Chapter 257 – Honey trap 

"No wonder you have so many fans online," Yukio murmured, sitting in his dorm room while organizing the photos Sakura had sent over.

His reasoning was simple: as her temporary photographer, how could he not keep a few of the pictures? Naturally, Sakura didn't resist, sending him every photo she had taken. Yukio found himself captivated as he admired them one by one.

For a moment, he even considered the idea that if Class D had chosen Sakura as the model for their promotional ad during the Workplace Special Exam—and if Sakura had revealed her online persona as "Shizuku"—the level of attention they would have garnered might have been off the charts.

But knowing Sakura's introverted personality, it was clear such a scenario was unrealistic.

Knock, knock

Just as Yukio was lost in thought, the sudden sound of knocking at his door piqued his curiosity. Glancing at the bottom-right corner of his laptop screen, he checked the time: "It's still class time. Who could it be?"

It couldn't be Sakura, right? Yukio found that highly unlikely. He had specifically told her that, unless absolutely necessary, they shouldn't meet directly in places like the dorm or classroom buildings. Considering Sakura's reserved nature, it seemed even less plausible.

Who else could it be?

With this question lingering, Yukio shut his laptop and walked slowly to the door. Peering through the peephole, he was surprised to see who it was—Chie Hoshinomiya, the homeroom teacher of Ichinose's class.

Why is Hoshinomiya-sensei here at the dorm to see me?

Curious and puzzled, Yukio decided to open the door.

Before he could even greet her, Hoshinomiya's bubbly personality took center stage. Holding up a paper bag, she enthusiastically explained her visit:

"I heard you were sick, Yukio-kun, so I came to check on you! Is it a cold? I brought some cold medicine for you~"

Yukio gave her a peculiar look before it finally clicked. Hoshinomiya didn't teach any specific subject—she was in charge of the school infirmary.

Given that, delivering medicine to a student on sick leave did seem reasonable.

Though it made sense in theory, in practice it seemed a bit illogical. Yukio raised an eyebrow. "Hoshinomiya-sensei, let's cut to the chase, shall we?"

"Sure, the infirmary might not always be busy, but what if a student has an emergency during class? You need to be there, don't you? It's not like you'd leave so easily. Besides, for something as simple as delivering medicine, couldn't you just ask one of the students from your class? Why come yourself?"

Despite how novels, manga, or dramas often depict empty infirmaries with absent school nurses, in reality, if the school doctor were frequently unavailable, they'd probably be fired after a few incidents.

He didn't believe for a second that Hoshinomiya would take the risk just to personally deliver medicine to him.

"Ehh~" Hoshinomiya responded, neither directly explaining herself nor beating around the bush. Instead, she stepped closer, pressing slightly against Yukio, which sent an involuntary shiver through him.

"Why not let your teacher in to sit for a bit?" she teased. "I climbed all the way up here to deliver medicine, and you're making me stand at the door?"

Yukio stood firm, not budging an inch under her advances. "The dorm has elevators. There's no need to 'climb' anything."

"Huh?" Hoshinomiya puffed her cheeks in mock indignation, pouting like a child. "I climbed the emergency stairs—does that count?"

Before he could respond, Hoshinomiya stepped even closer, her movement emphasizing a surprising bounce that caught Yukio off guard. Forced to step back a couple of paces, he had no choice but to let her into his dorm.

He couldn't help it—he knew himself well enough. At his age, with youthful energy coursing through him, if he didn't step back, it might have been him pressing against her instead.

"That's more like it~" Hoshinomiya grinned, happily closing the door behind her. She handed the paper bag with the cold medicine to Yukio before leaning against the wall, bending slightly to take off her low-heeled shoes.

What could Yukio do? He sighed and kicked over a pair of slippers for her to wear, silently watching as she made herself at home.

"Geez…" She slipped into the oversized slippers, which left plenty of extra space. Her fair, delicate feet, with toes as pearly as if they had been soaked in warm water, drew even her own amusement. "Do all you boys have such huge feet? What size are these slippers?"

"I don't know, I just bought them randomly," Yukio replied, deciding not to tell Hoshinomiya that the slippers were actually meant for Ishizaki and the other goofballs in his class.

Since Hiyori often stayed over, her slippers were kept separately, leaving only the ones prepared for Ishizaki's crew scattered by the entrance.

"Now can you tell me the real reason you're here, Hoshinomiya-sensei?" Yukio pressed.

"Oh my," Hoshinomiya replied with a playful smile, lightly poking Yukio's arm. "Patience, young man. You can't rush things—let me sit down first."

"..." Yukio felt like he was in some sort of mental race with Hoshinomiya, competing to outmaneuver each other.

Hoshinomiya made herself at home as if this were her own space. She strolled in and sat comfortably at the small table, casually observing the arrangement of Yukio's room with curiosity.

Yukio, exasperated, sat down on the futon, deliberately choosing a spot that maintained some distance from her. He opened the paper bag and saw the cold medicine inside.

His cheek twitched slightly. She actually brought cold medicine? He'd half-expected the bag to contain a letter or something else explaining her visit.

Casually tossing the medicine back into the bag, he threw it onto the small table with pinpoint accuracy, drawing a pout of disapproval from Hoshinomiya.

"Yukio-kun, how could you treat it like that? This is medicine I brought specially for you from the infirmary!"

Yukio pointed to himself. "I don't have a cold. The reason I called in sick was clearly written—after the exhausting Workplace Special Exam, I was physically tired and just wanted a day off to rest."

"Why would I take medicine when I'm not sick?" He laid out the most obvious point first, then let his tone turn slightly sardonic, signaling the conversation's end. "So, thank you for the thought, Hoshinomiya-sensei, but I don't need it."

"If there's nothing else, you can return to the infirmary now."

Hoshinomiya, ever the mischievous one, looked more like a cheeky girl than a school nurse of her age. "Wow, Yukio-kun, so cruel! A girl comes to visit you, and you don't even offer her a cup of tea before showing her the door?"

"If you keep acting like this, your youth will remain dull and gray—it'll never bloom with vibrant colors!"

"But," Hoshinomiya added with a playful grin, "since Yukio-kun is just physically tired from the Special Exam, why not try my special remedy? I'm very confident in my skills—don't underestimate the abilities of a school nurse!"

She even clenched her small fists and made a cheering gesture, though it was unclear how this action related to her supposed remedy.

Yukio paused to think. If this was Hoshinomiya's way of sweetening the deal before asking for a favor, it could work in his favor too.

No matter what Hoshinomiya wanted, he could accept the honey trap first. If the favor turned out to be something manageable, he'd consider it, which might earn him more sugar-coated benefits later. If it wasn't worth it, he could simply discard the request. It was a win-win strategy.

With a nod, Yukio agreed. "Alright, let's see what you've got."

He was curious to find out exactly what kind of honey trap Hoshinomiya had prepared and what her true intentions were.