In the end, Haru never did get the truth out of Haruno.
And he was sure—absolutely sure—she hadn't been honest with him.
They had known each other for over ten years. Even if her tricks were elaborate and layered with lies and half-truths, he still knew her. At least a little.
After all, their battles of wits had started way back in elementary school. He still remembered when she used the excuse "Let's all go swimming together!" to invite him and Yukino to the Yukinoshita family's private pool.
Back then, Haruno wasn't the polished, expressionless trickster she was now. Her poker face hadn't fully developed. She was still young—her deceptions a little clumsy, her reactions still readable.
So when he realized her real goal wasn't swimming, but snapping a photo of his bare butt with a camera, he struck first—pushing her into the pool while she was still strapped into her life jacket. As a bonus, he tossed her a float ring afterward.
He still remembered how her cheeks flushed red with fury, while Yukino stood on the edge of the pool, stunned into silence, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Hellooo? I'm saying goodbye here, and you're spacing out?"
At the school gate, Haruno purposely spoke in a dissatisfied tone, interrupting Haru's thoughts.
"I was just thinking about the past," he said, smiling nostalgically.
"Oh? Were you thinking about me?"
"You figured that out, huh?"
"Of course, we've known each other since we were little... Come on, tell me. What were you thinking about? I'm curious too."
"About that time you tricked me into going to the pool."
As soon as he said that, Haruno immediately showed an expression of regret. "That time was really unfortunate. You, of all people, showed your bad side and actually pushed me into the water."
"That was clever," Haru defended himself. "If I didn't act first, I would've been the one pushed in. Who knows? You might have even taken my pants off."
Haruno burst into laughter. "You remember that so clearly? You're right, I was planning to take a photo of you with no pants on. I was even thinking of using it to embarrass you for the rest of your life, but unfortunately, you weren't playing along."
Talking about the past, her gaze softened.
At least for this moment, she was no longer the faceless Haruno who wore a mask. All her emotions were sincere.
Haru looked at her soft smile and laughed too. "I've always been clever. Not to brag, but that's what my mom always says."
"Tch, using Auntie's words against me, huh?"
After chatting for a while, the two of them parted ways.
At that moment, the wind blew gently. In Haru's line of sight, Haruno's long dress swayed with the breeze, her hair fluttering in the air.
Her skirt covered her calves, so there was no need to worry about any wardrobe malfunctions. On the other hand, a few girls nearby, whose skirts were shorter, squealed and hurriedly covered their skirts.
Haruno, seemingly aware of the situation, pressed down her messy hair and turned to face Haru. Seeing him still standing there, she smiled gently. "You should head back soon."
"Alright."
Haru nodded and turned to leave.
This time, it was Haruno who stayed behind, watching his retreating figure.
A girl who happened to know Haruno came over, holding her skirt down, and curiously asked, "Haruno, is that your boyfriend? He's much better looking than the guys who usually chase after you at the University."
Haruno smiled and shook her head. "He's my sister's boyfriend."
"Eh? Really? I heard he made quite a scene earlier, speaking Spanish at your encouragement, and then stayed with you at the school gate for a while."
"It spread that quickly?"
"Of course, you're really popular."
At that compliment, Haruno just smiled.
Popular?
It was probably because she was so meticulous in her actions at school, always keeping everything in check and doing well with people. She couldn't say that was easy.
Haruno's gaze subtly shifted as she thought about how comfortable she felt around him, and a trace of regret flickered in her heart: I should have had him stay with me a little longer.
…
In the afternoon, Haru was in front of the refrigerator, organizing ingredients and thinking about what to cook for dinner when Yukino called and said she wouldn't be home for dinner.
Haru casually asked, and that's when he found out that Yukino was going to visit a filming set with Utaha to observe and learn.
That caught him by surprise. Just a few days ago, they had been arguing non-stop. How were they already able to go out together again?
Soon after, Yukino sent a message that cleared up Haru's confusion.
Yukino had sent a picture.
It was a screenshot from a social media app.
The conversation in the chat was between Yukino and Utaha.
Yukino: "If you make me angry again, I'll consider editing that video and sending it to the photography club members."
Utaha: "I've been good, please spare me."
Reading the contents of the picture, Haru almost laughed out loud. "So this is how you handled her, huh? But with her competitive nature, she's probably…"
"Probably just being temporarily submissive," Yukino had the same thought.
Both of them knew that Utaha wouldn't give up so easily.
Even if Yukino put up a sign that said "I've been good, please spare me," Utaha would likely give Yukino the middle finger as she raised the sign.
