Haruto only noticed Setsuna's presence when a cup of tea suddenly appeared on his desk. Glancing back into the room, he saw Setsuna sitting there, calmly watching him.
"When did you get here?"
"Half an hour ago."
"..."
It wasn't that Haruto was completely unaware of her presence—he had simply been too caught up in his thoughts. His mind had been deep in the flow of his writing, unconsciously filtering out everything else around him.
Now that he had finally noticed her, he realized he had no idea exactly when she had come in. Glancing at the clock on his desk, he muttered, "Half an hour ago… so, around five o'clock?"
The room was dimly lit. Feeling a slight strain in his eyes, Haruto stood up, walked to the wall, and switched on the light. Stretching his arms slightly, he turned back to Setsuna, who remained seated in his room.
"I saw you were working hard, so I didn't disturb you," she said.
"Working hard…?"
Haruto wasn't sure if Setsuna had seen what he was writing. He returned to his desk, quickly tidied up his drafts, and placed them back into the drawer before looking at her again.
"Has Mai-san come back yet?"
"No."
"I see."
Without another word, Haruto headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner. He took stock of what little was left in the fridge, quickly put together some curry, and made a few side dishes. As the food simmered, he walked over to the window and glanced across the street at the Kiyoura residence.
The lights were still off.
She's not home yet?
He turned to Setsuna, his brows slightly furrowed. "Mai-san usually gets home around this time, doesn't she?"
"I don't know," Setsuna said, shaking her head. "She didn't tell me anything before she left today."
Haruto pulled out his phone and searched for Mai's contact. He dialed her number.
"Hello? Haruto?"
"Mai, are you still at work?"
"Work? No, I'm already off. Oh, right—I forgot to tell you and Setsuna. I'm having dinner with a friend tonight, so don't wait for me. I'll be back later."
"Dinner with a friend?"
Haruto glanced at Setsuna, mildly surprised.
Before he could ask who this "friend" was, a woman's voice came through the phone.
"Hmm? Mai, is that your daughter on the phone?"
"No… it's my daughter's… boyfriend."
"Oh, you mean the one you always talk about—"
"Alright, Yoko! That's enough!" Mai suddenly cut her off, her voice flustered. "Ah, the call's still connected… Um, Haruto, just go ahead and eat with Setsuna. I'll be back soon. Talk later!"
The call ended abruptly.
Haruto put down his phone and looked at Setsuna. The call hadn't been on speaker, but in the quiet room, the voices had been loud enough for her to hear clearly.
Setsuna simply nodded, showing no hint of disappointment or frustration. She calmly sat at the dining table.
"No need to wait for her."
"Yeah."
Without Mai, the dinner felt unusually quiet. Haruto and Setsuna ate in silence, their only interaction being the occasional passing of side dishes.
After the meal, Haruto cleared the table while Setsuna remained seated, watching him finish cleaning up. Once he was done, she silently moved closer to him.
"Haruto."
"Hm? What is it, Setsuna?"
She got down on her hands and knees, slowly crawling over to him. Then, she pressed herself against his legs, resting her head on his lap. Her eyes carried a faint trace of unease.
"It's nothing," she murmured. "I just wanted to call your name."
She remained there, quietly listening to his heartbeat.
Haruto didn't say anything. He simply let her be, holding her in silence.
Later that night, around seven, Setsuna went back to her house to grab her pajamas and some overnight essentials before returning to Haruto's apartment.
After taking a bath together, they changed into their sleepwear and climbed into bed.
"Good night, Setsuna."
"Mm. Good night, Haruto."
Leaving behind a simple note at home, Setsuna wasn't worried about her mother wondering where she was. She gazed at the boy in front of her, then slowly closed her eyes, feeling completely at ease in his arms.
Meanwhile, Mai had returned home slightly tipsy from drinking with Saionji Yoko.
"Setsu— …huh?"
She was about to call out to her daughter when she hesitated. If Setsuna was already asleep, she didn't want to wake her.
Quietly, she stepped into the house and turned on the lights.
The room was empty.
Weird…
If Setsuna were home, at least the living room lights would be on, right?
Mai took a few steps back, turned toward the window, and looked across the street at Haruto's apartment.
Dark.
The lights were off.
"..."
With a small sigh, she closed the door and entered the living room. That's when she noticed a small note stuck to the table.
She picked it up.
"Staying at Haruto's place overnight. Don't worry."
"..."
Mai pressed her lips together, feeling an inexplicable sense of disappointment.
She stood there for a moment, staring at Setsuna's room, before finally walking toward her own.
She didn't feel like taking a bath anymore.
She wasn't in the mood.
Lying down in bed, she suddenly sat up again, hesitated, then got out of bed.
With a soft click, she turned off the lights in the living room before heading back to her room.
"Ah… this feels lonely."
The next morning, Haruto woke up early and gently nudged Setsuna awake. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, then got out of bed and changed into her school uniform.
Haruto, still groggy from sleep, sat on the edge of the bed. But the moment Setsuna began changing right in front of him, he suddenly felt fully awake.
He stared at her for a while, then, after a brief pause, silently turned his head away and started getting dressed himself.
As they left the apartment together, they ran into Saionji Sekai standing outside Mai's house.
She blinked in surprise, watching the two of them walk out together.
Oh no…
Sekai's face turned pale as she stood frozen in place.
