March 20th. 8:30 am.

"Best of luck, my students! I haven't been able to keep up with the whole thing, but I'm sure Basara has instructed everyone here with the right orders!"

Alright! The festival is finally getting started! With a grand total of 50 events to partake on throughout this week, it's bound to be fun! I've been looking forward to this festival for a while!

"And also, I have a message from the principal and it's very important, so everyone, listen up!"

With a leap of enthusiasm, Yuka-sensei spoke out the words I never would've thought I would listen...

"The rule of interaction is hereby suspended until further notice. This rule was a rule specially made by the principal and according to his reasoning, he deemed it as something unnecessary as the interaction of all participants is beyond necessary."

This obviously meant big news...! No longer had we had to hold onto that insecurity and could talk briefly to all the students in this school...

Naturally, this came as a shock to the rest of the class too! I traded a glance with my best friend Sana and momentarily with the person I love the most yet... He always looks so uncaring and unphased regarding the actual situation.

"However! I don't want any of you to manipulate anyone nor take unnecessary dialogues with the rest of the students!"

Secretly, I texted him with the news straight away while hiding my phone under the desk.

He has a habit of ignoring my texts but that's maybe because I'm too persistent. I should slow down a bit...

I don't want him to think that I am being a nuisance to him. It's just... I've never been taught how to express love correctly, especially to someone who seems monochrome all the time.

"And with that being said, from this moment onwards, until the festival ends, everyone can partake in the events. I've already addressed what needs to be done in order to achieve a positive score but I'll remind you all again. 5 wins are all you need! Of course, if you want to take it to the next level though, feel free to go for 10 wins! Best of luck!"

The festival was going to occur throughout the whole school, so every one of us could either go to the events individually or in groups! Or even in pairs...!

My idea was starting to flare inside my mind little by little. It was nothing to go over about, but...

Considering that the whole festival will take a week, we can go slow and enjoy the multiple attractions that the festival has to offer!

That's why, ultimately, when the majority of my classmates started leaving the classroom in order to go into their respective places, I went to his seat while smiling widely.

"Hey! Let's do this together! We have a full week, soooooo..."

And I'm glad that Lus isn't here. Daniel's all alone by himself. Being jealous isn't something I'm exactly proud of but I just found it confusing when he was talking to her so much more than he was talking to me at the time.

I'm really glad that's not the case anymore since I've noticed that he hasn't been talking to her for a while!

He must be really taking my words seriously then...

"I can't, Yulia. I'm sorry."

"Wait, what!? I thought we were going to do this... Didn't you already foresee this event happening?! I thought you did..."

"You're right about that. And I had in mind that. However, something unexpected happened. You should go and secure the 5 wins. Be careful out there. Bye now."

Normally, I would be mad and deep inside, right now, I am somewhat, but... I've decided to reflect on my thinking for a bit.

I've been unreasonably clingy lately and that makes me look like I'm too dependant of him. Furthermore, I was rude to Arkalee yesterday. Therefore, I accepted his leave without insisting.

Still sad, I went to my best friend's seat and saw her writing something.

"Hm? Watcha writing, Sana?"

"Eh? Hmmmmmm.... Nothing really..."

This is Sana, my best friend. Although our time has been short thus far, we have greatly connected and traded a lot of interests privately! I'm super lucky to have a friend like her!

But she seemed disturbed by something. Before getting up from her seat, Sana ripped the paper that she was writing on!

"Umm, can I ask what you were writing...?"

Maybe it's a sensitive topic... Like, maybe a really personal thought? I remind myself all the time to be conscious of people's feelings because I want to be treated the same way I treat others...

"Ah, it was poetry! I do it every now and then! But my thoughts and feelings aren't mutually connected right now, which blurs my writing quite a lot, hahaha..."

"Oh, poetry!? I never tried it... Is it fun!?"

Sana has these quirks that I deeply admire! She's really creative with her words from time to time! I want her to be aware that she's a great person!

