“Oh my, Ko-chan. You’re already heading to school?”

It was six o’clock in the morning.

Seeing her son appear in the living room wearing his school uniform much earlier than usual, his mother looked surprised.

Even with a bus and train transfer, it took less than an hour to get to his school.

“Yeah. I’m on morning duty today, so I have to leave early.”

“Oh, is that so? I’ll make your lunch right away, so go ahead and eat breakfast.”

Even if he did have morning duty, it was unusually early.

Still, his mother didn’t question it.

She simply assumed he’d made plans to meet up with some friends before school.

In a way, she wasn’t entirely wrong.

The reason Otaku-kun had gotten up so early was because he wanted to show Yua the completed press-on nails as soon as possible.

He was so excited to see her reaction that he’d woken up much earlier than usual.

“Well then, I’m off.”

After quickly finishing breakfast, Otaku-kun left the house.

Even though he’d been awake until three in the morning, his eyes were wide open.

The privilege of youth.

“Yaaawn… I’m so sleepy.”

However, even his excitement was powerless against the train’s comfortable rocking and pleasant warmth.

Little by little, his eyelids grew heavier, and he was just about to fall asleep.

“Ah! Good morning, Otaku-kun!”

The sudden voice jolted him fully awake.

“Good morning. You’re up early.”

Otaku-kun returned Yua’s greeting.

Even though there were plenty of empty seats, she deliberately sat right beside him, close enough that their shoulders nearly touched.

“Nope. I just happened to leave early today.”

“You’re the one who’s here early, Otaku-kun.”

“Haha. I just happened to wake up early too.”

Just as Otaku-kun had gotten up early because he couldn’t wait to show Yua the finished nails, Yua had also woken up early because she couldn’t wait to see them.

Both of them had come early because they wanted to “show” and “see” the finished nails as soon as possible.

But admitting that out loud felt embarrassing, so they each ended up telling a little lie.

It was a bit too perfect to be dismissed as coincidence.

Still, pointing that out would only expose themselves.

“I see. We’re the same!”

“Yeah. I guess we are.”

There really wasn’t any other way to answer.

“Oh, that reminds me.”

Even though he’d been dying to give them to her as soon as possible, Otaku-kun acted as though he’d only just remembered.

“Hm? What’s up?”

Despite speaking as if nothing came to mind, Yua watched him fidget excitedly as he rummaged through his school bag.

“These are the press-on nails we talked about yesterday.”

“What do you think?”

Inside a clear protective case, the carefully arranged nails sparkled brilliantly, each one placed neatly to prevent scratches.

Yua gazed at them with a smile that shone just as brightly.

“Whoa! Otaku-kun, you’re seriously amazing!”

“Can I really have these?”

Her hand shot forward before her words had even finished, only stopping at the last possible moment before she snatched the case from him.

She’d realized it would be rude to take them without asking first.

“Of course.”

“I brought them here for you.”

Otaku-kun did his best to remain calm, but inside, his heart was racing.

Yua had leaned in even closer as she admired the nails, looking up at him with sparkling eyes.

He might have been an otaku, but that didn’t mean he had no interest in real girls.

Gyaru girls weren’t exactly his specialty.

Still, when someone as cute as Yua got this close, there was only so much he could do.

“Really!?”

“Thank you so much!”

“Can I put them on right now?”

“Here, hold this for me while I do.”

Unable to contain her excitement any longer, Yua stopped asking questions altogether.

She placed her bags on Otaku-kun’s lap and skillfully attached each press-on nail one by one.

‘If she’s this happy… I guess it was a success.’

He’d secretly worried she might say they weren’t what she’d imagined.

Instead, seeing how delighted Yua was left Otaku-kun feeling completely satisfied.

Anyone would be happy when a gift they made was appreciated.

And Yua’s reaction went far beyond simple appreciation.

“So? So?”

“Aren’t they amazing?”

“Yeah.”

“They’re amazing.”

He felt a little awkward saying it himself, but he was confident he’d recreated the design Yua had shown him almost perfectly.

In fact, a young office lady sitting a short distance away couldn’t help glancing over at the glittering nails on Yua’s fingers with a hint of envy.

“Oh!”

“We should take a picture to remember this.”

“Come on, Otaku-kun. Get in here too.”

Holding her phone in her left hand, Yua quickly switched it to camera mode.

As Otaku-kun shyly tried to move away, she casually wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer.

She really was an incredibly bold gyaru.

“Alright!”

“Say cheese!”

“Y-Yeah…?”

Otaku-kun awkwardly raised a peace sign.

Beside him, Yua flashed a huge smile, pulling him even closer as she posed with one of her own.

The camera shutter clicked.

Since it was still early in the morning, there were only a handful of passengers on the train.

Otherwise, anyone watching probably would have mistaken them for an annoyingly affectionate young couple.

The same office lady from earlier now looked at them with envy…

…but for a completely different reason.

“Oh, it’s Riko!”

“Hey!”

The train came to a stop, and after spotting one of her friends on the platform, Yua jumped to her feet and ran over.

She had appeared in a whirlwind…

…and left just as quickly.

As Otaku-kun watched her go, his phone chimed.

– Otaku-kun, seriously, thank you!

The message arrived together with the photo they’d just taken.

Looking at the picture brought back the memory of Yua’s soft warmth when she’d leaned against him.

Otaku-kun smiled happily as he stared at the photo.

Only a few moments later did he realize…

…he had ridden one station past where he was supposed to get off.