22. Intermission: Class 2-2

I've got a good friend in Class 1.

Well, had.

It became past tense about three minutes ago when I cut ties with her after getting a message on SNS. Unforgivable… no, enviable doesn't even cover it.

The photo she sent shows my ex-friend Kanako shoulder-to-shoulder with a guy. He's smiling—not the forced kind you'd get from trading cleaning duty or offering up a lunch bun. No, it's a genuine, cozy-up-to-her smile, their bodies clearly touching. Kanako's grinning too, but it's this crude, smug smirk that just plays backup to his refreshing vibe.

Attached to the pic was this line: "Class 2 has two guys, so… what was that again?"

"Grrrrr…"

It all started right after we moved up a year. I'd bragged to Kanako, who landed in Class 1, that my Class 2 had two guys. One even sits next to me and occasionally returns my greetings in the morning or after school. I was riding high on my luck, showing off sneaky pics I'd snapped of him. Kanako shot me murderous glares and insults, but I brushed it off—"Nothing beats a loser's barking!"—and kept rubbing it in her face.

Then Class 1 got a transfer student. Apparently, he was slated to join at the start of the year, but family issues delayed him. Class 1 had zero guys at first—no male names on the roster—so everyone there was in despair. Then this guy shows up, a literal godsend. Less than a month in, and he's already blending in, getting along with everyone.

I'd heard rumors from Class 1 but didn't buy it. Until that photo hit my inbox just now. Not just handsome—calling him an "ikemen" (Ikeman is a japanese term for 'cool guy' or 'good looking guy'.) feels too cheap. He's a stunning pretty boy. The kind who digs into your maternal instincts—you want to dote on him, protect him. His name's Miyagi Kyo, supposedly super mild-mannered, always gentle with the girls.

Get this: even when caught snapping pics of him, he doesn't care. Ask nicely, and he'll pose for you—an angel. After that got out, anyone sneaking illegal shots faced "private punishment" (a week-long ban from approaching him). Fair enough—if he's cool with it, pissing him off and making him cold toward us would be a death sentence, not just a slap on the wrist.

Kanako, on a whim, asked for a two-shot. He didn't just agree—he struck a pose, making a heart with their fingers. A guy—a pretty boy like that—doing that for a random classmate? Unbelievable.

Meanwhile, the two guys in my Class 2 are your typical dudes. Talk to them without a reason, they get annoyed. Get too close, they're on guard. They always glare at our PE teacher, Fuyuhara, like her sloppy style disgusts them. A jersey over a single shirt? Even I think it's kinda grungy and overbearing, but it's standard PE teacher gear. Doing that in April's lingering chill, though? Props to her.

Fuyuhara's Miyagi-kun's homeroom teacher too, but he doesn't seem fazed by her vibe—acts totally normal around her. Hate to admit it, but… maybe beauty does get you ahead. And her chest? Flat as a board. Honestly, I'm jealous.

Anyway, enough of that. I call Kanako. Email or texts won't cut it—I need to talk to her directly. After a few rings, she picks up.

"Hellooo? Which little loser's calling?"

Her voice drips with the best mood I've heard from her in all our years of friendship. I swallow my pride and call out to her, buttering her up.

"Uh… Kanako-san?"

"What was that about a loser's barking again?"

Damn, she remembers it word-for-word. I force a calm tone.

"I sincerely apologize for the other day. So, uh, could you maybe ask Miyagi-kun to take a pic with me?"

"What do you say first?"

"…I got way too full of myself. Sorry."

"Fine, I'll let it slide. All's forgiven."

"For real!? You're the best, my soulmate! Even after you were that pissed!"

An unexpected pardon.

"Sure, Class 2 having two guys while Class 1 had none was outrageous. I was livid back then."

"You were ready to snap, Kanako."

"And who egged me on? Whatever, we were young."

"It's been, like, a month."

Miyagi-kun's arrival changed her. Like some curse lifted. That frantic, pent-up frustration teenage girls carry? Gone. "An angel who smiles back when I say hi every day—I never knew life could feel this rich. I can forgive anything now, even humanity's original sin."

"Uh, can we skip the religious stuff for later?"

"Boo, you're no fun. But seriously, a pic with someone from another class? Tough sell."

"Yeah, figured it might be a no-go."

I'm asking on a whim, but given what I've heard about Miyagi-kun's personality, it feels possible. Problem is—

"He'd probably say yes if I asked, but setting that precedent? Other girls would swarm him. It'd bug him, and it'd definitely trip Class 1's punishment code."

"Even I'd feel bad if you got taken out, Kanako."

"They wouldn't kill me, but being barred from Miyagi-kun? That's death enough for me now."

So, a photo's out. Time for Plan B.

"Got any solo shots?"

I want one without my annoying ex-friend in the frame.

"Tons."

"You do!? Sneaky pics!?"

"No way. Just 'Miyagi-kun, look here!' and boom, he poses anytime."

"Are you serious?"

"Paradise is right here."

She sends me a few prime shots, and I lose it, showering her with top-tier gratitude. But Kanako and I go way back. She's hiding something—the best one, I know it.

"Kanako-san."

"What?"

"Weekend crepes, usual spot?"

"Sounds good, let's go."

"My treat."

"…Huh?"

"Please let me treat you."

"…"

Long friendships have their own language. She gets it.

"You better not leak this to anyone."

"Hot stuff?"

"Early sneaky shots."

"…I'd be honored to see them."

A ping later, my screen lights up.

"This is… sexy."

"You get it, right?"

It's Miyagi-kun unfastening his uniform's neck hook and top button, fanning his face with his hand. Sweat glistens on his perfect forehead. A peek of his white undershirt shows beneath, his neckline more exposed than usual.

"With the sternocleidomastoid this defined? Super hot."

"Right? The sternocleidomastoid and Adam's apple combo is pure sexiness."

(A/N: *Sternocleidomastoid*

The thick muscle forming a V-shape when you view the neck from the front. One of the top three fetish points for women in this world, alongside biceps (arms) and vastus lateralis (legs). It's got a dedicated, slightly niche fanbase. Some argue the lower rectus abdominis should replace it in the big three, sparking endless debates.)

Sternocleidomastoid. Every high school girl knows how to write that kanji. It's a top-tier sexy spot, right up there with biceps. Arms only shine in summer, but the sternocleidomastoid? Year-round worship material. Thing is, a fastened uniform hides that prime collarbone zone. But in this pic, Miyagi-kun's got the hook off, top button undone, and the white shirt parted—a clash of hidden beauty revealed. It's clothed eroticism. A pretty boy flashing his sternocleidomastoid like this? Too damn sexy!

I've got mad respect for Kanako now. If I'd been there, I wouldn't have thought to snap a pic—I'd be too busy averting my eyes while burning the image into my brain. We geek out over more of her pics after that. She bumped into him "by accident" and found his chest surprisingly firm. Held his hand under the guise of palm-reading—warm hands. I'm seething with jealousy, but these details matter. They flesh out my Miyagi-kun fantasies for… personal time.

Weekend crepes'll sting my wallet, but this haul's worth it. Tonight's gonna be productive.

Real productive!