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Chapter 1: Necktie
“Hey, your necktie.”
At the round table as usual, while sitting beside Kyouya, Mao poked him with her elbow.
“Hmm… right.”
Kyouya noticed what she was telling him; his necktie had become loose. He recalled that it had been a little hot during fifth period.
“Let’s see…”
Unfastening the necktie in one movement, he started to retie it.
“Huh?”
He couldn’t tie it properly. The length wasn’t right at all. Once more he tried from the start.
“Huh??”
Another blunder. The knot’s shape was not supposed to look artistic like that. He couldn’t understand it. Discarding it, he went back to the start, yet again.
“…”
Kyouya could tell, and it was plain to see, that Mao was starting to feel irritated. That was a dangerous sign.
Ever since he entered High School, from the first time he had needed to wear a tie, he had never gotten used to tying it.
Now, in late May, his success rate was about one out of every three tries. Having messed up two times, the third time became a challenge. As s.h.i.+on might have put it, it couldn’t be denied that the probability of success was quite high now.
“Oh…”
A blunder again. This time the knot was too tight. Being so tense, he ended up putting too much strength into it… all because Mao wouldn’t stop looking at him.
“Hey, Megu. Give it a go!”
Mao signaled to Megumi with her chin. After turning off the stove’s fire, the girl approached them.
“Okay, s.h.i.+nomiya-kun. Excuse me; please don’t move for a bit.”
As she extended her pale hands, Kyouya stood to attention. Megumi’s hands moved swiftly and skillfully.
“Alright. It’s done.”
“Thank Y…”
Kyouya’s words were cut short. With his hands he could feel his necktie had been done in the form of a sideways b.u.t.terfly.
“This isn’t a girl’s ribbon!”
“I wouldn’t know how to do a man’s tie. I’m just a girl after all.”
Mao prostrated herself on the table, laughing silently. She looked almost as if she’d pa.s.s out from the amus.e.m.e.nt. Taking half a minute to catch her breath, she faced Kyouya while wiping away a tear.
“Give it to me. Let me do it.”
“President, are you sure you can do it?”
“Who do you think I am? I’m your President, you know? Whatever, just stay still… don’t move!”
While facing Mao who was standing on a chair, Kyouya stood motionless.
He became mindful of the feeling of Mao’s small hands around his neck. Then, suddenly…
“Ack!”
“Like this, right? And this goes here…”
Mao was tightly fastening the knot, causing Kyouya to choke.
“Pre-ck… President! I can’t brea…”
“Stop, Mao! He’ll die. You’re not paying attention to him are you? I’ll do it.”
“Can… can you do it, s.h.i.+on-san?”
After the past two attempts, Kyouya had grown cautious enough to question the third challenger.
“I’ve never actually tied up a necktie, but I’m well acquainted with knots. Topologically, they have a very simple structure. Naturally, once you understand it, it’s possible to reproduce it.”
Kyouya stood like a pole, entrusting himself to the older girl’s fingers.
As s.h.i.+on’s thin fingers moved around his neck, Kyouya felt a light surprise at how different each of the girls’ hands felt.
“Huh?”
s.h.i.+on spoke in an ominous tone.
“This is strange. I should have been able to perfectly reproduce it, but…”
The knot had been tied perfectly, but the length of the front and back parts of the tie were absolutely wrong.
It was hopeless. He’d completely forgotten that, although s.h.i.+on was a genius at games and puzzles, when it came to day to day activities she was a disappointment.
“Enough already! I’ll do it myself! I can get it right once in three tries.”
As soon as Kyouya shouted that, from the other side of the room a girl suddenly showed up. He had entirely forgotten about Kirara.
“I do it?” (1)
Kirara asked. Kyouya nodded slightly.
Bitting down on the meat she held to free her hands, Kirara reached for Kyouya’s neck.
The warmth of her fingertips that he felt on his neck lasted for a mere one or two seconds.
“You’re done?”
He checked with his hands. It was perfect.
“T-thanks… Thank you.”
“Hm.”
While Kyouya stood surprised and thanked her, Kirara narrowed her eyes to the shape of semicircles.
QUICK FACTS:
What is the GJ Club? (2)
A mysterious club whose true nature is unknown.
It’s main activities are chatting and drinking tea in the clubroom after school.
It has 4 + 1 members.
Led by their president Amatsuka Mao, no one there is normal.
TRANSLATOR’S NOTES
(1) Kirara speaks broken j.a.panese. The reasons for it will be clear soon.
(2) GJ-Bu, written as GJ部 on the original, is a pun on the expression “good job”, which is p.r.o.nounced “gujjobu” in engrish, and the word for club, which is p.r.o.nounced simply bu.
