"Shin is here."
In the classroom, Hina Ebina noticed Shin entering through the back door and nudged Yumiko Miura, who was sitting beside her.
Although the group of girls, including Yumiko Miura and Yui Yuigahama, often hung out with the boys like Hayama Hayato, most of the time, the boys and girls still gathered separately.
Seeing Shin walk into the classroom, Hina Ebina reminded Yumiko Miura, who had a crush on Shin, that she should take the initiative.
"What does it matter if he's here?" Yumiko Miura replied, seemingly nervous and trying to play it cool.
Her response left Hina Ebina and Yui Yuigahama feeling helpless—it was obvious that Yumiko Miura cared deeply, but she just wouldn't show it.
"Miura, being a tsundere is out of style now," Hina Ebina said, pushing up her glasses and adopting the wise tone often seen in anime, spouting words that Yumiko Miura couldn't quite understand.
"You don't have any childhood friend tropes or anything like that. If you don't take the initiative, Shin might really be taken by someone else."
"..."
Although Yumiko Miura didn't understand the whole "tsundere" thing, she got the gist of the latter part of Ebina's statement.
But even so, Yumiko Miura was still nervous.
She was actually a very proactive person. After becoming interested in Shin, she had been trying to pull him into their little group, which they jokingly called the "popular kids' circle."
In her mind, as long as she could get Shin into the group, she could slowly develop a relationship with him, and everything else would fall into place.
However, what frustrated her was that every time she tried, Shin effortlessly deflected her attempts—he didn't seem interested in joining their high-profile group.
The more she failed, the more she wanted to pull Shin into their circle, and the deeper she fell into her infatuation.
But in the end, as things stood now, Shin still had little to do with their group.
And yesterday, when Kasumigaoka Utaha came to the classroom to interact with Shin, Yumiko Miura felt a huge sense of crisis.
In terms of looks, Kasumigaoka Utaha was no less attractive than her, and she had the added appeal of being a top student and a literary girl, not to mention her curvaceous figure...
And the way Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at Shin—it was definitely not just about joining the club. That look was clearly directed at Shin himself!
"If Shin isn't interested in our group, why not... follow Kasumigaoka's example and apply to join the Paranormal Research Club?" Yui Yuigahama suggested, noticing Yumiko Miura's frustrated expression.
If he wouldn't join their circle, why not join his?
It wasn't like someone could only belong to one group in school. Having friends in class and a separate group in a club was pretty common, right?
"That's a great idea, Yuigahama," Hina Ebina said, her eyes lighting up as she clapped her hands and turned to Yumiko Miura.
"What do you think, Miura? This could work."
Yumiko Miura's face showed a flicker of interest as she considered the suggestion.
If she joined Shin's club, she could use the club as an excuse to spend more time with him.
...
During lunch break, in the Paranormal Research Club room, Ikuyo Kita played a short piece on her guitar for everyone.
Compared to the first time they heard her play on the rooftop, her progress was remarkable. Her pitch and fluency were far better than when she had just started.
"That was really good! I haven't heard you play before, but to reach this level in just two weeks is impressive, right?" said Eriri, who was hearing Ikuyo Kita play for the first time.
She didn't know much about music, but as a layperson, she could still tell whether something sounded good or not.
At the very least, Ikuyo Kita's performance sounded pleasant to her ears, and it didn't seem like she was having the "off days" she had mentioned before playing.
"On its own, it sounds fine, but it feels out of place in a group performance," Ikuyo Kita sighed, but it was Gotou Hitori, sitting nearby, who explained the issue with her playing.
Her comment made Shin give her a strange look.
If he remembered correctly, Gotou Hitori's first performance with the band had been a disaster because she couldn't keep up with the others.
In the original story, Gotou Hitori had even hidden inside a cardboard box during the performance, which made it impossible for her guitar to sync with the drums and bass.
It was surprising that, after just two weeks, Gotou Hitori was now in a position to critique someone else's guitar playing for not fitting into the group performance... She had really grown.
Ikuyo Kita didn't notice Shin's strange look at Gotou Hitori. She sighed and nodded, saying, "Yeah, it sounds fine when I play alone, but lately, I've been having trouble blending my guitar into the band's music."
"Is something on your mind?" Shin asked, looking at Ikuyo Kita. He had been puzzled when she mentioned having trouble with her playing earlier.
He remembered that in the original story, Ikuyo Kita hadn't encountered any major issues. She had learned the guitar smoothly from Gotou Hitori and was able to perform with the band without any problems.
Hearing this, Ikuyo Kita glanced up at Shin, then blushed and looked down without answering.
Seeing this, Shin immediately realized something and couldn't help but twitch his mouth.
Was Ikuyo Kita still embarrassed about overhearing his conversation with Megumi? Was that why she had been so distracted lately?
Surely not. In Shin's opinion, most people in Japan these days were pretty knowledgeable about that kind of stuff. Even if they hadn't experienced it firsthand, they would have at least come across it online.
Ikuyo Kita was a high school student, after all. She shouldn't be so flustered just because she overheard something, right?
This was probably because Shin had gotten so used to such things that he assumed others wouldn't be bothered by them either.
But for a pure-hearted girl, that kind of thing could be quite shocking—especially when it involved her friends, and one of them was a boy she had feelings for.
Lately, Ikuyo Kita had even started dreaming about Shin...
To be continued…
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