(Author:- Some readers pointed out the problem of my slow pace and too many descriptions of female characters. I have also realized this. After careful consideration, I am not a great god. The audience has no patience to bury a lot of foreshadowing. Let's speed up the rhythm. Cut off the plots of some not very important characters! If you see that a supporting role disappears later, please ignore it.)---
The next day, the English teacher saw Haruki Yuuki fall asleep on the table again. He took a deep breath and resisted the urge to spray him.
In his opinion, Haruki is already a typical case of giving up. Many people in the third year of high school are like this. He shook his head.
At the age of seventeen or eighteen, some people are in their third year of high school and are working hard in their studies to get into a good university.
There are also people like Haruki who don't care if they don't go to college, but have already started another career life.
And the reason why Haruki didn't ask for leave to draw comics is because he just wanted to at least guarantee high school attendance and get a high school diploma!
There are even more people like Kanna Shirasaka. Although she is excellent in her studies, her mind is not here.
At this time, Kotone was in class while she was chatting with someone happily on her mobile phone in the desk box.
"Then, that's it..."
"At night, I will take you to meet him!"
The person who was chatting with her on Line said so.
"Ok!"
Kotone wondered why the other party sent him instead of her!
But she didn't think too much; maybe it was a wrong number.
---
At a quiet Western-style café tucked away in Aoyama, a man and a woman sat across from each other, sipping red wine while the low hum of jazz played in the background.
"I've had some time to think about your proposal," Yuna Takahashi said, her tone calm, composed. She looked no older than twenty, with striking features and a poised, self-assured air. "But I have to ask one last thing—can you really secure me a slot in Sora, or one of the other major publications?"
Rika Hayashi swirled the wine in his glass, smiling faintly. "You're misunderstanding me. I said there's a chance, not a guarantee. You know how it is—my father's name still carries some weight in the industry, but this sort of thing... ultimately comes down to the strength of the work."
He lingered a little too long on the word strength, his gaze suggestive.
Yuna caught the subtext. She looked down at her glass, lips pressed in a line. For a while, she didn't say anything.
Eventually, she met his eyes again. "Understood. Then I'll leave it to you, Editor Hayashi."
"To a smooth partnership," Rika said, raising his glass.
"To our partnership," she echoed, clinking her glass against his.
As their hands met in a brief shake, Rika held her gaze. "You're sharp. Working with you is a lot easier than with some people."
"Oh?" Yuna arched an eyebrow. "Some people?"
"Just a junior editor at the office. Nothing worth mentioning."
Yuna gave a small nod, thoughtful.
"Well, now that I've decided to move my new series from Hoshikawa Publishing over to Kurokawa, I trust you've already looked into serialization options. I did announce last month that the new series would begin soon, after all."
"We're reviewing everything now," Rika replied smoothly. "If one of the current serials wraps up soon, we'll have a clean slot for you. If not… I'll make space. One of the less popular titles could rotate out."
Yuna leaned back, satisfied. "That's what I like to hear."
---
The bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day. A tide of students poured out of the classrooms, ready to head home.
Haruki slowly lifted his head from the desk, blinking sleepily at the orange sunset that painted the windows. The once-lively classroom was already nearly empty.
"...This late already?" He patted his cheeks lightly, trying to shake off the drowsiness.
No point lingering. Another long night of drawing awaited him at home.
Just as he was about to leave—
"Ah, wait! Yuuki-kun!"
He paused mid-step and turned around.
The only other person left in the classroom was a girl.
She had delicate features, large eyes that flickered with hesitation, and a nervous look about her. After a moment of fidgeting, she finally spoke.
"I... wanted to ask you something."
It was the class representative—Kanna.
Haruki tilted his head slightly. "What's up?"
"Um… could you... sign your name here?" she asked, pulling out two blank sheets and a pen, placing them on the desk.
Regret immediately flickered across her face. She was kicking herself for getting caught up in yesterday's conversation with her cousin and younger sister, both of whom were raving fans of The Garden of Words. She'd let her mouth run ahead of her brain and bragged that she was close friends with the manga's elusive creator, Shuishin-sensei.
Now they wanted proof.
Stuck with her own bluff, Kanna had no choice but to ask Haruki for the signatures. She was almost certain by now that he was Mizushiro-sensei… but in the two months since school started, the two of them had exchanged maybe twenty words total.
Haruki usually kept to himself—either chatting with a small group of friends, dozing off, or staring blankly out the window from the back row. He always seemed distant. And she wasn't exactly the talkative type either.
Still, she wouldn't have approached him like this if she hadn't boxed herself into a corner.
"An autograph?" Haruki looked at her, puzzled. "Why?"
Kanna suddenly felt a spike of panic.
Should she admit it? That she knew?
She didn't mean the fact that he was Mizushiro-sensei—of course Haruki knew that. What she meant was she knew his secret.
"It's for… my cousins," she said, steadying her voice. "They're huge fans."
"Ah… so that's it. And you want two autographs?"
She nodded, cheeks slightly pink. She didn't mention that she herself had been following The Garden of Words religiously. She was too embarrassed to say that out loud.
"Fans, huh…" Haruki's heart skipped a beat. Was I found out? No, can't be…
"Eh? I don't know what you're talking about." He forced an awkward smile.
But the moment the words left his mouth, Kanna pulled a manga volume from her desk and flipped to a scene from The Garden of Words, laying it open on the desk between them.
The message was clear.
Haruki sighed. There was no point pretending. Trying to act oblivious in front of someone sharp only made him look like a fool.
"You figured it out, huh..."
"I did. Remember two months ago? When I was cleaning, I found some rough manga pages in your desk drawer?" she asked.
"Ah... that time," he muttered. Her words brought the memory back. Of course—those pages weren't something you'd find unless you were actually making manga.
"And you remembered all this time?"
"You kept quiet for so long," he added, raising an eyebrow. "I guess you're better at keeping secrets than I thought."
She didn't reply to that, only offered a shy smile. For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Haruki finally picked up the pen and scribbled his pseudonym—Mizushiro—on the two sheets.
"There. Done." He handed them back to her and turned to leave.
He needed to get out of there. Having his secret known—even to one person—felt like someone had cracked open his diary. Uncomfortable. Exposed. Embarrassing.
Especially since The Garden of Words revolved around the tangled emotions between a student and a teacher—it made the whole thing feel even more awkward.
"Ah—by the way, class rep…" he paused at the door, glancing back. "Thanks for keeping this to yourself. I'd rather it not become gossip fodder."
"Don't worry," Kanna nodded. "Your secret's safe with me."
Besides, it wasn't like the teachers at school were anything like the ones in his manga. Most of them were middle-aged women, and none of them fit the mold of a romantic lead. She wasn't about to start drawing parallels between fiction and real life.
"Wait—" she called out just before he stepped out.
"What happens at the end of The Garden of Words?"
Haruki blinked. "You mean… does Yukino resign?"
The fifth chapter had ended on a cliffhanger: Yukino preparing to leave her job, and the protagonist starting to piece together the truth about her.
The sixth chapter was scheduled for release tomorrow. The seventh would be out next Wednesday.
Though Haruki had already moved on to preparing a new project, public interest was still squarely focused on The Garden of Words.
"You'll find out next week," he said, shooting her a grin. "I don't do spoilers."
And with that, he stepped out of the room.