He pushed open the glass door, and the bell above it gave a clear little jingle.
It was a Western-style restaurant on the edge of the second floor of the Camphor Tree Shopping Mall.
It had none of the stuffiness of an upscale French restaurant, nor the noisy bustle of a fast-food joint.
Kazehara Tetsu led Karuizawa Kei to a booth by the window, half enclosed like a private room.
He took the seat by the window. Through the glass, misted over with fine droplets from the temperature difference inside and out, he watched Kei sit down across from him.
She still seemed a little unaccustomed to being alone with someone like this.
Her made-up eyes wandered restlessly, and her fingers unconsciously rubbed the grain along the edge of the table.
A waiter approached silently with a tray and neatly set down the food they had ordered.
"Eat while it's hot."
Kazehara Tetsu paid no attention to Kei's slightly stiff posture. He simply cut into the steak on his plate at an unhurried pace.
"...I know."
Kei muttered softly.
She picked up her fork, twirled a small portion of tomato pasta around its silver tines, and brought it to her mouth.
After swallowing a piece of steak, Kazehara Tetsu took a sip of iced lemon water.
He set down his glass and stared straight at Kei's face through the steam rising from the food.
"By the way."
Kazehara Tetsu's tone was calm, as if casually bringing up some insignificant gossip. "You and Hirata breaking up has been quite the talk of the class lately. It's what everyone's most eager to discuss after class."
At the word "break up," Kei's fingers froze as she cut into the side dish on her plate. Her fork scraped against the plate with a shrill