Chapter 5:
The First Question That Touches the Core
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Ever since I discovered that Rei Kirishima, the “Perfect Prince,” had a clumsy side, my observation activities had only grown more intense.
Each time I found a tiny crack hidden beneath his flawless behavior, the pages of my “Observation Diary” filled with secret delight.
(But the biggest mystery is still that photo in the graduation album…)
No matter what I did, my curiosity always circled back to that one thing—the beginning of it all.
As a member of the newspaper club chasing a scoop, I couldn’t just let it go. So at last, I decided to confront him directly—with a question that touched the heart of the mystery.
After school, I waited in the hallway for Rei, who was on his way to basketball practice.
“Kirishima-kun! Could I have a quick interview for the newspaper club?”
I tried to sound as bright and harmless as possible—just a cheerful reporter doing her job. He looked a bit annoyed at first, but when he saw the “Newspaper Club” armband on my arm, he sighed quietly and stopped walking.
“…Make it quick.”
This was my chance. I fired the questions I’d prepared in advance.
“Okay! First—what’s the basketball team’s goal for the next tournament?”
“To win the national championship.”
“Wow! And your personal goal, Kirishima-kun?”
“To contribute to the team’s victory. Nothing more, nothing less.”
A smooth, perfect answer—just what you’d expect from the Ice Prince.
But the real question started here.
Casually, as if it had just come to me in conversation, I asked,
“I see. You really aim high, huh? …By the way, were you also playing basketball back in middle school?”
In that instant, I felt the air around him freeze solid.
Expression drained from his eyes. His calm breathing seemed, just for a moment, to stop.
The perfect mask of ice cracked—just slightly, but audibly.
From that fissure, I caught a glimpse of the emotion he’d been hiding: unease, and sharp wariness.
(…Bullseye.)
His reaction said everything.
That photo was him, after all.
Almost immediately, he regained his poker face.
“…No.”
His voice was short, low.
“I started in high school.”
Then, for the first time, he looked straight into my eyes—with a cold, piercing gaze I’d never seen from him before.
“Saeki.”
His voice was quiet, but it sliced right through me, as if he could see straight into my thoughts.
“What exactly are you trying to find out about me?”
That was when I realized—he had noticed my eyes on him all along.
“Uh, n-no, it’s just… for the interview…”
My mind went blank under his sharp question, and the only thing I could manage was a clumsy excuse.
“…Hmph.”
He murmured that, as if it meant something, then turned his back to me and walked away without another word.
Left alone in the hallway, I pressed a hand against my chest, trying to calm my pounding heart.
His shaken face… and those cold, all-seeing eyes.
(…That was a little scary.)
But more than fear, an irresistible thrill and burning curiosity surged through me.
(This is getting interesting, Kirishima Rei.)
Mere observation was over.
What begins now is a direct confrontation between me and him—
a battle to uncover his secret.
The thought alone made my lips curl into a daring smile.
