"Life talk" sounds a bit too formal.
And yet Hiratsuka-sensei didn't look like she was joking at all. Aoki Keisuke had the nagging feeling he must've done something wrong—that was why Hiratsuka had stormed in looking for him like this.
He ran through everything he'd done since transferring into Shūwa Private High. Aside from a tiny spat with Yukinoshita Yukino, he really hadn't caused any trouble. With that confirmed, he slung on his backpack, picked up his guitar, and stood.
Following in Hiratsuka Shizuka's heels, he headed for the teachers' room.
They walked the corridor and reached the office.
No other teachers were around—most had probably gone home or were busy elsewhere.
Hiratsuka sat down at her desk, neatened the surface a bit, took a cigarette from the pack and, without lighting it, rolled it between her fingers just to feel it there. Then she looked at Aoki and didn't speak right away.
After a while, she set the cigarette on the desk, pointed at the chair beside her, and finally said,
"Sit, Aoki."
Normally, when she chatted with him in the office, there was always a playful curve at the corner of her mouth. Today, though, she was expressionless.
Also, when they were in the office, she never avoided smoking on his account.
Something's off.
Aoki sat where she indicated, very properly, and rapidly reviewed whether he had missed anything.
No matter how he tried, nothing came to mind.
To avoid blurting something wrong and making it worse, he chose silence and waited for Hiratsuka-sensei to begin this "life talk."
The office stayed quiet for a bit.
Only after a stretch did Hiratsuka let out a small breath.
"I went by that bar, 'morke,' at lunch today… So tell me, Aoki: why did you hide from me that you stopped working there?"
Aoki, still trying to figure out where he'd slipped up, froze at the sound of her voice. The next instant, he realized.
He'd forgotten this.
Back then, to avoid burdening Hiratsuka, the PTA, the school board—to avoid interference from all directions—Aoki, with the best intentions, chose to conceal that he'd quit the job and wanted to throw himself into a band.
From his point of view, it really would spare this extremely responsible teacher a lot of trouble. But from Hiratsuka's perspective, discovering it afterward, she could very well misunderstand—and be hurt.
Aoki thought for a moment and didn't answer immediately.
Seeing that, Hiratsuka sighed, hesitated, and went on,
"I feel like—whether you changed jobs or there were other reasons—once you'd made your decision, you should at least have given me a heads-up. After all, I…"
She didn't finish the sentence, but Aoki knew exactly what she meant to say:
"After all, I ran around on this for quite a while for your sake."
Hiratsuka is a straightforward person—if something bothers her, she won't bottle it up. She'll go straight to the source. So when she learned Aoki had stopped working, she came to him.
But she's also sensitive. She thinks before she speaks. She knows her sense of responsibility is one-sided—Aoki never asked for it. So she didn't say that last part.
…
Looking at the faintly pained Hiratsuka in front of him, Aoki arranged his words.
If he'd really done this for no reason, then yes—it was low EQ on his part.
But in fact he had a reason. He's not one of those dense old-anime male leads, so of course he should explain himself.
"The bar's owner is very easygoing, but no matter how easygoing, she wouldn't allow an employee to take two days off, same time every week, like clockwork.
"But if I'd used that to turn down your kindness that day, Sensei—responsible as you are—you absolutely would have tried to find me some other workaround.
"So I decided to accept—and then I hid from you that I quit."
He blinked.
"Rather than keep troubling you, rather than constantly watching out for all those committees, I figured I'd just go all-in on something else. So…"
"Hiding it was my fault. If it made you feel bad, I'm sorry."
There wasn't a hole in his explanation anywhere.
"…"
Hiratsuka, who had been nursing the faintest sting, nearly punched herself after hearing him out.
Because she hadn't considered the consequences of her own "kindness," she'd driven a boy who didn't want to lean on kindness into giving up his job entirely. And after all this time she hadn't noticed—she'd come here to scold him.
And then even made him apologize!
Her annoyance and hurt, which had kept her chin tilted at him in that chilly way, deflated by a good sixty percent. Now she looked like a kid who'd been caught doing something wrong.
"I didn't realize I'd put you in that position…"
Compared with his neat explanation, her excuse sounded flimsy.
Seeing her do a 180 this fast, Aoki couldn't help but smile.
It was just a misunderstanding—no need to keep the air so tense.
"Don't be like that, Shizu-sensei. It was wrong of me to keep you in the dark."
He forced down the grin and put on a serious face. "But… it's also because Shizu-sensei is too cute. I couldn't bear to keep bothering you."
Shizu-sensei? Cute?!
Hiratsuka's eyes widened; the barest blush rose in her cheeks.
"A–Aoki!" Forgetting entirely that she was a teacher and a woman, she barked his name, hesitated, then stood decisively.
The blush faded quickly, and his apology eased the guilt pricking her.
Anyway—once she was on her feet—she clenched her fists.
Then, enunciating each word:
"Did—you—just—flirt—with—your—teacher?!"
"Sensei! It wasn't flirting!" Aoki backpedaled and tried to defend himself.
She paused.
He rushed on,
"For a beautiful young woman your age to date a student is totally forbidden by society—I know you'll take it the wrong way, but what I said was obviously a joke. Teacher–student romance, almost a twenty-year age gap… I'm sorry, Hiratsuka-sensei! See you tomorrow!"
He said it at breakneck speed and, before she could react, took another half-step back, turned, and bolted.
She didn't chase him.
Her clenched fists relaxed; she bit her lip for a second.
Then, helplessly, she smiled.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (390 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (166 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (190 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (150 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (168 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (170 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (60 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (110 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (60 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (70 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it