Vol 1 Chapter 8 – She Was Probably Sitting There Clutching Her Phone【Volume 1: The Road to Romance】

“Fujiwara — what do you say you take her off the market yourself? If she’s taken an interest in you, the odds are very much in your favor.”

Nakaoaka said it as a straight follow-up, and Sandai’s mouth fell open.

It was simply too out of nowhere.

He wouldn’t have been lying if he said there was some sense that they might become genuinely close. But turning that into something romantic was an entirely different question.

“Work your way up to kissing and make it official — that’s the goal, something to aim for. There’s a real chance it could help Yuizaki work through her wariness around men. And even if it doesn’t, being with you would mean she’d never have to worry about navigating the rest of them on her own. You’re sharp — you’ll go to university, land a decent job. You could manage to make one cute, kind girl happy. Give it a shot.”

The wording had its moments of being spectacularly inappropriate — but beneath it, Sandai caught the general shape of what she was actually trying to say.

Nakaoaka, as it turned out, paid closer attention to her students than her manner suggested. She’d clearly noticed that Shino was a genuinely good person beneath the surface. And as a teacher, it seemed she was the type who’d prefer to see good people end up somewhere good.

This was, at its core, a teacher trying to propose the best possible path forward for a student’s future.

But — being cast in that role himself didn’t quite compute. Sandai simply could not picture himself in any version of a life alongside Shino, not as partners, not as lovers — not in any form. At most, he figured, they might become friends. Acquaintances, maybe.

“There’s also the matter of how she feels about it…”

“Where’s your drive? If it comes down to it, maneuver the situation and make a move.”

“That would be a serious problem.”

“Only if it’s someone she dislikes. When it’s someone she’s interested in, being pursued with a little force can sometimes be exactly what a woman needs to take the first step herself. It can even feel welcome. That’s just how it is.”

“With respect, you also just told me she’s uncomfortable around men—”

“And yet you’re the only man that particular uncomfortable-around-men girl keeps gravitating toward.”

“That doesn’t mean she likes me. Not disliking someone and actually liking them aren’t the same thing.”

Sandai kept pushing back. Nakaoaka kept countering. The two of them went around like this, more or less without pause, for the entire remainder of the document sorting.

☆

Back home, Sandai lay sprawled on his bed, staring at the phone in his hand.

He’d told Shino he’d message her tonight. He’d said it out loud. He had to follow through.

And yet his fingers wouldn’t cooperate. He hadn’t typed a single character.

Nakaoaka’s words were stuck in his head, replaying on a loop — all of it about getting closer to Shino, about what that might mean. He couldn’t stop turning it over.

But then he noticed the time—past nine.

Shino had shown up at his door around this time last night. That meant her shift was probably over, and she’d be on the train home by now.

This was the window. If he let it close, messaging her later would only feel more difficult.

(Stop thinking about it. Just send something.)

He made up his mind, typed quickly, and sent a chat message before he could second-guess it.

The message was brief—his name only — Fujiwara Sandai.

It was enough to let her know who it was. A long message would only be tiring to receive. Short was fine.

He set the phone down and was just about to get up and grab something to drink —

The phone buzzed.

Been waiting~ ♡

Less than a minute had passed since he’d sent his message. Shino’s first reply came back almost instantly.