Yukinoshita's Correction Method

And some moments would be preserved clearly in the heart forever in an even more dreamlike way.

Volume One: First Meeting in Freshman Year: Vivid in Voice and Expression

The first command was to put on the cat-ear headband.

The second command was to accept being photographed.

Yukino Yukinoshita realized her own oversight once again.

Or rather, she gained a new understanding of just how vile Dong Yunshan could be.

He not only wanted to enjoy the moment of her embarrassment and humiliation.

He also wanted to record that moment, then savor it over and over again.

Yukino Yukinoshita possessed a will of steel.

But there was such a thing as... metal fatigue.

Under cyclic stress or cyclic strain, metallic materials would gradually develop localized, permanent cumulative damage, then, after a certain number of cycles, suddenly fracture completely.

A will of steel was the same.

From the tension of thinking about the maid outfit, to the calm after she settled down, then to the relief of seeing the cat-ear headband and the confidence of having won.

After her emotions had risen and fallen so sharply, the moment she saw Dong Yunshan lift his phone to take a photo, the instant Yukino Yukinoshita realized what was about to happen, she could no longer recover her initial composure.

She was going to be photographed...

Even the slightest movement of Dong Yunshan's finger tugged at Yukino Yukinoshita's precarious reason.

Don't take it... Words like that simply could not leave her mouth.

After all, she could afford to lose, and she could afford to win.

The humiliation she had suppressed earlier now crashed into Yukino Yukinoshita's mind with even greater force.

It was as if her body felt that force too, trembling softly.

Just as Yukino Yukinoshita felt she was about to slide off the chair, Dong Yunshan lowered his phone.

Yukino Yukinoshita looked at Dong Yunshan in shock, meeting his dazed gaze head-on.

Focused...

And entranced.

He was not taking the photo?

Her tense body completely relaxed, and warm breath drifted from Yukino Yukinoshita's slightly parted cherry lips.

Although nothing had happened, she felt an exhausted sense of collapse.

There was even a thin sheen of sweat on her body.

"The second command..." Dong Yunshan put his phone away. "Just meow three times."

As long as he did not take a photo.

As if afraid Dong Yunshan would go back on his word, Yukino Yukinoshita immediately carried out the command. "Meow~"

In that instant, unbelievable shock appeared on both Dong Yunshan's and Yukino Yukinoshita's faces at the same time.

The soft, tender sound that drifted from Yukino Yukinoshita's mouth no longer had her usual coldness and clarity. It was delicate and lilting.

For a moment, Dong Yunshan even seemed to vaguely see a lone little kitten letting out a helpless call.

Dong Yunshan could not believe his ears. Yukino Yukinoshita could actually make a sound like that?

Yukino Yukinoshita could not believe her ears either. Was that a sound she had made?

With surprise and doubt, Yukino Yukinoshita tentatively continued carrying out the command. "Meow?"

It was the same soft, tender lilt, the ending rising slightly, carrying a trace of confusion and uncertainty.

Like a lone little kitten that had found its family, yet could not believe its own eyes, cautiously letting out a faint call.

That really was a sound she had made... Yukino Yukinoshita finally confirmed it.

But why had her voice become like this?

What else could it be?

Yukino Yukinoshita found the answer almost immediately and glared fiercely at Dong Yunshan.

It was all because of this guy!

If Dong Yunshan had commanded her from the very beginning to put on the headband and meow three times, Yukino Yukinoshita would never have made a sound like that.

Even if she had inevitably felt somewhat ashamed and angry, it would have been three short, icy meows.

Paired with a contemptuous gaze and a stern expression.

But...

From the maid outfit to the headband, from being photographed to not being photographed.

Yukino Yukinoshita had also gone from tense to relaxed, back and forth, several times.

With her emotions surging up and down, Yukino Yukinoshita had long since lost her initial calm and composure.

Exhausted in both body and mind, her control over her body was no longer what it had been.

In the end... she could no longer control her voice properly either.

Even in her shame and anger, Yukino Yukinoshita still did not forget to complete the command. She glared fiercely at Dong Yunshan and let out one final, "Meow!"

It carried resentment and unwillingness, intertwined with accusation and complaint. It was sharper than before, yet still could not hide its softness and lilting tenderness.

It was like a stray kitten finally confirming that the person it had seen was the family member who had vanished without a trace, rushing over at full speed, loudly pouring out its grievances and demanding to know where the other party had gone just now.

She really knew how to take a loss.

Dong Yunshan stared blankly at Yukino Yukinoshita, utterly convinced.

This was not hollow imitation. This was a performance with a plot!

In just three meows, she had made him hear an entire hallucination.

Yukino Yukinoshita had not meant to be perfunctory at all. She had thrown herself into it completely, with abundant emotion and powerful infectiousness.

Even though he knew it was an imitation, even though the person imitating was right in front of him, Dong Yunshan still could not help feeling sincerely happy for the little kitten that had found its family.

A smile appeared on his face as well.

Wonderful. It was a happy ending.

Don't be scared, little kitty. Come into Mommy's arms~

Sure enough... seeing the smile on Dong Yunshan's face, Yukino Yukinoshita was completely certain.

This guy, who took pleasure in others' misfortune by nature, had absolutely done it on purpose!

In the silent room, a sizzling sound like a malfunctioning radio rang out, followed by the melody of a synthesized tone.

Hearing the bell for the end of school, Yukino Yukinoshita did not want to stay even one second longer. With a cold face, she abruptly stood up—

The feeling of exhaustion that had been buried beneath her intense emotions surged up the instant she stood.

Together with the muscle soreness left over from yesterday's exercise, Yukino Yukinoshita almost completely lost control of her body and pitched forward.

Just like a little kitten throwing itself into Mommy's arms.

