And so, Golden Week began in the worst possible way. Kai rolled around on his bedroom mattress as he worked out the situation with Jun over LINE.
“Any luck over there?”
“Broyalty’s still royally pissed.”
“For real?”
“He’s on watch to make sure I can’t go to your place.”
“Talk about some awful timing...”
With that message sent, Kai plowed his face into his pillow. Royalteach was married, so he normally lived with his wife in an apartment away from the family home. However, his prioritizing of his students over his responsibilities to his partner led to a legendary lovers’ spat, resulting in his wife kicking him out to the proverbial doghouse. And so, he returned to the Miyakawa family home. To make matters worse, that “student” was apparently Kai, who Royalteach “prioritized” by staying with him at the hospital and driving him home. That was already enough to make Kai want to apologize on his hands and knees for causing their fight.
He wasn’t a bad teacher. He was absolutely not a bad teacher. It was just that when his little sister got involved, well... let’s just say a screw came loose.
“I could lie and say I’m going shopping with Reina,” Jun suggested in a new message.
“It wouldn’t solve the fundamental problem, though.”
“Yeah, I can’t fool him forever.”
“Guess we’ll have to call off the study session.”
Jun responded with a LINE sticker of Umaru rolling around and throwing a tantrum. Kai sent a sticker of Bell saying “Now, now” to calm her down. Still, Kai wanted to get something constructive out of this.
“By the way, Jun, what do your parents think?”
Even if Royalteach was opposed to their friendship, it should be as good as solved if Jun’s parents weren’t. Jun didn’t reply for a while; she must have been preparing a long answer.
“My parents are pretty busy with work, so my brothers basically act as my guardians—especially now that we’re in Golden Week. My dad says he’s gotta get everything settled at work before our family vacation, so he’s stuck at the office and doesn’t have time for me.”
Yep, thought Kai, doesn’t look like they’ll be much help.
He groaned as he stared at his smartphone. For all the freedom that Asagi High School advertised itself on, it was pretty strict about inappropriate coed contact. It was one of those things that parents would never shut up about even if the school had no issues with it. The standard they settled on for “appropriate” was contact that had the approval of both guardians; meaning that regardless of what Kai and Jun felt or how long their friendship had lasted, the school would view it as “inappropriate” now that Jun’s guardian, Royalteach, no longer approved. It pissed Kai off, but the rules were the rules, and breaking them would get Jun in trouble, too. Once again, Asagi High School’s rules might have been lenient, but they were harsh when their standards weren’t met.
“Do you think I could see Royalteach? Maybe we can talk this out.”
With no other ideas to break through the deadlock, Kai sent one last suggestion. But the response didn’t come immediately. Kai thought she might be unsure, so he sent a sticker of Saori Bajeena adjusting her glasses while saying “I shall lend my expertise!” to show his determination.
Time continued to pass, until finally, a response came.
“I don’t want you getting beaten up again.”
So. This is what she had spent all that time hesitating to say.
“Egh...” Kai blurted, immediately choking up at the thought.
The bruising he took after Matsuda’s gang demanded he break up with Jun was still quite fresh in his mind. The absolute shock on Jun’s face when she saw his injuries was even fresher. Kai couldn’t imagine the sorrow it’d put her through to see that tragedy repeat itself at the hands of her own family...
Jun’s next messages arrived before Kai could catch his breath. They came in a rapid flurry that gave a hint as to where her resolve lay.
“I’ll do something about this.”
“Everyone in my family will be along for our trip.”
“I’ll convince my brothers in front of Mom and Dad.”
“So just wait until then.”
It was just a few lines, but they made it clear that Jun had thought long and hard about this.
I won’t put you through that ever again, Kai.
I want to see you, too. I want to hang out together.
So I’ll do what I can.
Trust me.
Reading those messages warmed Kai’s heart. He took a look at the calendar on top of the table and saw that today was April 27. He had heard that Jun’s family vacation was between May 1 and May 3, so he’d need to be patient for a whole week before Jun could win over her parents.
“Got it.”
Kai murmured to himself as he fiddled with his smartphone to send a sticker. It had Terminus Est saying “As you wish” with a smug, yet casual look on her face.
Without missing a beat, Jun responded with a sticker of Akiyama saying “Leave it to me!” Kai sent the sticker right next to Est’s, a picture of Yukimura Kusunoki saying “Best of luck.”
Jun’s plans changed to having Royalteach help her with her math. However, Kai had his doubts that a social studies teacher who cut math from his life after the employment exam could be as reliable as Jun needed...