At noon, after being threatened by a student once again, Hirakawa Tetsufumi still conscientiously finished teaching his class. But the moment he stepped out of the classroom, he let out a deep sigh.
A leisurely teaching life, occasionally slacking off, spending long vacations idling at home doing absolutely nothing—that was the life he desired most in this lifetime.
If possible, he wished every student in his class were perfectly obedient, never requiring him to worry.
But reality was far from that ideal.
As a young teacher, the position of homeroom teacher—one that had to deal with all sorts of miscellaneous matters—naturally fell to him. Just like university counselors, it was always the younger teachers who got stuck with it.
Incidentally, Kuda-sensei was the homeroom teacher of Class B and taught English.
In any case, as a homeroom teacher, any issue involving students was something he absolutely had to handle. Though he sometimes felt frustrated that the problematic ones were always girls, guiding students properly was a teacher's duty.
That was a principle Hirakawa would never change.
After leaving the classroom, he turned back to glance inside.
That girl, Amamiya You, sat quietly at her desk, looking perfectly well-behaved.
Nothing about her seemed unusual in daily life. Even during class just now, she had listened attentively like an obedient student. Yet at noon, right in front of him, she had revealed her true nature and even threatened him.
He didn't even know what to say.
Still, as a teacher, he shouldn't blame a student. Proper guidance was the correct approach. And to guide properly, understanding the root of the issue was absolutely essential.
However, it was obvious that Amamiya had no intention of talking to him for now. So Hirakawa decided to find her former homeroom teacher, Yamamoto-sensei, to learn more about the situation.
Just as he was about to head to the staff room, a familiar girl's voice suddenly called out from behind.
"Hirakawa-sensei."
He stopped and turned around—it was Tsutsui Shiori.
Already bothered by being threatened earlier, his mind immediately recalled how this young lady had also threatened him before.
Not that he held a grudge. It was just an unfortunate coincidence.
"Tsutsui-san, what's wrong?"
"Are you going to the wind ensemble club now?"
"The club—not today."
After hearing his answer, the girl thought for a moment before speaking seriously.
"Hirakawa-sensei, as the advisor, it's not okay for you to keep not showing up to the club."
"?"
He hadn't misheard, right? That was definitely criticism.
And yet… he had absolutely no way to refute it.
Hirakawa subtly shifted his gaze, avoiding her eyes.
"I've been quite busy lately, so I don't have time for now. I'm sorry."
Even as he made excuses, the criticism didn't stop.
"It's understandable that teachers are busy at the start of a new term. But recruitment for the club has been going on for several days now, and you haven't shown up even once."
As the advisor, not attending recruitment and not showing up at all afterward was honestly beyond lazy.
He felt guilty.
"Hirakawa-sensei, you can't be as lazy this semester as you were last semester."
Being directly called out like that made it awkward. His authority as a teacher had basically collapsed.
"Lazy? I'm not lazy at all. I've had plenty of important things to deal with."
Technically not a lie. There was indeed a lot to do.
Just not so much that he couldn't spare time for the club.
"For example?"
He fell silent.
Why was it that, as a teacher, he felt pressured by a student?
Hirakawa sank into deep reflection.
Well.
The reason was obvious.
He was in the wrong.
Being caught slacking off by a student—no matter how he thought about it—was embarrassing.
"I'll go. After I finish what I'm working on, I'll definitely go."
After reflecting, Hirakawa made a sincere promise.
Truly. He would go.
"Then I hope to see you at the wind ensemble club soon, Sensei."
Hearing his promise, Tsutsui finally stopped pressing him and nodded in satisfaction.
"Alright."
For a moment, it felt as though the roles of student and teacher had been reversed.
Was it just his imagination?
With that thought lingering, Hirakawa bid her farewell and resumed walking toward the staff room. But just before leaving, something suddenly came to mind.
"Oh right, Tsutsui-san."
"Yes? What is it, Hirakawa-sensei?"
"Do you rich girls all like threatening people with their jobs?"
He didn't get an answer.
But as he walked away, he noticed her face turn slightly red.
She was actually kind of cute like that.
Much cuter than when she had threatened him.
Feeling slightly better, Hirakawa returned to the staff room.
However, after looking around, he couldn't find Yamamoto-sensei.
"Kuda-sensei."
He had no choice but to ask for help.
"Do you know where Yamamoto-sensei is?"
Then he suddenly realized something.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Yamamoto-sensei in quite a while."
Kuda-sensei, who had been working at her desk, looked up at him with a surprised expression.
"Hirakawa-sensei… you didn't know?"
"Know what?"
"Yamamoto-sensei has already resigned."
After a moment of silence, Hirakawa asked in shock,
"She resigned?"
"Yes." Kuda rubbed her temples slightly. "She left after last semester ended. And these past few days, since the new teacher hasn't arrived yet, I've been covering her classes."
"Do you know why she resigned?"
"Hmm… I don't know."
Hirakawa fell into thought.
Something felt off.
Why would she resign?
Wait, don't tell me she was actually forced to quit by Amamiya Yoru?
That uneasy thought naturally surfaced, and his brows furrowed.
"Hirakawa-sensei, what's wrong?" Kuda asked with concern. "Did you need something from Yamamoto-sensei?"
"Yes… I wanted to ask her something. By the way, do you have her phone number?"
"I do. Let me find it."
Kuda took out her phone and quickly found the number.
"Got it. Please write it down…"
She read out the number. Hirakawa entered it into his phone, double-checked it, and then dialed.
Silence.
From Kuda's perspective, the Hirakawa standing there gradually grew more serious.
"What's wrong?"
she asked.
Hirakawa lowered his phone, his expression clearly tense.
"It's a dead number."