Hearing Ren's voice, Honami Ichinose slowly stepped out from behind the tree where she had been hiding. She kept her head lowered, afraid to look him in the eye.
She had been at a karaoke party with her classmates but had stepped outside for some fresh air. Purely by chance, she had spotted Ren across the street in a café, chatting happily with a female Senpai. She even saw him affectionately ruffle the upperclassman's hair before he left.
Honami immediately sent a message to the class group chat, making an excuse to leave early. Then, she followed Ren, wanting to see where he was sneaking off to instead of joining the class celebration.
She thought she had been stealthy, but she never imagined Ren had spotted her long ago. Her face flushed a deep crimson. She was so embarrassed she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in it.
"Lift your head. What did I teach you?" Ren's voice was no longer the gentle tone he had used when they first met at the classroom door.
It was fine that she followed him; it was even excusable that she got caught. But lowering her head in shame like a coward? That was unacceptable. Even if she had just stayed hidden and refused to come out, he would have respected that more.
Not daring to defy his command, Honami forced her stiff body to straighten and looked up at him. She didn't say a word, but the rims of her eyes were slightly red.
Only then did she realize that Ren was leaning against the railing, looking out at the endless ocean. He hadn't even turned around to look at her.
"Come here."
It was as if Ren had eyes in the back of his head; he knew exactly where she was standing. He gave another order without turning.
That meanie, Ren-kun... I'll... I'll... Ugh. I really can't win against him.
Honami's eyes were red, like a little rabbit that had been wronged, but she didn't dare to bite. She could only sulk. With her hands behind her back, she slowly shuffled over to his side.
When the girl finally reached him, Ren fished an apple from his bag and tossed it to her.
Honami fumbled to catch it against her chest. He took another apple for himself and took a crisp bite.
The crunch of the apple broke the silence. The fresh scent of the fruit filled the air. "Why were you sneaking around?"
"Huh?" Honami, who had been taking tiny, tentative nibbles of her apple, widened her eyes at his question. Her pretty blue eyes were filled with confusion. She had naively thought that him giving her the apple meant the matter was settled.
"Well... I saw you in the café, talking so happily with a Senpai, and I..."
"You were jealous," Ren stated, cutting through her hesitation. His tone didn't change at all. This was too normal for him. He had dealt with similar situations countless times growing up.
"Yes! I was jealous!" Her secret thoughts exposed, Honami squeezed her eyes shut and blurted it out. That's right! I'm putting my cards on the table. I was jealous!
Hearing her words, which sounded like a defiant declaration, Ren glanced at her with surprise.
Has the weak little rabbit really grown up?
He didn't answer immediately. He just took another bite of the crisp, sweet apple and chewed it slowly.
Honami waited for a long time, but Ren remained silent. She peeked through a tiny slit in her eyelids, only to see him chewing the apple with a blank expression. Anger rose in her heart, and her voice became pouty. "Hey! Ren-kun, give me an answer!"
"Honami, you know I'm not a faithful person."
Ren turned his gaze from the ocean to the girl. His tone became serious. He wanted her to think clearly before she made a decision.
To put it bluntly, he was a womanizer. To put it nicely, he had too much love to give to just one person.
As the sole heir of the Katsuragi main line, and with his parents having no plans to give him a sibling, the duty of continuing the family line fell squarely on his shoulders. Ren knew he could never have just one wife, so he had to be transparent with her.
It was better to lay out all the facts now. If she didn't mind, then he didn't mind. If she did... it would be better to cut things off cleanly. He understood that being indecisive would only lead to trouble later.
Honami's first reaction was to tell this jerk to get lost. But that thought stung her heart. She seemed to understand the gravity of the moment. This was probably her one and only chance to accept him or lose him.
The girl suddenly snatched the half-eaten apple from Ren's hand. She located the bite mark he had left and took a large, defiant bite right over it. With her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, she stared stubbornly at him.
Ren, being stared down by Honami, smiled. He understood her choice.
He took the apple back from her, leaned down, and whispered close to her ear. "Good girl."
Stop. I'm not falling for that. Honami swallowed the apple chunk and turned her head away, refusing to look at him to hide her blush.
Ren wasn't annoyed by her pouting. He pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. He looked quietly at the sea and asked, "Honami, what do you think of Class B?"
When it came to serious class matters, Honami stopped pouting. She thought about his question seriously. After a moment, she spoke. "The atmosphere in Class B is good. Everyone is very nice. I think it's great, right?"
Her answer was exactly what Ren expected. "And?"
"And... we'll work hard to get to Class A!"
"How? By winning them over with kindness? By holding hands and cooperating? From the way things look, the other three classes are our enemies, not our friends," Ren said calmly.
It seemed his appointed class "leader" still didn't understand the nature of competition. He needed to give her a firm direction.
"..." Honami fell silent. She wasn't stupid. She knew that her idealistic attitude alone was not enough to get them promoted.
But! She had a plan.
She hugged Ren's arm with both hands and shook it gently, pressing it deep into her soft chest. She looked up at him with pleading eyes and called his name in a syrupy, cute voice.
"Ren-kuuuun~"