"I was just walking and saw someone blocking the way up ahead, so I was curious and glanced over. But it was you, senpai, who suddenly stopped on the stairs—didn't you think that might be dangerous?"
Haruto, standing on the stairs, didn't feel the slightest bit embarrassed by Utaha's words. He glanced back at those behind him, then slightly stepped aside to let others pass. Utaha was momentarily speechless.
As the others passed by, their strange gazes landed on Haruto and the girl before him. Utaha pressed her lips together, unable to help herself.
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave for now, senpai."
Knowing her glance earlier was rather rude, Haruto took the opportunity before the girl in front of him could react. With a calm expression, he passed by her side, continuing forward, leaving Utaha frowning as she watched his figure disappear up the stairs, her lips tightening slightly…
After the afternoon classes ended, Haruto stood up and looked toward Nozaki, who was seated at the desk behind him.
"Ready?"
"Yeah, almost packed up. Tonight's probably going to be long, might be late before I get home."
"Your apartment's pretty big, right? If it gets too late, you can just rest at your place."
Nozaki looked at Haruto, his gaze lingering for a moment as he gave him a thorough once-over before finally nodding slightly.
"Sure, that works."
"You looked a little unsettling earlier, kind of rude," Haruto commented.
"Did I?"
Haruto simply smiled in response. After Nozaki finished packing his bag, the two left the classroom together. Meanwhile, Yoshii and Yuji had already grabbed their bags and left as soon as the dismissal bell rang.
Few students remained in the classroom. Watching Haruto and Nozaki walk off together, some were slightly surprised and couldn't help whispering to each other once the two left.
By now, most had gotten familiar with Nozaki. At first, they thought he was cold and aloof, but after a certain incident, it became clear he was rather dense—disappointing some girls who had hoped for more.
"You used to be on the basketball team?"
"In middle school, yeah. Because of my height, I joined. But now, with manga taking up all my time, I don't waste time on clubs anymore. How about you, Haruto? Why don't you join a club?"
Haruto had overheard this conversation earlier in the classroom. As the walk felt dull, he asked Nozaki. Unexpectedly, Nozaki asked him back why he didn't join one.
"If you joined, you'd meet more people—and girls might like you more, especially in a sports club?"
"I hate sweating. The smell of sweat isn't exactly the kind of youth I want. Besides, I'm already pretty popular even without a club."
Though Haruto's reply might seem rude, Nozaki didn't take it that way. Sitting behind him, Nozaki knew quite well what Haruto had been through—and knew very well that Haruto was popular.
At the same time, Nozaki was curious about Haruto's romantic life. Seeing girls glance at Haruto from time to time, Nozaki, who sometimes struggled with what to draw, couldn't help but wonder about Haruto's love stories.
After leaving the school gates, they arrived at Nozaki's apartment. Inside, nothing much had changed—quiet and neat, hardly resembling a high school boy's home.
"Your editor is a guy?"
"Yeah, a pretty easygoing guy. He used to be a bit of a mess, but now he's a responsible editor."
Nozaki set down his bag, poured Haruto a glass of water, then took out his manga drafts. He handed over the parts where he needed Haruto's help, while the rest was what Nozaki himself would draw.
"By the way, I haven't had time to contact anyone yet. Can I go to the balcony to make a phone call?"
"You are welcome to do whatever you want. I will start working now."
Nozaki didn't pay much attention as he bent over his work. Haruto rose from the low table in the living room and walked to the balcony, opening the window, then closing it behind him.
He pulled out his phone and searched his contacts.
Since he didn't have many contacts, Haruto hadn't put Setsuna's name on any special list. He scrolled through the names in order and found her number, dialing his girlfriend.
"Setsuna, it's me. I might be late tonight, so you and Mai don't have to wait up for me."
"Who?"
"My classmate—the one I told you about last time? He needs my help with something… you know, manga-related."
"Will you be home really late?"
"Probably."
Haruto glanced back at the drafts piled in the living room and sighed quietly.
"He's helping me out, so I owe him."
"I understand."
"Alright then, talk later."
After explaining that he might come home late, Haruto sat across from Nozaki and quietly began helping by filling blacks and adding screentones to the drafts.
Meanwhile, at a dinner gathering, Setsuna's gaze drifted toward Sekai and Hikari Kuroda sitting across from her.
"Your boyfriend?" Hikari put down her drink and gave Setsuna a knowing look.