She barely reacted when Haruto casually waved at her in greeting.
It wasn't until Setsuna walked up to her and playfully pinched her nose that she finally snapped out of it.
Trembling, she clenched her fists.
When… when will a girl like me, who has no boyfriend, ever be able to win?
"That's too much!"
"Hm?" Setsuna tilted her head. "What is?"
"You two! Flaunting your relationship right in front of me! Isn't that a little mean?!"
"Isn't this normal for a couple?" Setsuna replied, looking puzzled. "Maybe if we were in the same school, you'd get used to it faster?"
"..."
Sekai felt utterly defeated.
After a brief silence, Sekai—who always lamented, "Too bad you two don't go to the same school,"—was left momentarily speechless by Setsuna's words. She pouted slightly, puffing out her cheeks, then turned and started walking toward school. Setsuna simply followed behind her, and the two of them walked together.
Meanwhile, Haruto was heading to school alone when he unexpectedly ran into Nakano Itsuki, the youngest of the Nakano sisters.
"Ah… eye contact."
The moment she turned the corner and spotted Haruto, Itsuki also noticed his presence. Without thinking, she mumbled out loud, making the situation slightly awkward for him.
"Good morning, Nakano Itsuki-san."
"...Just call me Nakano, or Itsuki. No need to say my full name—it sounds weird, don't you think?"
"A little bit."
Haruto didn't deny it and simply nodded. Maintaining a slight distance, the two of them continued walking to school together.
Itsuki held a steamed bun in her hands. Whether she was conscious of Haruto's presence or just trying to eat more comfortably, she gradually slowed her pace.
Before she realized it, she had fallen behind him.
Haruto, who hadn't been paying much attention, suddenly noticed that Itsuki had disappeared from his peripheral vision. He turned back—only to see her standing there, mid-bite into her meat bun.
"..."
Their gazes met once again—one filled with contentment and satisfaction, the other laced with mild confusion.
Itsuki's cheeks instantly turned red. Embarrassed, she quickly averted her eyes and turned away. Haruto, on the other hand, merely slowed his pace slightly.
"Is Ichika still asleep?" he asked.
"Mm… yeah, she's still at home. But she should be leaving soon," Itsuki replied.
The fact that Haruto didn't bring up the meat bun allowed Itsuki to relax a little. She carefully glanced at him from the side, only to find that his expression remained calm and neutral, without a hint of ridicule.
She let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"I'm a little surprised. I thought you five always went to school together."
"...We usually do, but there are days when things are a bit different, or when something special comes up."
"I see."
Haruto nodded, not pressing further.
Maintaining a comfortable distance, the two continued their walk to school. Upon reaching the school gates, Itsuki spotted some of her friends and immediately joined them in conversation.
Haruto didn't mind. He walked alone to the school building, switched out his shoes at the locker, and—
"..."
A pink envelope was sitting inside his shoe locker.
It had only been about half a month since the school year started, yet he was already receiving a love letter? The thought made Haruto pause in mild surprise.
He picked up the envelope, giving it a light squeeze.
The texture felt odd.
Instead of soft paper, there was something hard—almost plastic—inside.
After a moment of silence, Haruto quietly placed the envelope into his bag without opening it. Then, after switching into his indoor shoes, he headed toward the classroom.
A short distance away, Itsuki had witnessed Haruto pulling out the pink envelope from his locker.
She found herself a little curious about it—but in the end, she said nothing, simply changing her shoes before following him into the classroom.
By the time Haruto arrived in the classroom, there weren't too many people around, but a fair number of students had already taken their seats.
He walked over to his desk, sat down, and took out the pink envelope from his bag, placing it inside the desk's storage compartment. After arranging his textbooks on the desk and hanging his bag on the side, he reached back into the compartment and pulled out the envelope again.
A pink envelope.
On the front, it was addressed: "To Miyamizu-kun."
There was nothing else—no decorations, no embellishments. Not even a red heart sticker sealing the flap. That lack of detail made Haruto feel that the sender could've put in a little more effort. He mentally deducted a few points.
"The texture inside doesn't feel like letter paper… so it's probably not a love confession? No… I can't be sure."
After studying the envelope in his hands for a moment, Haruto carefully opened it.
Inside was a thin stack of photographs.
"..."
He glanced around the room. A few people seemed to be stealing glances his way.
Pausing for a brief moment, he slid out the last photo from the stack with his fingers.
"..."
It was a picture of him—sitting alone on a bench in the schoolyard.
"When was this taken?"
His brows knitted slightly. He scanned through the photos and looked at the second-to-last one.
A picture of him walking home.
"..."
An unsettling feeling crept over him.
Something wasn't right.
The more he flipped through the stack, the stronger the feeling grew. He pulled out the rest of the photos.
There were five in total.
All of them were solo shots of him.
All taken when he was alone.
All taken without his knowledge.
Silently, Haruto flipped the stack over and placed it face-down on his desk.
A deep silence settled over him.
He pressed his fingers lightly against his forehead, lost in thought.
If he was right… this was stalking.
Or even surveillance.
Who?
Why?
What was the purpose of doing something like this?
His frown deepened. But after a few moments, he calmly slipped both the photos and the pink envelope back into his bag.
Despite the occasional curious glances from his classmates, Haruto remained perfectly composed—acting as if nothing had happened at all.