The phone rang just as You was feeling pleased that all the girls were listening to him.
He casually pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at the screen—it was a number he hadn’t saved, but the area code showed it was from Tokyo. He answered without thinking.
“Hello?”
“Hello? Is this Tsukimiya-kun?”
The voice that came through the receiver was sweet, carrying that energetic quality unique to high school girls.
You blinked, feeling like it sounded familiar, but couldn’t place it at the moment.
“Yes, this is he. And you are?”
“Oh, it’s Yamada! Yamada Misaki. Do you remember me? We were in the same class in high school.”
A face immediately surfaced in You’s mind—the girl who sat in the row ahead of him, ponytail, two dimples when she smiled, good grades, well-liked by everyone.
But they weren’t close.
He remembered that the total number of words he’d exchanged with her didn’t exceed twenty.
“Oh, Yamada-san. Long time no see. What’s up?”
“Well, next Saturday our class is putting together a reunion. Everyone said it’s been forever, so we want to get together. Are you free?”
Before You could answer, he felt several pairs of eyes stabbing into his back like knives.
He instinctively turned around.
Chihaya was holding her teacup, her eyes fixed on the phone in his hand. Her gaze seemed calm, but there was nothing calm beneath the surface. Mai was hugging a throw pillow, her chin resting on it, eyes wide open, mouth slightly parted. Futaba had stopped waving her fan, tilting her head and smiling at him with a look of amusement. Hitomi still wore her usual gentle expression, but she was looking over too.
You’s heart skipped a beat.
“Um… Yamada-san, I’ve been pretty busy lately, so I probably can’t make it—”
“Eh—? Don’t be so cold. Everyone wants to see you. Besides, you disappeared after graduation without leaving any contact info. I had to ask the teacher for your number.”
Yamada’s voice carried a hint of playful pleading, like she was joking around, but in the quiet room, it sounded especially clear.
You felt the gazes behind him grow sharper.
He quickly said, “I really can’t make it. I’m not in Tokyo—”
“Not in Tokyo? Then where are you?”
“In Hakone.”
“Hakone? Wow, that’s awesome! On vacation? Then you should definitely come—you can come back and share all about your vacation with us.”
Sweat started forming on You’s forehead.
He could feel Chihaya’s gaze shifting from “mild” to “frosty.”
Mai’s lips had pressed into a thin line.
Futaba had opened her fan again, waving it lazily, but her eyes never left his face.
Hitomi lowered her head and began studying her reflection in her teacup.
“I really can’t. I have things to take care of here, so I’m hanging up—”
He finished quickly and ended the call.
The room fell silent for two seconds.
Then Mai spoke, her voice sweet, carrying that innocent, guileless tone.
“You-kun, who was that on the phone?”
“A high school classmate.”
You stuffed his phone back into his pocket.
“They’re organizing a class reunion and invited me.”
“A girl?”
Mai tilted her head.
“Yeah. But I’m not close with her, really.”
You hurried to explain.
“In three years of high school, we exchanged fewer than twenty words total.”
“Then how did she get You-kun’s number?”
Mai asked again, her tone still just as innocent.
You felt his explanations growing weaker and weaker.
“Maybe she got it from the teacher… She said so herself.”
Chihaya set down her teacup with a soft clink.
“You-kun.”
“Hmm?”
“Why did you hang up so quickly just now?”
“Because I really can’t go.”
“But you hadn’t even asked for the time and place, and you didn’t say ‘no’ outright—you only said you’re ‘not in Tokyo.'”
Chihaya’s tone was calm, but every word sounded like an interrogation.
“If you truly don’t want to go, you could have simply declined. Why say ‘I’m not in Tokyo’?”
You inwardly groaned.
‘As if your stares weren’t making me nervous enough. I hung up in a panic, and now I’ve made things worse.’
He opened his mouth, then realized that anything he said now would be wrong.
“I… I just thought it was troublesome.”
“Troublesome?”
Chihaya raised an eyebrow.
Futaba laughed from the side.
“Divine Child, that explanation isn’t very clever.”
You shot her a glare, but Futaba didn’t care at all—her fan waved even more vigorously.
Hitomi spoke up then, her voice still soft.
“You-kun, are you worried about something? Afraid we might misunderstand?”
You froze.
“No. Really, there’s nothing. I’m genuinely not close with that girl.”
Hitomi smiled but didn’t press further.
Mai suddenly lifted her head from the pillow, wearing that pure, irresistible smile of hers.
