February 14th—Valentine's Day. A day filled with excitement, fessions, and the st of chocote lingering in the air. For many, it portunity to express their feelings, a symbolic beginning of spring.
But for Ren, it was just another ordinary day.
His thick-framed gsses cealed much of his face, and even though his hair was ly trimmed, he remained unnoticed. Not that he minded—Ren never wao be in the spotlight.
Uanding one's self was crucial, after all.
Meanwhile, his cssmates were taking the occasion very seriously.
By the time m csses ended, several boys had already received chocotes from various girls. Based on Ren's observations, most of those boys were already dating, though often with someone from another css.
And how did he know this? Simple. Ren had a low presence, which meant he frequently overheard couples talking freely around him.
Especially on the rooftop.
He had, on more than one occasion, been forced to abandon his quiet sanctuary after stumbling upon couples seeking a little too much excitement, sometimes even using the infirmary bed for their rendezvous.
That was his cue to leave.
Now that the m csses were over, Ren quietly made his way to the clubroom.
However, someone had arrived before him.
---
"Hey hey~ Hello there! Are you part of this club?"
Standing before him ink-haired girl in a Teitan High School uniform, a dark bck ribbon tied ly across her bangs.
Fujiwara Chika.
The moment he saw her, Ren immediately reized her.
A woman known by many as "The cer of the Earth."
Of course, that niame was a bit of an exaggeration. She wasn't actually evil, just… a little too chaotic.
And unfortunately, chaos often won.
---
"Are you a traudent?" Ren asked, eyeing her with mild curiosity.
"Yep~!" Fujiwara Chika beamed. "I just transferred here today!"
"…I see."
"But you still haven't answered my question!" she leaned in. "Are you a member of this club?"
"Yes."
"Ohhh!"
Fujiwara's eyes immediately lit up.
She had figured out who he was.
"So you're the one, huh?" she grinned.
"The reason Kaguya transferred here."
Re silent for a moment befiving a small nod.
"You know Shinomiya?"
"Of course! I'm her best friend!" Fujiwara decred proudly.
With ahusiastic bounce, she stepped closer and studied him carefully.
Then, after a brief pause, she o herself.
"Yep. Definitely more attractive thaudent cil President."
"…?"
The sudden topic shift caught Ren pletely off guard.
Fujiace was impossible to follow.
---
"Your name is Amamiya Ren, right?"
"Yes…"
"Sorry! I did some resear you beforehand," she admitted cheerfully.
"I wao see what kind of boy Kaguya likes~!"
Ren's face twitched slightly.
"Shinomiya doesn't like me."
"You might be mistaken."
Suddenly, Fujiwara froze, her bright blue eyes log onto him.
Then, from seemingly nowhere, she pulled out a detective hat and pced it on her head.
"That's impossible."
"My instincts as Love Detective Chika never fail!"
"I'm sure Kaguya has already entered love mode!"
Her unwavering fidence was almost ving.
But not to Ren.
"…Detective Chika," he said, voice calm, "you seem very sure of yourself, but it looks like you've never actually seen a real couple before."
"Huh?"
Fujiwara froze again.
"You haven't seen a real couple, have you?" Ren tinued.
"And that includes Shinomiya and the Student cil President."
Fujiwara's brain short-circuited.
"…W-Wait. Hold on a sed."
She processed his words slowly.
"I, Fujiwara Chika, the greatest Love Detective, never realized that Kaguya and the President weren't actually a couple…?"
A deep existential crisis began to set in.
"This 't be…!"
She stood frozen for a solid minute, her expression bnk, her thoughts spiraling into shutdown mode.
Only after some time did she finally snap out of it.
"NO WAY!"
"I—I missed something so obvious?!"
Ren simply watched, amused by her rea.
But then, Fujiwara's eyes narrowed.
"Wait a minute."
"If Kaguya and the President aren't together… then who else is in a retionship?!"
Ren remained silent, staring at her expetly.
Fujiwara frowhinking hard until a realization hit her like a truck.
"…Wait."
"Could it be… Ishigami?!"
Ren nodded.
Fujiwara's jaw dropped.
"WAIT, WAIT, WAIT. HOLD ON."
"Ishigami?! That Ishigami?! The guy who acts like he hates women?!"
"You're telling me he actually likes someone?!"
"Who?! Who is it?!"
Ren casually answered.
"Koyasu Tsubame."
Fujiwara froze again.
"Koyasu… Tsubame?!"
"The third-year gymnastics club ace?"
"The school's most beloved uppercssman?!"
Fujiwara was in shock.
Ishigami actually had a crush on her?
That gentle, kind, and beloved senior?!
"Ishigami has high standards."
"What happened?!"
"Rejected."
Fujiwara blinked.
"…Yeah, that sounds abht."
It wasly shog.
Ishigami had always been seen as gloomy and unapproachable, while Koyasu Tsubame ractically the embodiment of sunshine.
When it came to choosing a boyfriend, someone like her would naturally prefer someone more outgoing and charismatic.
It was a logical oute.
Still, she couldn't help but sigh.
"Man… that's rough."
"Ishigami isn't a bad guy," Ren said, his tohoughtful.
"He's kied, though a little stubborn. His siy is actually his best trait."
"But because of what happeo him before, he's been stu a gloomy state for a year, and it's given people a bad impression of him."
Fujiwara nodded slowly.
"I get it."
Ishigami had been seriously hurt in the past.
Even so, she never imagihat he actually liked someone and someone so out of reach at that.
"He really aimed high, huh?"
She sighed dramatically.
"If only love was easy."
***
Alright, I feel I o address this. I have no issue with you reading the raw, I even dropped the name in my review. But you mustn't think this will be the same as the raw, at least in some ways. I've seen people pin about the MC's behavior with girls or about him being antisocial. You check the raw for ses of him being shy or ses involving irls. A perfect example: the date se. pare both ahe difference. I'll be toning down those kinds of ses to the bare minimum that doesn't affect the MC's character as a whole, as I always do. So don't pare both until you find them exactly the same in ses like that. Again, the author wrote this MC like that so he have character growth. If you want a fident MC who flirts with girls and bags one as soon as possible, there are tless fics like that here heck, even I have one lol (JJK X SOL), so you check those out instead. This is a slow-burn slice-of-life fic.
Phew~ sorry about my rant just wao get that out.
PS: Wrote this on WN when some readers were pining.
