Chapter 28: A Woman Adorns Herself for the One She Loves

With the date finalized, Ryuichi Sugawara felt a significant sense of relief. Although the connection between him and Tsuki Yamabuki during their dates was quite good, their relationship was constrained by their social positions; at the very least, he would have to wait until he graduated from high school to date her openly and legitimately. After chatting with Kozora at the family restaurant for a while longer, she slipped away, and he settled the bill before heading home.

Once home and showered, Ryuichi dried his hair with a towel, sat on the edge of his bed, and picked up his phone to fiddle with it. Unfortunately, the four new Twitter followers had not replied to him. He didn't dwell on it, however, choosing instead to open his profile and further refine his bio. Over the past two days and two nights, he had only gained six followers, and he felt it was necessary to find a way to improve his marketability.

He adjusted his tags, first deleting "Newbie," and added several new ones based on his existing skills, such as [Photography Enthusiast], [Singer], and [Electric Guitarist]. He had considered posting some photos on his page, as his newfound professional-level portrait photography skills would certainly allow him to take better self-portraits. However, the knowledge gained from professional portrait photography brought with it not just technical skill, but a heightened sense of aesthetics and perspective. Taking photos with a phone—and without any lighting equipment at home—felt far too casual for his current standards. After updating his tags, he waited for a while, but by the time his hair had dried, he still hadn't received any replies from his new followers.

***

The pleasant weekend slipped away all too quickly. On Monday morning, Takeno High School was bustling once again.

"Good morning, Senior Sugawara."

On his way from the school gate to the main building, a few underclassmen greeted him proactively.

"Good morning."

Following the voices, Ryuichi smiled and responded, even though he didn't know their names. As he walked on, the three underclassmen watched him head into the distance.

"Did you see that? Senior Sugawara smiled at me!"

The girl, who often liked to linger near the school gate to catch a glimpse of him, jumped for joy once she regained her composure.

"I saw it, I saw it!"

Her friend, who had accompanied her, looked at her infatuation with a sense of helplessness. "It's so rare for Senior Sugawara to respond with a smile. Did something good happen to him?"

Another friend, who was more level-headed, felt quite puzzled. Greetings like this were not isolated incidents; many underclassmen sought him out to say hello. Ryuichi Sugawara was, without question, the most well-known student at Takeno High. This popularity had reached a new peak earlier that year when, as the representative of the outstanding third-year students, he had welcomed all the incoming freshmen during the opening ceremony. Naturally, he could not be rude to the respect shown by his juniors, so he responded to each one individually.

Before long, he finally arrived at his classroom. However, before he could even sit down, Shota Sato rushed over.

"Ryuichi, you finally arrived."

"What's wrong?" Ryuichi, seeing his impatient reaction, didn't stop moving until he had placed his school bag on his desk.

"Do you know? Miss Yamabuki is super sexy today."

Finding his reaction as indifferent as ever, Shota wasn't surprised and couldn't wait to share the news.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ryuichi was a bit confused by the comment.

"Black stockings! She's wearing black stockings!" Seeing that he still didn't grasp the situation, Shota pressed both hands onto the desk and declared it with righteous indignation.

"Is that all?" Knowing the reason for his excitement, Ryuichi felt speechless. It was just a pair of black stockings—what was there to be so worked up about? It wasn't as if the girls at school hadn't been wearing them for ages. Beyond black, there were white, gray, and flesh-toned stockings, enough to satisfy any preference.

"Is that all? I tell you such shocking news, and that's your reaction?" Shota, who had arrived at school early and been chatting animatedly with classmates, found his response even more exasperating than the situation itself.

"What kind of reaction should I have? 'Wow, that's great! Our English teacher is wearing black stockings!!'—like that?" Faced with his complaints, Ryuichi felt helpless. He performed a mock-excited reaction before his expression returned to calm.

"Uh... never mind. Getting excited over something like that really doesn't fit your personality." Seeing the fake performance, Shota found it inexplicably funny and absurd, and he dropped his accusatory tone.

"Glad you realize that."

Seeing him concede, Ryuichi nodded. Getting worked up just because a woman was wearing black stockings was simply not his style.

"Actually, the reason I'm so excited isn't just because Miss Yamabuki looks sexy in them, but because of the act itself." As he spoke, Shota pulled over a nearby chair and sat down.

"Is there a difference?"

"Of course there is! You have to realize that Miss Yamabuki has always been a 'bare-legs' type. But today, she suddenly shows up in black stockings and high heels. Don't you think that's abnormal?"

"It is, indeed, a bit unusual." After giving it some thought, Ryuichi had to agree. Although he focused more on the blackboard during class and didn't pay much attention to his teachers' appearances or fashion choices, Tsuki Yamabuki was quite beautiful, so he had noticed her style a little. In his impression, she always wore flats, so seeing her in heels today was, in fact, quite out of character.

"And the topic everyone is gossiping about is why she's wearing them. There are a lot of theories, but basically, everyone thinks Miss Yamabuki has a boyfriend." Having finally gained his agreement, Shota continued to share the situation, wanting to dig into the gossip with him.

"Just because someone wears black stockings, how could that possibly be linked to having a boyfriend?" Ryuichi countered decisively. While others didn't know what Tsuki Yamabuki had been doing over the weekend, he knew perfectly well. She had gone on a date with him on Saturday and had woken up with him in a hotel on Sunday.

"Why not? Even if she doesn't have a boyfriend, she must have met someone she likes. 'A woman adorns herself for the one she loves'—to please someone, women usually change their style." Shota didn't know the basis for Ryuichi's denial, but he was firm in his judgment.

"..."

Faced with this forceful statement, Ryuichi was left without a rebuttal. A man dies for his confidant; a woman adorns herself for her lover. This idiom had been passed down for centuries, and its logic was indisputable.

"A woman adorns herself for the one she loves... Could that someone be me?"

Contemplating the meaning of the idiom, Ryuichi, who had initially wanted to avoid overthinking, suddenly felt his heart begin to race.