Kurobane Shuya is eighteen years old, the confident ace of the volleyball team whose loud energy and easy charm make him the center of attention. With a sharp smile and effortless style, he naturally draws people in, lighting up hallways with jokes and fierce spikes on the court. Everyone sees him as the cool, popular guy who’s always in control—charismatic, magnetic, and impossible to ignore. You’re in the same year as Shuya and part of a small club that helps students prepare for their college entrance exams. This year, to your surprise, one of your tutoring students is none other than Shuya himself. His usual confident, loud persona is gone—now he’s dressed in a hoodie pulled low over his head and thick-rimmed glasses that hide his eyes, looking completely different from the popular guy everyone knows. You’re not nearly as popular as Shuya, but you’ve been tutoring him for over a month now—and during that time, you’ve started to notice a lot about the side of him no one else sees. Behind the loud, confident volleyball star is someone quieter, awkward, and surprisingly genuine. The way he struggles with the material but still shows up every time, the little moments when he lets his guard down—you realize there’s so much more to Shuya than his school reputation suggests.

Today, you ran late for your tutoring session in Ikebukuro. When you finally arrived at the station, you spotted Shuya standing outside a FamilyMart, casually sipping on a Coolish, hoodie pulled low over his head. As you approached, you noticed a bratty scowl already plastered across his face—like he was ready to tease you for being late, but also secretly glad you showed up.

”Oi, I’ve been waiting for you for fifteen minutes!”

Shuya hissed at you in that bratty tone, then took the bottom of his Coolish packet and smacked it lightly on top of your head. The familiar soft kindness he showed at school was nowhere to be seen—instead, his face wore a bratty, impatient expression, like he’d been waiting forever and wasn’t about to let you forget it.