Chapter 37: Studying Together Made a Lot of Things Clear

“Hey, do you get this?”

“Wait, was this even on the test?”

Conversations like that were happening all over the place.

At first, everyone held back a little, and even though we were basically studying individually, once someone asked a question, it turned into a lively, noisy session where we studied while chatting and having fun.

By asking about problems we didn’t understand and teaching each other, we gradually started getting closer.

That includes me too. Even if I had my goal of finding yandere talent, I can’t slack off on studying. So like everyone else, I asked questions and worked through problems.

This one’s hard—teach me this, okay?

But I’m not an idiot, either. I’m going to find those yandere hints properly.

Even if there are some people who are usually together, about half of the group are people I’ve barely talked to.

First, I need to learn everyone’s personalities.

I look at everyone’s notebooks. Just from that, you can tell whether someone’s neat or sloppy—you can actually see that much information just by looking.

Also, you can tell whether they’re the type to go through things properly from the start, or the type to skim and pick out only what matters. Or whether they go subject by subject, or do a little bit of each subject.

Even without deep conversation, you can still see a person’s personality and type.

Huh, so that girl seems really meticulous… and that girl might actually be bolder than I expected, stuff like that.

I really felt it—just from notebooks and how people approach studying, you can see their personalities more than you’d think.

Well, but at this point I still haven’t reached everyone’s deeper layer. Which makes sense. If you could tell whether someone’s a yandere just by looking at their notebook, that would be such a talent you should probably use it for something else.

Still, there’s one thing I’m expecting.

“Me? Yeah, I’ve got someone I’m dating, actually. Haha. A classmate from middle school.”

A certain guy said that.

Yes—this is what I was waiting for!

You know how there’s always something people talk about during breaks while studying? I think that’s a pretty big point.

If it’s the kind of talk you have even with people you’re not that close with, it’s usually romance talk.

And because everyone’s tired, the conversation gets surprisingly lively to distract from that exhaustion, and it also makes it easier to open up.

So I was thinking this would be the moment where I might notice people’s views on love—or their yandere talent.

This time has huge potential!

The whole group got taken over by talk about the guy’s girlfriend. That makes sense—it’s still May. People dating someone new in high school are way too rare, so someone carrying a relationship over from middle school still becomes a topic.

“Hey, what kind of girl is she?”

“Cute? Or more like the pretty type?”

Questions like that flooded in.

I listen closely too. Alright, tell me. What kind of person is she? Does your girlfriend—or you—have yandere talent?

He started talking, looking embarrassed. That he’d been dating her since third year of middle school, that she’s the cute type, short too, the kind of girl that makes you want to protect her.

But then…

“Lately, though, she’s been messaging me a ton. It might be kind of heavy, haha.”

He laughed as he said it.

Oh? Heavy?

That’s an important keyword. When you say yandere, you say heavy—and when you say heavy, you say yandere.

I’m sure she’s feeling anxious as hell because he went to a different high school. So she wants to stay in contact a lot, and she wants to increase the time they can be together as much as possible.

And that’s coming across as “heavy” to him.

Ahh… what a sweetheart.

I don’t know if she’s a yandere or not, but she seems like she’s got talent. And there’s no way I’m not going to save someone with talent.

Leave it to me. I’ll help you help her feel reassured.

Chapter 38: Studying Together Made a Lot of Things Clear (Boyfriend POV ①)

Today, a friend invited me, and we ended up studying together after school.

To be honest, I have no idea how you’re supposed to study for your first test, and I’d been thinking I’m the type who ends up shutting myself away if I’m alone.

So for me, this invite is lucky.

And also… I don’t know, it feels kind of high-school-ish, which makes me happy too.

It’s something I’ve wanted to experience, you know—an after-school study group. Doesn’t it feel pretty “youthful”?

Plus lately, when I go home, there’s annoying stuff waiting for me.

Sigh. Seriously the worst. This isn’t fun at all.

After school, the study group started.

It’s not fun. Not even a little.

I thought it would be like—everyone asks questions, we mess around a bit, sometimes we chat, and we have fun while doing it.

But everyone’s studying seriously, and on top of that, there are people here I haven’t really talked to much. Just studying like this is stressful by itself.

I was thinking, man, I really messed up. This is the same as staying home—no, honestly, going home might’ve been better.

Guess those “fun events where guys and girls get close” are just drama-and-manga stuff.

Whatever. I’ll at least study. Otherwise it’s a waste of time.

But as time went on, everyone started getting lively.

Maybe the tension eased once time passed, because people started asking each other questions and teaching each other, and it finally felt like a real study group.

Yeah, yeah—this! This is what I was dreaming of. It’s easy to ask about what you don’t get, and studying is more efficient too. People say this kind of method is good, right?

It’s our first test, but maybe I can get through it like this. Thank god I joined.

I’m tired…

Even though it’s only been like two hours, I’ve hit peak exhaustion. Even if a study group is “fun,” let’s be real—studying isn’t something that’s actually fun.

The “fun” part lasted, honestly, like one moment. Even if there’s a time where you can focus, it’s still something I hate. And with everyone working hard, it feels awkward to mess with my phone—like, I can’t really do it.

Whatever. But still, nobody’s taking a break. Aren’t we gonna chill? Anyone?

At this point, I’ll have to go to the bathroom a few times and use that as my break.

And then—

“Wanna take a break?”

Someone said that.

Huh? Seriously, nice.

Maybe everyone was tired, because everyone agreed all at once.

Thank god I’m not the only one who’s tired. Well, yeah. Obviously.

Once we decided to take a break, everyone moved fast, going, “What do we do for break time?”

“Wanna eat snacks at that desk?”

And once the engine starts, we don’t stop. Because we’re high schoolers, you know.

We all went to the school store and bought snacks and stuff, and it turned into this little snack-party thing.

“Which middle school were you at?”

“Me, I’m friends with a guy from ___ Middle School’s basketball team. You know him?”

That kind of conversation flew around.

Honestly, for the first few days after enrolling, you can survive on middle school talk. If you just nod along, the conversation moves forward, and middle school stories never run out.

So even today, with a lot of people I’m not close with, middle school talk is seriously strong.

But after a while, we kind of ran out of things to say.

Well yeah. For a while now, it’s just been “these snacks are good” and “tests are such a drag.”

This is awkward as hell.

Then, like it came from nowhere—

“Hey, do you have someone you’re dating or anything?”

—someone said.

Yep, here it is. In moments like this, it really does turn into romance talk. Yeah, yeah.

But with this topic, I can be in the center.

Because I’ve got a girlfriend.

I’ve been dating her since third year of middle school, and it’s almost been half a year.

We ended up going to different high schools, but we’re still together, technically.

Even if we’re at different schools, it’s not like they’re that far apart, and we keep in touch, so it’s not like we’re going to break up—at least for now.

Well… lately I’ve started thinking about breaking up too.

Do I bring that up? Would that freak them out?

Whatever—might as well try. And hey, it’s a good chance to look for a new girlfriend too.