Chapter 1 – The New Semester and the Unfamiliar Beautiful Girl

On the first day of school after spring break, cherry blossoms fluttered down around the commuting students. A visible sense of freshness hung in the air. With the arrival of the new first-years and the advancement of the returning students, the start of another high school year prompted some to drastically change their hairstyles to achieve a total makeover.

But in a certain second-year classroom, someone’s dramatic transformation put all the rest to shame.

“Hey, who’s that cute girl? We didn’t have a girl that pretty last year, did we?”

“Maybe a new transfer student? But it’s weird for her to be in the classroom before Sensei even introduces her.”

“Her proportions are amazing, too. Isn’t she built like a model?”

With the opening ceremony safely concluded, a single female student gathered the attention of everyone inside that particular second-year classroom. She was a beauty with the well-proportioned figure of a fashion model and perfectly chiseled features. Her lovely appearance was enough to make both boys and girls involuntarily stare in fascination. However, none of her classmates possessed any memories of a girl like that in their grade. While everyone watched her from a distance and hesitated to speak, a single student arrived late.

“‘Sup.”

Arriving at his new class with a sluggish greeting was Kamiji Shinta, a guy branded as the school delinquent. He offered his half-hearted greeting, but everyone in the classroom blatantly averted their eyes.

(Hmph, they’re so easy to read.)

One look at everyone’s eyes made it obvious. Being stuck in the same class as this guy was the worst possible outcome for them. Even if they didn’t say it out loud, he could easily read it on their faces. Shinta was long accustomed to this kind of treatment and didn’t particularly care. Yawning, he made his way to his assigned seat when someone suddenly called out to him.

“Good morning, Kamiji-kun. Looks like we’re in the same class again this year.”

Virtually no one ever willingly spoke to Shinta since he was feared and isolated by the rest of the class. All attention immediately shifted to the person who addressed him. Incredibly, the one greeting him was that mysterious, beautiful girl. Everyone was shocked that this beauty initiated contact with the delinquent they all tried so desperately to avoid. Trotting up to him, she brushed back her short brown bob and flashed a smile like a playful puppy. Seeing that lovely expression, the other boys couldn’t help but blush in fascination. However, the name that flew out of Shinta’s mouth next completely blew their minds.

“Jeez, how can you have so much energy right after spring break, Arai?”

Hearing the name Arai come from his mouth made several people doubt their own ears. Naturally, there were students in this new classroom who had been her classmates the previous year. The Arai Ichizu in their memories was supposed to be a chubby girl. No matter how they looked at it, the girl Shinta just addressed bore absolutely no resemblance to her. The classmates who knew her from before stared intently. Upon closer inspection of her drastically transformed physique, they could see fragments of her old features overlapping with the new. This transcendent beauty was genuinely her.

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeh?!”

After burning through a massive amount of time, the classmates who knew the old Ichizu finally accepted reality. They surged toward the utterly transformed girl one after another to bombard her with questions.

“No way, are you really Arai-san?!”

“Does this mean you went on a diet? Even so, I can’t believe you changed this much.”

“I never realized Arai-san had such a pretty face. You’re totally my type.”

Faced with a wave of questions surging like muddy rapids, Ichizu showed clear signs of distress. Just as she was on the verge of panicking from the sudden shower of inquiries, a helping hand extended toward her.

“Hey, you’re being noisy as hell, like a bunch of brats. If you’ve got questions, take turns one by one.”

Shinta kept the classmates in check with a low tone and a glare. Pierced by his sharp, carnivorous gaze that belonged to a wild beast, the overwhelmed students instantly fell silent. Sensei arrived with perfect timing right after to settle the commotion.

“Thank you. You really saved me.”

“I didn’t do anything special.”

Shinta gave a blunt reply. Seeing his unsociable reaction, Ichizu let out a soft giggle and whispered.

“You really just can’t be honest, can you?”

“Shut up.”

Incidentally, during morning homeroom, Sensei also failed to recognize the completely transformed Ichizu and actually asked if she was in the right class. When Shinta saw the dumbfounded look on the teacher’s face after the other students explained the situation, he almost burst out laughing.

Well, that said, Arai’s appearance really did change drastically over spring break. It was no wonder the rest of the class was blown away. Shinta had helped her diet relentlessly over the long holiday, but even he never expected a before-and-after quite like this.

Looking once more at Ichizu, who had become a completely different person, his eyes met hers. She immediately flushed red and hurriedly averted her gaze.

(Whoops, was I staring too hard? Guess she didn’t like that.)

He figured she was probably angry and offended because it seemed like he was ogling her. Thinking that, he turned his attention back to what Sensei was saying. Completely oblivious to his own misguided misunderstanding, he didn’t realize that Ichizu was actually directing a heated, passionate gaze right back at him.