Meguro Ward, Tokyo, Toritsu-Daigaku Station, top floor of the Aoba Apartment.
It was a school day, but Hiiragi Shuichi, a high school student, sat on the tatami floor of his studio apartment, wrapped in his futon.
Despite his tired face, he did his best to maintain a smile.
“Shuichi. Are you feeling any better now? How did you suddenly get sick… Here, have some water.”
His classmate, Kawasaki Yuki, looked at him with a hint of concern and handed him a glass of warm water.
Shuichi didn’t really have the energy to deal with her, but he still mustered up his signature social smile, took the cup from her, and took a sip to reassure her.
“Thanks… It’s nothing. I’ve just been overworking myself lately, a bit of low blood sugar. I can go back to school after I rest a little.”
“Shuichi!”
The boy next to Kawasaki Yuki, wearing a headband, shouted as he slapped the tatami mat heavily.
“Just going back to school? You’ll be going back to work too!”
“Shuichi, your bro has told you so many times, stop working three jobs by yourself!”
“This time you got sick and missed the exam. What about next time? What are you going to do about your scholarship?”
“If something’s up, you can tell your bro… or Yuki, too! Even if we can’t help, we can at least share the burden!”
Seeing Asuka Ryunosuke so agitated, Kawasaki Yuki quickly grabbed him, her gaze slightly terrifying as she tried to stop him.
“Asuka-kun… Didn’t I tell you not to say things like that in front of Shuichi?”
Intimidated by that look, even though Ryunosuke was used to Yuki scaring him, he reflexively reined in his emotions, not daring to shout anymore.
He even gave an awkward laugh, seeking help from Shuichi.
“Now, now, Yuki, just let Ryunosuke say what he wants. I don’t mind.”
Shuichi said this out loud, but inwardly, he wasn’t happy with what Ryunosuke had said.
Ryunosuke, however, didn’t notice Shuichi’s true feelings.
He just took Shuichi’s word at face value, so he got excited again.
“See, see! Yuki clearly cares about Shuichi too, right?”
“There’s nothing wrong with caring about a friend! You were so panicked on the way here…”
“Ow, ow, ow!!”
“I was not!”
Yuki grabbed Ryunosuke’s arm, squeezing it so hard he couldn’t speak, warning him with her eyes to stop talking.
Yet, she kept stealing worried glances at Shuichi’s reaction.
Shuichi raised an eyebrow in a barely perceptible movement, took a sip of water, and pretended not to see the look Yuki was giving him.
Shuichi did feel that their relationship was something like ‘friends,’ but he still felt a little lonely.
These two friends had no idea who he really was.
They only saw him as a pushover.
Little did they know that what Shuichi really wanted right now was some peace and quiet, not them hanging around making a racket.
Shuichi knew it was a bit arrogant of him, but the fact that no one truly understood him was as solid as a rock.
Just like how Ryunosuke urged him to quit his part-time jobs, he clearly didn’t understand that Shuichi had his own convictions.
Shuichi had come all the way from the countryside in Chiba Prefecture to Tokyo, gotten into a school like Metropolitan High School with a deviation score of 67, and dreamed of getting into Tokyo University.
But rent in Tokyo was expensive, so Shuichi worked three part-time jobs while studying hard.
Originally, combined with his scholarship, life was manageable.
At least he could pay the rent on time.
But recently, he had overworked himself, and the ‘invincible’ Shuichi had finally collapsed…
The result was that he hadn’t worked enough hours, had missed the exam, the scholarship had fallen through, and his rent situation was now hanging by a thread.
And on top of that, it was almost the time the landlady had scheduled.
He was afraid they hadn’t left before she arrived.
Once she came and found out he had a rent problem, what was he supposed to do?
She would definitely pester him…
Shuichi felt a sense of helplessness inside, but considering his friends’ concern, he still squeezed out a fake smile and spoke as if coaxing a child.
“Thank you, Ryunosuke… Sorry, I wasn’t thinking things through.”
“R-Really? Whoa! Shuichi! I knew you’d get it!”
Hearing this, Ryunosuke got so excited that he lunged in for a hug.
And then he was yanked back by the scruff of his neck by Kawasaki Yuki.
“A—su—ka—kun!”
Intimidated by her terrifying gaze once more, Ryunosuke could only sit up straight, like a child who had done something wrong, and mutter quietly.
“Sorry…”
Shuichi smiled and furrowed his brow slightly, telling them he was a bit tired and wanted to rest.
He asked them to head back first.
Knock, knock—
Just then, two knocks sounded at the door.
