The day after Kushida joined the student council was a Saturday, a designated rest day. Thanks to Ryuen's hard work, most of the student council's accumulated tasks had been completed.
As for the second batch of student interviews scheduled for today, it had become clear to both Ryuen and Kiriyama that Yukio had no intention of letting any second-year students join.
Ryuen decided it was the perfect opportunity to slack off. After all, the workload was done, it was Saturday, and there was no reason to show up unless Yukio actually dared to fire him as a "free laborer." Kiriyama, on the other hand, felt there was little point in coming just to watch second-year students embarrass themselves and opted to stay home as well.
Only Ichinose took her responsibilities seriously. Despite it being a Saturday, she made her way to the student council room, intending to ask Yukio about the schedule for the second batch of interviews.
When she arrived at the student council room and tried to push the door handle, she noticed a distinct resistance. The door didn't budge, instead emitting a loud rattling noise.
"Huh? Locked? Is Yukio-kun not here yet?" she murmured.
"Who's there?"
Just as Ichinose was about to pull out her student council room key from her bag, a familiar voice—Kushida's—came from inside.
Kushida was already here? Typical Kushida, always diligent and responsible. Ichinose smiled to herself, not suspecting anything unusual, and called out cheerfully, "Good morning, Kushida-chan! Could you help me with the door?"
"Ah? I-I-Ichinose-chan?" Kushida's voice quivered slightly, sounding more surprised than Ichinose expected.
Before she could process Kushida's tone, Yukio's voice followed from inside the room:
"Sorry, Ichinose. Kushida and I are fixing the air conditioner right now, so we're tied up at the moment."
"Could you go to the club building and ask the administrator to send over a repair technician?"
Ichinose blinked in surprise, her brows furrowing slightly. The air conditioner? It was working perfectly fine yesterday.
"Why is the door closed while you're fixing the air conditioner? And why are you two too busy to open the door?"
"Exactly," Kushida's voice sounded strained, as though she was genuinely exerting herself. "I-I'm holding the ladder for Yukio-kun. Sorry, sorry, Ichinose-chan, I can't open the door for you right now."
"It's fine, it's fine," Ichinose replied quickly, piecing together the situation in her head. She assumed they were using an A-frame ladder.
The thought of Kushida leaving Yukio stranded on top of a ladder to open the door made her uneasy. Even though A-frame ladders looked stable once unfolded—and they usually were—having someone hold them offered additional security.
Ichinose wasn't surprised there was a ladder available. The student council room was on the top floor of the club building, and apart from the main hall for work and meetings, there was a small adjacent storage room. That room housed a variety of tools, from A-frame ladders to screwdrivers, voltage meters, and more. Students from nearby cultural clubs often borrowed these tools when they were too lazy to trek downstairs to the administrator's office.
So, it made sense to her that Yukio and Kushida had grabbed a ladder from the storage room to repair the air conditioner themselves. Nothing about it seemed unusual.
"Alright, Kushida-chan, you keep holding the ladder. I'll go downstairs to find someone to help. Wait for me just a little while longer," Ichinose said with complete innocence. She didn't question why the two didn't just pause their repairs and wait for a technician—her trusting nature wouldn't allow such skepticism.
As the sounds outside the door gradually faded, Kushida, her face flushed bright red, softly pounded her fists against Yukio. "What if Ichinose-chan had found out? I was so scared!"
"Pfft," Yukio couldn't help but burst out laughing, his expression radiant and relaxed as if he'd been completely refreshed. "Don't pin this on me! You were clearly enjoying yourself."
"I was ready to stop the moment Ichinose tried the door, but no—you panicked, got carried away, and wouldn't let go. Even if I wanted to leave, I couldn't!"
"!" Kushida's blush deepened further, her face practically glowing red like it might burst from embarrassment. "S-stop talking about it."
"And besides," she muttered under her breath, her voice soft and tinged with accusation, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have ended up like this in the first place..."
"Hey, hey, hey." Yukio felt completely wronged. "How is this my fault? Who was it that came to the student council room early in the morning and said, I've accumulated so much negativity lately, constantly listening to "friends" vent their complaints. I need to release some of it?"
"W-what!" Kushida, knowing she was in the wrong, pouted slightly, her expression turning a bit aggrieved. "I... I just thought Yukio-kun would like it, that's all."
Finally achieving her long-awaited goal of joining the student council, Kushida had basked in the congratulations of most of her "friends" the previous evening. Their warm messages had fueled her pride, leaving her brimming with joy.
After the happiness subsided, her thoughts turned to Yukio. She reflected on his "behind-the-scenes operation" that had undoubtedly secured her spot in the council, sparking a wave of gratitude.
Just a few months ago, at the end of summer vacation, she had grumbled about Yukio's bias—how he only played water fights with Ichinose and didn't join her on the slides, and how he had appointed Ichinose as vice president while leaving her out of the council entirely.
Looking back now, Kushida realized Yukio had actually been considerate all along, never truly ignoring her.
Feeling a surge of appreciation, she had decided to come to the student council room to "reward" him with a little treat. Her intentions were heartfelt, but Ichinose's sudden arrival had thrown a wrench in her plans.
Meanwhile, Yukio looked visibly frustrated, as though he had been forced into unpaid overtime. Kushida may have gotten what she wanted, but he felt utterly stifled, with nothing gained on his side. And now, he had to contend with Kushida's pitiful act.
Still, he had no intention of taking his frustration out on her. Softening his expression, he admitted, "Honestly, I did enjoy it."
Hearing this, Kushida's grievances melted away. Her face lit up with a sweet smile, and she instantly transformed into a playful and affectionate girl. "Hmph, I knew it! But enough about that. Ichinose should be back soon—hurry up and clean this up."
Not long after, Ichinose returned to the student council room. This time, the door opened without resistance. As she stepped inside, she immediately crossed her arms. "Why is it so cold in here?"
Her gaze quickly fell on the scene before her: an A-frame ladder in the middle of the room, the air conditioner turned off, Yukio standing nonchalantly by the open window gazing outside, and Kushida wiping sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief.
"Good morning, Ichinose~" Kushida greeted her with a cheerful smile before explaining, "It felt stuffy, so Yukio-kun decided to open the window for some fresh air."
"Oh," Ichinose nodded in understanding. "Makes sense, the air conditioner isn't working, so you opened the window. That checks out."
As for the sweat on Kushida's forehead, Ichinose assumed it was from holding the ladder for Yukio. She vaguely remembered that Kushida's physical stamina wasn't great—how considerate of her to take on such a task.
"The administrator said the technician should be here soon," Ichinose added before turning back to the group.
Meanwhile, Yukio was quietly suppressing his exasperation, Kushida was enjoying her bittersweet satisfaction, and Ichinose carried on her responsible demeanor. Soon enough, the technician arrived. With practiced ease, he took out a hose, blew through it, and declared the air conditioner fixed. "No big deal—it was just clogged up with too much dust in the drain."
Ichinose naturally thanked him and escorted him back downstairs. Kushida finally let out a relieved sigh. After all, she had just witnessed Yukio climb up the ladder earlier with surprising agility, painstakingly scraping a large amount of dust off the air conditioner's filters and shoving it straight into the drainage pipe.
Truly flawless teamwork...