"Oh? Eriri, is that drawing supposed to be me?" Yuki glanced at the bento box beside the easel, she had been eating her lunch in the art room then turned his gaze back to the sketch.
"Huh?! W-Well…" Caught off guard, Eriri didn't know how to answer.
She had, in fact, been drawing Yuki. She had started on this piece last week. Ever since that art class, when she had seen Origami's portrait of Yuki, something had stirred in her. As someone who prided herself on her artistic skill, she had felt a little competitive. So she decided to follow Origami's lead and draw Yuki herself.
In theory, drawing someone should have been easy for a person with her talent. She just needed a few looks to memorize their features and then put them on paper. But that didn't work with Yuki. Even though she remembered his face, vividly burned into her mind, somehow, without him in front of her, she couldn't quite capture the feeling. The previous attempts had all been unsatisfactory. This one… she had stopped halfway.
"Yes… it's Yuki-kun." A faint blush crept onto Eriri's cheeks. Her eyes darted away like a startled fawn, and she bit her lower lip as she gave her answer. Now that he had already recognized it, there was no point in denying it.
"Don't get the wrong idea! It's not like I like you or anything. I was just bored and wanted to draw someone. And you just happened to make a good model. That's the only reason!"
The girl's tsundere explanation practically screamed that she did, in fact, have feelings. That stubborn pride, that was the Eriri he knew. Yuki just shrugged and said nothing. He stepped past her small frame and approached the easel.
"Hmm… it's not bad. But the lines here could be better." He rubbed his chin, studying the sketch of himself, and pointed out a flaw.
"Huh? Where? Show me!" Eriri quickly turned around and leaned in to see what he meant.
"Right here, the jawline is a bit too curved. Eriri, you don't actually think my jaw looks like this, do you?" Yuki turned his handsome face toward her, grinned, and teased.
"Huh?!" Eriri's heart tightened, and she quickly shook her head. "No, no!" She turned her gaze back to the sketch, scrutinizing the jawline, then glanced at Yuki's actual jaw. Her ocean-blue eyes narrowed as she carefully compared the two.
"Do you want me to come closer so you can get a better look?" Yuki smiled softly. Without waiting for an answer, he slowly leaned his face toward hers.
His face was now directly in front of hers eye to eye, nose to nose, mouth to mouth, barely inches apart. When the warmth of his breath brushed against her cheek, Eriri felt her heart skip a beat. Ripples stirred within her, and her pulse began to race uncontrollably. Her fair, delicate cheeks flushed crimson, the color spreading all the way to her ears. She felt dizzy, like there were a dozen Yukis spinning in front of her, and she had no idea what to do.
"What's wrong? Say something, Eriri." Seeing her flustered state, Yuki smirked and continued to tease her.
"N-Nothing! I-I've got it now! You don't have to come any closer!" Eriri turned her head away in embarrassment, her words stumbling over each other.
"Oh, I see. So Eriri doesn't want me around." Yuki's expression shifted to one of feigned disappointment, a faint bitter smile on his face, one that seemed to carry a sense of helplessness and hurt.
"Ah! No! That's not what I meant!" Eriri's eyes widened in panic, and she shook her head frantically.
Seeing the look on his face, a bitter ache began to spread in her chest. If Yuki thought she was disgusted by him, she would lose any chance of having a connection with him. Just imagining that outcome filled her with an inexplicable dread.
"I just... I only..." She wanted to explain but didn't know how. Her words came out as incoherent mumbles.
Seeing he had pushed far enough, Yuki decided to stop. "Relax. I was just teasing you." His expression instantly returned to its usual calm.
Eriri, realizing she had been played, flushed with a mix of embarrassment and indignation. "Ahhh! You jerk, Yuki! You made me so nervous! You idiot!" She grabbed Yuki by the collar and lightly pounded his chest with her fists.
Yuki didn't move. He let her vent her frustration.
Just then, a few students passing by the art room caught the scene. Through the window, it looked like a couple playfully bickering. They hurried away, quickening their steps. Once they were far enough, the students started whispering.
"The girl in the art room just now... wasn't that Sawamura Eriri from Class 1-A?" "Huh? The diplomat's daughter? Are you sure?" "No way I'm wrong. That was definitely Eriri!" "So does that mean the guy next to Eriri just now... is her boyfriend?!" "Probably. They looked pretty close." "This is huge news! Eriri, who's ranked in the top ten of the school beauty list, actually has a boyfriend!" "Let's hurry back and tell everyone!"
The gossip spread fast. Before long, news of Eriri having a boyfriend had traveled across the entire school. The person in question, however, had no idea.
After letting Eriri vent a little, Yuki continued to point out the flaws in her drawing and even offered some thoughtful suggestions for improvement. Eriri listened carefully, taking mental notes of his advice.
"Why don't you be my model right now? I'll try drawing a new one based on your suggestions." Without waiting for an answer, she took the old sketch off the easel and replaced it with a blank sheet, clearly eager to start.
Not wanting to dampen her enthusiasm, Yuki agreed to pose.
"How about you sit over there?" She pointed to a chair by the window.
Yuki nodded, walked over, and sat down. But just sitting there felt a bit stiff, so Eriri suggested he hold a book. He didn't mind. He grabbed a random book and began to read.
And so, the image of a handsome young man bathed in sunlight, quietly reading, came together before her. Captivated by the scene, Eriri began to paint like she had never painted before.