"Kitahara Sosuke, stand up!"
Sosuke jolted upright, completely bewildered. He had no idea why the elderly literature teacher had suddenly called him out.
Aino Junko squinted at him through her reading glasses, her sharp gaze boring into him from the front of the classroom.
"Kitahara Sosuke, you've been staring at that girl for almost the entire class period. Aren't you tired? Because I sure am from just watching you."
After two years in the same class, there were hardly any secrets left among them.
Half a year ago, on a sunny afternoon, Sosuke had confessed to Kasasaka Shiko… and was ruthlessly rejected. The story spread like wildfire, especially since it involved one of Toyosaki Academy's most well-known girls. It didn't take long for the whole class to find out.
Even though no one brought it up directly anymore, everyone knew. It had become a silent, shared piece of gossip.
The moment Junko's words left her mouth, Shiko instinctively braced herself.
Laughter exploded across the room.
Shiko groaned and covered her forehead, shutting her eyes as if pretending none of it was happening.
Sosuke, on the other hand, didn't feel the least bit embarrassed. After living two lives and surviving an apocalypse this kind of teasing meant nothing. His confession to Shiko had only been to make peace with a regret from his past life. If he were being honest, his interest in her was mostly about her figure and her beautiful face.
Still, even if he didn't care, he had to think about how she felt. And the class being this rowdy all morning wasn't helping anyone.
So he replied calmly, "Sensei, you're mistaken. I may have been resting my head, but my ears were listening closely."
Several students couldn't hold back their giggles.
Junko hadn't expected Sosuke to talk back. Annoyed, she slapped her textbook onto the lectern, her smile vanishing. She stared at him in silence.
The classroom fell quiet.
After a few tense seconds, Sosuke relented and lowered his head.
"You're right, Sensei. I was looking at a girl."
Boom...
The entire floor shook with laughter. Class 2-C had just declared war on peace and quiet.
…
September 20, 2020
12:10 PM
After getting chewed out in the teacher's office, Sosuke headed straight for the rooftop.
There, in her black school uniform, Kasasaka Shiko stood by the three-meter-high safety fence, gazing at the sky. Her polished leather shoes clicked lightly against the concrete. Her slender legs, wrapped in sheer black stockings, were nothing short of captivating.
As Sosuke stepped out from the stairwell, she turned her head slightly. Neither of them spoke.
She went back to staring into the distance. Sosuke ignored her and walked over to a bench, sitting down. From there, he had a perfect view of Toyosaki Academy's back gate.
A moment later, footsteps echoed behind him, followed by a faint scent of perfume.
He glanced to the side. That black-stockinged leg was right in front of him.
His gaze slowly trailed upward. Beneath her uniform, Shiko's figure curved in all the right places, every line perfectly accentuated.
Then he noticed something sitting beside the bench: a carton of milk and a neatly packaged bread roll.
It clicked.
He scooted over. "Shiko-sensei, have a seat."
Without a word, Shiko sat down. Her long legs crossed beneath her pleated skirt, swinging slightly in a way that was far too distracting. Completely oblivious to the effect, she casually flipped her black hair back and reached for the bread.
She hesitated for a moment, then broke it in half and held one piece out to Sosuke.
"Here. I can't eat this much. No point letting it go to waste."
Sosuke opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off.
"Just take it."
"Thanks." He took it with a nod, then immediately held it back out.
"Let's switch. I'll take the smaller piece. Don't argue. If you do, I'm not eating either of them."
"Ugh, so annoying," she muttered, but still swapped pieces with him.
Just as she took a bite, Sosuke tapped his head as if remembering something.
"Ah, crap. I went to the bathroom earlier… forgot to wash my hands."
A bolt of lightning seemed to flash across the sky.
Time froze.
Shiko's hand, still holding the bread, stiffened midair. A heavy silence filled the air. Her eyebrow twitched.
Sosuke quickly waved his hands.
"Kidding! Just kidding! Don't look at me like that. Seriously, I came straight here from the office."
Shiko kicked his foot not too hard, but definitely not gently either. Her face was twisted into a mix of irritation and disgust.
After a long sigh, she muttered, "Why is this the person who actually talks to me at school…"
She tore off the section he had touched and handed it to him. Sosuke, unfazed, popped it right into his mouth.
He glanced sideways at her, sipping milk and nibbling at the bread. His thoughts drifted back four months ago.
That day had been the release event for Love Metronome.
After two months of nonstop training, Sosuke decided he deserved a break. So he went to the autograph event.
In the long line of fans, he unexpectedly spotted a familiar face Aki Tomoya.
On a whim, Sosuke handed ten thousand yen to the guy behind Tomoya and swapped places. Just as Tomoya passionately gushed about Love Metronome to Shiko, Sosuke called out behind him:
"Shiko-sensei!?"
That one shout carried surprise, admiration, disbelief every emotion packed into a single line.
Then came her surprise, recognizing her classmate.
From that moment on, she forgot about Aki Tomoya entirely.
That event became their first real connection. Starting from Love Metronome, the gap between them gradually closed. While things hadn't exactly reached boiling point, they were no longer just ordinary classmates.
"What are you smiling about? You look like a creep," Shiko muttered, kicking him again.
"What the hell? I'm not smiling!" Sosuke snapped. These kicks were becoming a habit.
He turned to glare at her. She glared right back.
They stared at each other for a long time.
Finally, Shiko blinked, and her momentum faded. She looked away and muttered, "What was wrong with you today? Especially in class. You know how temperamental that old hag is, why push her buttons?"
Sosuke didn't answer right away. After a moment of thought, he looked at her seriously.
"Can I ask you something?"
"You're not going to confess again, are you?" she interrupted.
"Please, I'm not that desperate. I don't go back to the same pasture twice."
She snorted, not bothering to reply.
"Have you been working out recently?" he asked.
"Why do you keep asking me that every few weeks?"
She waved him off in annoyance. "You shouldn't overdo it either. I think your current build is fine. Guys with bulky muscles are gross."
Sosuke couldn't tell her the truth not unless he wanted to be branded insane and locked away in some lab.
No one who hadn't lived through the apocalypse would ever believe it.
All he could do was give her hints, little nudges. Invite her to join him on weekend workouts, anything to get her moving. Her physical fitness might be the only thing standing between her and death when everything fell apart.
He had never considered himself chosen or blessed. Even after being reborn, he didn't think he was special. Once a zombie bit you, it was over.
There were rumors about people surviving infection through sheer will or some rare constitution, but he'd never seen it himself. Sounded like fairy tales from a ruined world.
"Saturday "
Before he could finish, a burst of noise echoed behind them.
Sosuke turned to look and his expression immediately changed.