Seeing the two of them, Watanabe Tetsu instinctively voiced the question on his mind: "Is the Wind Instrument Club's practice really this relaxed?"
"Huh?" Aoi Ichiki blinked in surprise, then glanced at Asako Hanada. "This…"
Asako Hanada quickly shot Tetsu a glance, then immediately lowered her head in silence.
"Sorry, I've just been a bit sensitive about club activities recently. You don't have to answer," Tetsu said, raising his hands and gesturing for the topic to end.
Still, thinking about it, the Wind Instrument Club's goal was to advance to the Kanto High School Competition, and ultimately the national tournament—they must have practiced very hard.
In April and May, they indeed had. Proof: the campus was filled with music during lunch and after school.
But by June, the sound of instruments had become sporadic.
Is the rainy season just not suitable for practice?
"I've already told Senpai Hanada about this," the two visitors had come to the Human Observation Club for an obvious reason.
"First, let's confirm: Senpai Hanada, do you know if Senpai Asuka likes boys or girls?" Rin Seino asked.
"Uh… probably boys," Asako Hanada peeked at Watanabe Tetsu.
Was it because Mai Asuka had laughed about the overhead corridor the other day? Tetsu guessed to himself.
But looking at these two now, with Rin standing tall and poised, she looked every bit like a senior. As for Asako Hanada, her petite figure could easily be mistaken for a middle schooler.
Rin turned her gaze to Aoi Ichiki.
Aoi's face showed clear disappointment—she had obviously already learned the answer from Asako Hanada.
Asako quickly tried to comfort her: "Aoi, I'm not entirely sure either!"
"Mm." Aoi's reply was weak, almost defeated.
"Do you want to continue, Ichiki?" Rin asked.
Aoi Ichiki fell silent, then quietly answered after a long pause: "I want to continue, but…"
"But you're afraid of failure?" Rin finished the sentence for her.
"If I know it's definitely going to fail, it's better to keep things as they are—so I can stay by Senpai's side."
On Monday, Aoi Ichiki had sworn she would confess no matter success or failure.
But now, knowing the odds were so against her, fear of being disliked and worry that confessing would worsen the relationship had resurfaced.
Tetsu had never liked anyone before, but he could understand that feeling.
"Then let's leave it at that. Of course, you can still hang out with her, and becoming good friends isn't a bad choice either," Tetsu said.
This wasn't his business; Rin Seino had brought this mess in.
Compared to that, he wanted to quickly deal with the club's possible dissolution, continue learning Spanish, and figure out how to handle Miki Yuki.
The activity room fell into a deathly silence, as if the matter would end there.
"Aoi Ichiki, is this really okay?" Rin suddenly spoke.
"…"
"You've liked Senpai Asuka since elementary school, right? You've carried that feeling for over ten years. Can you really give up without a result?"
Aoi Ichiki couldn't help but lower her head.
Tetsu stole a glance at Rin Seino.
'Hey, hey, are you seriously trying to gain romance experience now? We're barely keeping the club alive!'
"Just answer me: continue or give up," Rin said, her obsidian eyes locking onto Aoi.
Here it comes—the lie detector Rin!
Even Watanabe Tetsu, clever and experienced in lying, could only surrender.
"Continue!" Aoi Ichiki gave up entirely in her response.
Rin nodded. "Then we proceed as planned. Senpai Hanada, can you help us?"
"I… I can do that," Asako Hanada replied.
"Good. Operation continues. First, to make emotional progress easier to observe, Aoi, please tell me your current relationship with Senpai Asuka."
Aoi thought for a moment. "Pretty normal, I guess? I call her Senpai Asuka, and she calls me Ichiki."
"Seems like a very ordinary relationship," Rin murmured.
"Ugh…"
So, there's a reason why the Human Observation Club hasn't recruited new members. Who could endure such blunt honesty for long, aside from the remarkable Watanabe Tetsu!
Asako Hanada quickly reassured her: "Aoi, don't be upset. If the relationship is ordinary, it means even if a confession fails, things won't get worse!"
"Ugh…"
Please, let her be.