“You-kun, since you say it’s just a class reunion, how about we come along too?”
You’s brain buzzed.
Him showing up with four girls?
The class would go insane.
He couldn’t imagine what kind of scene that would be.
For a high schooler, dating four girls at once was way too explosive.
“You want to come too?”
“Yeah.”
Mai nodded.
“We’ve been wanting to visit Tokyo anyway. And—we want to see what kind of people You-kun’s classmates are.”
Chihaya immediately followed up, her tone carrying an undeniable certainty.
“Mai is right. As You-kun’s fiancée, understanding your social circle is part of my duty.”
You looked at Futaba, hoping she’d say something to ease the situation.
Futaba smiled, a look of “don’t bother asking me for help” schadenfreude on her face.
“I’m in favor too. It’s not like we have anything better to do. A trip to Tokyo sounds nice.”
You turned to Hitomi.
Hitomi lowered her head, thought for a moment, then raised it and smiled gently.
“I’d also like to see what You-kun’s life was like before. It should be interesting.”
You felt completely overwhelmed by a five-to-one vote.
“You… you’re really all coming?”
“Of course.”
Chihaya stood up.
“We’ll check out first thing tomorrow morning and head back to Tokyo.”
“But—”
You tried to struggle.
“Mom told us to stay in Hakone for a month. We’ve only been here eight or nine days—”
Before he could finish, he sensed something was wrong.
Chihaya’s gaze changed.
If her look just now was a frozen heart, now it was the arrival of winter itself… ‘Ah, wait, wrong reference, this isn’t some game.’
“You-kun, are you saying—you don’t want us to come?”
“No, no, that’s not it.”
You waved his hands frantically.
“I’m saying, how do we explain this to Mom?”
Mai leaned in too, her smile still innocent, but there was something else in her voice now.
“You-kun, Moon Princess told you to have fun. Isn’t having fun the same no matter where you are?”
Futaba chimed in with a finishing blow.
“Exactly, Divine Child. Whether it’s Hakone or Tokyo, as long as we’re by your side, we’re happy.”
The words floated lightly, but their impact was devastating.
Chihaya and Mai both glanced at Futaba, but Futaba pretended not to notice, continuing to wave her fan.
You knew there was no retreat left.
“Fine… We’ll check out tomorrow and head back to Tokyo.”
Chihaya nodded, her expression returning to calm.
“Then I’ll go inform the inn’s front desk.”
She stood and walked out.
Mai followed, saying she’d help pack the luggage.
Only You, Futaba, and Hitomi remained in the room.
Futaba folded her fan, stood up, walked over to You, and patted his shoulder.
“Divine Child, just accept your fate.”
You sighed.
“I really am not close with that girl.”
“I know.”
Futaba smiled.
“But—Chihaya doesn’t know that, and little Mai doesn’t either. Or rather, it’s about caring too much clouding their judgment. Hitomi, on the other hand…”
She glanced at Hitomi.
Hitomi smiled.
“I trust You-kun. But I’d also like to meet his classmates. They should all be wonderful people, right?”
You felt like nothing he said would make a difference anymore.
He leaned back against his chair, staring at the ceiling.
Futaba and Hitomi each returned to their rooms.
The room fell quiet.
Only the clock on the wall ticked away.
You closed his eyes.
‘Whatever.’
‘If we’re going back to Tokyo, so be it.’
‘The reunion isn’t for a while anyway. I’ll deal with it when the time comes.’
He stood, walked out of the room, and stood in the corridor. The hydrangeas in the courtyard had turned deep blue in the twilight, and the light from the stone lantern had just flickered on, swaying gently in the breeze.
Chihaya returned from the front desk.
“It’s all arranged. The bus leaves at 9:00 AM tomorrow.”
“Good.”
You nodded.
Chihaya looked at him, as if wanting to say something but hesitating.
“What’s wrong?”
You asked.
“Nothing.”
Chihaya shook her head.
“Get some rest early. We have an early start tomorrow.”
She turned and went back to her room.
You stood in the corridor, watching her silhouette disappear down the hallway.
Night wind blew down from the mountains, chilly, rustling the bamboo leaves.
He thought to himself that once they returned to Tokyo, things were bound to get even more chaotic.
One call from a female classmate had already stirred up this much trouble.
By the time they reached the reunion, if his female classmates so much as talked to him for more than a few seconds, wouldn’t Chihaya and the others completely lose it?
He couldn’t help but pray that everything would go smoothly.