Once again, Class 2-B — the class Riku and Mei studied in. But neither of them were here right now.
It was 3:30 PM. As said before, the time when most students SHOULD be home by now, but not here.
Near the window seats, around a cluster of six chairs, a group of students sat. Yeah, them.
Hana, Yuto, Arisa, Shun, Daichi, and lastly Aika.
"What the hell do you want now?" Yuto lifelessly asked.
Yuto's flat voice hung in the air, but Hana was already smirking.
"Oh, don't be so dramatic. We're not here to kill you."
"Could've fooled me," Yuto muttered.
Hana leaned forward on the desk, eyes glinting with mischief.
"We're here because someone has to fix Riku and Mei's mess. And guess who's volunteered you lot?"
Daichi groaned. "Why us? Can't you leave them to figure it out themselves?"
"Because they won't!" Hana shot back instantly, like she'd rehearsed this speech. "They're both hopeless. Hopeless!"
Arisa pinched the bridge of her nose. "This sounds like trouble already."
"Sounds like?" Yuto said. "It is trouble."
Meanwhile, Shun just sat there, chin propped on his hand, eyes quietly following the back‑and‑forth. He hadn't said a word—already defeated in his own mind.
Aika tapped the desk, annoyed. "Fine. Just… tell us the plan so we can reject it quickly."
Hana grinned like a cat about to pounce.
"Oh, don't worry. It's simple. Painfully simple."
Everyone braced themselves.
"We will make them enemies."
Yuto immediately stood up and walked toward the door.
"Nope. I'm out."
Arisa grabbed his sleeve and yanked him back down. "Sit. Let's at least hear her out."
Hana covered her mouth, cheeks faintly pink.
"Thank you for believing in me. So—after making them enemies, they'll fight each other, and then… boom! Enemy-to-lover romcom!"
There was a beat of silence.
Then, in perfect unison, Yuto and Arisa stood up and started walking out.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Hana shouted.
---
After a while, they both came back, looking like they regretted it already.
"Why are we even humoring this?" Yuto muttered, slumping back into his chair.
"Because she won't shut up until we do," Arisa sighed.
"Correct!" Hana chirped, beaming as if she'd just won a prize. "Now, back to the plan."
Daichi raised a brow. "Let me guess. You're gonna throw them into a pit and hope they crawl out holding hands?"
Hana gasped. "...That's not bad, actually. But no! We'll make them bump heads, push them into little conflicts. You know—accidental insults, forced group work, maybe a fake rivalry or two."
"Sounds like psychological warfare," Yuto said.
"Sounds like Hana," Aika corrected flatly.
"You are soo right, Aika! Let's get married" daichi offered.
Aika held out her hands in a cross. She rejected him.
Poor daichi...
Shun finally spoke, his voice quiet but cutting through.
"And what if it backfires? What if they actually stay enemies?"
For a second, Hana blinked at him. Then her smirk returned, even brighter.
"Then we just… double down."
Everyone groaned.
"Look," Hana leaned in, lowering her voice like she was about to share a secret, "Riku and Mei are way too stubborn to admit their feelings. So, we'll force them into situations where they can't ignore each other. Conflict first… romance later."
Daichi dragged a hand down his face. "Why do I feel like we're about to get expelled?"
"Because we might," Yuto replied.
Arisa, despite herself, was starting to think. "...What kind of situations are we talking about?"
Hana grinned, sensing the crack in their resistance.
"Oh, you'll see. But trust me—it'll be perfect."
Shun exhaled, staring out the window. He already knew he was in too deep.
Aika crossed her arms. "If this blows up, I'm blaming you."
"Fine, fine," Hana said, clapping her hands. "So it's settled. Operation Enemy-to-Lover is a go!"
Nobody agreed out loud, but somehow… they were all in.
---
The very next day, Operation Enemy-to-Lover officially began.
Target: Riku Arai.
Target: Mei Hayasaka.
Location: Class 2-B, homeroom.
"Okay," Hana whispered, crouched behind a row of lockers with the others. "Phase One: The Notebook Switch."
"This sounds like a dumb shoujo manga plot," Yuto muttered, arms crossed.
"That's the point!" Hana shot back. "Now shh—Aika, you're up."
Aika didn't even look excited. She just walked over to Mei's desk, dropped her own notebook there, and slid Mei's into Riku's bag like she was clocking in for work.
Arisa rubbed her temples. "If they find out it was us, we're doomed."
"They won't," Hana whispered, grinning. "Now watch the magic happen."
The group peeked around the corner just in time to see Mei reach into her bag. She froze, holding up a notebook that clearly wasn't hers.
"What the—" Mei frowned, flipping through the pages.
At the same time, Riku sat down, opened the other notebook, and blinked.
"Holy shit. Was i always this good at writing?…Wait. This is—"
"—mine." Mei slammed her hands on his desk, glaring. "You stole it, didn't you?"
"What? No! Why would I—"
"Because you're Riku," Mei snapped, leaning closer.
"That's… tch!" Riku clicked his tongue. He couldn't counter her attack.
Mei crossed her arms, victorious. "Exactly what I thought. Typical Riku."
"I didn't take your stupid notebook!" Riku shot back, face reddening. "Maybe you just lost it—like you always do."
Mei slammed her palm on his desk again. "Excuse me?! I don't 'always' lose things."
"Really?" Riku leaned back in his chair, smirking despite the heat rising in his ears. "Then what about last week? You spent twenty minutes looking for your pencil. It was in your hair."
From the lockers, Hana nearly squealed.
"Yes! This is perfect! Look at them, already arguing like a married couple!"
"More like a divorced couple," Yuto muttered, deadpan.
Shun, without lifting his chin off his hand, added quietly, "This is gonna escalate."
Daichi grinned. "I say we let it. Free entertainment."
Back in the battlefield, Mei leaned even closer, her glare sharp enough to cut.
"Listen, I don't need your sarcasm. Just give me my notebook back."
Riku shoved it at her, a little harder than necessary.
"Take it! Not like I want to read your boring notes anyway."
"Oh, sorry for actually paying attention in class," Mei snapped, snatching it back.
Their eyes locked for a second too long, both refusing to look away first.
Hana gasped under her breath. "This… this is it. The spark."
Arisa side‑eyed her. "That's not a spark, Hana. That's a death stare."
"Same thing!" Hana whispered fiercely.
Meanwhile, Mei turned sharply, sitting down in a huff and flipping open her notebook. Riku did the same, pretending to be way too interested in his bag.
The tension was thick enough to choke on.
"…Phase One complete," Hana whispered, punching the air softly.
"May this not result in my death" Yuto quietly prayed.