Chapter 37: Shizuka Is Getting Old
"Fujii, come to my office for a moment."
"Again?"
After class, Shunsuke, visibly reluctant, was dragged away by Shizuka once more.
"Shizuka, if you keep being this enthusiastic every couple of days, people are going to start talking. I'm still young, you know, and I don't even have a girlfriend yet."
Shizuka glared at him. "What? Are you saying I'm old? I'm still young!"
"Heh heh, Hiratsuka-sensei, you should be careful with what you say. It wouldn't look good if rumors started spreading," Hina Tachibana chimed in with an awkward laugh. Maybe from her own experiences, she seemed particularly sensitive to this topic.
Rubbing her temples, Shizuka sighed, "Let's get to the point. Fujii, go sign up for a club already."
Shunsuke nodded. He understood now—this must be the classic scenario where the protagonist joins the Service Club, just like in every story featuring Yukinoshita Yukino.
"So, the Service Club, right? Shizuka, you're really passionate. I'll join."
"The Service Club?" Shizuka blinked in confusion. "What are you bringing that up for all of a sudden?"
"Wasn't that what you wanted?"
"No, I just told you to join any club."
Shunsuke thought about it. That was true. He then asked, puzzled, "But why bring this up now? I've spent all of last year without joining a club, and you didn't intervene."
Shizuka sighed again, "It's because of that basketball incident the other day. After that, the gym teacher keeps pestering me, asking me to talk you into joining the basketball team. It's getting annoying, and I can't outright refuse him. So I figured if you joined another club, I'd have an excuse to get him off my back."
"All because of that? Don't tell me the gym teacher is just using this as an excuse to get close to you, Shizuka. I mean, sure, you're a little older, but you're still pretty cute. If you were ten years younger, I'd have made a move by now."
"Don't joke about an adult's feelings!"
Shizuka lightly punched Shunsuke in the stomach, though it was hard to tell if she was embarrassed or angry.
"Just handle this. Submit an application today."
Shunsuke pretended to be in pain as he rubbed his stomach. "Alright, but recommend a club where I won't have much to do, preferably one with few members—and one where you're the advisor."
It was obvious what he was aiming for—the Service Club. He was practically spelling it out.
After thinking for a moment, Shizuka said, "How about the Classical Literature Club? Right now, it only has two members, and one of them is a third-year. It was about to be disbanded due to lack of members, so you could help by becoming a ghost member."
"?" Shunsuke slowly typed out a question mark with his expression. "We have a Classical Literature Club?"
"Yes, it was established last year, but all the members ended up leaving."
"What about the Service Club?"
"Fujii, why are you so fixated on the Service Club?" Shizuka put her hands on his shoulders and stared at him seriously. "Even though the name might sound... suggestive, our school would never allow such a club to exist."
"If you think the name sounds suggestive, why would the school even allow it to be formed?"
"Um..." Hina Tachibana, who had been eavesdropping quietly, timidly raised her hand. "I'm actually the advisor for the Service Club."
"You're the advisor, Tachibana-sensei?" Shunsuke glanced between the two of them. "I thought it would've been Shizuka."
"Why would you think it was me? I'm a senior now—I pass these troublesome duties on to the younger generation that's already grown up."
Shunsuke suddenly realized what was going on.
Originally, Shizuka, being a young teacher, had to deal with a lot of troublesome matters. But now, with Hina Tachibana and Akane Minagawa being even younger newcomers, it was clear that these new troubles would be handed off to them.
"So it turns out Shizuka is getting old—"
This time, Shunsuke was genuinely hit by a punch. Even with his invincible physique, he found it hard to withstand.
After delivering the blow, Shizuka exhaled deeply and lit a lady's cigarette. "Speaking of which, Tachibana-sensei, what exactly is this Service Club? The name is quite misleading."
"Hahaha," Hina Tachibana chuckled awkwardly. "This was an application submitted by Yukinoshita. She said it was to extend a helping hand to students in need. I thought it was a good idea, so I agreed to be the advisor."
"Yukinoshita, huh? If it's her, it should be fine." Shizuka exhaled a puff of smoke. "So, Fujii, have you finally come to your senses? Are you planning to make a move on the second-year ice queen, Yukinoshita?"
"I'm just curious about the name," Shunsuke replied, not admitting anything.
Shizuka pointed at him and scoffed. "You think I don't see through your little games? It's obvious you're interested in Yukinoshita if you know about a club that even we teachers don't have much information on. I can tell what guys your age are thinking with just one look."
"Hey, Shizuka, you're quite impressive! If you understand feelings so well, then why are you still single—ow!"
Shunsuke received another lesson.
It seemed that this was their way of interacting.
"It's almost time for class. You should go," Shizuka said, extinguishing her cigarette and waving him off. "Whether it's the Classical Literature Club or the Service Club, it's up to you. Just hurry up and choose one to join so I can use it as an excuse to turn down the gym teacher."
"Yes, yes! I'll check it out after school today."
Rubbing his stomach, Shunsuke stepped out of the office.
As he closed the office door, he spotted a girl with a bun hairstyle hiding around the corner, watching him. When she saw Shunsuke, she reflexively tried to dodge away.
"Yuigahama-san, what are you looking at?" Shunsuke called out to her.
"Uh, um..." Yui intertwined her fingers in front of her, nervously fiddling with them. "I actually wanted to ask Shun-kun about something."
You call me that too?
Shunsuke's gaze shifted back from her fidgeting hands.
Noticing that Shunsuke was silently staring at her, she became even more anxious.
"I-I know it's really late to bring this up, and it might not sound sincere at all, but... I still wanted to thank you, Shun-kun."
The girl spoke hesitantly, clearly overthinking everything.
Shunsuke sighed inwardly. He understood Yui's character; apart from being genuinely kind and gentle, she was just like any other girl in their school—good at reading the room.
Once she started to hesitate about reaching out to him due to her own concerns, especially after he formed a small group to challenge Miura and Hayama, her reservations only grew.
To put it bluntly, if others found out about this and rumors started spreading, it could even be seen as a betrayal of the Miura group.
In the original story, even a slight closeness to Yukino from another class triggered a major crisis in the relationship with Miura. It goes without saying that the current situation would be even more precarious.
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