"Mhmm... Maybe? I don't know, really. I just write poetry to sort out my feelings whenever I feel insecure about myself. So, I don't really know if it's fun or not."

So poetry is written to sort out someone's feelings? Or is that something Sana herself does personally? I never knew!

"Aright! I'll give it a try and then I'll tell you afterwards if it's fun or not!"

"Oh, okay then! By the way, what happened to the idea of going together with Daniel to the events?"

As expected, she noticed that something went wrong...

Sana always notices the flaws in my attempts and helps me by pointing out how I can be more successful! Truly, such a great friend!

"About that... He said he had something to do..."

"What?! That stupid blockhead! Even after what I told him, he does this!? Irresponsible! He'll pay for this!"

Sana's mood went from incredibly calm and serene to hot-tempered so quickly! So, I attempted to calm her down right away.

"It's actually fine! I've been thinking about this and I've been really clingy lately! Plus, he said something yesterday that I just couldn't ignore, no matter how hard I tried... We've been persisting a lot, haven't we?"

"B-But, it's for a good cause! You never know, I'm telling you!"

She really cares a lot, definitely! Sana doesn't hesitate in showing that she cares for what I think and feel! That's why I'm always really secure when talking about topics that are supposed to be secret...

"I know, I know! Yet, this is the choice I'm going to go with. I've been noticing something. I need to be more independent and less dependent on him!"

Saying 'I love you' to Daniel all the time might just be something wrong. If our love is mutual, then we shouldn't have to say it all the time, right? I think that's why he's less talkative now.

Perhaps he has chosen to trust me? And he has been spending time with me lately, so I'm grateful for that!

"Oh, I see now! Mhmm, but still... Don't be afraid to step up and see his whereabouts. You never know..."

Suspicious still, Sana insisted furthermore. I do understand Sana's worries, but the same could be applied to me.

Daniel perhaps feels the same way that I do from this perspective. If I think that he might be cheating on me then he is probably thinking that I am doing the same whenever I am not with him.

So, it's not fair of me to view his action from this perspective. Which is why I'll relinquish these neurotic thoughts!

"That's alright! I'm feeling good right now! Yosh! Wanna head up to the festival?!"

"You betcha!"

Besides, I'm feeling confident that Daniel would never do something like that. I trust him no to. Just like I'll never do the opposite!

Can I call this 'trust' when there are still doubts swirling around? Maybe some people can, but I for sure can't!

"Oh... Arkalee just texted me! She said that we should meet up in the cafeteria! Let's stop there before we head out to the main events! We have a lot of time."

"Oh, okay, Sana. Yeah, sure!"

That was great news. I've been meaning to talk to Arkalee and apologize for yesterday's misunderstanding but I couldn't approach her when she left the classroom right away with Hyunda.

She's always glued to Hyunda, but, I pray for her luck in winning his heart! Her intentions are good!

9 am. Cafeteria.

The cafeteria has been our usual hangout place for quite a while now. It's sorta iconic at this point!

Although, right now, it's somewhat deserted, as the majority of the students are all inside the external buildings either queueing up or partaking in the actual events.

As for the one who invited us out here, Arkalee's looking gorgeous today! She really keeps up with her appearance and beauty! Her vast luscious brown hair is really showing how pretty it is when it's fully released.

Her twin-tails were very cute, but I like her new look too! Plus, she always holds a very high sense of fashion when it comes to make-up and lipstick color choices. However, she has been sticking with a dark purple-colored lipstick recently!

Maybe I'll ask her about it later if she forgives me...

"Um, Arkalee... Can I say something...?"

To be honest, even though we three are in the middle of drinking strawberries shakes, Arkalee seems quite stressed for some reason.

I wonder what's wrong...? I wish I could help her.

"Of course, Yulia! Why wouldn't you be able to?"

Momentarily, Arkalee flashed a smile just to make sure I felt in place and not at complete disarray, but...