With only him at home, he didn't feel like putting much thought into what to have for dinner. He figured he'd just make a couple of simple dishes and call it a day.
That was his plan until Megumi sent him a message asking if it was convenient for her to come over. She wanted to visit.
"She's not timing this perfectly, is she?"
Haru wasn't sure.
Yukino had just told him she wouldn't be home for dinner, and now Megumi was asking to visit. It was hard not to be suspicious.
He replied to her message, asking a few questions, and Megumi explained that she had run into some issues while learning the photography techniques the department had taught, so she wanted to come over and ask for help.
She ended the message by adding: "Do you want any drinks? I can bring something along the way."
Now he had no reason to ask any more questions.
He had said before that anyone in the photography department could come to him for help with their studies if they needed it.
It didn't take long before Megumi arrived.
She hadn't made any effort to dress up, still wearing her well-tailored school uniform.
"Here, these are the cookies I made after asking Yukino for help."
"Thanks… but I didn't know you asked her for help with this?"
"Yukino's really nice. Even though she's strict, as long as you listen carefully to her teachings, she's never stingy with her advice."
As Megumi changed into indoor shoes, she explained softly.
Haru actually wanted to ask why she didn't come to him for help instead of going to Yukino, whom she was suspicious of.
But her explanation was so reasonable that he couldn't bring himself to ask further.
Megumi sat down in the living room and casually petted the fat cat's head, which responded with a lazy meow.
Haru brought over tea and snacks, casually asking, "Do you know about Yukino and Utaha going to the set?"
"I do."
To his surprise, Megumi nodded.
Under his puzzled gaze, she calmly said, "The senior initially invited me, but I wanted to solve the problems I had first, so I didn't accept. Yukino was there too, and she knows I'm coming over."
Haru was left speechless.
How should he describe this?
He had thought that Megumi was secretly seizing an opportunity, but to his surprise, she had been completely open about it, letting both Yukino and Utaha know in advance.
It was all about being reasonable and above board.
Utaha still saw Megumi as a partner, so she probably didn't have any serious doubts.
But Yukino was different. She had already expressed to him more than once that she had strong reasons to be suspicious of Megumi.
There were no holes in her story—Megumi was perfect.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"I'll go check."
He told Megumi, suspiciously getting up and heading toward the door, wondering who would show up at this time.
When he opened the door, he froze.
Standing at the door was his mother.
She was holding a large black bag and smiling widely. "This bag has shiitake mushroom sauce and broad bean paste. I had some free time today, so since I made it, I thought I'd bring it over to you."
Haru was taken aback as he took the bag. "Mom, this is so sudden! You didn't even call first?"
"Isn't it natural for a mother to bring things to her son? Why would I need to call ahead?"
His mother came in, changed her shoes, and continued talking. "You used to love these sauces when you were little. A while ago, I had some free time, so I went and bought the ingredients to make them myself."
Haru couldn't help but laugh and feel touched. "You didn't have to do all this. If I really wanted to eat, I could just buy it myself."
"Buying it outside can't compare to homemade," his mom said dismissively.
Haru had no response to that.
Even though, under his guidance, his parents were now financially independent, they still refused to slow down.
He had tried to convince them to retire early and travel more, but they had rejected the idea.
His mother's reasoning was, "I still haven't seen you marry Yukino. I need to keep earning money for you two."
From a certain perspective, Mrs. Yukinoshita once thought Haru's mom was too naive, thinking that his mom had been well protected. And that feeling was right.
After all these years, his dad had been knocked down several times by Haru's "business skills," while his mom was still happily thinking, "My son and I make a great team in business."
At this moment, his mom noticed Megumi's shoes on the shoe rack.
She immediately recognized that they weren't Haru's shoes, and her face lit up with excitement. "Is Yukino here too?"
Haru instinctively thought of a phrase from Gintama: "It's not Yukino, it's Megumi."
He told her the truth: "She's a friend of mine, and also a member of our photography department. Her name's Megumi Kato."
"I don't remember her… Wait, you invited another girl over to your place?" His mom immediately caught on.
Haru nodded, then shook his head. "To be exact, she came over because she had some problems and needed help."
His mom's expression was complicated.
The look in her eyes seemed to say, "I'm glad to see my son finally learning to attract the right attention, but you can't just go messing around like that!"
Haru understood his mom's thoughts. Though life had its ups and downs, he still wanted to live, not die.
So he quickly explained, "Megumi and I are just friends."
His mom gave a knowing chuckle but didn't respond.
However, her curiosity about Megumi had clearly skyrocketed.
She really wanted to see how beautiful the girl Haru had brought home was.