Ten minutes later, when Ichin returned to the library and reached the area where Utaha and Yukino were sitting, he saw Utaha happily waving at him.
As for Yukino, she was keeping her head down, reading her book, with no intention of looking at him at all.
There was no need to think about it—something must have happened between those two while he was out.
Carrying the bag with triple-strength coffee, Ichin walked over. After sitting down, he handed Yukino her coffee, then looked at Utaha and said, "What did you do to bully Yukino this time?"
"I didn't bully her at all."
With a bright smile, Utaha took out her phone and showed Ichin a photo—Yukino, just waking up, looking dazed and unfocused.
He had barely glanced at it twice before he felt Yukino press against him, reaching out to grab Utaha's phone, only for Utaha to nimbly dodge away.
Utaha laughed as she looked at Yukino, who was practically sprawled across Ichin, eyes fixed on the phone in her hand. "Alright, Yukino, stop trying to snatch it. Didn't I say I'd let Ichin take a look first?"
With that, she handed her phone to Ichin.
Ichin gently patted Yukino's head and soothed her. "Alright, I'll delete it after I'm done looking."
"…"
Yukino glared at Ichin. "Can't you just not look at it?"
"Sorry about that."
Apologizing as he spoke, Ichin unlocked Utaha's phone and looked at the photo again.
In the picture, Yukino had just woken up. Her bangs were slightly messy, her whole expression unfocused and hazy, and there were faint marks on her fair cheeks from resting against her arm.
After admiring it, Ichin smiled and said, "Mm, very cute—really cute. Don't worry, I'll delete it after this."
As he spoke, he personally deleted the photo.
Only then did Yukino nod in satisfaction.
In truth, the main reason Yukino minded wasn't just that Utaha had taken the photo—it was that if Utaha kept it and Haruno happened to see it, her sister would definitely demand a copy.
Normal everyday photos were fine, but this kind of slightly silly picture… she really didn't want her sister to see it.
Shooting Utaha—who was still smiling at her—a glare, Yukino picked up the coffee Ichin had bought and took a sip.
Checking the time, it was already 3:45 p.m. They planned to stay in the library until five, then go out for dinner, which meant they had a little over an hour left to study.
Yukino didn't waste any more time. She opened her textbook and continued reading.
They kept studying until 4:30, when Yukino's phone lit up.
Since she was studying in the library, it was set to silent. Picking it up, she saw that it was a call from her sister, Haruno.
After saying a word to Ichin, Yukino left the study area and went to the stairwell of the library to answer the call.
"Big Sis, is something wrong? I'm at the library right now."
"Oh, so that's how it is. No wonder you took so long to answer," Haruno replied.
Haruno had just finished a meeting and was in her office. After glancing at the sky outside, she said, "Yukino, what about dinner tonight? Are you making it yourself, or eating over at Ichin's place? I can get off work on time today, you know!"
Just as expected, Yukino knew that when her sister called, it was probably about dinner.
"As for today, Ichin and Utaha are both studying in the library. We're planning to find a restaurant to eat at after we're done. Sis, do you want to join us?"
"Sure! Count me in! Send me the address later. Yesterday's barbecue was on Ichin, so let me pay for dinner tonight!"
After ending the call, Yukino returned to the study area and told Ichin and Utaha about it.
Hearing that, Ichin smiled. "I was just telling Utaha that Haruno-nee was probably calling to ask about dinner. Since Haruno-nee is treating, that couldn't be better. What do you two feel like eating today?"
Utaha and Yukino exchanged a glance. Then Utaha had Ichin switch seats with her, and the two of them pulled out their phones to search together.
After nearly ten minutes, they finally settled on a Thai restaurant in Shinjuku, deciding to change things up tonight.
Ichin didn't mind Thai food at all. Compared to some Western cuisine or kaiseki, Thai food was actually easier for him to enjoy.
Dishes like curry crab, Thai curry chicken, tom yum soup, and pineapple fried rice were all favorites of his—the flavors were genuinely good.
After checking the restaurant's reviews, Ichin nodded. "Alright, let's go with this place. Yukino, send the address to Haruno-nee. I'll call and reserve a table—how about six o'clock? We'll head out a bit later."
Neither of them had any objections. If they went too early, Haruno wouldn't even be off work yet anyway. They weren't hungry yet either, so they could read a bit longer in the library.
Over the next few days, Ichin's life became very simple—he stayed on campus studying and prepared for the final exams that started on Wednesday.
As for the cooperation with the advertising company through Haruno's friend, Ichin had already set up a team specifically responsible for promotion and marketing. Those business negotiations could be left to them. After the exams were over, he would review the situation and then follow up with the other party based on how the talks went.
As for the exams themselves, there was naturally nothing to worry about. He finished them with ease, the results posed no problem at all, and Ichin, Utaha, and Yukino welcomed their spring break.
When April came and the new semester began, Ichin and Utaha would become fourth-year students and start preparing their graduation theses.
Yukino, meanwhile, would advance to her third year.
"Hmm… I feel like I've forgotten something?" Ichin said, voicing the doubt in his heart after sitting with the art team and discussing two completed background illustrations with Yagami Kō. "And it's not just today—it feels like I've been overlooking something for a while now."
Kō asked curiously, "Didn't expect you to forget things too. Is it work-related?"
Ichin shook his head. "No, I keep records of work stuff. I don't really forget those."
At that moment, Rin's voice came from behind them.
"Ichin-kun, I think I know what it is~~"
"Rin, you do?"
Ichin turned his chair around to look at Rin, and at the same time noticed the person standing beside her. He immediately realized.
"!!! I remember now—it's Eriri!"
Eriri stared at Ichin with dead fish eyes and spoke in a gloomy tone. "Just because I didn't come to the company these past two weeks due to classes… fine, I can let the group dinners slide. But how could you even forget to invite me to watch a movie?!"
From the looks of it, Eriri was extremely angry that everyone had gone to see the new Ultraman without bringing her along.
Only then did Ichin belatedly react—how had he managed to forget about Eriri's existence?
Thinking back, Ichin realized that he hadn't seen Eriri since around Valentine's Day. So it turned out she hadn't been coming to the company because of her coursework!
Scratching his head, Ichin looked at Eriri and said, "We're planning a get-together this Saturday. Want to come?"
"Yes! These days it's been nothing but academic exams and drawing exams at school—I'm going crazy!"
----
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