If I were to voice my honest opinion, I think she's hiding something. She seems pressed by something...

"Are you okay? Is everything going alright? You can talk to us about it! Right, Sana?"

Immediately, I traded a glance with Sana and just as expected, she followed my lead!

"Why, of course. That's what we are here for! Was is that bastard Hyunda?!"

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Sana also has no problem talking aggressively about other people but I think that's a courageous and brave characteristic of her that I wish to have.

Unless I truly despise the person, I can't harshly talk about that person. For example, Kawahara is someone I can just openly trash talk about because he's trash.

The same goes for Kuzan. I haven't forgotten how Daniel prioritized Kuzan over me during the day we were supposed to visit my parents. On the other hand, I would be a terrible girlfriend if I didn't respect my boyfriend's friendships, so Kuzan gets a pass.

Not Kawahara though. Kawahara is just... Ugh.

"Sana... Don't call him by that vulgar untruthful name. Okay?"

Coldly, Arkalee replied to Sana harshly. But, I think I understand where Arkalee's coming from. If someone were to talk badly about Daniel, I would get defensive too.

"Arkalee has a point here, Sana. Addressing Hyunda in a bad-mannered way can be hurtful to her! Since, ya know, she's got a biiiiiiiggggg crush on him!"

I've noticed how defensive she gets over Hyunda and it's amazing! Her love for him is something else. But, Hyunda is seriously the problem here.

The way he monochromatically acts around Arkalee far surpasses Daniel's monochromacy, without a doubt.

"Ohhh, you're right! Ooopsie! My bad! I really didn't mean to say something that insensitive! I just thought that it was Hyunda's fault that you were a little bit upset."

Just like Sana said, I think so too. But maybe we were wrong...

"Welllllll.... It is his fault. It's always his fault."

"Aha! I knew it! So, what did he do?!"

With great enthusiasm, Sana instantly replied to Arkalee shortly after she had claimed that Hyunda was at fault.

So we weren't wrong for thinking that Hyunda was the one at fault!

"He has this really bad habit of keeping secrets from me even after we have established something called 'honesty'! I hate every single second of it! He doesn't let me know about his private life!"

Oh... How surprising...! Arkalee's usually shy and reserved but she came out of her shell by letting all of that out.

I'm glad she did that! It's really good and necessary to unleash thoughts like that or else the anxiety just builds on and on. That's what I do with Sana and she does the same to me.

We both talk a lot about things that we wouldn't talk to others and that helps to get rid of the anxiety accumulated! Super great technique!

"No offense, but isn't he too insensitive? I've seen how he acts around you and you totally deserve better Arkalee. Besides, what did you see in him?"

This is something that I've been curious about for a while. Just what has Arkalee seen in him?

Is it something that's hard to notice?! Or maybe there is a hidden connection somewhere around here?

I really want to know but I can respect Arkalee's decision if she decides not to tell me...

"Everything."

Vaguely answering my question, Arkalee spoke one single word that described Hyunda as someone who is the most remarkable existence of her life.

"Yeah, but, can't you tell us details? We're kinda curious..."

I can understand if she's being reserved because she feels ashamed. I really can't forget that moment where I confessed my feelings too. I blush every time just thinking about it...

"There are way too many, hahahahaha. We would miss out on the whole festival if we started that sort of conversation right now."

Eh...? Is she serious right now?

"Oh come on, no way that's tru---"

"I'm really serious."

Although Sana attempted to counter Arkalee's assumably joke, Arkalee didn't waver and allowed us to perceive the truth about the situation clearly.

...Amazing determination!

"That's amazing, Arkalee! You really love him! I can tell! That determination! Where do you get it from!?"

Amused, I couldn't help myself and sought answers immediately.

Both Sana and Arkalee are amazing...

"It's always been within me..."

"Oh? So it's natural! Damn, I am jealous now! You were born with such determination and love to give! The world needs more people like you for sure!"