Before Yukino Yukinoshita could fall into Dong Yunshan's embrace, Dong Yunshan's hands accurately and firmly caught her by the shoulders.

Just look at that reaction speed of his.

After helping Yukino Yukinoshita stand steady again, Dong Yunshan let go, his smile gaining a few traces of smugness.

Good thing his physical abilities were extraordinary, enough to even catch Shizuka Hiratsuka's fist.

Otherwise, Yukino Yukinoshita would have... huh?

"...Thank you." Yukino Yukinoshita thanked him expressionlessly, stiffly packed up her schoolbag, and turned toward the clubroom door.

She pulled the door open with force, but just before stepping out, Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly stopped. "This has only just begun. I... will absolutely find a way to correct you."

"Wait!" Dong Yunshan called out to stop her. When Yukino Yukinoshita glared back at him, he raised a hand and pointed at his own head. "The headband."

Yukino Yukinoshita yanked off the headband, stuffed it into her schoolbag, and walked out of the clubroom without looking back.

She even closed the door behind her.

The little kitty has grown up and is going out to brave the world on her own... Gazing at the tightly shut door, this thought inexplicably surfaced in Dong Yunshan's mind.

No, that was wrong.

"About Dong Yun?" Shizuka Hiratsuka flicked a cigarette out of the pack and held it between her lips. "What made you suddenly think to ask about him?"

"This is preparation for correcting him," Yukino Yukinoshita answered expressionlessly. "His problems are more serious than I previously anticipated, so in order to find a correction method more suitable for him, I need to collect some information."

"So it's for correction." Shizuka Hiratsuka lit the cigarette. "I thought it was because you lost to him earlier due to insufficient intelligence, then suffered quite a bit under his command, so you wanted to win it back as soon as possible."

"..." Yukino Yukinoshita's eyes shifted slightly, and it seemed as if her own vivid, emotionally rich meowing echoed by her ears again.

That black cat-ear headband was still in her schoolbag even now.

One day, she would...

"I will not forget the ultimate purpose of correcting him over a mere single victory or defeat," Yukino Yukinoshita said coldly. "Moreover, when he shows phased progress, he should also be allowed to obtain phased victories, in order to stimulate his subjective initiative and facilitate the smooth implementation of later correction methods."

"Now that you mention it... he really has been attending class properly lately." Shizuka Hiratsuka looked at her approvingly. "The correction is showing initial results."

Yukino Yukinoshita narrowed her cold eyes slightly. "This is only the beginning."

"However, I don't know much about him either." Shizuka Hiratsuka flicked the ash from her cigarette. "Dong Yun went to middle school in Nagoya, and only later moved to Chiba because of changes in his family's work. Before that, my understanding of him was limited to one thing my friend... that is, Dong Yun's mother, told me about from when he was little."

"When he was little?"

"Before he was even born..."

Yukino Yukinoshita: "..." That was far too small.

"When Dong Yunshan's mother was pregnant with him, she was probably around six or seven months along. At that stage, they needed to monitor the fetal heartbeat every day..." Shizuka Hiratsuka paused. "You know what a fetal heartbeat is, right?"

"The fetus's heartbeat."

"You really do know..." Back then, they found that the fetal heartbeat was extremely unstable, so they went to the hospital for an examination right away." Shizuka Hiratsuka slowly breathed out a plume of smoke, a very complicated emotion surfacing on her face. "In the end, they discovered that the unborn Dong Yunshan had nothing better to do than pinch his umbilical cord and play with it. He kept pinching it until he passed out from oxygen deprivation, and naturally his hand loosened. After a while, he woke up and started pinching again."

"..." For some reason, Yukino Yukinoshita felt like that really was something Dong Yunshan would do. "And then?"

"That's it."

"Wasn't Dong Yunshan's mother your friend?"

"A married friend," Shizuka Hiratsuka corrected her. "The kind of friend where when you're drinking alone at home, she's at home watching her child. The kind of friend where when you call her wanting to chat, she can't go three sentences without mentioning her kid. The kind of friend who's five years older than you, whose son is already sixteen, while you're still single..."

All right, I get it. Single you didn't dare contact her.

"What about after he came to Chiba?"

"He lived by himself in middle school, and it was the same after he came to Chiba. He just didn't attend class much—wait a second." Shizuka Hiratsuka calmed herself, put out her cigarette, and walked out. When she came back, she had a thick stack of leave request forms in her hands. "These are all his."

"You actually approved all of them?"

"If I approve his leave, then if something happens to him outside, it's his own responsibility. If I don't approve..." Shizuka Hiratsuka flipped through the huge pile of photocopies. "Then I'm the one who has to take responsibility for all this."

This was...

Yukino Yukinoshita skimmed them quickly and found what they had in common. "Medical records?"

"Injured, hospitalized, discharged, injured, hospitalized..." As Shizuka Hiratsuka spoke, she lit another cigarette and breathed out smoke with a long sigh. "That was how he spent most of his first year of high school."

Yukino Yukinoshita looked through them carefully. "What was the reason?"

"Helping others for pleasure." Shizuka Hiratsuka took out the first sheet. "At first, he got hit by a car, and then it was like he got addicted to it. A few days after he was discharged, he got stabbed twice chasing a thief. After he recovered, he was at a gym when some idiot unloaded the plates from one side of a barbell, so the plates on the other side sent the bar flying straight out. He stopped it."

Yukino Yukinoshita found the corresponding medical record. "Arm fracture..."

"Later, he even opened a handyman agency outside, helping all kinds of people in trouble. A high school student, dealing with people out in society every day..." Shizuka Hiratsuka irritably scratched her hair. "The day I went to pick him up, he was being chased with a knife and jumped down from the second floor."