Hasebe Haruka

After Swimming Lesson ended, Konoe had changed and was getting ready to head back to the dorm when a girl suddenly called out to him.

"Konoe Hirakawa, right?"

The girl before him was Hasebe Haruka, a classmate—the same girl he'd just had that silent "staring contest" with.

She had long blue hair, a pair of strands framing her face like whiskers, and a beautiful face. There was even a small beauty mark beneath her left eye. She was a genuine beauty.

But despite her looks, she always gave off a faintly hostile, icy aura that made people reluctant to approach her. She seemed especially annoyed by boys who tried to strike up a conversation, so she appeared to spend most of her time alone at school.

"Can I help you, Hasebe?" Remembering his childish behavior, Konoe felt awkward, but still replied without changing his expression.

"During Swimming Lesson, you were staring at me, weren't you? Don't tell me you were looking forward to seeing me in a swimsuit, too?" Hasebe's tone was even, and Konoe couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"...If I made you uncomfortable, I'm sorry. You might not believe me, but I didn't have any bad intentions."

People were taught to look each other in the eye while speaking, but no one actually stared the whole time. Usually, they'd make polite eye contact at first, then look at the other person's nose or somewhere else. For some reason, though, the girl in front of Konoe kept staring directly into his eyes. And since he didn't want her to think he was feeling guilty, he stared right back.

"I know."

"Hm?" Konoe was a little surprised. It was good that she believed him, but he knew how Hasebe usually acted around boys.

"I'm sensitive to people's gazes, and I really hate leering. So I know your gaze didn't feel like that."

From the way Hasebe looked at him, it was clear she was telling the truth. Konoe suddenly realized that if two people could keep looking each other in the eye while they talked, it would be very hard to lie.

"By the way, you still haven't answered my question. Were you looking forward to seeing me in a swimsuit?"

A swimsuit? Konoe was puzzled by the strange question. Then, without thinking, he looked her over. She was slender and graceful, but had filled out nicely where it counted. Her legs, clad in knee-high socks, were especially smooth and fair. He couldn't help remembering the swimsuits worn by the other girls at the pool, then started imagining Hasebe in one, and lost himself in thought.

Hasebe watched as Konoe's gaze wandered over her body. She was a little shaken, but said nothing, keeping her eyes fixed on his.

Up close, she suddenly noticed that the boy in front of her had a very delicate face—almost cute.

A few seconds later, Konoe realized what he was doing. His face flushed, and he looked away, then stubbornly met Hasebe's gaze again, only to find her watching him with a smile.

"...N-no... I'm not interested." Thinking of her personality, Konoe decided to stick to his guns. But he'd clearly forgotten the conclusion he'd just reached: it was hard to lie while looking someone in the eye. Especially when he was already flustered.

"Wow, Konoe, you're a lot more interesting than I expected." Hasebe was fascinated by his reaction. Remembering how cool and serious he usually seemed in class, she couldn't help feeling delighted by his flustered behavior.

Realizing she'd been teasing him, Konoe's expression slowly shifted from flustered to angry.

Hasebe hurriedly said, "Sorry, I was just joking. How about we exchange contact information?"

"I refuse. I'm leaving." Konoe turned and walked away at once.

Konoe realized the girl had been teasing him, and he felt a little angry—not so much with her as with himself for reacting that way. More importantly, he was embarrassed that she'd seen what he was really thinking.

"I said I was sorry! I'm sorry, wait!" Hasebe grabbed Konoe's hand to stop him. Then she seemed to realize how bold a move she'd made. Her face turned bright red, and she let go, lowering her head in disappointment.

Konoe felt bad for her. He sighed and pulled out his phone. "Please exchange contact information with me, Hasebe."

Hasebe looked up at him in delight, then took out her phone and exchanged contact information with him.

"I feel kind of bad. I'm not very good at talking to boys—or rather, I don't have any male friends. Would you be my friend, Konoe?" Hasebe asked hopefully. She'd never met such an interesting boy before, and she felt like they might get along.

"We've exchanged contact information, so I guess that makes us friends. I look forward to getting along with you, Hasebe."

"Likewise! From now on, just call me Gaga. And I'll call you Pingping!"

"Pingping?" Konoe was startled by the nickname.

"Is Pingping no good? Then... Xiaochuan?" Hasebe was excited to have made her first male friend.

"Why don't you call me Saburo? My family likes to use that as a nickname for me..." Konoe wanted her to call him Konoe, but couldn't bring himself to spoil her enthusiasm.

"Then... Xiao San?"

"I'll go with Pingping." Konoe gave in.

"Then it's settled! Pingping!"

"...O-oh! Gaga..."

"It's still early, but I'm kind of hungry after PE. Let's go get something to eat! My treat, as an apology for earlier."

"I am a little hungry... By the way, weren't you just observing the lesson?" Konoe looked at Hasebe with feigned irritation.

"Hehe... Sitting around and doing nothing can be surprisingly tiring," Hasebe replied, embarrassed.

"Hey, can you swim?"

"I've swum before, but I'm not very good at it. You were great, Pingping! You kept practicing holding your breath, and eventually you were able to float on the water. Does that mean you've already learned how to swim?"

"Were you... Never mind."

Konoe was too embarrassed to ask if she'd been watching him the whole time. Beside him, Hasebe suddenly realized what she'd just implied, and lowered her head, blushing.

"Ahem. If you're not very good at swimming, I'd suggest learning next time. The teacher said it might come in handy, right?" Konoe advised her, also taking the chance to change the subject.

"Huh? What do you mean...?"

"...It's hard to explain. Just assume I tricked you. And from now on, you should start saving up points. Of course, if you don't want to attend Swimming Lesson, that's fine. You can go to a pool sometime on your own and have an instructor or a friend teach you."

"I don't really understand what you're saying, Pingping, but you're trying to help me, right? I'll do what you say!"

The two chatted as they walked, and soon reached the Student Cafeteria.

"What do you want to eat, Pingping?"

"Hmm... I think I'll have that extra-spicy beef curry again. It was pretty good."

"Wait, you like spicy food too, Pingping? That's such a surprise! I'm just like you. I'll get curry, too. I haven't tried theirs yet."

Seeing how happy Hasebe was just because they liked the same thing, Konoe found himself thinking about her for the first time.

Maybe Hasebe wasn't deliberately looking down on all boys. Maybe she was so well-developed and beautiful that the boys her age couldn't help looking at her and thinking things they couldn't control.

Maybe she acted so unapproachable to protect herself, but had ended up alone because of it.

Maybe she's a little like me, Konoe thought for some reason, then shook his head and dismissed the idea.

As Hasebe happily and excitedly told him how delicious the curry was, Konoe found himself smiling along with her.