I have to learn from Arkalee then! Even though her answer was somewhat vague, I take it that she seems something in Hyunda that I probably just can't see. That's fine! I'll respect her decision.

"But still, Arkalee, why haven't you told him that you have those feelings for him?"

Sana just asked something really interesting. Despite all this love, why hasn't Arkalee made her move?

Is she waiting for the perfect chance? All of this, just makes me realize how lucky I was to have such an amazing person confess to me like that... I never felt that blessed before.

I was also starting to think that I was stupid for having a crush on him, but I was fortunate to have it all work out positively in the end!

"About that... I don't mind telling you Sana. You as well, Yulia. But... Recently... I've been thinking and Hyunda seems to still care for someone a lot and that's bothering me!"

Suddenly, Arkalee spoke with immense sadness and she looked almost on the verge of tears.

"W-Wait! What's wrong!? You don't have to cry, we are here for you..."

"Yeah! Don't worry about a single thing! Just tell us and we will help you out!"

Worriedly, Sana and I, with haste, attempted to comfort Arkalee who started crying. What is troubling Arkalee?!

I'm worried and I want to know what's going on...

".....He's always mentioning another girl whenever we are talking..."

No way...

"What!? That's horrible! He treats you so badly! Arkalee... Are you sure you don't want to move on to another gu---"

"But! It's not just any girl... At first, I doubted it, but after the recent event... I don't... know anymore...!"

Sana's revolted words full of worry weren't enough to discourage Arkalee, as Arkalee began to imply something else.

But, who is this girl?! Unable to contain my inner persistent curiosity, I asked.

"Who is she!?"

And a recent event...? Did Arkalee make a reference to...

"Ikkiri! God, it's always about Ikkiri! He doesn't stop talking about her! I can't take it anymore! It's killing me!"

Hearing that from Arkalee, who was shaking and trembling with fear while crying, struck us with a little bit of anger.

"That bitch! Are you serious!?"

"Yeah... I am serious... Not a single second, it's always about her... I'm feeling pretty suicidal right about now... And that's been stressing me out lately..."

That's horrible. So horrible... Arkalee's giving her best and yet, Ikkiri... That's not fair...

"Is she in love with Hyunda...?"

"A-Are you suggesting that Ikkiri and Hyunda are together!?"

"N-No! Definitely not! Sorry! I just wanted to know the situation a little better! Forgive me please!"

That was a dumb question! Of course I was suggesting something else automatically! I should've thought a little bit before speaking!

Arkalee's in a sensitive state right now! Our priority should be calming her down.

"Wait... So this means... Not only did Ikkiri fake that whole drama for attention but she's also trying to take away the person you love...? Nope. That does it! No matter how I look at it, this is not okay! She's going overboard with her attention-whoring act!"

Contrasting my initial thoughts, Sana said something that was the opposite of 'calm' but instead went with a more refined approach.

It's true that this is going overboard. It's one thing to do all those acts for your own attention, Ikkiri, but to do something this cruel...? You don't have any shame, do you?

"I think we need to show her a lesson..."

"I totally agree, Yulia! Honestly... Shouldn't we do something about this?"

It seems that Sana is on the same page as I am. We both hate Ikkiri's stereotype quite much.

"W-Wait... What are you both talking about...?"

I feel so bad for Arkalee... Her make-up is ruined from all this crying... She doesn't deserve this...

"We should start bullying her in ways that she'll actually start regretting her actions. Then, she'll stop her whorish acts once and for all!"

"Yes, Sana! It's so annoying... At this rate, it might not only be Hyunda, but she might go for another person too..."

That is why...

"Can we somehow make her fail this exam?"

I suggested that, unaware of options left regarding this idea.

Sincerely, it's a horrible thing to do, but Ikkiri has done worse... Messing with someone's emotions like this is painful and I won't forgive Ikkiri for doing this to Arkalee.

