The long-haired demon outside the window wore a friendly smile. After scaring Hikigaya Hachiman half to death, she turned and walked into the classroom to start the morning meeting.
The dead-eyed boy blinked in surprise.
He knew his little sister, Komachi, had helped him get an extra two days off. But knowing Hiratsuka-sensei, even if she didn't punish him, she would at least ask for an explanation.
Yet now, she had just intimidated him with a look and let it go without a word. That was… odd.
Maybe she was just waiting for all the morning classes to end before calling him to the office.
Hikigaya Hachiman mentally prepared himself for the worst.
But as the morning dragged on, and even after he finished his lunch during the midday break, Hiratsuka Shizuka still hadn't come to find him.
Instead, he happened to catch sight of the pink-haired, bun-headed girl who seemed to be on her way to talk to him—only to be intercepted by Miura Yumiko.
"Yui, let's go have lunch together."
"Huh? But I…"
"Come on, come on! You're always busy with that stupid executive committee. Lunchtime is the only chance we get to hang out, and now you're trying to ditch us too?"
Miura Yumiko frowned slightly, pretending to be annoyed.
Yuigahama Yui glanced back at Hikigaya Hachiman, who was sitting all alone at his desk, then gave her friend an apologetic smile. "Sorry, the committee really is a lot of work…"
As the chatter and laughter of the girls faded into the distance, Hikigaya Hachiman let out a small sigh of relief, quietly munching on the yakisoba bread he had bought from the school store.
If Yuigahama had asked what he had been up to for the past three days, he really wouldn't have had a good answer.
After school, Hikigaya Hachiman packed up his things, slung his bag over his shoulder, and nervously made his way to the meeting room.
Three days away… He wasn't sure how his colleagues would react to his return.
No—what others thought of him didn't matter. What mattered was the mountain of unfinished work waiting for him.
…And a certain roadblock in his way.
Hiratsuka Shizuka stood by the hallway window outside the meeting room, a lit cigarette held between her slender fingers.
She was still wearing her usual white coat, her eyes slightly dazed as she gazed out the window. The golden light of the setting sun gently poured in, casting a warm glow over her long, silky hair that cascaded down to her waist.
Noticing someone's arrival, she turned her head and gave Hikigaya Hachiman a faint smile.
Hikigaya Hachiman instinctively swallowed before walking toward Hiratsuka Shizuka.
"Do your job well and don't let everyone down." Just when he thought he was about to be interrogated, Hiratsuka Shizuka simply smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
"I'll do my best," Hikigaya Hachiman grimaced.
His injuries still hadn't fully healed.
"What's with that look? I didn't even use any force," Hiratsuka Shizuka chuckled at his pained expression.
As he pushed open the door and stepped inside, the once-busy meeting room instantly fell silent, and all eyes turned toward him.
Hikigaya Hachiman straightened his posture, trying his best not to look too gloomy or worn out.
He took a deep breath. "Uh, sorry…"
"You're finally back, Chairman!"
"Yeah, yeah! Please save us!"
"What would we do without you?!"
The moment the dead-fish-eyed boy opened his mouth, he was immediately drowned out by everyone's complaints.
There was no blame like he had expected—not even a pile of unfinished work waiting for him.
Wait, where's all my work?
"Here you go." Before he could even sit down, a glasses-wearing boy shoved a stack of documents into his arms and explained, "Everyone helped take on some of your tasks, but there was still a bit left. We had to focus on our own department's work first, after all."
"Oh… oh…" Hikigaya Hachiman responded blankly.
So there was work left, just not as much as he had imagined.
Feeling a little out of sorts, he returned to his seat and buried himself in the paperwork.
Once everyone had arrived, they began the usual progress reports.
To his surprise, the overall work progress hadn't fallen behind much.
"Uh, while I was gone these past three days, who led the meetings?" Hikigaya Hachiman quietly asked the pink-haired girl sitting next to him.
"Ehehe~"
Yuigahama Yui didn't answer, only giggling playfully.
"Ahem, ahem!" The girl from the publicity department, who was in the middle of her report, cleared her throat twice, looking at them with an amused, knowing smile.
The two on stage instantly turned red, their faces as flushed as boiled shrimp.
"P-please continue."
Hikigaya Hachiman coughed into his fist awkwardly, his dead-fish eyes paired with a blushing face making it almost unbearable for the others to watch.
But for the executive committee members, who were already used to it, it was just the right amount of endearing.
"Actually, we could just wait for the two of you to finish your little chat before we continue," the girl teased with a grin.
"Please continue." Hikigaya Hachiman finally put on a serious face.
"Yes, Chairman." The girl blinked, realizing she shouldn't push it any further, and continued her report.
Once all the reports were finished, he let out a deep sigh of relief.
Although the executive committee hadn't fallen into chaos like he had feared, it had brought him an entirely different kind of headache.
The amused looks from those around him were even more piercing than when he first sat in the chairman's seat.
At times like this, there was no point in explaining anything—just keeping his head down and working was enough.
"Hikki."
However, while he wanted to focus on his work, the girl beside him clearly had other plans.
She reached out and poked Hikigaya Hachiman's side, intending to ask about work. But to her surprise, he suddenly flinched as if he had taken a brutal elbow strike, jerking his whole body and sharply sucking in a breath.
"Huh? Hikki… are you okay?" Yuigahama Yui froze for a moment, worry naturally showing in her eyes.
"No, it's nothing." It's just that you poked the three ribs I broke that still haven't fully healed.
Hikigaya Hachiman tensed his facial muscles, doing his best to look normal. "What's up?"
"Well, it's just this…" The bun-haired girl smiled a little awkwardly and pushed a sheet of paper toward him.
As Hikigaya Hachiman leaned down to take a look, a few quiet chuckles rippled through the room. When he turned his head, those giggles quickly turned into a series of exaggerated coughs, trying to cover up the embarrassment.
There was no way he could stay in this meeting room any longer.
He'd rather take his work home.
"That's it for today. Good job, everyone."
With that, the deadfish-eyed boy abruptly announced the end of the meeting, gathered his papers, and made a swift exit.
As they watched their chairman flee the scene, the entire room burst into laughter, filling the air with a sense of amusement.
…
(End of Chapter)
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