Haizaki's refusal did not really come as a surprise. Still, for a boy his age to decisively reject the temptation of being in the same club as a beautiful girl like Yukino was quite unexpected.
Normally, shouldn't he hesitate a bit before refusing?
After school, spending time with a beautiful girl in the clubroom, seeing each other every day, enjoying youth—wasn't that a good thing?
Shizuka was puzzled.
"I remember that high schools in the Eastern Union don't have club activities, but here in Japan, clubs are an indispensable part of high school life. If you don't join one, that's a huge loss."
Shizuka tried to persuade him indirectly.
Finding suitable members for Yukino was not an easy task.
Her personality alone filtered out most students, and as for the remaining few… they still needed the right opportunity.
Only Haizaki, the transfer student from abroad, had no existing social network and held no preconceived impressions of anyone.
Coupled with Haizaki's resumé and his attitude during the cleaning, Shizuka felt he was an excellent choice to become Yukino's club member.
After all, given Yukino's personality, her options were extremely limited.
"I'm sorry. Thank you for your kindness, but I have other matters to attend to after school."
"Studying? Even if it's studying, you shouldn't do it twenty-four hours a day. Club activities help balance work and rest, relax the mind, and actually have a positive effect on academics."
She was well aware of why Haizaki had been specially recruited.
Being top in academics was one thing, but giving up everything else to study single-mindedly—in Hiratsuka Shizuka's view, that was nothing more than dead studying.
"No. It's part-time work. Living expenses in Japan are very high. Chiba isn't Tokyo, but the cost of living is still far higher than in the Eastern Union. I need to work part-time after school to cover my expenses."
Money.
With that, Shizuka had no way to argue further.
Giving Haizaki money directly was completely inappropriate, no matter how she looked at it.
Having no better solution, Shizuka could only fall silent and accept Haizaki's reason for the time being.
At this moment, Yukino spoke up.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, I'll find a way to resolve the club member issue myself. You don't need to worry."
Since Haizaki was unwilling, she would not force him.
Yukino was not someone who liked to make others do things they didn't want to do.
"That's really a pity," Shizuka sighed.
"This was clearly the classic high school romance setup. Same class, front-and-back seats, the same club, plus a little accident—like slipping, dropping something, close physical contact, or even an accidental kiss. Isn't that the standard light novel development?"
Shizuka spoke bluntly, voicing her thoughts without restraint. Her words were full of teasing, her gaze fixed on Haizaki, as if to say, You're missing out—change your mind and I'll let you join the club.
Haizaki's expression did not change. He was afraid Shizuka might notice something.
If she found out about what had just happened, Haizaki himself would be fine, but Yukino was different. As cold and proud as she was, she was still a girl, with a girl's reserve and sense of shame.
If it were discovered, she would surely be embarrassed and furious.
So pretending that nothing had happened was the best choice.
Beside him, Yukino turned slightly sideways, her face unconsciously flushing faintly red.
She had never expected that Shizuka's casual words would hit the mark so accurately.
What had just happened—honestly, if she hadn't experienced it herself, she would never have believed such an accident could happen in real life.
"What a pity. When you leave, remember to close the windows and doors properly."
Seeing that Haizaki had made up his mind, Shizuka didn't say anything more. She waved and left.
She was somewhat discouraged.
She had thought she could add a capable member for Yukino, but it turned out to be impossible.
After Shizuka left the clubroom and her footsteps faded away, Haizaki spoke.
"I apologize to you, Yukinoshita-san…"
Yukino, who had thought he would let it slide, was slightly startled. She hadn't expected Haizaki to bring it up again and apologize.
"Does an apology… have any use?"
The girl's voice was calm, without blame or accusation—she was simply stating a fact.
That was Yukino's way of doing things.
"Probably… not."
"Then why apologize, if it's useless?"
"I just want to express my apology. I bear undeniable responsibility for what happened earlier, and I'm willing to take responsibility for it."
As Haizaki spoke seriously, he slipped his right hand into his pocket.
"You can take responsibility? How?"
She smiled, but the smile was cold.
Her first kiss had been taken—how could he possibly take responsibility for that?
Dating her? That was a joke.
"Contact the police and handle it according to the law. That should definitely satisfy Yukinoshita-san."
After saying this, Haizaki dialed the police right in front of her.
As if he were testing her, this made Yukino deeply uncomfortable, and she chose to remain silent for the moment.
"Hello, this is Sobu High School…"
He wasn't joking.
Yukino froze, then reacted immediately.
"What are you doing—"
She quickly stepped forward and snatched the phone from Haizaki's hand.
"Sorry, it was just a disagreement between classmates. I'm sorry, really sorry."
Yukino spoke to the police operator, repeatedly explaining that nothing serious had happened and that it was just a minor conflict between students.
After three minutes, the call finally ended.
"You… have successfully angered me, Yusuke-kun."
Calling the police over something like this—if word got out, what would she do?
Whether she was at fault or the victim, once this reached the Chiba police, her family would inevitably learn about it, and other families in Chiba might hear of it as well.
She could very well become a laughingstock that brought shame to her family.
She didn't like the Yukinoshita family, but as a member of it, she still had to shoulder the responsibility of protecting its reputation.
"Why?"
Haizaki wore a puzzled expression, as if he truly didn't realize what he had done wrong.
He was doing it on purpose—deliberately pretending to be ignorant.
"..."
Yukino was furious, but she couldn't explain further.
"This matter ends here. I don't want anyone else to know about it."
She didn't trust Haizaki, but at this moment, she had no better choice than to trust him.
Threatening or bribing him into silence?
That wasn't a good approach, and after all, it was just an accidental kiss—there was no need to go that far.
"I understand. No problem."
"I hope you keep your word. Please close the doors and windows properly. I'll be leaving first."
Even though she was angry at Haizaki, her every word and action remained full of courtesy.
After saying goodbye, Yukino left steadily, though her retreating figure carried a hint of escape.
Watching Yukino's back disappear, Haizaki let out a breath.
This was fine.
He had successfully provoked Yukino's dislike. From now on, as long as he maintained normal interactions, that would be enough.
From here on, he and she would continue their ordinary high school lives.
…
"Iroha, be more careful when you go out next time. Don't lose your student ID again."
As soon as Iroha Iroha entered the house, she heard her mother's lecture and immediately felt embarrassed.
Her mother must have seen her looking for her student ID that morning.
"Hehehe, Mom, it wasn't lost, was it?"
Iroha tried to smooth things over with a flattering smile.
"That's just because you were lucky. What if you'd lost it somewhere else? You'd have had to get a replacement. I put your student ID on your desk. Next time… honestly, you child…"
Seeing that Iroha had already run off before she even finished speaking, her mother sighed helplessly.
Upstairs, Iroha quickly opened her bedroom door.
Her student ID lay quietly on her desk.
She then took out the student ID from her pocket.
They were identical—exactly the same.
"Things… are getting interesting."
The astonished and puzzled look vanished, replaced by a devilish, cunning smile on Iroha's face.
…