Night.
Karaoke.
Dokuho Kouya sat on the sofa, quietly watching his classmates sing into the microphones.
Tetsuya Hamaguchi, who often chatted with him, came over. "Kono, aren't you going to sing?"
"I'll pass." Kono shook his head.
Everyone in the class had come to karaoke, but not everyone felt like singing.
In Kono's view, some of them had come along because they didn't want to be labeled antisocial.
Fortunately, most of his classmates were good at socializing. Even if they didn't really want to sing, they could still get by just fine by chatting with their friends.
Those who wanted to sing could belt out songs, while those who had only come to spend time with everyone sat on the sofas and chatted.
No one seemed dissatisfied.
"Yuki, what's wrong?"
Just then, a group of girls nearby spoke up with concern.
Yume Kobashi and some of their other classmates gathered around the twin-tailed girl, looking at her worriedly.
"Sorry, my migraine is acting up."
Yuki Himeno rubbed her temple, putting on a pained expression.
Seeing the girl in the distance looking unwell, Tetsuya said sympathetically, "That's so unfortunate."
"Yuki gets migraines. Whenever there's a gathering, one comes on halfway through, so she can't stay and have fun with everyone until the end."
Realizing that Kono rarely attended class gatherings, Tetsuya explained.
"That really is unfortunate." Kono nodded slightly, but he didn't entirely believe what Tetsuya had told him.
This month, he had observed everyone in the class and noticed something interesting.
Even in the class with the best atmosphere, there were people who preferred being alone to spending time together.
Yuki Himeno was one of them.
Unlike Kono, a fake loner, Yuki was a genuine one.
But the students in Class B were so enthusiastic, and Yuki didn't want to disappoint them, so she forced herself to attend their gatherings.
In the end, though, she couldn't handle the lively atmosphere, so she used migraines as an excuse to leave early.
Her classmates had no idea she was lying. Whenever Yuki claimed her migraine was acting up, they would come over to check on her.
"Yuki, I'll walk you back to the dorm."
One of the girls in the class felt it wasn't safe for Yuki to go back alone, so she offered to accompany her.
"Um... you don't have to go to all that trouble." Yuki hesitated, then quickly shook her head. "I can go back by myself."
"But..." Her classmates still seemed a little worried.
Seeing this, Kono stood up from the sofa and walked over to Yuki and the others.
"I happen to have something to take care of back at the dorm. I'll walk Yuki back."
Kono spoke to the girls.
He had nothing to do that evening; he had just casually made up an excuse to return to the dorm.
After hearing him, the girls exchanged quiet whispers. "If Kono's going with her, it should be fine."
"He doesn't look like the type who'd lay a hand on a girl, either."
It was late at night.
A boy and a girl walking together alone.
It was only natural to worry about the girl's safety.
But Kono had always behaved well in class, leaving a good impression on everyone.
If Kono was going with her, there was no need to worry about Yuki getting hurt.
Yuki was still hesitating. She looked over uncertainly. "Kono, do you really have something to do back at the dorm?"
"Yeah." Kono nodded slowly.
Yuki's brows knitted slightly at his reply, as if she wasn't quite happy with it. Still, she said, "Then I'll leave it to you, Kono."
After the boy and girl left, the students at the karaoke place reacted in different ways.
Yume Kobashi and the others looked worried and sympathetic, thinking it was awful that Yuki had to suffer from migraines.
Mako Amikura cupped her face in her hands, her pretty features full of regret. "Kono just left like that."
"I wanted to sing a duet with him, too."
Quite a few people in the class wanted to sing karaoke.
Mako would have to wait a while before it was her turn.
She had planned to hand Kono a microphone and invite him to sing a duet when her turn came.
She hadn't expected him to leave just like that.
"There's nothing we can do about it," her friend Sayo Ando consoled her. "Yuki's situation is really concerning. With Kono there to look after her, we can all relax."
As they saw it, Kono's claim that he had something to do back at the dorm was just an excuse.
The real reason was that he didn't want Yuki to feel guilty.
Yuki was so reluctant to let anyone walk her back because she was probably worried that, because of her, the other person wouldn't get to enjoy the gathering.
That was why Kono had deliberately said he had something to do at the dorm, so Yuki wouldn't feel so guilty.
Although Sayo and the others hadn't seen through Yuki's act, they could still sense her reservations.
After all, they were the sort of people who paid close attention to how others felt.
"That's true," Mako said, still sounding a little disappointed. "But, Sayo, don't you want to sing a duet with Kono?"
Hearing her friend's words, the short-haired girl froze for a moment, then looked embarrassed. "Well... I'm really bad at singing. If Kono went onstage with me, it'd probably be embarrassing for him."
"Really?" Mako raised an eyebrow, surprised.
On the way back to the dorm.
"Kono, I'm really sorry for the trouble." Yuki rubbed her forehead, her voice weak.
Right now, she was playing the part of a frail girl with migraines. Even though it was just her and Kono, she had to keep acting so she wouldn't give herself away.
Seeing this, the boy chuckled. "Yuki, it's just the two of us here. You don't have to keep acting."
"Huh?" The purple-haired girl with twin tails froze, then looked at him in confusion. "Kono, I don't know what you mean."
No wonder people said women were born actresses.
They kept acting until their lies were completely exposed.
"You don't actually have migraines, do you?"
Kono spoke slowly, his tone calm. "You didn't want to turn down your friends' invitation, but you also didn't want to spoil everyone's fun. So you came up with the excuse of having a migraine to leave the gathering."
"You really are a kind girl."
That was Kono's final verdict.
"I... kind?" At the boy's words, Yuki's brows shot up, and her pupils began to tremble violently.
How could a fake girl like her possibly deserve to be called kind?!
Before you continue