Arkalee's giving her all!

"Mhmm... Shall we stalk her? If we do, we can trace her actions, but..."

"Actually... I have a plan regarding that... I wasn't planning on just eating Ikkiri's actions for granted."

Surprisingly, the one who said that was Arkalee, who looked more stable now.

Her words had more confidence to them now yet they were still fragile nonetheless.

"Oh!? That's more like it!! Tell me, tell me!"

"Yeah, I'm excited to hear it too!"

I went along with Sana instantly almost instinctively. I'm severely curious about what Arkalee has to say about this!

Only after wiping out a few tears did Arkalee speak to us again.

"....Since we can now interact with other students... I went on ahead and gathered a group of students who are famous here in this school for having top grades. Here is where this will get bad for Ikkiri... I told them to stalk Ikkiri and whenever she is queueing up, so will they. And since they are better than Ikkiri at the themes, they will never let her win! So, she'll fail the exam!"

.......!!

Wow... I... I'm baffled... Arkalee actually thought all of this up...?

"Haha, that will do the trick, I'm sure! But, seriously, Arkalee, you have to tell Hyunda to stop mentioning that bitch every damn time! It must be so infuriating having to hear 'Ikkiri' all the time, right?!"

"Yeah, it's soooooooo annoying! I just hope this will stop her actions... Who knows what she's capable of... I'm sorta scared, you know?"

For her love, Arkalee came up with this idea. This determination of hers, I never saw its catalyst, but now that I see it, it's crystal clear.

"Don't worry, Arkalee, I'm sure this will work out, right, Sana? And besides, it's best if you let Hyunda know pretty soon, otherwise, it might be too late!"

"P-Please don't say that Yulia...!"

"A-Ah... I didn't mean to make it sound offensive, I just think that you should take the opportunity now that it's available... That's all..."

Again... My words came out perhaps too offensive... This is a really sensitive topic to Arkalee, I know, but I'm just trying to help out a friend of mine.

That's right...! Even if Arkalee doesn't consider me a friend or if she views me with hostility, I consider her a friend!

"Well, I think what Yulia's trying to say is that the sooner you get it out of the way, the faster you can enjoy your moments with Hyunda. I'm not a fan of fast romance, but if you can't help it, then..."

Oh? Sana's not a fan of fast romance? I see! She must not support a romance that develops too quickly then.

That's quite idealistic. Her novelty is impressive...

"Ahh, that's probably correct... I'm just feeling insecure... I don't know... Whenever he mentions Ikkiri, I just feel so weak..."

"I can totally relate! I so can! Daniel once broke the vow of not speaking to Lus when he wasn't allowed to and I was pissed off so hard! Geez, that was so infuriating! But you can't let it get to you! Just insist on him but don't be too clingy. Give him a little bit of freedom, alright?"

With all things considered, I wasn't happy at all about that... I understand that that rule might've been too harsh but the fact that Daniel just broke it like that was a bit painful and overbearing to me.

And I know he's not demanding at all. He's kind that way! This is why I'm starting to realize that I've been too harsh on him and so, I don't want Arkalee to commit my mistakes.

"Hahaha, thank you so much for the advice, Yulia! I'll definitely take it to heart!"

"No problem!"

Arkalee's confirmation was absolutely reassuring to me. I'm just glad that everything is going the way she wants when it comes to her love.

Honestly, I know this is just the start but I never thought to myself as being someone who was loved by someone.

That feeling makes me think that I am special to a single person and that person alone. Right now, what occupies my mind is the gratefulness of being your girlfriend, Daniel.

However, saying this isn't that easy for me because I'm not exactly used to being happy so this is all still very strange!

"Sooo, shall we go for a spin at the events?"

Ahead of us, lies the fifty events that we must partake in, but, just for the sake of doing something fun and collective with Sana and Arkalee, I proposed that.

