The sharp click of heels against the tiled bathroom floor echoed through the pristine restroom of Shinsei High. Rika Sugimoto stood front and center at the large vanity, her glossy black hair cascading over her shoulders as she carefully applied a fresh coat of lipstick. Around her, three girls hovered like satellites, nodding and gasping at every word she said.
"—and then," Rika began, drawing out the syllables dramatically as she puckered her lips in the mirror, "he finally agreed to let me treat him to dinner. It was perfect. Just me and Arata, sitting together at the most romantic little sushi place."
One of the girls, a petite brunette with perfectly styled curls, clasped her hands together like she was watching a romance drama unfold. "Oh my gosh, Rika! What did he say? Did he—did he finally, you know, confess?"
Rika snorted, tossing her hair over her shoulder with a flourish. "Confess? Please. Arata doesn't 'confess.' He's not some lovesick fool. But," she added, tilting her head to inspect her eyeliner, "he didn't let me pay for nothing! And trust me, that's progress."
It was a lie.
She knew very well that she had convinced him by saying that she would have paid for everything. But they are futile details. And these goose that buzz around her must be properly served.
The tallest of the group, a girl with striking red nails and an ever-present smirk, leaned against the counter. "So, what's your plan now? You've been chasing him forever. Is this finally your big moment?"
Rika capped her lipstick with a decisive click, her dark eyes gleaming with confidence. "Of course it is. Do you think I'm wasting my time for nothing? He's already softening up. I mean, he picked the sushi place—it's not like he took me to some hole-in-the-wall ramen shop."
The girls erupted into a chorus of giggles, their admiration for Rika clear.
Another girl, the quietest of the group, finally spoke up, her voice tentative. "But… isn't Arata kind of, you know, difficult? He doesn't really… care about this stuff."
Rika turned to her with an arched brow, her hands resting on the counter. "Sweetheart, 'difficult' is just another word for 'worth it.' Besides," she said, lowering her voice conspiratorially, "I've already got him exactly where I want him. It's just a matter of time."
The red-nailed girl smirked. "You're seriously going to make him yours?"
"Oh, absolutely," Rika purred, turning back to the mirror to adjust her hair. "Arata Takashiro just doesn't know it yet."
Her reflection stared back at her, flawless and confident, as her friends showered her with more compliments. But beneath all the vanity and bravado, there was an edge to her voice—a determination that no one could ignore.
This wasn't just about Arata. This was about winning.
And Rika Sugimoto always got what she wanted.
♨(⋆‿⋆)♨
Lily adjusted the books in her arms, her locker clicking open with a faint creak. The metallic clang of students chatting and moving through the hallways was already becoming a familiar sound, but the buzz of whispers had taken a noticeable shift in tone since her arrival.
She could feel it—that odd mix of curiosity and scrutiny that followed her every move. From the way someone's gaze lingered just a second too long to the way conversations would hush when she passed by. But she ignored it. Or at least tried to.
"Hey! Lily!"
The booming, unmistakable voice of Koji
cut through the noise. Lily turned her head just in time to see him hurrying down the hall toward her, his arms waving like a traffic controller trying to land a plane. His oversized school bag jostled awkwardly at his side as his round cheeks puffed from the exertion.
A soft smile curled on Lily's lips. She set her books neatly on the top shelf of her locker, waiting for him to catch up. Koji skidded to a stop beside her, his glasses sliding down his nose slightly as he huffed out a breath.
"You… won't believe this!" he panted, dramatically slapping both hands onto his knees for emphasis. "They're selling melon bread in the cafeteria today! Fresh melon bread, Lily! Do you know how rare that is?! It's, like, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
Lily let out a small laugh, shaking her head as she leaned against the locker door. "You ran all the way over here just to tell me about melon bread?"
Koji straightened up, pushing his glasses back into place with a determined nod. "Of course I did! Priorities, Lily. Priorities."
She laughed again, the sound light and warm, and it did something strange to the atmosphere of the hallway.
