Chapter 2

Yūji put his bag on the desk and pulled out a chair. As soon as he sat down, Yui, who had been fiddling with her phone next to him, looked over and gave him a light smile.

"Good morning."

"......Good morning."

"Hehe, why the formal language?"

"We're not that close."

"Not that close... we're classmates, though."

"We are classmates, but we've never spoken before."

"Well, now we have, so let's be on first-name terms, okay?"

Yui giggled and leaned in closer, her smile widening.

It had been about two months since they were in the same class, but Yūji had no memory of ever speaking to her, not even a greeting. Their seats had been far apart, and they had no other points of contact. But now that they were seated next to each other, things had changed.

Of course, Yūji hadn't changed, and their relationship as mere classmates hadn't changed either. It seemed the nickname "seat-killer" was well-deserved.

Incidentally, Yūji had a habit of not talking to the girl next to him. Unless she spoke to him first, he wouldn't initiate conversation for no reason. His stance was to neither reject those who came to him nor pursue those who left. Because of this, he tended to be somewhat isolated in the class.

After a brief greeting, Yūji stuffed the contents of his bag into his desk and silently took out a book to read. He soon felt a gaze from the side, but when he ignored it, Yui couldn't take it anymore and spoke up.

"Hey, hey, what are you reading?"

"A book."

"Nice answer, like the Berlin Wall standing tall."

"It's already fallen, though."

"Your analogy is outdated. So, are you feeling vulnerable now?"

"There are still two walls left."

"Who's the giant?"

Yui laughed, then turned to face Yūji with a slightly surprised look.

"Hmm, I didn't expect you to play along, Yūji-kun."

"Wait, stop right there."

Yūji stretched out his arm and drew a line a few centimeters from his desk.

"I think this area is my zone."

"Zone? So, the Yūji Zone, huh... What happens if someone accidentally enters it? Do they get sucked in?"

"I'd be the one saying, 'Huh?'"

"......What's that supposed to mean? Is that book... some kind of perverted book?"

Yūji felt a slight shiver inside at the sudden question. But he kept his eyes on the book, and Yui suddenly leaned in to peek at it.

"Whoa!"

"Hey, why are you suddenly gagging?"

Yui's sudden action made Yūji exclaim in surprise. Her medium-length, slightly wavy brown hair was close enough to brush against him, and a soft, pleasant scent wafted to his nose.

She kept her distance and looked down at the book as if reading it with him, so Yūji closed it and placed it on the desk. Yui, saying, "Oh, you closed it," sat back in her chair.

"Thus Spoke Zarathustra...? You're reading something so difficult. Maybe you're a philosophy enthusiast, Yūji-kun?"

"No, I don't usually read books like this."

"......Why do you sound like you found something perverted?"

That was a rather suggestive way to put it. If he didn't understand and tried to act cool, he'd quickly become a weirdo.

"This is just because it's been hyped up, and I was curious about what makes it so special."

"......Do you have a grudge? Did you figure out what makes it special?"

"Not at all. It's so incomprehensible that it's frustrating."

"......Then why don't you stop reading it?"

It wasn't because she said so, but continuing to read it felt awkward. Yūji reluctantly put the book away in his desk. Yui, perhaps feeling a bit guilty, rummaged through her bag and pulled out a book.

"Hey, hey, I just finished a book. Want to borrow it? 'I Want to Destroy Your Liver.'"

"Is that a serial killer novel? Or a story about an alcoholic?"

"You'd think so, right? But it's actually a surprisingly touching love story."

"I can't read that kind of thing. No way."

"Why not, why not? Just read it, it's interesting."

"I have a condition where I can't swallow anything given to me by others."

"Are you a ninja? Or do you plan to eat it?"

The word "love" alone triggered a natural rejection response in Yūji. Strictly speaking, it wasn't a rejection but a sense of emptiness. Love was something he had no connection to. He had never had a girlfriend, let alone a female friend.

As Yui tried to force the book on him, Yūji crossed his arms and firmly refused.

"I won't do it, come back when you're ready!"

"Stop making weird voiceovers in your head."

"Hehe, you'd say that. You're so different, Yūji-kun."

"I'm not different, I'm normal."

No one is as normal and ordinary as I am.

That's what he thought.

"That's great. My seatmate is so interesting."

"No, I'm not interesting at all."

No one is as mundane and ordinary as I am.

That's what he thought.

"Hehe... Well, nice to meet you again."

Yui tilted her head slightly and smiled at him. At that moment, Yūji saw her face up close for the first time.

Her slightly arched eyebrows, the bangs that fell casually over them, her large, round eyes with almond-shaped double eyelids, her straight, slightly small nose, and her rosy, smiling lips.

(No wonder...)

The girl next to him, known as the "seat-killer" and one of the most beautiful girls in the class, if not the school. At this point, it wasn't about being better or worse, but more about type and preference. She wasn't the typical beauty but rather the cute type. She was smiling at him without a care in the world.

"Hmm, is something wrong?"

"No..."

Noticing Yūji's gaze, Yui blinked and asked curiously. Yūji's eyes, which had moved from her eyes to her mouth, were still focused there.

(What nice teeth. I'm so jealous.)

He thought this as if it were someone else's concern.