As soon as the lunch break starts, Takuto and his harem approach me, asking to eat together. I brush them off with some vague responses and rest my head on my desk.
To be honest, I stayed up late working a part-time job yesterday, so I’m exhausted this morning. I wish I could quit, but every time I ask, my boss gives me this scary smile and says, “Nope!”
My childhood friend works at the same place, so I tried asking for help convincing the boss, but she just gave me a look that said, “What are you even talking about?”
As usual, Takuto’s harem is noisy, but I’m too tired. Slowly, I drift off to sleep.
* * *
“…Hey… Amane. Wake up…”
Huh? Someone’s calling me?
“Amane… wake up…”
The voice sounds familiar…
And stop shaking my shoulder!
“Hey, Amane. Wake up.”
Reluctantly, I lifted my face upon hearing my name being clearly called, only to find my childhood friend—the very one who abandoned me this morning—standing before me.
“What do you want, huh? I’m super tired right now, you traitorous pretty boy, Haru.”
My childhood friend, Haruhiko Ichinose, is ridiculously handsome. He’s the classic cool prince type with sleek black hair and an aura that screams elegance. So naturally, when he walked into the classroom and woke me up, the entire class erupted into murmurs and excitement.
Ignoring the noise around him, Haru simply looked at my sluggish state with a mix of exasperation and disbelief before finally opening his mouth.
“Check your phone.”
...Huh?
I thought to myself, but fine, I’ll check it. After all, Haru is giving me that dead-serious look. And you know, a handsome guy with a serious face is, like, overwhelmingly intimidating.
While nervously glancing at the stern Haru, I opened my phone, only to be greeted by a terrifying number of missed calls and unread messages.
“Whoa!”
“They’re about today’s shift at work,” Haru explained. “You weren’t answering your phone or reading messages, so they contacted me to tell you directly. Also, today’s shift is apparently super important, so don’t even think about skipping out like last time.”
…He’s still holding a grudge about the time I skipped work without notice. Because of me, he had to cover my shift, apparently.
“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” I replied.
Haru gave me a skeptical look, but I ignored it. Geez, neither he nor my boss has any faith in me. For the record, I can step up and get things done when I need to!
...Oh, right. I was so tired that I forgot to eat lunch… and I left my lunchbox at home. Great.
Time to pull out my ultimate move.
“Haaaaruuu-kun, can I have some of your lunch?”
Sparkle Beam!!!
The Sparkle Beam is my ultimate weapon—a piercingly adorable and captivating gaze aimed at the target. Nobody can resist its charm.
Or so I thought.
Thwack!
“Ow!” I yelped. I was hit! Unbelievable! Even my parents never hit me! And I certainly didn’t raise Haru to resort to violence!
“I don’t recall being raised by you,” Haru retorted, unamused. “And I figured you’d forget your lunch, so I bought some for you from the school store.”
He placed a bag containing a vegetable sandwich and a juice box on my desk.
What… What is this? Is he a god?
While I sat there in stunned silence, Haru continued.
“Seriously, Amane, you’re something else. But don’t skip out on work today—apparently, the boss is coming over to check on things. Also, make sure to eat properly; it’s not good for your health to skip meals.”
With that, he gave me a gentle flick on the forehead, flashed a faint smile, and walked out of the classroom.
…He’s too cool! If I were a girl, I’d definitely have fallen for him. As proof, the girls in the class were blushing and squealing, while the boys sat in stunned silence. Some of them muttered things like, “Why does he make my heart race… even though he’s a guy?” Hey! My childhood friend doesn’t swing that way, okay?
Even the harem girls nearby were blushing slightly. The whole class had descended into chaos, but I decided to quietly eat the lunch Haru bought for me.
* * *
“Um…”
While I was eating my sandwich, one of the girls who had been swooning over Haru’s actions nervously approached me.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Are you… friends with Ichinose Haruhiko-kun?”
“Friends? Well, we’re childhood friends.”
“““““WHAT?!”””””
My reply shocked not only the girl but also the rest of the class for some reason.
What? Did I say something weird?
“C-Childhood friends?! You mean that Ichinose-kun?! The super handsome, cool, and mysterious guy who’s also a model?! That Ichinose-kun?!”
Whoa, calm down. That’s some intense fangirling.
“Well, yeah. We’ve been childhood friends for years,” I replied, trying to stay calm (and totally not intimidated by the girl’s enthusiasm).
“Then that means you also know Kuga Sakurako, the model from Sakuragaoka Girls’ High, and Sena-sama, the rising star male model, right?!”
“Uh… I guess, yeah?”
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