From across the corridor, Hayato Mori leaned casually against the wall, his sharp, foxlike grin faltering ever so slightly as he watched them. The golden-haired, self-proclaimed king of the second-year hallways had been keeping tabs on her since day one. Not intentionally, of course. It just happened. Or so he told himself.
His narrow, almost predatory gaze lingered on the way her smile widened as she teased Koji, on the way her green eyes softened at his antics. And that smile—it stuck. Like an annoying tune you couldn't get out of your head.
He hated it.
No, he didn't hate her. But he hated that Koji Nakamura—the human equivalent of a round rice ball—was the one making her smile like that.
"What's so special about her anyway?" Hayato muttered under his breath, though the question wasn't really directed at anyone.
Tsubasa Kuroki, who had been standing silently nearby, shifted his arms over his chest, glancing at Hayato. "What are you on about now?"
"That," Hayato said, jerking his chin toward Lily and Koji. "Look at her."
Tsubasa followed Hayato's gaze lazily, his sharp, calculating eyes landing on the blonde girl at the locker.
"She's pretty, yeah," Tsubasa said flatly, uninterested.
"She's not just pretty," Hayato snapped, though his tone carried more irritation than he intended. He straightened up, his grin returning, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You've heard the whispers. Everyone's talking about her. She's like… like…" He trailed off, searching for the right words.
"Like a K-drama lead?" Tsubasa supplied dryly.
Hayato let out a low laugh, his grin sharpening. "Yeah, sure. Something like that."
A shorter guy from their group—Shun—leaned in, grinning mischievously. "People are saying she might've already dethroned Rika as the prettiest girl in school."
Hayato's smirk froze for a fraction of a second before he snorted. "Dethroned Rika? Please. Don't insult her like that."
Shun laughed, crossing his arms. "Come on, Hayato. Even you can't deny she's got that… what do they call it? Main character vibe."
Hayato's jaw tightened, though his grin never wavered. "Rika?" He scoffed, pushing himself off the wall. "Rika doesn't even touch her."
The others stilled, their expressions flickering between shock and intrigue.
"Wait, what?" Shun asked, his tone half-laughing, half-disbelieving.
"Don't read into it," Hayato said smoothly, already brushing the comment off. "I just mean that Rika's got nothing on that," he added, gesturing vaguely toward Lily with his chin.
The words hung in the air for a moment, neither fully a compliment nor an insult. It was just enough to keep his audience guessing—and to keep Hayato's own irritation bubbling under the surface.
From her locker, Lily glanced sideways, sensing the weight of the stares on her back. She shifted slightly, her smile faltering for just a moment.
"You okay?" Koji asked, noticing the change in her expression.
"Yeah," she said quickly, brushing it off. "It's nothing."
Koji followed her gaze for a second, his brows furrowing slightly as he spotted the group loitering across the hall. "You want me to—?"
"No," Lily interrupted, her smile returning. "It's fine. Let's just go."
Koji hesitated, but the warmth in her smile was enough to disarm him. He nodded, gesturing dramatically toward the direction of the cafeteria. "Lead the way, seat buddy. The melon bread awaits!"
Lily laughed again, falling into step beside him as they disappeared down the hallway.
But Hayato's gaze lingered long after they were gone.
"Piggy Porky," he muttered under his breath, the words laced with disdain. "How the hell does someone like him…?"
He didn't finish the thought, but the bitterness in his tone was impossible to miss.
"There you are, Hayato."
Rika leaned back against the lockers, her polished nails tapping against the metal as she eyed Hayato with a sly grin. Her entourage of girls surrounded her, each one buzzing with the typical chatter that followed Rika like a cloud of perfume. They adored her, idolized her—and she knew it.
"Hayato," Rika purred, tilting her head as her glossy black hair fell over one shoulder. "You were talking about me earlier, weren't you?"
Hayato smirked, the easy confidence in his posture making him seem larger than life. He leaned in slightly, just enough to close the space between them without actually committing to it. "Maybe. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
The girls around them giggled, one of them elbowing Rika playfully. "He's such a flirt!"
Rika rolled her eyes, though her lips curled into a faint smirk. "Oh, please. You're predictable."