Seeing Aoi Ichiki on the verge of collapse, Tetsu said: "You don't need to stress over titles. Some people are close but use last names, while others might hate each other yet call each other by first name."
"Really?"
"Of course. People like that are everywhere."
Tetsu affectionately called his girlfriend Miki by her first name—she was the only girl whose name he used.
"But calling someone by their first name should have special meaning, right? Only frivolous people do it casually!" Asako disagreed completely with Tetsu.
He had already forgotten he was supposed to comfort the junior.
"Okay, fine, we'll say you're right," Tetsu said, remembering his first girlfriend, Konomi Tamamo, who casually called him Tetsu.
"Ugh…" Aoi Ichiki made a small whining sound again.
"Sorry! I just said it casually!" Asako looked like she might cry for messing things up.
Tetsu silently mourned 0.1 seconds for the IQ of her future children.
"Senpai Asuka isn't a frivolous person. Aoi, please accept that your relationship is ordinary for now," Rin said.
"…Mm." Aoi Ichiki was pitiful. "I understand. If I don't face reality, I can't move forward."
People always learned lessons from suffering.
Aoi composed herself and curiously asked, "Rin, do you call any peers by their first name?"
"No," Rin answered immediately.
"Girls?"
"No." Still immediate.
Aoi felt awkward and turned to Tetsu. "Watanabe-kun?"
"No same-sex peers. For opposite-sex, only Miki Yuki."
"I see," Aoi nodded. "And Senpai Hanada?"
"No opposite-sex peers. I have a few same-sex friends," Asako whispered.
"You three can call me by my first name. I don't mind," Aoi said with a smile.
"I won't," Rin rejected immediately without a second thought.
"Eh—well, that's what I expected from Rin-senpai," Aoi said.
"I can't do it either," Asako averted her eyes from Aoi's hopeful look.
"Senpai~~!"
"Well, that's because," Asako took a deep breath, speaking firmly, "only people who are truly close can call each other by their first names."
"…Alright." Aoi looked pitifully at Tetsu. "You won't reject me too, right?"
"…" He should have answered first. But…
"Sorry."
"…" Aoi slumped over the beechwood table, her hair from the rainy day utterly lifeless.
Rin laughed at Tetsu. "Seems Miki Yuki has trained you well."
"Not entirely because of that," Tetsu admitted—partly true.
"Oh my, Watanabe-kun lied to me again," Rin mockingly feigned shock.
"…" Tetsu confessed the truth. "If someone's a good friend, calling them by their first name is fine, regardless of gender. But think about it: I don't even do that with you. Suddenly calling Ichiki by her first name would be too fake."
Rin stared directly at Tetsu.
"What?" Tetsu squirmed under her gaze.
"Idiot."
"How dare you call me that?!"
Rin lightly tapped her lips with a fist, coughing shyly. "Doesn't that just make Ichiki even sadder?"
"Think carefully—who told me to be honest?"
"Topic ends here." Rin turned away. "Now, we should discuss: how to get Senpai Asuka to call Ichiki by her first name."
"'Aoi'…" Aoi Ichiki had already drifted into a sweet daydream.
Rin scanned the three of them. "Any operational plan?"
"Wait." Tetsu raised his hand. "I'm not participating."
First, he wasn't interested. Second, he had to handle the club's dissolution issue. Third, if he hung out with them again, Miki Yuki would definitely get angry.
"Nooo! Watanabe-kun, you're the only one here with romance experience!" Aoi wailed.
Then she suddenly asked Asako Hanada, "Senpai Hanada, have you ever dated?"
"No… never," Asako replied, her face perpetually flushed.
But since she was extremely cute, the blush worked fine.
Unlike a muscular boy in a sports club—always red-faced, and someone would ask, "Are you sick? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
"Sorry, I already have other tasks. Aoi, let Rin and Hanada handle your matter," Tetsu firmly declined.
"Rejected," Rin said bluntly.
"Huh? Why? If you handle one thing and I handle another, isn't that more efficient?"
"That was before," Rin said with a deceptively gentle smile full of mischief. "Now I've decided: the Human Observation Club is a whole. All matters must be faced together."
"Frankly, last-minute changes are forbidden, Senpai!"
"Obey the order, Vice President."