"Yup! Let's go! Though, what event do we choose first...? Hmmm..."

Sana started to think about what event to pick just by looking at the near-by poster that was advertising the festival itself by highlighting its theme.

Posters were everywhere, obviously! It was a medium to portray the message of necessity.

"I think we should go in different ways."

Shockingly opposing our unity, Arkalee said that out of nowhere. That staggered me a little bit.

"Why...?"

"Um... I just think that we shouldn't face each other in the same event or else it might cause some internal conflict..."

"Oh, I get it. That does make sense, now that I think about it. Yeah, we should probably avoid facing each other in the same events, so we should all participate in different events. The order is up to us, so it's fine!"

Now that Sana mentions it, it is that way. The order for the events is ours to pick, as they are always there.

You simply have to queue up. Quite simple and helpful. Nothing complicated.

"By the way, Yulia, what theme are you taking on?"

"Hehe, are you curious Arkalee? Okay, okay, I'll tell you! You too, Sana. It's something that I've always liked and I was soooooooo excited when I read that this event was available!"

"Oh! What, what?!"

Excited, Sana couldn't resist the temptation and started asking me right away. Just talking about it will give me the chills because I super duper love it!

"Mahjong! It's the best!"

"Ehhhh? I never knew, Yulia!"

"Hehehe, I knew you'd be amazed, Arkalee! What do you think, Sana?"

The truth is, ever since I was little, I would play mahjong with my grandma and I loved every second of it.

However, I had to stop playing because my grandma died and no one else played it with me.

..........

"Mhmm... I'll give it a try, eventually. Yikes, I better now go against you then... Well... Let's go separate ways then! We shall meet when it's lunchtime! Okay?!"

Joining our hands, we simultaneously said:

"Deal!" 

Thus, we both went in separate directions.

Exiting the cafeteria, I witnessed the school grounds being over-populated with students and quickly found myself in a crowd full of students!

Nonetheless, I went on to the mahjong room. As it might've been implied before, these themes are according to some of our school clubs' themes and I already knew about the mahjong club.

Secretly, I visit it every now and then. Now that the rule of interaction is gone, I plan on joining it next month!

I bet it's gonna be so much fun!

Mahjong club room entrance.

"Yikes.... Crowded..."

Upon arriving, after climbing all the way to the third floor in one of the exterior blocks, I witnessed a fair number of students all grouped up instantly.

They were either lined up for the registration queue or just chatting with one another.

On the other side, the main club door was closed but that was because there was a sign on the door saying: 'Event occurring, please wait until it's finished'.

I wonder how many people are allowed to enter the event at the time?

Sorta curious, I also wondered if someone from my class would come over and greet me, for example.

It would be one hell of a surprise if Daniel came but I highly doubt that.

"I'll wait, I guess..."

By that, I meant until the registration line clears up. As soon as the queue is emptier, I will get in the line, but not for now.

This place is very pretty though! Statues that represent glorious figures of China's history such as Lao Zu and Mao Zedong are right visible at the club's door. One each at both sides of the door rightfully matching the door's height as well!

It was these thoughts of admiration that blocked me from noticing someone that had already infiltrated this environment and had taken a seat right next to me, in this fluffy bench.

"Tired......."

The first thing I noticed was not his spontaneous silver hair, but the way he just casually walked in and relaxed his posture while leaning his back all the way without caring about my presence at all.

Furthermore, from his complaint alone, he started massaging his own shoulders which seemed incredibly stiff due to his exhausted expression.

"Oh, Hyunda. Didn't expect to meet you here!"

I won't lie but it's a pretty big surprise. Considering that anyone can just wait for the last day to do all the events if they so wanted to, I didn't expect anyone to come here to the mahjong club so early!

So, Hyunda's presence is surprising!

"Yulia? What a coincidence. Likewise. Sure didn't expect to meet you here."

With an almost dead voice, Hyunda looked at me with hollow eyes and gave birth to this conversation.