"Predictable?" he repeated, feigning a look of mock offense as he straightened up. "I'll have you know I'm full of surprises."
"Sure," Tsubasa muttered from the sidelines, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall.
Rika ignored him, her focus entirely on Hayato. "So," she said, her tone light but calculated, "what do you really think of her?"
Hayato raised an eyebrow, playing dumb. "Who?"
"You know who," Rika said, her voice sharp enough to cut through the lingering laughter of her group. Her expression didn't falter, but there was a tension in her tone now. "The new girl. Lily."
For a moment, the group fell silent, the air around them thick with unspoken opinions. Hayato's smirk softened slightly, but his eyes flickered with something unreadable.
"She's… interesting," he said finally, the words slow and deliberate.
"Interesting?" one of Rika's friends echoed, her tone dripping with skepticism.
Hayato shrugged, his grin returning. "Yeah. In a foreign exchange student kind of way. You know, shiny and new. People love that stuff."
Rika's smirk widened, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Please. She's all looks. No substance."
"Isn't that your thing, though?" Hayato shot back, his tone teasing but pointed.
The girls gasped softly, their gazes darting between Rika and Hayato like spectators waiting for a firework to explode.
Rika's eyes narrowed, but she kept her composure, flipping her hair with a practiced motion. "Funny," she said coldly. "But you're wrong. I have both."
Hayato chuckled, the sound low and amused. "Of course you do."
As the conversation shifted, his thoughts drifted. His words were for Rika, but his mind wandered to Lily—her messy, unintentional beauty. She wasn't like Rika, who polished herself to perfection, who calculated every movement, every smile. No, Lily had something raw, something real.
That laugh of hers—light, airy, unforced. He'd heard it earlier in the hallway when she'd been with him.
And that smile. The way it softened her whole face, the way it made her green eyes glimmer like sunlight through leaves. It was the kind of thing that stayed with you, no matter how hard you tried to shake it off.
But of course, he wouldn't admit that.
"She's annoying," Hayato said suddenly, snapping back to the present. His tone was sharp, dismissive. "Always with that dumb smile, acting like everything's fine. It's fake, obviously."
Rika tilted her head, clearly intrigued by the sudden venom in his voice. "You really don't like her, huh?"
Hayato shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets. "What's there to like? She's just some foreign girl who thinks she can walk in and steal all the attention. It's pathetic."
Rika smirked, clearly pleased by his answer. "Exactly."
But Tsubasa's gaze lingered on Hayato for a moment, his sharp eyes narrowing slightly, as if he could see straight through the facade.
"Anyway," Hayato continued, his tone shifting back to its usual playful lilt, "you don't need to worry about her, Rika. She's not even in your league."
The girls around Rika gasped, their eyes wide with disbelief.
Rika's smirk faltered for the briefest moment, but she quickly recovered, crossing her arms. "Damn right she's not."
Hayato's grin widened, but there was something almost cruel about it. "Yeah. Because you'd have to catch up to her first."
The words hung in the air, their meaning ambiguous. Was it a compliment? An insult? A jab at Rika's ego?
Rika's expression darkened, but before she could respond, Hayato stepped away, his hands still tucked in his pockets as he strolled casually down the hall.
"Don't take it personally, Rika-chan," he called over his shoulder, his tone light and teasing. "You're still my favorite."
The girls erupted into a mix of giggles and whispers, but Rika stood still, her jaw tightening as she watched him walk away.
Tsubasa, who had remained silent through most of the exchange, finally spoke, his voice low and even. "You shouldn't let him get under your skin."
"I'm not," Rika snapped, her tone harsher than she intended.
Tsubasa said nothing, but the slight raise of his eyebrow said enough.
Meanwhile, Hayato rounded the corner, his grin fading the moment he was out of sight. His steps slowed, his thoughts spinning faster than he could keep up with.
She's just a girl, he told himself. Just another new face in a sea of boring ones.
But the image of her—laughing with that idiot pig, her hair catching the light as she tilted her head—refused to leave his mind.
And for the first time in a long time, Hayato felt… unsettled.