Someone had come.
But it wasn’t the landlady, because the door was still open.
Shiraishi Jun, the supervising teacher, stood at the door with her hands in her pockets, looking sharp.
She must have just finished a cigarette out in the hallway and was only now coming back.
Teacher Shiraishi flicked her long hair back and spoke to Kawasaki Yuki and Asuka Ryunosuke.
“The time is about up. Let’s end the student visit here.”
“Let’s let Hiiragi rest quietly for now.”
Upon hearing this, the two reluctantly said their goodbyes to Shuichi.
Ryunosuke tried to get a few more words in before leaving.
“Shuichi, take care of yourself. Your bro is waiting for you to come back!”
“That number one spot in the grade is definitely yours again!”
Shuichi furrowed his brow and half-heartedly acknowledged the comment.
‘Number one, huh… Sigh.’
Teacher Shiraishi glanced at Shuichi a couple of times.
Once the two students had left, she couldn’t help but want to say a few things to him.
So she clicked her heels over to Shuichi’s side and sat down.
A wave of mint-scented tobacco wafted over, but it wasn’t irritating at all.
“Shu, don’t put too much pressure on yourself…”
“Teacher knows it’s not easy for you, but there’s not much I can do either…”
“Don’t take that kid Asuka’s words to heart.”
“A student’s task has never really been about grades… Teacher hopes you can…”
As she spoke, Teacher Shiraishi’s words got stuck.
She saw that all four walls of Shuichi’s room were lined with bookshelves, filled with countless books.
It made her feel both happy and sad.
“Teacher, I know. Thank you.”
Hearing Shuichi say this, Teacher Shiraishi stood up with a sigh, her eyes full of a certain fondness.
“You are teacher’s best student.”
“But that’s not because teacher expects you to be, that’s why you are, right?”
“Expectations? Maybe so… Sorry, teacher, I don’t quite understand.”
Shuichi understood what she meant.
Teacher Shiraishi was suggesting he shouldn’t shoulder the expectations of others.
But Shuichi didn’t agree.
He wanted to prove to his parents that he was good enough, that he wasn’t inferior to anyone else’s children.
That was important to him.
So he pretended not to understand her.
‘Earning someone’s expectation isn’t easy.’
‘Bearing someone’s expectation can make you a hero.’
‘Bearing expectations… isn’t such a bad thing…’
Teacher Shiraishi saw through his intentions.
She decided it wasn’t a good time to lecture him in this situation, so she changed her tune.
“Sorry, I’ll put the lecture aside for now…”
“Get some rest, and I hope you recover soon.”
“Goodbye.”
“Yeah, thanks, teacher. Goodbye, teacher.”
Finally, the three of them were gone.
Shuichi’s exhaustion washed over him once again.
He didn’t have enough money for the rent.
He had already been putting it off for a while.
Today was the final deadline.
Buzz, buzz—
His phone vibrated.
Shuichi checked it.
It was a message from the landlady, saying she would be there soon.
Shuichi hadn’t told those three about his troubles, nor had he told his parents back in the countryside of Chiba.
In his parents’ eyes, he was a failure of a child.
But Shuichi had already managed to survive a year in Tokyo.
He was a second-year student now.
How could he just give up halfway…
Shuichi couldn’t bring himself to ask his parents for money.
His personality wouldn’t allow him to depend on them.
What was he going to do when he saw the landlady in a bit…
He had met the landlady a few times before.
She wasn’t someone he couldn’t negotiate with, but he didn’t have any leverage over her either.
Logically, a woman of her age should have some sympathy for a kid like him…
Should he use that hint of vulnerability that would inadvertently show on a perfect boy’s face?
There was no other way.
He had to do it…
Knock, knock, knock—
At the scheduled time, he heard three knocks at the door.
Shuichi was already in position.
He pulled back the security chain and pushed the door open, then let his head hang low, putting on a sickly, listless demeanor.
“I’m sorry… Landlady, could you possibly give me a few more days on the rent… cough… I-I’ll… cough!… make up for it by working for you…”
Shuichi’s performance was over, but he received no response.
He was confused as he snapped out of his act, only to notice that her shoes looked like the standard-issue leather boots of the Metropolitan High female students.
He glanced up a little and saw shapely legs in knee-high socks and a crisp, wrinkle-free pure gray box-pleat skirt.
It was the Metropolitan High girls’ uniform.
Not the landlady…
Then, her voice came from in front of him.
“Huh… Working it off? Sure.”
“What kind of work were you planning on doing?”
“Going to be someone’s shoeshine machine?”