Only the three of them sat in the restaurant. Nanami Kanroji, a sports scholarship student, spent most of her time at basketball practice, while Kotonoha Katsura had lately been using her little sister as an excuse not to join their dinners.
"Yeah."
After hanging up the phone, Setsuna hadn't intended to explain further, but noticing Sekai's gaze briefly fix on her before looking away, she said, "Haruto's with his classmate. He might be late getting home tonight."
"Classmate?"
"A guy. Seems like something important."
Setsuna didn't tell Hikari the details—not out of secrecy, but because she didn't want to cause trouble for Haruto.
Sekai looked at Setsuna again, then lowered her head, sipping her drink quietly.
_ _ _ _
"It's getting dark. I'm a bit tired."
Haruto, sitting on a cushion, felt his legs going numb. He put down his pen, looked up at the ceiling light, sighed quietly, then stood to stretch.
He was exhausted.
After hours of sitting quietly, working without talking to Nozaki, he simply couldn't keep going.
Nozaki said nothing, only continued drawing quietly.
When Haruto returned from the bathroom, he found Nozaki had put down his pen and was checking the fridge contents.
"Curry, is that okay?"
Haruto, just coming out of the bathroom, was a little caught off guard. He glanced back, then at Nozaki who was seriously asking.
"Anything else?"
"No more ingredients left."
"Then… let's do that."
Nozaki prepared dinner while Haruto sat back down to continue filling blacks on the drafts.
"Have you ever thought about hiring a permanent assistant? It'd save a lot of time if you had someone helping."
"I've thought about it, but assistants are expensive. I can't afford one yet."
Manga artists can hire assistants, but ordinary ones can't afford the cost. Many have their works cut short and end up assisting others to make ends meet.
At Nozaki's current level, he might barely be able to afford one assistant, but it didn't seem worth it, so he gave up the idea.
"You've got a volume out now, right? One volume?"
"Yeah, just the first volume so far."
Nozaki prepared dinner while Haruto quietly worked, shading the parts marked with 'x'. The work didn't require much skill but needed care and patience.
When dinner was ready, they ate together in the apartment.
"There's still some left; tonight might go past 9."
"That's fine. I usually don't rest before 9 anyway. After eating, we'll keep going."
"Thanks."
Haruto smiled slightly at Nozaki's gratitude.
Although Nozaki said they might finish by 9, they actually worked until nearly 11 p.m. Haruto, head down the whole time, felt dizzy. Looking at Nozaki's dark-circled eyes, he took a deep breath.
"It's not just 9 o'clock anymore—it's already 11, almost midnight."
"Already that late?"
Nozaki, absorbed in work, hadn't noticed the time. Seeing the clock on the wall, he rubbed his eyes and then rubbed the ink-stained hands on his face.
Haruto looked down at his own hands—the wrists of both were stained black.
"My hands are dirty. You even got it on your face. I'll head home. You'll have to finish up on your own."
"You're not staying over?"
"I'm not used to staying at someone else's place. Besides, it's still early—less than half an hour's walk home. I'm off."
Grabbing his school uniform jacket and bag, Haruto stood, said goodbye to Nozaki who was still sitting on the floor, then headed for the door.
"I'm off."
"Take care on your way home."
Nozaki replied as Haruto left. The apartment fell silent again while Nozaki quietly tidied the table.
Haruto walked under the streetlights alone toward home.
After about half an hour, Haruto reached his own apartment door. The quiet night surrounded him.
By the time he finished showering and lay down in bed, it was already 1 a.m.
"Get some rest early."
Looking at the time, Haruto closed his eyes and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
_ _ _ _
"Haruto?"
"Ah, hey—Sekai. What's up?"
Despite washing his face, Haruto still looked half-asleep as he stepped outside to see the girl before him. He reached out, gently tousling her hair.
"You look tired. Didn't sleep well last night?"
He opened his arms and pulled Sekai close, feeling her soft body and faint fragrance. It gave him a little energy.
Sekai blushed, shy from the sudden hug, and glanced at Haruto's side profile resting on her shoulder, clearly captivated.
"Yeah, I stayed up late yesterday, but I woke up fine—gotta go to school after all."
At that moment, Haruto heard movement and opened his eyes to see Setsuna coming down the stairs. Looking at Sekai in his arms, he naturally loosened his embrace.
"Good morning, Setsuna."