"Beep beep beep! Beep beep beep!"
Watanabe Tetsu stretched out a hand from under the blanket, shut off the noisy alarm clock, and lay there for another ten seconds before sitting up in bed.
It was 7:15 a.m. on a Thursday morning.
With half-closed eyes, he brushed his teeth, washed his face, put on a white shirt and slacks, tied his necktie in front of the mirror, and donned the school uniform jacket he still wasn't used to. He left the front open — it looked cooler that way.
Honestly, he was already sick of buttoning it every day. It felt restrictive and unfree.
He began to miss his old hometown, where buses only came once every two hours — all he needed for school was a shirt. The tie, when distributed, could be used as rope for all he cared.
Slipping on his backpack and grabbing the trash, Watanabe headed out the door.
If he remembered correctly, his old tie was probably still hanging on the old well in the backyard. He thought of this while tossing the trash in the bin.
Mornings were when his thoughts tended to wander the most — random things would pop into his head, even memories he thought long forgotten.
"Ahhh~"
Yawning, he swiped his commuter card and boarded the 7:30 train.
After getting off at Yotsuya Station, he climbed the long slope leading to Shinkawa Private School.
Although Tokyo sits on the southern edge of the Kanto Plain near Tokyo Bay, there were still plenty of hills.
His thoughts wandered like tangled vines again, and he ended up thinking about the beautiful Seino Rin from the Human Observation Club. Her chest was the same — kind of there, kind of not...
Watanabe shook his head, trying to break off that pointless train of thought.
As he arrived at the school gates, a group of students in gym uniforms, heads shaved, ran laps around the campus shouting slogans.
The one at the end of the line shot him a flirty wink. It was Kunii Osamu.
"Shinkawa!"
"Let's go!"
"Shinkawa!"
"Let's go!"
Watanabe stood still and gave the passionate spirit of private school life a solemn salute.
"Morning, Watanabe-kun!"
"Morning."
On the way from the gates to the classroom building, classmates — girls in pleated skirts and butterfly-tied ribbons — greeted him from time to time.
After all, he ranked third in academics and was good-looking too. If it weren't for his poverty, he'd probably get twice as many love letters each week.
He tossed his indoor shoes to the ground, slipped into them, and tucked a mysterious pink letter from his locker into his bag.
He no longer felt anything from receiving love letters — but today, a new idea crossed his mind: if he just agreed to a few confessions, he could rack up some serious points.
He got to class early and focused on finishing a submission he hadn't completed yesterday.
"You're here early today!" said Saito Keisuke, strolling in.
Seeing Watanabe writing something, he asked, "Didn't finish your homework? Want to copy mine?"
"No need, it's for the literature club."
"You? Into that kind of stuff? Let me guess — is there a cash prize if they publish your piece?"
"No such luck. And even if there were, part-time jobs are a faster way to earn."
"So... you joined the literature club? I heard submitting work is a requirement to join."
"It's not like it's some professional writer's circle."
"Then why? Wait, wait — was it Koizumi-sensei who made you do it?"
"Does that even fall under her jurisdiction?"
Saito gave up. "Then why? Are you okay in the head?"
"Pretty much what you said. But the real reason lies elsewhere."
"Was it Osamu? That guy finally took the leap?"
Saito grabbed Watanabe's eraser, removed the wrapper to reveal the pristine rubber inside, and placed it upright on Kunii Osamu's desk, like a bouquet of white flowers.
Watanabe glanced at it. "Saito, you're not far off either."
"Seriously?"
"I, Watanabe, never lie."
Jokes aside, Watanabe explained how he'd joined the Human Observation Club and was asked to submit something to the Literature Club.
"Seino Rin?!" Saito nearly shouted.
"You know her?"
"One-sidedly. Seriously, is there anyone at Shinkawa who *doesn't* know her?"
"Well, you're looking at one."
"You, Watanabe..." Saito looked like he wanted to say something but stopped.
Was he implying Watanabe wasn't human?
Whatever. He was more concerned about how to end his piece.
Saito tossed the eraser in his hand and said:
"She's the definition of 'untouchable flower'. We don't have an official school beauty, but if we did, it'd be her."
"She's that incredible, huh? Why haven't you or Kunii mentioned her before?"
"Who'd dare talk about her? And even if they did, what's the point? She's way out of our league."
Saito chuckled bitterly.
Once kids leave kindergarten, they start putting themselves into social classes — the poor feel inferior to the rich, the plain-looking don't dare go after the beautiful...
Saito quickly recovered. "But you, Watanabe, had the guts to approach her?!"
"I just wanted early dismissal."
"Stop pretending! Admit it — love at first sight, right? I think it's impossible, but I'll still quietly cheer you on."
"Whatever you say."
"Here, I'll give you some intel!" Saito lowered his voice. "Her family is—"
Watanabe looked out the window at the blue sky and tapped his pen on the paper.
"Ah."
"What's up?"
"Got it."
"Got
what?"
He ended his piece with a proud haiku:
**'The little grass in my yard sprouts again,
The boundless world is turning green.'**
Kokai Shu immediately turned around and ran out as if his life depended on it.
Saito Keisuke gave a wry smile and followed him. Watanabe Tetsu was the last to leave, gently closing the door behind him.
"Was she serious?"
Saito Keisuke looked back at the classroom, "I thought she was just a cold, aloof high-class lady, but it turns out... she's really cold."
"My palms were sweating just now." Kokai Shu tugged at his school uniform collar. "She gave us no leeway at all."
"Didn't you check the club's entry requirements?" Watanabe Tetsu asked.
"I thought it was just about writing some articles or something. I didn't know she was going to be this strict about attitude." Kokai Shu sighed. "But I guess that's how she maintains her 'high-class flower' image."
The three walked back to the classroom in silence for a while. Then, Saito Keisuke suddenly smiled: "But she really was beautiful just now."
"You idiot." Kokai Shu shook his head and laughed, nudging him. "You were almost crying earlier."
"That's because her aura was too strong!" Saito Keisuke defended himself. "It wasn't fear, it was respect."
"Respect, my ass."
Watanabe Tetsu listened to the banter between the two, but remained silent.
He couldn't stop thinking about the look in Kiyono Rin's eyes when she spoke to him. It was calm, evaluating, but there was also something in it that seemed like she was expecting something.
He felt like it wasn't just about screening members—she was looking for a "suitable person."
But what did "suitable" mean? What was she really trying to do?
Watanabe Tetsu didn't understand, but the more he didn't get it, the more interested he became.
---