One week passed.
May 4, 2026.
Kentarou finally returned to school.
As he walked through the corridor toward his classroom, something felt different.
People were looking at him.
Not just a few students.
Almost everyone.
Whispers followed him wherever he went.
"That's him..."
"He's so cool."
"How did he manage to defeat Kang Tae Joon and all of his friends by himself?"
"I heard he took them all down alone."
Kentarou continued walking without reacting.
He could hear every word, but he pretended not to.
Then he heard another conversation.
"Do you think he has a girlfriend?"
"A girlfriend?"
"Yeah. Someone like him must have one, right?"
A few girls giggled.
Others began discussing him among themselves.
Kentarou sighed quietly.
'Why is everyone suddenly interested in me?'
He kept walking toward his classroom.
But the moment he entered the corridor leading to his class, the whispers became even louder.
"Isn't that Izumi Kentarou?"
"Yeah. That's the guy who fought Tae Joon."
"He looks completely normal..."
"That's what makes it scarier."
Kentarou stopped for a moment.
He looked around.
Everyone immediately looked away.
He continued walking.
Then, from somewhere behind him, he heard a question that made him stop.
"Does he have a girlfriend?"
Kentarou's expression changed slightly.
For a brief moment, a familiar face appeared in his mind.
Violet.
He quickly looked forward again.
"No..."
He continued walking.
But the question remained in his mind.
Does he have a girlfriend?
And somehow...
That question bothered him more than all the rumors about the fight.
---
Kentarou entered the classroom, still confused by the attention he had been receiving.
He had expected his return to school to be ordinary.
Instead, it felt like everyone already knew him.
He looked around the classroom.
Students who were usually busy talking among themselves were now glancing at him. Some quickly looked away whenever he made eye contact, while others continued whispering.
Kentarou slowly walked toward his seat.
'Without even knowing it... my ordinary school life has already been lost.'
He let out a quiet sigh before sitting down.
A moment later, Senku walked toward him.
Kentarou looked at him.
"Senku."
"Hm?"
Kentarou pointed toward the students around them.
"What happened here while I was away?"
Senku raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
Kentarou lowered his voice.
"Everyone is looking at me like I'm some kind of criminal."
Senku stared at him for a second.
Then he sighed.
"Well... you did kind of become famous."
Kentarou's eyes widened.
"Famous?"
"Yeah."
Senku sat down beside him.
"When you were away, I overheard some guys talking about the fight."
Kentarou remained silent.
Senku continued.
"They were talking about how you defeated Kang Tae Joon and his friends."
Kentarou rubbed his forehead.
"I really didn't want that to happen..."
Senku chuckled.
"Well, it's too late now."
He paused for a moment before imitating the conversation he had overheard.
"Did you see that fight?"
"Yeah! What kind of fight was that?"
"I don't know. I thought it looked like karate."
"Karate? No way. Some of those moves looked like actual martial arts."
"Then how does a normal student know how to fight like that?"
Senku looked back at Kentarou.
"That's basically what everyone has been talking about."
Kentarou stared at his desk.
"So... that's what happened."
All I wanted was to come back to school normally.
Yui nodded slowly.
"I see."
Kentarou looked at her.
"By the way... thank you."
Yui blinked.
"For what?"
"For teaching Tae Joon that lesson."
Yui gave him a small smile.
"You don't have to thank me. Someone had to."
Kentarou chuckled softly.
Then Yui's expression suddenly became curious.
"By the way, what happened with Violet?"
Kentarou's smile disappeared.
Yui leaned slightly closer.
"Did you talk to her?"
Kentarou looked away.
"...No."
Yui's eyes widened.
"You haven't talked to her since then?"
Kentarou shook his head.
"No. Not since that day."
For a moment, Yui remained silent.
She looked at Kentarou carefully.
There was something different in his expression whenever Violet's name came up.
Something he couldn't hide.
Yui finally asked,
"Why?"
Kentarou didn't answer immediately.
He simply stared at his desk.
He had plenty of things he could have said.
But somehow...
none of them felt right.
___________________________
Meanwhile, in another classroom...
The story about Kentarou had already reached another classroom.
A few students were gathered together, talking about what had happened during the fight.
Just then, Gen Takahashi entered the classroom.
One of the boys immediately turned toward him.
"Hey, Gen."
"Yeah?"
The boy pointed toward the hallway.
"Kentarou is your cousin, right?"
Gen nodded.
"Yeah. Why?"
Before the boy could answer, a girl passing by overheard the conversation.
"Wait... does Kentarou have a girlfriend?"
Gen was about to answer.
"No, he—"
But before he could finish, another girl interrupted.
"I think he does."
Everyone looked at her.
"You think so?"
She nodded confidently.
"Don't you remember that cute girl who was standing outside waiting for him?"
Gen frowned.
"A cute girl?"
"Yeah!" the girl replied. "She was waiting for him outside the school."
Another student joined the conversation.
"Oh, I remember her!"
"She was really pretty."
"I thought she was his girlfriend."
Gen looked confused.
"Wait... when did this happen?"
The girls began explaining everything they had seen.
Gen listened quietly.
Then his expression slowly changed.
"So that's what happened..."
He suddenly remembered something.
The girl.
The one who had been waiting outside.
The one Kentarou had mentioned before.
Violet.
Gen's eyes widened slightly.
"So... it really was her."
One of the girls looked at him curiously.
"You know her?"
Gen nodded.
"Yeah. I know who she is."
Another girl immediately asked,
"Then is she Kentarou's girlfriend?"
Gen paused.
He didn't know how to answer that.
"I don't think so."
The girls looked disappointed.
"But she was waiting for him."
