The song ended, the voice faded away.
Hayato jumped lightly down from the windowsill and handed the guitar back to Masayuki.
"Alright. If you really want to learn music, then practice properly. Don't just dabble."
Masayuki stood there bewildered."Eh? But, Hayato… that song you just sang—why have I never heard it before? Di–did you… write it yourself?"
Hayato sighed softly."…I have a friend…"
"Don't tell me that 'friend' is actually you!?"
"No." Hayato's tone was firm.
But the classmates who had been listening didn't buy it at all.
"Holy crap, he can do that too?"
"Hayato-kun… can even write songs?"
"No wonder Miyajima-senpai and Yotsumoto-san are chasing after him. They must've realized he's a hidden treasure boy. Damn it, I'm falling for him too… I need to make a move before it's too late…"
"Oi, you're a guy!"
The song Hayato had sung was a strange mix of English and clumsy Arabic. To these Japanese high school students, the language sounded incomprehensible and mysterious. Yet that was the beauty of music—words might be foreign, but melody pierced straight into the heart.
The bitterness in the tune, the helplessness, the clumsy tenderness… as if he'd been betrayed countless times and yet still clung to his first love. There was no way someone could sing with such raw emotion unless he had been cheated on at least a dozen times.
Nobody expected gloomy, unremarkable Hayato to have such a stormy past.
Ignoring the suspicious gazes, Hayato casually pulled out a copy of Alpaca Princess and flipped it open.
His feigned nonchalance only deepened the impression: Hayato-kun really is extraordinary.
Clap.
Clap clap.
Clap clap, clap clap.
"...?"
Hayato blinked in confusion. What the hell? Why were they clapping?
"Well sung, Hayato-kun."
"An amazing piece!"
"Stay strong!"
One by one, classmates voiced their praise, some nodding, others giving him thumbs up.
The girl who had spoken up for Hayato earlier fidgeted nervously. Though she knew she couldn't compare with Miyajima-senpai or Yotsumoto-san, she still wanted him to notice her feelings. Summoning her courage, she untied the ribbon from her hair and shyly held it out.
"P–please… keep working hard…"
"…Th-thanks?" Hayato accepted it with an uncertain smile. What was going on? Had everyone collectively gone insane?
Outside the classroom.
Kushiro Arisa had been watching in silence all this time. Only when the applause broke out did she find herself clapping along."He really sang… so well," she murmured.
But before she could finish, Kurashiki Reina shot her a sharp glare.
Arisa quickly swallowed back her words, though she still couldn't resist sneaking glances at Hayato.
She had once thought of him as gloomy and unpleasant, like some creepy nobody. Yet now, under the light, his profile looked refined, his jawline sharp, and his whole bearing that of a languidly beautiful young man. She had underestimated him badly.
Even so… Arisa bit her lip. She already had Tsubasa-kun as her boyfriend. But if she were being honest, in pure appearance alone, Hayato was far more impressive—his height, his features, everything.
"Hmph. What kind of garbage was that supposed to be?" Reina clicked her tongue, letting out a cold snort.
"It sounded like… Arabic," Arisa murmured uncertainly.
"He can understand Arabic too?"
"Maybe…"
"Stop exaggerating." Reina's emerald eyes narrowed as she glanced at Hayato, who was awkwardly holding the hair ribbon given by a random girl. Was there really any need to smile so happily at such a trivial thing?
"Let's go," Reina said coldly.
"Okay…" Arisa followed obediently after her.
The latter cast another glance into the classroom. His eyes had grown colder, yet an arrogant smile curled at the corner of his lips.
Though she hated to admit it, Reina Kurashiki was, for just a moment, struck by Hayato's singing. So sorrowful, so poignant… brimming with emotion that reached deep into the heart.
A song of unrequited love. But the question lingered—who exactly was it that Mr. Hayashi loved in vain? Heh… how laughable.
He had once acted so carefree before her, so casual, yet it was exactly as she had predicted. Those words—"I've lost interest in you"—were empty lies.
You could hear it in his song, clear as day. The heartbreak, the ache, the voice of a man left behind.
Reina's thoughts twisted darkly. And as for that girl, the one who gifted him that hair tie—don't get ahead of yourself.
Sure, he accepted your trinket. But the one who made him this pitiful, the one who reduced him to a whimpering stray dog… that was me!
He still hasn't forgotten me!
No one could hear Reina's inner cries as she quickened her steps down the hall.Inside the classroom, F Class slowly settled, and Masayuki quietly slipped his guitar back into its case.
"Oh, right. We've got PE today," he said casually, turning toward Hayato, who sat just in front of him.
"Oh," Hayato murmured, his eyes still calmly fixed on his book.
"Although… Mikage Sensei still seems to be sick…"
"So, back to math class?" Hayato asked flatly.
Truly absurd, when one thought about it. The PE teacher, who ought to be the healthiest of them all, was somehow always the first to collapse. Meanwhile, the math teachers—most prone to baldness—were perpetually brimming with vigor.
"Nope," Masayuki replied with a grin. "Scouts report another PE teacher's substituting today. Would be nice if she turned out to be beautiful."
"Does our school even have any beautiful PE teachers besides Mikage-sensei?" Hayato asked again without looking up.
Masayuki tapped Matsuzono Ayumu on the shoulder, turned back, then shook his head dramatically. "Scouts report… negative."
"Then what are you even hoping for?"
"Damn it, Hayato! Don't crush my dreams like that!"
…
For Hayato, it hardly mattered whether it was PE or not. He only truly despised one thing—math class.
He certainly wasn't expecting any "beautiful teacher" either. Still, after slipping into a tracksuit that looked as though it could transport him to another world, he joined his classmates on the field in relatively high spirits.
Spring sunlight poured down gently, the breeze rustling through fresh leaves. A perfect morning.
At least, until Hayato saw who was standing there to take attendance.
The moment he spotted the hulking gorilla of a man, his good mood shattered.
Tougou.
He strode across the field with a sinister grin, radiating the smugness of a schemer whose plot was about to succeed.
No sooner had he barked orders for the students to gather, line up, and stand at attention than he leapt straight into his revenge plan.
His massive yellow teeth flashed, saliva glistening as he bellowed:
"Masayuki! Step forward! Ten laps around the track—move it!"
Masayuki: "?"
Tougou: "?"
Wait… who the hell are you?