"Ah, much better! Thank you, Hina."
After accepting the bite of cake from Ebina Hina, Hozuki Nozomi rose to his feet with seamless grace, as if the entire lap-pillow episode had been the most natural thing in the world. He strolled back to the still-paralyzed Tobe Kakeru and clapped a friendly hand on his shoulder.
"See? Told you the method was effective."
Tobe looked on the verge of tears. He pointed a trembling finger at Nozomi, then shot several furtive, agonized glances toward a calmly smiling Ebina Hina, before finally letting his hand drop in utter defeat. "I… I can't learn that! What kind of human being can even pull off a move like that?!" The image was burned into his retinas: Nozomi's seemingly effortless, almost graceful collapse, the perfect placement of his head… it was like something out of a scripted drama.
Hozuki Nozomi observed Tobe's flushed face and bulging neck veins, then offered a casual shrug. "Why don't you give it a try yourself and see if it works? If it doesn't… well, that just means your current relationship with that girl is strictly at the 'ordinary friends' level."
He leaned in slightly, his tone shifting to one of faux-serious advice. "If you want to bridge the gap from ordinary friends to something closer, you need to understand her. You have to know what she likes, what makes her tick. Otherwise, you could stay in the same circle until graduation day and not move an inch forward."
His words hit Tobe Kakeru with the force of a lightning bolt. In that moment, even his indignation over Nozomi's brazen exploitation of the situation was forgotten. 'To improve the relationship… understand her… know what she likes…' The mantra echoed in his head.
"U-understand her… know what she likes…" Tobe mumbled, then his face paled. "But… she likes BL!"
The realization felt like a physical blow, deflating him entirely. How was he, a perfectly normal (in his own mind) high school boy, supposed to 'understand' that?
His desperate, hopeful gaze swiveled toward Hayama Hayato, seeking an ally.
Hayato took two deliberate steps backward, hands raised in immediate surrender. "Don't look at me. I have zero desire to 'understand' BL." Internally, a more alarming thought surfaced: Tobe's been acting kind of odd lately… and he's so fixated on this. Could he be…? A shiver of apprehension ran down Hayato's spine.
Abandoned by his last hope, Tobe Kakeru stood utterly lost.
Seeing his thoroughly dejected state, Hozuki Nozomi's lips quirked into a mischievous grin. He lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Look, Tobe, I can probably guess your feelings for Hina. But she's a dedicated BL enthusiast. Are you sure you want to keep chasing her down this path?"
He paused for dramatic effect. "Aren't you afraid that one day, while you're sleeping peacefully, a 'boyfriend' might just… appear?"
"A… a boyfriend? What boyfriend?" Tobe stammered, confused.
"The boyfriend Hina finds for you," Nozomi clarified, as if it were obvious. "If you like her, shouldn't you try to accommodate her hobbies? She loves BL. If you don't immerse yourself in that world, how can you ever truly get close to her and understand her perspective?"
For a second, Tobe found himself nodding along with the twisted logic before violently shaking his head. "No, that's not right! Yumiko doesn't like BL either, is she? She's still Ebina's friend! And you! You don't read that stuff!"
"I," Nozomi declared, puffing out his chest with mock pride, "am the rumored succubus. I operate on a different plane of existence entirely. I don't need to understand BL."
Tobe was left speechless, gaping like a fish out of water.
"I'd rather die than read BL manga!" he finally vowed, clenching his fists. "You're not tricking me, Hozuki Nozomi!"
"Suit yourself," Nozomi replied, his indifference genuine now. His emphasis on Ebina Hina's BL passion was, of course, a deliberate strategy. It was a subtle, if slightly mean-spirited, way to encourage Tobe to give up on a pursuit that was, from all observable evidence, a source of mild annoyance for Ebina Hina herself. Sometimes, a strategic retreat was the kindest outcome.
After a brief lull, the rhythm of work resumed as Uncle Tamura returned with a new list of tasks. Notably, Kosaka Kyosuke was assigned the lightest, simplest jobs—a clear case of paternal favoritism toward the boy who was practically family. Unfortunately, the intended recipient of this kindness, Kyosuke, remained blissfully oblivious, blithely accepting his easy duties without a second thought. Uncle Tamura's consideration was, as the saying goes, pearls before swine.
