The sound of two hands clapping against the door was painful, and the patience of Eriri was running thin.
Gritting her teeth, she felt more and more regretful.
That annoying woman wasn't technically a stranger; why had she been so shy just now?
Now, it was all too late. She had locked the door and was inside the room with Chisato. Who knows if they were rocking the bed right now?
Eriri thought of herself as relatively broad-minded and understood that Chisato's first time couldn't be shared by both of them at the same time.
She had already gotten a kiss from him, and even if she let Utaha have the first time, it wouldn't matter.
But! But!!!
How could that annoying woman do something like this and keep me outside?!
Want to hog it all to herself?!
How dare she!
Let me join in!
Eriri was filled with indignation.
The hotel room door was much thicker than she had imagined, with great soundproofing. She pressed her ear against it but couldn't hear a thing!
Deliberately excluding her? That was just too much!!!
"Bang bang bang!"
"Hey! Open the door, you annoying woman!"
"Don't blame me for not giving you a face or a chance; if you don't open the door, I'll contact the hotel front desk to get a spare key!"
Eriri's face was red with anger. Just as she raised her hand again to knock on the door, it suddenly opened without warning.
Eriri came face to face with Utaha. She wanted to unleash her pent-up rage, but upon seeing the other woman's pale expression, she froze in shock.
Utaha passed by her in silence, and Eriri furrowed her brow in confusion at her back.
If she hadn't seen it wrong, that annoying woman had blood on her lips?
No, wait. According to what she had just thought, the blood should not have come from that area.
With that doubt in mind, Eriri rushed into the room.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, looking a bit disheveled, Chisato had one hand pressed against his chest and was holding a wad of tissues to his mouth with the other.
"Hey, good morning, Eriri."
Chisato smiled at her, but the smile pulled at the cut on his lip, causing him to bleed even more.
Eriri's suspicions about Utaha's blood were clarified.
"Has that guy gone crazy?!"
Feeling both surprised and sympathetic, Eriri sat beside Chisato and gently took a few tissues to wipe the blood from his mouth.
"What happened? Why did she suddenly bite you?"
"Well, there was a little accident that made her angry. I guess I had it coming, haha… Ouch—"
"Sorry, sorry."
Eriri quickly lightened her touch. Since Chisato didn't want to say more, she decided not to press the issue.
She noticed Chisato was still holding his chest and asked if his heart was uncomfortable.
He quickly denied it but felt a bit resentful inside.
Why pinch there of all places? Men's chests are sensitive too, you know.
After that little incident, when they went downstairs to check out, Utaha and Eriri didn't even exchange words.
They only briefly locked eyes, and Utaha understood to take Chisato away from the front desk.
Eriri was left alone, pulling out her wallet. Under the watchful eyes of the front desk clerk, she shyly paid for their stay and the extra laundry fee for the sheets.
Chisato didn't dwell on the bitten lip; once the blood clotted, it wouldn't hurt much as long as he didn't touch it.
However, it was Utaha who bit him, and later it was her who felt sorry.
In the taxi on the way back, this conflicted woman didn't say anything but kept glancing at him with a guilty expression while pressing her lips together.
Chisato took the initiative to hold her hand, successfully easing her anxious feelings.
When he got out of the car, she leaned over to kiss his left cheek, while the right cheek was naturally reserved for Eriri, leaving the driver speechless through the rearview mirror.
After the two of them left, Chisato returned to his apartment and changed into his uniform, arriving at school just after eight o'clock.
He stepped into the classroom right before the bell rang.
Having arrived early, Kazusa appeared to be sleeping at her desk, but in reality, she was eagerly waiting to see him.
When she finally spotted him, she lazily opened her eyes as if she had just woken up from a dream.
She pretended to look his way casually, and after receiving a plain greeting, she was satisfied and went back to resting her head on the desk, officially falling asleep.
Chisato gently patted her shoulder.
Kazusa seemed displeased as she opened her eyes.
However, when she saw the candy he handed her, she reluctantly accepted it, not caring that it was already class time. She immediately unwrapped it and popped it into her mouth.
So sweet.
…
At Soubu High School.
Hiratsuka Shizuka walked slowly around the classroom, holding a textbook while reading ancient poetry aloud and explaining its meaning so that the students could understand better.
As she approached Isshiki Iroha, her teaching didn't stop, but her free hand reached out and gently pinched her cheek, reminding her not to lose focus.
This jolted Iroha out of her daze, and she quickly glanced at her classmates before turning the page of the textbook to the correct one.
After class, Iroha shrank back in her seat, silently praying for something, but to no avail.
With the textbook draped casually over her shoulder, Shizuka called out Iroha's name, asking her to come to the teacher's office.
She couldn't escape after all.
Under the playful teasing of the other girls, Iroha sighed, clutching her uniform's sleeves tightly as she followed Shizuka back to the staff room.
"Ah, Iroha-chan."
"Hello, Yui-senpai~"
Iroha smiled brightly, waving her hand in a small gesture to greet a familiar girl.
Shizuka placed the textbook on the table, her attention mainly on another girl in the room.
"Ms. Hiratsuka."
The girl with long black hair stepped forward, handing over some documents with a cool voice.
"This is the report on the Service Club's activities."
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