Twenty-Four
I don't even have time to process that bombshell before senpai reacts. "Tsk, then what? Let nosy reporters fuck up my life again? Hell no."
"Eh… don't be so negative, Morikita-kun." Nanase-san props herself up on the desk, her nonexistent chest pressing against the surface. "Maybe he has a family of his own now, and when you suddenly show up claiming to be his kid, he feels threatened. So, to make sure you don't expose his old affair with your mom, he'd agree to give you whatever you ask for."
"You watch too many dramas," senpai deadpans, rolling his eyes before taking a sip of his coffee.
Nanase-san just laughs, popping another chip into her mouth. Meanwhile, Asakura-san is busy deciding which bun to eat first, and Inoue-san's already zoned out, pulling out her tablet and getting lost in her sketches.
And me? I'm sitting here, trying to piece together whatever the hell I just overheard. Something about it isn't adding up. Or, actually, it's adding up too well.
Wait… does that mean—?
"So, Miura-san isn't your father?" I blurt out before my brain can tell my mouth to shut up.
Nanase-san smirks, immediately jumping on the opportunity to mess with me. "Oh? Are you disappointed you can't be Morikita-kun's in-law?"
She thinks she's funny, but I don't even register her teasing. I'm too focused on senpai. I wanna hear it from him.
"Is that true, senpai?" I ask again, probably staring at him with eyes three times wider than normal. "Then why does Miura-san keep coming to see you at your workplace?"
Senpai gives me a flat, unimpressed look, takes another sip of his coffee, and then—without so much as glancing my way—finally answers.
"I don't know what he's up to, but I can tell he's got an ulterior motive. I don't wanna take the risk of letting him back into my life."
"I told you, Morikita-kun, it's gotta be that bitch's doing. She's the one making sure he waits until you let your guard down," Nanase-san says, tapping her fingers against the desk like she's trying to summon some dramatic effect.
"The boyfriend of the bitch you're talking about is right here," Inoue-san chimes in, eyes still glued to her tablet like she's got better things to do than acknowledge our existence.
Nanase-san immediately shifts her attention from senpai to me. "Right. I still don't get it… That bitch didn't say anything about you joining us, Hasegawa-kun? I mean, she has to know by now, considering the whole damn school was shocked when you left the basketball team for us. Even some of my friends from different schools heard about it."
"Uhm, my friends too," Asakura-san adds, sounding like she's been waiting for a moment to jump into the conversation.
Yeah, yeah. I know it was a big deal when I ditched the basketball team for this half-dead, good-for-nothing club. People wouldn't shut up about it. Even Maki, my very opinionated ex, demanded an explanation through text, since I, very conveniently, didn't tell her everything beforehand—especially the part about senpai being the reason I bailed.
Instead, I fed her a different excuse. Said something about how this club deserved a second chance. The same crap I told everyone else. And when she kept pushing, I threw her own words back at her—you know, the whole "don't ever mention that guy to me again" speech she used to give.
That shut her up real quick. Though, let's be honest, I bet she was cursing me out behind that phone screen. Do I care? Not even a little.
"She's against me, of course," I finally say, my gaze flicking over to senpai before landing back on the girls across from me. "But maybe this is my way of finally getting away from her?"
That earns me a reaction. Inoue-san actually looks up from her tablet, Asakura-san frowns like she's trying to read between the lines, and Nanase-san? She pulls her lips, raises her brows—classic damn, that's a good one face.
But I don't care about their reactions. I wanna know what senpai thinks. So I glance sideways at him. Our eyes meet, just for a few seconds, before he looks away.
Huh. That's weird. Is he not interested?
Just when I think he's gonna stay quiet, he speaks. "Why? You scared she's gonna jump off the school building like her sister did?"
…Oh? Did not expect him to say that.
I figured he'd be the type to keep his mouth shut about things that left scars on him. But here he is, throwing it out there like it's just another Tuesday.
"So, it's true?" I ask, straightforward as ever, not even bothering to filter myself. "Horie-san really ended her life because of you?"
He doesn't react. Doesn't get pissed off. Doesn't even blink. Just shrugs and takes a sip of his coffee. "Dunno. Maybe it was because of me, maybe not." His tone is so indifferent it's almost unsettling. Then, after a brief pause, he adds, "All I can say is, that night before she died… that was the first time we really saw things for what they were."
What the hell does that even mean?