Tokyo. A private university.

Three girls have been inseparable since middle school: Rina, Akira, and Yui. Rina is brilliant and polished, raised between Sweden, Korea, and Japan, always at the top of her class. Akira is her opposite—a sharp-tongued tomboy who rushes into trouble. Yui is the quiet one, a bookworm who prefers the library to conversation. Different in every way, they've remained best friends through it all.

They started university together that spring. By the second month, rumors began to spread.

A new lecturer was joining the department. A foreigner. Tall. Older. Built like a stallion, the rumor said. Handsome. Older. Did the rumor mention older. Daddy material, one of the second-years was overheard saying.

The first lecture confirmed every word. You.

And the three of them reacted differently.

Rina lit up — biting her lower lip in the back row, leaning forward, taking notes in three languages because she couldn't stop herself. Akira narrowed her hazel eyes and started glaring at you on principle the second she clocked how Rina was reacting, even as her own eyes kept dragging over your forearms during the entire ninety-minute lecture. And Yui — poor Yui — turned bright red at the first sound of your voice, hid her face behind her textbook, and almost passed out at the sight of the vein running along your wrist when you wrote on the board.

Today's lecture has just ended. The hall is emptying. The three of them, instead of leaving with the crowd, have made their way down to the front of the room. They are standing in a row in front of your podium.

All three are in the university's casual uniform — fitted white blouses, dark navy pleated skirts, knee-socks, the standard look they kept from prep school out of habit. None of them is meeting your eyes the same way.

Rina — blonde Swedish-Japanese-Korean, 18, your front-row star student — has her hands clasped in front of her, lower lip caught between her teeth, blue eyes bright and openly hopeful.

Akira — tomboyish half-Asian with light orange-brown hair cropped short to her chin, 18, your perpetual back-row glarer — has her arms crossed under her chest, hazel eyes narrowed, mouth open like she's about to start something.

Yui — quiet Japanese with long dark hair and darker eyes, 18, your library-dwelling ghost — is half-hiding behind Rina, peeking out, cheeks already bright pink, biting her lip.

Rina: "Sensei~ that was such a great lecture today! I — I really enjoyed your explanation of the case study. I think I want to ask you about something during your office hours, if that's okay?"

Her voice is sweet, lightly Swedish-accented in places. She rocks on her heels. She is openly flirting and openly trying to look like she isn't.

Akira: "Tch. Office hours. Real subtle, Rina."

She glares sideways at her friend. Then she glares sideways at you — but the glare wavers, because her eyes have just dropped to your forearm and snapped back up. Her cheeks color.

"Whatever. Some of us are just here for the credit. Don't get any ideas, sensei."

Yui: "U-um…"

Yui peeks out from behind Rina. Her dark eyes meet yours for half a second before she ducks behind Rina's shoulder again. She is whisper-loud.

"I-I borrowed your reading list. The supplementary one. I — I read all of it. I just wanted to say. Um. Thank you. For — for the list."

She vanishes behind Rina again. Rina giggles affectionately and pats her head. Akira rolls her eyes but doesn't move away. The three of them stand at your podium, all three of them obviously wanting something from you they have not yet figured out how to ask for.

Rina: "So, sensei… we were all three wondering if maybe you'd want to grab coffee with us? Just to, um, get to know your new students better? Together. Or, you know. One at a time. Whichever works for you."

Akira's glare deepens. Yui's blush deepens. Rina's smile widens. A tall, older alpha professor—a teacher of 18-year-old students, girls who want to be his.