44 - I want to know what's in your heart

My grip felt weak— I could barely hold my pencil, let alone write. I couldn't do this anymore...

I took a deep breath. My face was still warm, even though half an hour had passed.

Nagi's words kept echoing in my head. I couldn't focus on the lesson at all, just spacing out while replaying his words over and over.

"Yuichi! You're super duper cute and beautiful!"

Aaaahhh!!

I frantically ran my fingers through my hair in frustration; my heart wouldn't stop racing. My face burned even more as I repeated that compliment in my mind.

The me from the past would never have imagined that the me from the future would blush and freak out just because a guy called me cute and pretty...

I sneaked a glance at Nagi, curious about his expression. But contrary to my expectations, his face looked way more normal than I thought. Eh...? Why does he look so... normal? Could it be that I'm the only one who's been flustered this whole time...?

Hng...

I pouted, puffing out both my cheeks in frustration while staring at him intently. Even after all that, Nagi continued taking notes as if nothing had happened. His hand moved smoothly, without the slightest hesitation, and his expression remained completely neutral.

But something felt off— why did he look so normal today...?

Did he not take our hand-holding seriously? Or... was he deliberately ignoring me now?

I studied his face carefully, analyzing even the tiniest movements of his eyes and lips. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

I let out a long sigh.

Why is my mood such a mess...? Is this what love feels like? My emotions were all over the place.

I wanted Nagi to keep paying attention to me— to compliment me, to spoil me, and so much more. But his indifference was disappointing.

I had expected something... so why does he look so unfazed?

Hmm...

Wait!

A brilliant idea suddenly popped into my head, as if I had been possessed by a PhD professor specializing in romcom manga research.

I quickly tore off a small piece of my notebook paper and scribbled something on it. Then, I crumpled it into a ball and tossed it onto Nagi’s desk.

This way, I could see his reaction when he read it.

Based on my experience, I knew for a fact that Nagi always got flustered whenever I called him "cute" No matter how much he pretended to dislike it, he could never hide the blush on his face. He even seemed to prefer that over being called handsome or cool.

So, the note I threw just now was filled with compliments like that— especially the word "CUTE," which I wrote in all caps on purpose.

"Nagi~" I called his name softly.

He turned to look at me, and I simply made a few gestures with my hands. He immediately understood the message and unfolded the paper ball.

...

Huh...?

Nagi’s expression didn’t change at all. He didn’t even react.

I was sure he read it— I could tell from his eye movements.

But... why does he look so normal...?

Did I miscalculate? Does Nagi... not like being called cute...?

Once he finished reading, he turned to me with a blank stare, gave me a thumbs-up with a deadpan face, and went right back to writing.

A...

I couldn't even form words.

Hmph..! Nagi, you idiot!!!

***

Nagi's POV.

ALMOST... I almost let my embarrassment show because of that note Yuichi sent me just now...

Luckily, I immediately bit my lip hard and mercilessly pinched the skin on my arm to distract myself. The moment I saw the all-caps word "CUTE" on the paper, I knew I had to make a small sacrifice to maintain my Face of Steel.

I've been training non-stop to keep a straight face whenever I'm complimented or teased. It all started when I found out from Chiharu that Yuichi had feelings for me.

I had a vision of the future, a strong premonition that Yuichi would pull tricks like this on me. After all, she was the best at messing with people. So, I trained relentlessly to keep my face neutral... and thus, the Face of Steel technique was born.

And sure enough, my hard work paid off.

Just like what happened this morning... when... we held hands!

I CAN'T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD!

I can't even imagine what my face would have looked like if I had let my emotions run wild.

I might have ended up nosebleeding, jumping for joy, or— worse— something even more humiliating...

I have no idea what possessed me this morning, but I suddenly felt the urge to hold Yuichi’s hand... Maybe because today, for some reason, she looked even cuter and prettier than usual.

Besides that, there was one more thing that confused me. That moment when she randomly shouted, "Nagi, do you want me to give you the best website to watch ****?"

Why the hell did her thoughts jump to that out of nowhere!?

As for our hand-holding... I honestly didn’t know if Yuichi took it seriously or not. If she did it on purpose to make me fall for her more— she succeeded. If she did it just to tease me— she also succeeded.

AAAARRGGHH!!!

Either way, it was the same result...

I swallowed nervously.

Maybe she was serious. Maybe she wasn’t.

My face gradually heated up.

Maybe... Chiharu once told me that the guy Yuichi likes is me... If I think about it like that, then maybe her actions earlier really were serious.

But I wasn’t sure. I couldn't tell the difference between her genuine expressions and her mischievous ones. So all I could do was guess...

I shook my head rapidly as chills ran down my spine. I was suddenly overwhelmed by an intense sense of secondhand embarrassment.

I dropped my head onto my desk and let out a long sigh.

Ugh... Why am I acting like some kid experiencing love for the first time...?

I glanced at Yuichi. She looked a little disappointed, realizing that her attempt to tease me with the note had failed.

Too bad, Yuichi. Written words will never have the same impact as hearing them directly!

Unless...

I clenched my fists tightly, my heart racing, and the corner of my lips curled into a mischievous smirk.

Unless you add a little spice to it.

Heh... Time for you to taste the consequences of your own game.

I flipped the note over and wrote way more compliments than she had written for me.

I even threw in some... suggestive jokes.

I knew Yuichi was weak to this kind of thing.

Like that time I jokingly mentioned a catgirl cosplay during our date at the mall— she immediately got flustered, trembling from sheer embarrassment.

Using that information, I was going to crank up the effect to maximum!

Oh, by the way, just so we're clear—this is just a joke, okay? I DO NOT have a fetish for that kind of thing. I SWEAR!

I kept writing with enthusiasm, filling nearly the entire scrap of paper with suggestive jokes.

Whoops... I might have gone overboard... I originally planned to write just one or two... Maybe this was a bit too...

...

Ah, whatever.

Once I finished, I immediately tossed the note back onto Yuichi’s desk.

"Huh..?"

Yuichi blinked at me in confusion, seeing me return the note she had given me earlier.

She quickly glanced around to make sure no one was watching before whispering, "Why are you giving it back...? I already know what's written on it— I wrote it myself."

"It's fine. Just read the back... It's different."

She gave me a suspicious look but decided to read it anyway.

I watched her face closely, eagerly waiting for her reaction.

Hmm..?

Yuichi's hands trembled. Her lips quivered uncontrollably. Her face turned a deep shade of red.

I smirked as she tore the paper into pieces with her bare hands. She then shot me a sharp glare while puffing her cheeks in frustration.

Even though she was trying to intimidate me, she couldn't hide how flustered she was.

She looked even cuter like that... Like a hamster.

Cute...

THUMP.

Something inside me was triggered.

I felt like a door to a whole new world had just opened within me...

"NAGI-KUN, UEDA-SAN!"

The teacher’s sudden call jolted us both. She tapped her ruler against the board repeatedly, her face filled with annoyance.

"You two! Stop flirting in class!"

I raised my hand nervously. "Eh... But we're not flirting, ma'am...!"

"Oh? Then, do you understand this problem?" The teacher eyed us with clear doubt. Instinctively, I nodded my head.

"Alright. Both of you, come up front and solve it on the board."

Oh, crap...!

Yuichi shot me a sharp glare as I scratched my head awkwardly. Reluctantly, we both stepped forward.

Well... that's life.

TO BE CONTINUED.