"And she looked like she really wanted to see him."
Gen became more curious.
"What exactly happened?"
The girls explained everything they knew.
Gen listened carefully without interrupting.
And by the time they finished, he finally understood.
It wasn't just some random girl waiting for Kentarou.
It was Violet.
The same girl who had been connected to Kentarou for so long.
Gen quietly thought:
'So... she really was waiting for him.'
He smiled faintly.
'Maybe there's more between those two than I thought.'
__________________________________
After School
The final bell rang.
Students began leaving the school one after another, filling the corridors with chatter.
Kentarou walked through the school gate with his bag over his shoulder. His expression was calmer than it had been earlier that day.
He started walking toward home.
After a few minutes, he heard a familiar voice from behind him.
"Kentarou!!"
Kentarou stopped.
He turned around.
His eyes widened slightly.
A familiar woman was approaching him on an electric scooter.
It was Shikimori Aunt.
She stopped beside him and smiled.
"Long time, no see!"
Kentarou smiled back.
"Shikimori Aunt? What are you doing here?"
She switched off the scooter and looked at him.
"I was actually heading to Mrs. Kubo's house."
Kentarou raised an eyebrow.
"Mrs. Kubo's house?"
"Yeah. I have something to discuss with her."
She glanced at the road ahead.
"Are you going home?"
"Yeah."
Shikimori smiled.
"Then come with me. I'm going there anyway."
Kentarou hesitated for a moment.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course."
She moved slightly forward on the scooter and tapped the seat behind her.
"Hop on."
Kentarou looked at the scooter.
Then at Shikimori.
"...Okay."
He climbed onto the back seat and adjusted his bag.
Shikimori started the scooter.
"Hold on."
Kentarou grabbed the side handle.
"I am."
The scooter slowly moved forward.
As they rode through the streets, Shikimori glanced at him through the mirror.
"So... how have you been?"
Kentarou looked ahead.
"I'm fine."
Shikimori smiled.
"That's good to hear."
The two continued riding toward Mrs. Kubo's house.
----
At Mrs. Kubo's House
Soon, they arrived at Mrs. Kubo's house.
Shikimori stopped the electric scooter near the entrance and got off. Kentarou followed her, adjusting his bag before walking toward the door.
Shikimori knocked.
Knock. Knock.
While they waited, Kentarou suddenly became nervous.
He looked at the door.
What should I do?
His thoughts immediately turned toward Violet.
What should I say to her?
Should I say hello?
What if she asks me why I haven't talked to her?
Before he could think any further, the door opened.
Kentarou froze.
Standing at the doorway was Violet.
She looked at Shikimori and smiled.
"Shikimori-san..."
Then her eyes moved past Shikimori.
She saw Kentarou.
Her expression changed instantly.
"...and Kentarou?"
Kentarou stared at her, completely caught off guard.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
The awkward silence between them felt much louder than any words.
----
Inside Mrs. Kubo's House
A few minutes later, everyone was inside the house.
Mrs. Kubo sat with Shikimori, and the two of them began talking about something.
Kentarou sat quietly nearby.
But he wasn't paying much attention to their conversation.
His eyes were fixed on Violet.
Violet was looking at him too.
Neither of them said a word.
The awkward silence between them continued.
Just then, Violet's younger sister walked over to her.
She gently grabbed Violet's hand and pulled her forward.
Violet looked at her little sister in confusion.
"What are you doing?"
Her sister simply pointed toward Kentarou.
It was obvious what she wanted.
Violet sighed softly.
"Seriously..."
Her younger sister gave her a little push.
Violet finally walked over and sat down beside Kentarou.
Kentarou glanced at her.
Violet looked straight ahead for a moment before speaking.
"You shouldn't have done that, you know?"
Kentarou looked confused.
"Done what?"
Violet turned toward him.
"You were suspended for a week, right?"
Kentarou's eyes widened.
"What?"
He stared at her.
"How did you know that?"
Violet looked away.
"Never mind."
Kentarou remained silent, still confused about how she had found out.
Violet then looked back at him.
"Anyways... thank you."
Kentarou said nothing.
Violet's voice became softer.
"I know you did it for my safety."
Kentarou looked down at his hands.
He wanted to say something.
But no words came out.
Violet quietly watched him.
For the first time since they had stopped talking, they were finally sitting next to each other again.
Kentarou didn't know what to say.
He sat quietly beside Violet, occasionally glancing at her. Violet seemed to have something on her mind too, but neither of them broke the silence.
Time passed.
Eventually, Shikimori stood up.
"Alright, I think we should get going."
Kentarou stood as well.
Just before they left, Violet suddenly turned around.
"Wait."
She quickly went into her room.
Kentarou looked at her curiously.
A few moments later, Violet returned carrying a book.
Kentarou immediately recognized it.
It was the book he had lent her.
Violet held it out toward him.
"Here."
Kentarou took the book from her.
"You finished it?"
Violet nodded.
"Yeah. Thank you for lending it to me."
Kentarou looked down at the book for a moment before looking back at Violet.
"...You're welcome."
Their eyes met.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Mrs. Kubo suddenly said,
"Oh, Kentarou, there's something I wanted to tell you."
Kentarou turned toward her.
"What is it?"
Mrs. Kubo smiled faintly.
"We're going back to Japan next week."
Kentarou froze.
"Japan?"
"Yes. We're leaving on May 16th."
Kentarou's expression changed slightly.
He looked toward Violet.
She was already looking at him.
The words seemed to echo in his mind.
May 16th...
He paused for a moment.
Then, forcing a small smile, he quietly said,
"I see..."
Violet continued looking at him.
Kentarou lowered his eyes, holding the book tightly in his hand.