people once had began to crack.
Maybe it wasn't real. Maybe the whole rumor was based on nothing. A single moment taken out of context. A coincidence. Maybe Yuuna had just happened to be there that morning, and Kouhei was just a neighbor. It was an apartment complex, after all. People came and went.
The more they looked, the more contradictions they saw. Some things made sense. Others didn't. The truth felt further away than ever.
Everyone watched, confused and unsure.
And somewhere in that silence, as Kouhei walked with one girl clinging to him and another one calmly by his side, a quiet thought crossed his mind.
'Even if it's a bit of a hassle… it looks like people are starting to think we're not dating after all,' he mused, eyes forward and expression blank. 'That's good.'
It wouldn't exactly be a lie to say they were dating. Honestly, it was pretty close to the truth.But still… they couldn't just say that out loud. Not so easily.
Because the nature of their relationship wasn't simple. Far from it. It wasn't something that fit neatly into a label like boyfriend and girlfriend. There were... complications.
After lingering in the hallway for a while longer, Kouhei finally made it to his classroom, his footsteps echoing quietly against the polished floor as he approached the door.
"Bye, senpai~!" Yui called out in her usual sugary voice, finally releasing her hold on him. Her hands slid off his arm like she was reluctant to let go. "See you after school! Let's play together!"
Without waiting for a response, she turned and dashed off down the hallway. Her hair fluttered behind her like a ribbon caught in the wind, and her laughter echoed faintly, like a bell fading into the distance.
Kouhei stood there for a second, blinking as he tried to make sense of it all. That girl... what the hell was she really trying to pull?
Still, now wasn't the time to dwell on that. He sighed, rubbed the back of his neck, and headed to his desk.
Waiting at his usual spot was none other than Sugisawa Masaki. She turned to him with a composed smile as if nothing strange had happened outside just moments ago.
"Good morning, Okumura-kun," she greeted warmly, her voice calm but with a faint glimmer of curiosity behind it. "I heard a rather troubling development last night. Did you manage to fix it up?"
"Yup. Everything's been taken care of," he answered with a small nod.
She was probably talking about that disaster with her aunt. That situation could've gone to hell real fast if Yuuna hadn't stepped in and saved his ass at the last second.
Okay, maybe "hell" was a bit dramatic… but it sure felt that way. Yukari, being Yukari, would've done something extreme just to keep a leash on him—probably enforce a ridiculous curfew or worse—just so her eyes would never leave him for too long.
As he chatted with Masaki, someone else entered the room.
It was the first time in a while that he hadn't seen her the moment he woke up. Seeing her now made something twist a little in his chest.
She walked across the room with quiet, deliberate steps and sat at her desk without saying a word.
Kouhei turned to her and offered a smile.
"Good morning, Hina-san."
She didn't respond immediately.
Instead, she looked at him.
Her gaze was sharp and piercing—like she was trying to dig right into his skull and pull out every thought he was hiding. It was almost uncomfortable, like being stripped naked in front of the entire class.
"…As I thought," she muttered, and then—click—she actually clicked her tongue. "Yuuna would take that as an opportunity to sleep with you…"
That sound. That tongue-click. Kouhei had never heard her do that before. Not once.
"If I were better at explaining… maybe I could've been the one…"
Her eyes softened for just a moment. Regret, frustration, jealousy—it was all there in the way she looked at him. And then she exhaled, long and slow, like she was trying to push down the emotions threatening to spill out.
"This is your fault," she said firmly. "So you better take responsibility, okay?"
Before he could even finish, she grabbed him by the tie.
Her fingers curled around the fabric like a vice, and in one fluid, commanding motion, she yanked him toward her.
And then—she kissed him.
Their classmates watched in utter shock as her tongue slipped into his mouth—twisting and dancing with his.
It was raw. Messy. Intense.
Everyone saw it. Everyone.
Their tongues tangled together, wet and noisy, as if the room had gone dead silent just to make it even louder.
Hina pulled away, her lips glistening with a thin sheen of saliva. She smiled devilishly.
It was the smile of a demon.
She even licked her lips.
The world had just gone nuclear.