Bathed in the glow of the sun, a warmth seemed to emerge within Kouki, slowly rising from his heart, through his neck, carrying his feelings, and releasing them from his mouth.
"I like Sugaya-san."
Kouki's voice sounded both warm and calm.
"I've liked Sugaya-san for a long time, a very long time."
"Thinking back, maybe I started liking her when Sugaya-san greeted me and gave me a lollipop."
"I like Sugaya-san's lively demeanor, I like that Sugaya-san is liked by so many people, I like that Sugaya-san always maintains her passion for everything."
"I like Sugaya-san like that."
"Every time I see Sugaya-san, I always quietly think to myself that I also want to become as popular as Sugaya-san."
"From high school to university, I changed little by little, and slowly became as popular as Sugaya-san, but it seems like the distance between me and Sugaya-san grew further and further."
Kouki couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh at this point.
"But even though my heart desperately wanted to get closer to Sugaya-san, in reality, I timidly retreated."
"I even rejected Sugaya-san's request for my contact information, and I've regretted it ever since."
"Sometimes, I think, if I could just say one sentence to Sugaya-san every day, even just one sentence, I would probably be incredibly happy."
"The more I talk, the more jumbled my words feel."
Kouki couldn't help but touch his head, incredibly shy.
"So, then."
Kouki raised his voice.
"What I want to tell Sugaya-san is, I really like Sugaya-san."
"I want to go to school with Sugaya-san, the two of us chatting about interesting things from yesterday. I want to leave school with Sugaya-san, taking the train or walking home, talking about the scenery around us."
"No matter what the future holds, I want to spend it with Sugaya-san, together, pursuing the life we desire."
"My heart already has an answer. But even if Sugaya-san rejects me, I want to use my own voice to convey my true feelings to Sugaya-san."
"But I still have to say one last thing."
Kouki slowly took two steps forward, looked at the silent Nowa opposite him, and bowed a perfect 90 degrees.
"Sugaya-san, please go out with me!"
His words were filled with a resolute tone, not a gentle request, but like the final cry of a warrior to the world after realizing the ultimate outcome.
Nowa, standing in front of Kouki, still looked thoughtful, not explicitly answering Kouki's request.
She had always rejected dating topics with such conviction before, so why was she feeling a little hesitant now?
Not only was Nowa pondering this question, but Kouki was also wondering.
He had already prepared himself for Sugaya-san to flatly reject him, but in the current situation, was Sugaya-san considering the possibility of dating him?
After all, Sugaya-san was a girl who would consider whether a partner was suitable!
She wasn't the kind of superficial girl who only looked at good looks, otherwise she wouldn't have been without a boyfriend all this time.
After a moment of silence, Nowa slowly opened her mouth and said, "Tetsuya, do you want to go out with me?"
"Yes!"
"If it were anyone else, I would definitely refuse."
"But if it's Tetsuya..."
Kouki looked up, how did he feel like he was about to succeed?!
"Tetsuya, do you know that Marin asked me about dating yesterday?"
Nowa suddenly changed the subject.
"It was me who asked Gojo-san to ask Kitagawa-san for help to inquire about Sugaya-san's feelings."
"So that's how it was."
Nowa nodded, "Originally, I thought I wouldn't find a suitable boy."
"But now I feel like Tetsuya is quite suitable."
"So, Tetsuya, do you want to try dating me?"
A smile appeared on Nowa's face, and she took a lollipop from her pocket and handed it to Kouki.
At this moment, Kouki's confession seemed to have turned into a reversal of offense and defense, but Kouki's heart was filled with pleasant surprise.
It seemed that all his changes had not been in vain.
Or perhaps the goddess of luck had suddenly favored her, causing Sugaya-san to look at him with a hint of something special.
But the result was that Sugaya-san accepted his confession.
"Mhm."
Kouki's face broke into a brilliant smile, and he answered loudly, then walked over and took the lollipop Sugaya-san offered him.
"By the way, it's also my first time being someone's girlfriend."
"If there's anything I don't do well, Tetsuya, you have to tell me, okay?"
Nowa instructed.
"Mhm."
Kouki nodded shyly, then subconsciously replied, "It's my first time being someone's boyfriend too..."
"Sugaya-san, can I call you Nowa?"
"Of course you can!"
Nowa slipped into her girlfriend role super quickly, "Isn't it natural to call your girlfriend by her name?"
Saying that, she took Kouki's hand and pulled him down from the rooftop.
"Come on, Tetsuya, I want my girlfriends to know I have a boyfriend!"
"Na-Nowa, slow down!"
Kouki was a little unsteady on his feet from Nowa's pulling.
If he tried to adjust forcefully, he was afraid it would affect Nowa who was pulling him, so he just let Nowa pull him along.
"Kitagawa-san, Rion, Daia."
Kouki watched himself being pulled in front of Nowa's girlfriends, and greeted them awkwardly.
Nowa was really too familiar, and the progress of their relationship was too fast, leaving Kouki a little dazed.
"Tetsuya is my boyfriend now!"
Nowa introduced him to her friends, hands on her hips.
"It's Murakami-kun?"
"I thought it would be Kensei-kun."
Rion pondered, resting her chin on her hand.
Hearing this, Kouki could only give an awkward smile.
Daia directly interrupted Rion's guess, "Nowa clearly couldn't be with Kensei-kun. They're pretty much the same type, so they definitely wouldn't consider each other."
After saying that, she looked at Kouki in front of her, "A gentle boy like Murakami-kun is indeed more suitable for Nowa."
"Right, right."
Nowa also nodded in agreement.
Although she said she was trying to date Tetsuya, she was super satisfied with Tetsuya as her boyfriend!
"By the way, how did you two suddenly start dating?"
Daia asked doubtfully, "And who confessed? It couldn't have been little Nowa, could it?"
"How could that be..."
Before Nowa could deny Daia's statement, Kouki proactively said, "I was the one who confessed to Nowa. I've liked Nowa for a long time."
"I'm very happy that Nowa can be my girlfriend."
"I'm also very happy that Tetsuya can be my boyfriend!"
Nowa hugged Kouki's arm, looked up at him, and then asked doubtfully.
"Why haven't you eaten the lollipop! Have some."
Saying that, she offered him the one from her mouth, then clearly felt that wasn't quite right, so she pulled a new one from her pocket, unwrapped it, and held it to Kouki's lips.
"Now Tetsuya won't be shy, right?"
"I have one in my pocket!"
Kouki, his face red, took the offered lollipop into his mouth, speaking indistinctly.
Marin and the other two couldn't help but smile as they watched Nowa and Kouki interact this way.