By the time school ended, Itsuki was exhausted.
Not because of badminton.
Not because of student council work.
Not even because of classes.
His brain was simply tired of thinking.
He walked home with his schoolbag hanging from one shoulder.
His eyes were already half-closed.
"Exams…"
He sighed.
"Why do exams exist?"
He opened the front door.
"I'm home."
From the kitchen came his aunt's voice.
"Welcome home!"
Itsuki removed his shoes and walked inside.
His aunt looked at him.
"You look tired."
"I am."
She smiled.
"Did school give you another mountain of homework?"
"Not exactly."
He dropped his bag beside the sofa.
"Exams are coming."
His aunt raised an eyebrow.
"Already?"
"Yep."
"How long until they start?"
Itsuki suddenly became energetic.
"One week!"
His aunt blinked.
"One week?"
"Yes!"
Itsuki raised both hands dramatically.
"ONE WEEK!"
His aunt immediately pointed at him.
"Hey! A little quieter!"
Itsuki froze.
"…Sorry."
"You'll disturb the neighbors."
He lowered his voice.
"Sorry."
His aunt shook her head, laughing.
"So you're excited about exams?"
"No!"
Itsuki immediately became serious.
"I'm excited about what comes after them."
His aunt smiled.
"And what's that?"
Itsuki stood up straight.
"Three months of holiday!"
His voice became louder again.
His aunt quickly put a finger to her lips.
"Quiet!"
Itsuki whispered dramatically,
"Three months…"
"That's better."
He sat down.
"Imagine it."
His aunt sat across from him.
"What are you planning to do for three months?"
Itsuki thought.
"Sleep."
His aunt stared.
"That's it?"
"Eat."
"Anything else?"
"Play badminton."
"Good."
"Go outside."
"Better."
"Meet my friends."
"Good."
"Work at the cat café."
"Very responsible."
"And…"
He paused.
"Do absolutely nothing."
His aunt laughed.
"I knew it."
Itsuki smiled.
"I'm tired."
"I can tell."
His aunt returned to the kitchen.
Then Itsuki suddenly remembered something.
"Oh!"
"What?"
"Have you thought about what you're going to cook during the festival?"
His aunt stopped.
She looked back at him.
"Festival?"
"Dashain."
"Oh…"
She placed a hand against her chin.
"Let me think."
Itsuki sat at the table.
His aunt started thinking aloud.
"Normally, I'd make the food we usually prepare during festivals."
Itsuki smiled.
"Are you going to make city-style food?"
"City-style?"
"Yeah."
His aunt laughed.
"What kind do you want?"
Itsuki didn't hesitate.
"Village food."
His aunt looked at him.
"Village food?"
"Yeah."
Itsuki leaned back.
"I want the kind Grandma used to make."
His smile became softer.
"I still remember it."
His aunt smiled too.
"Your grandmother's cooking?"
"Yeah."
Itsuki looked toward the kitchen.
"I remember when she'd prepare everything during festivals."
His voice became quieter.
"The smell would spread through the whole house."
His aunt nodded.
"You used to follow her around the kitchen."
"I did?"
"You were like a little shadow."
Itsuki laughed.
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
She smiled.
"You'd ask what she was cooking every five minutes."
"I don't remember that."
"I do."
His aunt began listing foods casually.
"Chicken soup…"
Itsuki's eyes lit up.
"Yes! That!"
"You remember?"
"I remember the soup."
His aunt smiled.
"There were other dishes too."
Itsuki nodded.
"I'll remember them when you make them."
His aunt laughed.
"You're putting all the responsibility on me."
"I trust you."
"That's dangerous."
Itsuki grinned.
His aunt shook her head.
"Fine. I'll think about the menu."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Itsuki smiled.
"I want this year's festival to feel special."
His aunt looked at him for a moment.
Then she smiled warmly.
"It will."
The two of them continued talking about the festival for a while.
There was no grand event happening.
No dramatic revelation.
Just a small home.
A simple conversation.
And memories of family food.
But for Itsuki, that was enough.
The next day—
His friends had decided that studying together would be a good idea.
At least, that's what they told themselves.
The location?
The cat café where Itsuki worked.
By evening, Itsuki had already prepared a table.
Books.
Notebooks.
Pens.
Textbooks.
Everything was ready.
He looked at the table proudly.
"Okay."
He sat down.
"Today, we're actually going to study."
Yuna nodded.
"Absolutely."
Ren raised his hand.
"Agreed."
Haruto opened his notebook.
"Let's do it."
Aoi sat beside them, carefully arranging her notebook and pen.
Itsuki smiled.
"Good."
He opened his textbook.
"Chapter one—"
Yuna suddenly looked toward the café counter.
"Itsuki."
"What?"
"What flavor is that cake?"
Itsuki looked over.
"Strawberry."
"Can we get one?"
"We're here to study."
Yuna nodded.
"Yes."
A pause.
"…But cake helps the brain."
Ren immediately agreed.
"Scientifically."
Itsuki stared at him.
"You don't even know if that's true."
"It sounds true."
Haruto raised his hand.
"I support cake."
Aoi smiled.
"I support cake too."
Itsuki looked around the table.
"Why am I the only person studying?"
Nobody answered.
