I was a bit concerned about Nitta-san's 'homework', but since I had to prepare for the exam, I decided to immediately start studying with Umi after school.
The scope of the exam would be announced exactly two weeks prior to the exam itself, so I still had to wait a few more days, but since I listened to the class seriously, I could roughly guess the contents of the midterm.
"By the way, when do you need to go home, Umi?"
"Mom said I need to be back by dinner from now on until after the midterms, that includes weekends too."
"I see… It can't be helped, huh?"
Our time together on weekends would be reduced, which was unfortunate. But still, if I wanted to improve my grades and enter the preparatory class, I had to bear with it.
Well, just think of the time spent with her on weekdays as an offset for that.
Anyway, dinner at the Asanagi's usually started at 7 pm, and since it was currently 4 pm, we had to use these three hours of time efficiently.
We decided that we would take a short break after an hour and a half passed before we sat down facing each other and started studying.
"…"
"…"
We started by reviewing the materials that we had already learned from class. Since we pretty much understood everything, the room was enveloped in silence save from the quiet sound of rustling paper and the scribbling of our mechanical pencils.
If this was a study group, I would be worrying whether I should start a conversation or not, but since Umi was the only other person here, I didn't need to.
Come to think of it, we started talking less when we were together at home compared to when we first started dating. Normally, we would just cuddle and enjoy each other's warmth. It wasn't like we didn't get along or anything, we just didn't need to talk much. Being together with the one we loved was enough for both of us to feel happy.
Well, we would start cursing each other when we started playing games, but that was a special case. We would still treat each other normally after that though.
"Maki?"
"Eh… W-What is it?"
"You've been staring at me, what's wrong? Is there something you don't understand?"
"Ah… N-Not really, I was just looking at your face…"
"Jeez, save that for later. Focus on studying first, okay?"
"R-Right. My bad."
I was entranced by her serious look before I knew it. She was right, I should focus on studying first, I could save the simping for later.
Lightly, I slapped my cheeks, trying to focus.
There was still an hour before break time, I should be able to endure for that long.
After that, silence enveloped the room once again, for around thirty minutes.
This time, however, instead of me staring, a certain someone was staring at me.
"What's wrong, Umi?"
"…"
"Umi?"
"Huh?! A-Ah. S-Sorry, I'm just checking if you're studying properly or not… Then I spaced out…"
She looked flustered as her face reddened.
What a cutie, please show me that kind of face more… Wait, no, I need to study—
"Sorry, Maki, it's just… Your serious face looks cool… Hehe."
Then she said that while beaming cutely. Thanks to that, my concentration was obliterated.
Why was she so cute? Could I hug her now?
"Uh, I'm kinda thirsty, should we take a break for ten… no, fifteen minutes?"
"S-Sure… It's earlier than planned, but we can just study without any more breaks after that…"
After we made that excuse, we decided to consume the coffee and the snacks we had prepared.
We sat down on the sofa while sipping our coffees. Naturally, we were huddled up while holding each other's hands.
This was a more comfortable position than earlier when we sat opposite of each other.
"Maki, uh, the thing just now, can I talk about it?"
"About how cool I am?"
"Mhm. You see, Yuu, Nina and I were talking about you the other day and when I told them about what I just said to you, they gave me a strange look. Do you think I acted creepily without me realizing it?"
"Yes."
"Oi, this is the part where you deny it while comforting me!"
Honestly, even though Umi did her best trying to make me look better, my face was far from 'cool'.
I didn't know what my serious face looked like since I'd never seen it myself, but it shouldn't be that different from my normal face. It was normal for them to give her a strange look after she said something like that.
"Sorry, sorry. But anyway, don't mind them, all that matters to me is that you think I'm cool."
If I were a good looking guy, maybe my life would be better, but at the same time, troublesome things would start appearing. Compared to living that kind of life, the current life I had where Umi was the only one that thought I was cool, would be better.
"So, don't mind what they said. Even if they think that you're a weirdo, that side of you…"
"That side of me?"
"…Is one of the things that I love about you."
It was my turn to blush.
Saying this kind of corny thing to her face still felt embarrassing, but seeing her happy face after I said that made me feel happy too.
But of course, it wouldn't be Umi if she let me off the hook with that. Not long after I said that, she smirked mischievously.
"Hehe… It's been half a year already and you still love me this much, huh, Maki?~ Even though you normally act like a spoiled kid around me, you can still say some bold things, huh?~"
"Do you not love me as much as I do, Umi?"
"Of course I do~ Actually, no, I love you more than you love me~"
"Sure, sure, but can you please stop poking my cheeks?!"
"Huh? You want me to stop? Lies~ I know you love it when I do this~ C'mon, just be honest with me, like when you said you love me just then~"
"…I knew it, I should have kept my mouth shut."
I regretted saying that, but it lifted her mood tremendously, so I guess it was worth it. Actually, whenever she got this happy, she stopped caring about skinship or whatnot, so I'd say I came out of this ahead.
Normally, I hated it when people started touching me for no reason, but she was the person that I loved, so rather than hating it, I loved her touch.
"A-Anyway, we should rest for real now and get back to our studies. Don't forget our goal, okay?"
"Hehe, alright. Honestly, I want to mess around with you more, but I guess we can save that for later~"
"Mm…"
She let out a chuckle. Seriously, she was becoming more mischievous by the day.
It would be dangerous if we were to stay like this any longer, so I separated myself from her and sat in my original place.
Since we took fifteen minutes break, we still had a hundred minutes for us to—
"Huh?"
However, the moment I looked at the time, I froze.
"What's up, Maki?"
"Weren't we supposed to have a fifteen minutes break?"
"Huh? Yeah, I didn't keep track of the time, but we should only spend that long, right?"
As she said that, she checked the time on her phone.
The break started around 5 pm, but it was now 6 pm. In other words, that break lasted for an hour.
We were lost in our own world for a whole hour without realizing it.
Keep track of how much time you spend studying and how much time you spend flirting, okay?
Could it be, Nitta-san was talking about this? …There was no way, right?
"Uh, Umi-san."
"What is it, Maki-san?"
"This is bad."
"Yes, I agree."
The next day.
After apologizing to both Amami-san and Nitta-san, it was decided that our studies would be supervised by those two.
At this rate, my time together with Umi would really be cut short as we would be giving our all to study for the exam.