Hozuki Nozomi, for his part, didn't mind the more strenuous labor. He was being paid, after all, and treated it as worthwhile life experience. Tobe Kakeru, however, was once again reduced to a panting, sweat-drenched mess. His stubborn refusal to admit his own physical limitations only made the contrast more stark. To any objective observer, someone of Tobe's constitution and temperament simply wasn't Ebina Hina's type.
As the afternoon wore on, the dessert production was left in the capable hands of Shiina Mahiru and the others, allowing Tamura Manami to join the boys in decorating the storefront. Nozomi suspected her primary motivation was simply to be near Kyosuke. Manami was indeed a gentle soul, patient and kind. Sadly, Kosaka Kyosuke remained a block of unresponsive wood, completely missing her subtle cues as he focused on taping up streamers.
Yet, Tobe Kakeru's spirit was not so easily crushed. The image of Nozomi's successful maneuver—the lap, the being fed—continued to burn in his mind. I'm handsome too, he thought with a surge of misguided confidence. And we're friends. If he can do it, why can't I?
Fueled by this flawed logic, he devised his plan. Adopting a pained expression, he staggered toward Ebina Hina, who was arranging a display of flyers.
"Ah… Ebina… I suddenly feel so dizzy…" he moaned, letting his body go limp as he aimed a deliberate collapse in her direction. She's my friend! She won't just let me fall! His internal calculations were flawless.
The outcome, however, was not.
A pair of strong, paternal arms intercepted him mid-fall. It was Uncle Tamura.
"Oh, you poor lad, Tobe-kun!" Uncle Tamura boomed with sympathetic concern, effortlessly propping him up. "Working yourself so hard when you're clearly not feeling well! Come, come, Uncle will take you to the back to rest. My wife will fix you a nice bowl of brown sugar ginger water—works wonders!"
"Wha—? Uncle, no, it's not that, I'm not—" Tobe spluttered, trapped in a bear hug of goodwill.
"No need to be brave! Look at all this sweat! You mustn't push yourself and catch a chill. No more work for you today, just focus on recovering!" And with that, Uncle Tamura began ushering a flailing, protesting Tobe Kakeru toward the back room.
A stunned silence descended upon the scene for a beat.
Then, it broke.
First, a snort escaped someone. Then a giggle. Finally, the entire group—Kyosuke, Hayato, the girls—dissolved into helpless laughter, hands clutching their stomachs. Hayama Hayato's shoulders shook, his usual composure shattered. He knew he shouldn't laugh at a friend's misfortune, but the sheer, catastrophic failure of the imitation was too absurd.
The lesson was painfully clear. Ebina Hina had played along with Nozomi because they shared a specific, playful rapport. Tobe Kakeru's abrupt, awkward attempt had registered only as bizarre behavior, warranting adult intervention, not romantic attention.
Kosaka Kyosuke blinked, his expression puzzled. "What was that all about with Tobe?"
Manami shot him a look of profound exasperation. "Kyosuke, you can be so dense sometimes. It's obvious, isn't it? Tobe-kun has feelings for Ebina-san. Inviting her here was probably his attempt to create some 'alone time.' He was just trying to get closer to her."
"Oh…!" Kyosuke's eyes widened with belated understanding. "Now that you mention it, he was staring at her a lot…"
Meanwhile, the hapless Tobe was being force-fed warm, sugary liquid in the back, officially benched for the day.
The laughter eventually subsided, leaving behind a more complicated, melancholic atmosphere. Hayama Hayato, Miura Yumiko, and the others valued the stability and ease of their current friend group. Tobe's persistent, unrequited crush was a destabilizing element. They all knew—Hayato included—that Ebina Hina did not see Tobe in a romantic light. A confession would inevitably lead to a painful rejection, after which a humiliated Tobe would likely distance himself from the circle altogether.
And while Tobe was, in his own way, a loyal and harmless friend, that was the extent of it. None of the girls, Ebina Hina least of all, would ever consider dating someone so… unreliable. The memory of their haunted house visit was emblematic: Tobe, shrieking in terror, had literally run away and left Ebina behind with the 'ghosts'.
In the harsh taxonomy of dating, Tobe Kakeru was textbook NTR material—the kind of boyfriend who, if a more confident, charismatic rival (a hypothetical 'blonde guy,' for instance) ever showed up, would find his girlfriend effortlessly stolen away without putting up any meaningful fight. He was, in essence, a walking, talking cuckold archetype. And everyone, on some level, sensed it.