Today ended uneventfully, with Hiratsuka Shizuka's usual farewell, and the students in the classroom scattered quickly.
Akagi, too, hurriedly said goodbye to a few classmates before rushing off, likely for soccer club practice.
Today, Shin didn't do much else besides attending class and chatting with Megumi Kato—chatting face-to-face during breaks and texting during class when he had a moment.
To be honest, after a whole day of talking, Shin and Megumi Kato had definitely gotten closer.
It was as if Megumi, who seemed like she hadn't found a good conversation partner for a long time, opened up to Shin about all sorts of things, venting her pent-up need for conversation.
Perhaps out of understanding Megumi's situation, Shin went along with it and had a great conversation with her.
But even though they talked a lot, Megumi still kept that calm expression during face-to-face conversations, and her tone revealed no hint of emotion.
It was a long-standing habit of hers, and Shin didn't expect Megumi to suddenly become expressive in just a day; as long as she didn't continue down the path of becoming entirely expressionless, he was fine with it.
However, Shin was slightly worried that Megumi seemed to only talk to him now. If this kept up, would she end up only showing emotions in front of him?
A beautiful girl who's cold to others but shows her feelings only in front of him... Hmm, that actually sounds kind of intriguing.
After saying goodbye to Megumi and a few other classmates, Shin picked up his bag and left the classroom, ready to head home.
Going to the Service Club yesterday had been a special case; normally, he was in the "Go-Home Club"—in other words, he went straight home after school.
But just as he reached the school gate, his phone chimed with a notification—someone had sent him a message.
"Could it be that Megumi wants to chat again so soon?"
At the sound of the notification and the vibration in his pocket, Shin's first thought was that Megumi had contacted him again.
You couldn't blame him for thinking that; after spending the whole day chatting with Megumi, it was natural that any notification made him subconsciously think it was her.
For someone who's often ignored, finding someone who genuinely pays attention to them can bring an outpouring of emotion that's hard to control.
Shin stopped, pulled out his phone at the gate, and was ready to reply to Megumi, as he'd done during class today. But upon closer inspection, he realized something was off.
It wasn't Megumi who had messaged him—it was someone he hadn't expected at all.
Yukinoshita Yukino: "Why didn't you come to the Service Club today?"
"Huh?"
Shin was stunned, not expecting a message from Yukinoshita Yukino.
He hadn't considered the possibility since Yukino usually seemed quite cold and didn't seem like the type to reach out to a guy.
But Shin guessed it was likely because Yukino wanted to follow up on the request involving Akagi and Tamiya Shion.
"Didn't we already confirm the plan? Why does she still want me to go to the Service Club?"
Feeling confused, Shin replied to Yukino—ignoring her message wasn't an option, since reading the message on LINE would show the "read" status to the other party.
If he left her on "read" without replying, it'd come across as impolite, and Shin wasn't some clueless young lady using a smartphone for the first time; he naturally wouldn't do something so lacking in social finesse.
Still, he couldn't quite understand why Yukino wanted him to come to the Service Club again. He wasn't even a member, and there was only so much she could rely on him to help out.
"To refine some of the plan's details; it's easier to discuss it in person."
Yukino replied almost immediately, with a well-reasoned answer—after all, Akagi was Shin's friend, so Shin didn't mind putting in some extra effort for him.
"No one else is in the Service Club."
Perhaps sensing Shin's potential reluctance, Yukino added another line to reassure him.
Still, her message came across a bit strange, almost like she was saying, "No one else is home," which gave it an oddly ambiguous feel.
Though Shin knew Yukino likely didn't mean anything strange by it, it was hard not to read into it a bit.
"But how did she know I wasn't planning to go to the Service Club?"
Putting away his phone, Shin felt a bit intrigued by Yukino's sharp intuition—he had only just reached the school gate, and Yukino had already guessed he wasn't heading to the Service Club?
Thinking this, Shin looked back towards the school building, and with his sharp eyesight, he quickly spotted Yukino's profile in one of the windows, her gaze fixed on the school gate.
Realizing she'd been caught, Yukino hurriedly closed the window, her slightly panicked attempt to hide making Shin smile.
So she'd noticed him heading towards the gate and quickly messaged him to come to the club.
Even someone as cold as Yukino had her cute moments.
Since he was only going home to play games, Shin decided to turn around and head back to the school, ready to visit the Service Club and see what further plans Yukino wanted to discuss.
Yukino was a beautiful girl, after all, so discussing things with her wasn't exactly a burden; if Akagi had messaged him at this hour, he'd probably only have replied with a "get lost."
Arriving at the Service Club's door, Shin knocked, and Yukino's cool voice invited him in.
He entered to find Yukino waiting, looking every bit as composed as usual, though her ears were slightly red.
Probably embarrassed about being caught watching him at the gate.
"No requests from other students in the Service Club today?"
Shin found a chair, looking curiously at Yukino.
Yukino calling him here showed her dedication to their accepted request, but it also implied she was relatively free at the moment.
If there were other requests to handle, she likely wouldn't have called him over.
To be continued...
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