Itsuki sighed.
"Fine."
A few minutes later, the cake arrived.
Everyone ate.
Itsuki looked at the empty plates.
"That took fifteen minutes."
Yuna smiled.
"Worth it."
"Okay."
Itsuki opened his textbook again.
"Now, math."
Ren immediately groaned.
"Do we have to?"
"Yes!"
"Why?"
"Because exams!"
Haruto looked at his notebook.
"I don't understand question four."
Yuna leaned over.
"Show me."
She looked at it.
"…I don't understand question four either."
Ren laughed.
"Great."
Itsuki sighed.
"Okay, I'll explain it."
He spent five minutes explaining.
Everyone listened.
At the end—
Aoi asked,
"So the answer is…?"
Itsuki told her.
She wrote it down.
"Thank you."
"No problem."
He looked around.
"See? We're actually studying."
Then—
A cat jumped onto Ren's lap.
Ren froze.
"…Hello."
The cat stared at him.
Ren slowly smiled.
"I've been chosen."
Yuna laughed.
"You're supposed to study."
"I am."
"You're petting a cat."
"This is emotional support."
Itsuki covered his face.
"We've been here twenty minutes."
Haruto started playing with another cat.
Aoi smiled as she heard the bells on the collar.
"There's a cat near me."
Itsuki nodded.
"Yeah."
"Can I pet it?"
"Of course."
He carefully guided her hand toward the cat.
Aoi gently touched its fur.
The cat purred.
Aoi smiled.
"It's soft."
Itsuki smiled.
"His name is Momo."
"Momo?"
"Yes."
Aoi gently continued petting him.
"This is better than studying."
Itsuki stared at her.
"You too?!"
Aoi laughed.
"Maybe."
Yuna leaned toward Ren.
"She's already corrupted."
Ren nodded seriously.
"By the cat café."
Haruto looked at the clock.
"We've studied for…"
He checked.
"Twenty-three minutes."
Yuna looked at everyone.
"And talked for…"
Ren answered,
"Forty minutes."
Itsuki slowly lowered his textbook.
"…How?"
Nobody answered.
They continued.
The next attempt lasted seven minutes.
Then they started talking about the upcoming festival.
Yuna wanted to know what everyone planned to do.
Ren talked about food.
Haruto talked about playing badminton during the holiday.
Aoi listened and occasionally asked questions.
Itsuki talked about his aunt's cooking.
"My aunt said she's going to make festival food."
Yuna smiled.
"What kind?"
"Traditional-style food."
Ren immediately became interested.
"Are you inviting us?"
Itsuki stared at him.
"You're shameless."
"Yes."
Haruto raised his hand.
"I'd also like an invitation."
"Why are all of you like this?"
Yuna laughed.
"Because you're our friend."
Itsuki smiled.
"Fine."
Aoi asked,
"What are festivals like in your family?"
Itsuki thought for a moment.
"Loud."
Everyone laughed.
"Very loud."
He continued.
"Family members everywhere. Food everywhere. People visiting. Everyone talking at the same time."
Yuna smiled.
"That sounds fun."
"It is."
Itsuki looked down at his notebook.
"And this year…"
He smiled.
"I think it'll be even better."
For a moment, everyone became quiet.
Then Ren broke the silence.
"Can we order another cake?"
Itsuki immediately slapped the table.
"WE CAME HERE TO STUDY!"
Everyone burst out laughing.
Two hours later—
The textbooks were still open.
The notebooks were still on the table.
The pens were still there.
But very little studying had actually happened.
They had eaten cake.
Played with cats.
Talked about festivals.
Discussed badminton.
Argued about teachers.
Made jokes about the student council.
And somehow, they had even created a completely unnecessary debate about which festival food was the best.
Finally, Itsuki closed his textbook.
He held his head with both hands.
"Are you serious?"
Yuna looked at him.
"What?"
Itsuki looked around the table.
"We came here to study…"
Ren nodded.
"Yes."
Itsuki pointed at the cake plate.
"Then we ate."
He pointed toward the cats.
"Then we played with cats."
He pointed at the notebooks.
"Then we barely touched our books."
Haruto laughed.
"We did some studying."
"Some."
Aoi smiled.
"Yes."
Itsuki sighed dramatically.
"So…"
He looked at everyone.
"Did we come here to study?"
Everyone remained silent.
Itsuki continued.
"Or did we come here to talk?"
More silence.
"Or…"
He looked at the cats.
"…did we come here to have fun?"
Yuna raised her hand.
"Probably all three."
Itsuki slowly put his head down on the table.
"We're doomed."
Everyone laughed.
Outside the café, Kathmandu's evening lights began to glow.
The festival season was getting closer.
The exams were only a week away.
And somehow, this group had already decided that the best way to prepare for them…
Was to do almost everything except study.
Itsuki lifted his head one last time.
"Tomorrow…"
Everyone looked at him.
"We're actually studying."
Ren smiled.
"Of course."
Yuna nodded.
"Definitely."
Haruto agreed.
"Absolutely."
Aoi smiled.
"Definitely."
Itsuki narrowed his eyes.
"I don't believe any of you."
The group burst into laughter again.
And somewhere beyond the laughter, the countdown to the exams had officially begun.