"Summer vacation" — what a beautiful phrase.
When those words appear in the minds of high schoolers drowning in an endless sea of studies, they always paint pictures of sunlit beaches, cool breezes, and shared laughter.
Like a cup of shaved ice melting the summer heat, and that first crisp, sweet bite of chilled watermelon.
"Ahh! It's so hot! I want shaved ice!" Wearing his summer uniform in a classroom without AC, feeling sweat trickle down his chest, a thoroughly miserable Miyahito tossed his pen aside and collapsed face-first onto his desk, groaning loudly.
"I want watermelon! I want cold cola! I want AC!"
"I don't want to do practice problems! I don't want test papers! I refuse to do math!!"
Beside him, Utaha sat calmly, quietly turning the pages of her novel. She looked up, smiling softly as she picked up a handkerchief. Gently wiping the sweat from his forehead, she soothed him.
"There, there. Stop throwing a tantrum."
"Only two more problems. Once you finish, we can go home."
Enjoying his girlfriend's attentive care, Miyahito grinned foolishly, watching the girl who'd willingly joined him for summer tutoring on the very first day of break.
Caught staring so openly by her new boyfriend, Utaha's cheeks flushed slightly as she averted her gaze. "What are you looking at?"
"Mhm. Looking at my girlfriend." Miyahito said it without a single hint of shame, his grin widening. "Hey, Utaha, we're really together now, right? I'm not dreaming, am I?"
Seeing her brand-new boyfriend acting silly again, Utaha shot him a flat look, picked up her book, and put on a "I'm ignoring you" expression. "Yes, my dear Mr. Miyahito. You're absolutely still dreaming."
"Yesterday's school-wide confession was fake. Getting dragged to the office by our homeroom teacher for a long scolding, which forced me to wait outside with my bag until nightfall so we could walk home together... that was all fake too....."
Listening to her deadpan ranting and the faint dark aura radiating from her, Miyahito's EQ finally kicked in. Without a second thought, he reached over, lacing his fingers tightly through hers.
Raising their intertwined hands, he quickly said,
"No, no, I'm not dreaming!"
"We're really together!"
Caught off guard by his sudden move, Utaha lowered her head slightly. Fighting the urge to never let go of his warm palm, she squeezed his hand back firmly, giving a silent nod.
"Mhm."
"Hehe....." Even though he knew how silly he probably looked, Miyahito couldn't stop laughing happily.
Yeah. They were really together.
And not just privately. Under the witness of the entire student body and faculty, they had become Toyogasaki Academy's first officially acknowledged campus couple since its founding.
How could it be otherwise?
Who else would show up right after exams ended, fresh from a week-long suspension, suddenly appear on campus, and shout a declaration of love at the top of their lungs in front of literally everyone?
Sure, right after the confession succeeded, Tachibana-sensei stormed out of the building, dragged him by the ear back to the office, and lectured him thoroughly. It was pretty embarrassing.
And on top of the punishments of "mandatory summer tutoring" and "retake exams must pass, otherwise this semester gets recorded as zero,"
Miyahito also had to notify his parents to come to school tomorrow... aka the legendary meeting the parents.
But none of that mattered. "Miyahito & Utaha" had instantly become the school's star couple—the only pair brave enough to publicly confess and successfully date right in front of everyone.
Reluctant to let go of their joined hands, Miyahito awkwardly picked up his pen with his left hand, trying to continue his math worksheet.
Lifting her gaze slightly from her novel, watching her boyfriend refuse to break their handhold even if it meant writing with his non-dominant hand, Utaha's wine-red eyes filled with overflowing, happy affection.
But studying still came first.
Slowly unclasping their fingers, Utaha lifted her novel to partially hide her blushing cheeks, and quietly leaned closer to the boy sitting beside her.
Carefully resting her head on his shoulder, letting her dark, silky hair spill over both their backs, she said nothing, completely content with just being close.
Feeling his girlfriend's affectionate gesture, Miyahito paused for a second, then smiled even wider, his heart utterly full.
Actually, summer tutoring isn't so bad after all.
"Utaha, it's kinda hot..."
"S-shut up... just finish your problems."
"Okay, okay."
"Don't drag out your words. Are you still a kid?"
"Oka~y~"
The pen tip scratched smoothly across the test paper.
Pages turned softly in her hands.
The cheerful summer breeze drifting in through the window chased away the annoying heat, but it couldn't carry away the steadily warming affection between them.
"Hey, Utaha."
Writing the final digit on his worksheet, Miyahito suddenly smiled at the girl resting her head on his shoulder, her face peaceful and content.
"Wanna go watch a movie later?"
"Ara, is this my boyfriend inviting me on a date?" A teasing glint flashed in Utaha's wine-red eyes. She raised her right hand, her index finger lightly poking Miyahito's cheek.
Gently poking his face while watching his lips pout involuntarily, Utaha chuckled softly. "Going to the movies for a first date? How unoriginal. So cliché, Mr. Boyfriend."
(Cheeks squished, speech slightly slurred) "Wa-do-ya-no-yo-qu-kan-ne? (Wanna go or not?)" Flustered by his playful girlfriend's poking, Miyahito's words came out garbled.
Helplessly raising a hand to catch the "misbehaving" fair fingers, Miyahito firmly secured Utaha's hand—which was clearly itching to continue her prank—into his palm. He raised an eyebrow. "Even if it's cliché, as long as it's my dear Ms. Utaha by my side, it'll be the happiest and most wonderful thing ever."
"Don't you agree, my dear girlfriend?"
Unfortunately, Miyahito's belief that this was a guaranteed winning move was far too optimistic.
He didn't know his girlfriend had already unlocked a "special attack exclusively effective against Miyahito."
"Of course. I also think having Mr. Miyahito by my side would make me incredibly happy." Her smiling eyes narrowed slightly. Utaha leaned forward slightly, completely disregarding how the softness of her upper body might affect him.
Her cherry-pink lips gently approached his gradually reddening earlobe. A mischievous smile curled her lips as she whispered, her breath warm against his ear:
"But didn't a certain someone tell me your parents are coming to Tokyo tonight?"
"My dear Mr. Miyahito... are you really sure you don't want to go home right now?"
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