Soul for a Girlfriend?

The exam week was finally over and I pretty much did well in each subject. As I was satisfied with my performance, the wait for results remained.

And I didn\'t get much sleep while the exams were going on, so I compensated that by sleeping all day throughout Saturday and Sunday. I was feeling much fresh now.

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Gazing outside the window, I could see students walking towards the building. The air of the class also changed compared to last week. The usual liveliness of their chatter was all around me.

With a bored sigh, I shifted my gazes towards Reina. She was surrounded by her friends and all of them seemed to be cracking jokes as Reina was chuckling.

We haven\'t talked much ever since the exams started. Even if we did meet each other or I tried to make eye contact with her, she would just avert her eyes or try to ignore me.

The last time I properly talked with her was during the last study session. When I tried something on her today, I would check if the seeds I sowed that day were cultivated properly or not.

I was just waiting for the right moment when I could approach her. Approaching her amidst a group conversation surrounded by girls like that wasn\'t something I would do. 

And doing that can actually make me lose some points as it\'ll make me seem desperate and then those girls are already there to act as catalysts. They would surely see me as a creep and would suggest she stay from me.

I can\'t afford to make such a blunder after reaching this close to completing this target. Probably this week will be the last with Reina, as I aim to wrap it up quickly.

"And… the exams are over. What a relief!" I heard Tsūmen\'s voice as he yawned and stretched his arms.

"Yeah, I could finally get back watching that anime." I replied, glancing at him.

"Which one?" He asked in curiosity.

"You know that one… with a hopeless main character which reminds of you?" I said with a smug.

He stared at me with a dumbfounded face and then replied after a bit of awkward silence, "That was a poor description… but yeah, I remember that."

The expression on his face changed into a mischievous one as he narrowed his eyes at me and asked, "And… how long will it take you to tell her?"

"Huh?" I knew he was talking about Reina as he glanced at her for a moment and then looked right at me.

"Don\'t play with me, I know there\'s been something going on between you two."

"As in?" I wasn\'t trying to play dumb because he knows that I like her. But I was trying to check how much he assumes that I have done with Reina.

"As in? As in I remember the last day we all studied together… and the way she was stealing glances at you…" His sentence came to an abrupt stop as it seemed like he decided not to go further with his words.

"Ah… that…" I ran my hands through my hair and glanced at her for a moment.

"Yeah that… now spill." Tsūmen tilted his head with a cheeky smile.

"Bruh… No!" I replied with a frown, because it\'s embarrassing. I reflected back on what I was about to do and I felt really embarrassed. Back then, it didn\'t affect me much in the heat of the moment.

"Why?" He said with a disappointed tone and sighed.

"At least tell her about your feelings. I\'m sure she likes you too…" He said, resting his head on the desk.

"See… I\'m not even sure of my feelings myself…" I replied with a bit of hesitation in my voice because, as Tsūmen knew, I had no experience in loving someone.

"Telling her about them won\'t be a good idea." I added, and Tsūmen seemed to acknowledge my reasoning, as he didn\'t say anything.

"You\'re suspicious… Did I interrupt something that day?" His eyes again shifted at me.

"Eh?"

"Last day… we studied together…" He was really unsure of what he was saying because the person in question was me.

"What made you conclude something like that?" I chuckled lightly.

 "...because when she opened the door, she was blushing and was nervous. We all were pretty sure that you two did something…" He said with a smug.

"All?" I was a bit surprised when he used that term as I wasn\'t expecting that.

"Yeah… we just didn\'t say anything because it would make things awkward." He shrugged.

"That\'s really sensible coming from you." I said.

"Oh… no no… this was Kizhashi-san\'s idea. I was ready to tease you to hell." He laughed shamelessly.

"Figured." I sighed.

"Listen… just speaking from experience…" He took a slight pause and looked at me.

"Mhm?"

"The quicker you tell her about your feelings, the faster she will accept you." He said casually.

"But like, shouldn\'t I take my time?" I asked him.

"Listen… when girls love a guy… or to be specific, are attracted to them…"

"Yeah?" I gestured to him to continue.

"They aren\'t attracted to the guy for a long time… it\'s just a small phase. If you land your arrow in that moment, then it\'s a bullseye for you." He said, and it actually made sense.

"That\'s true…" I nodded, and he replied with a nod, "Yeah."

"See, you\'re quite knowledgeable about this stuff… how come you\'re still single?" I said in a sarcastic tone.

"I lead others to treasure, I can not possess." He said, and we shared a laugh.

Anyway, I have to talk with Reina today and if things go accordingly, I might even confess to her pretty soon. 

 I finally got a chance to talk with Reina. It was lunchtime as usual and I slowly approached her as she was searching for something in her bag.

"Yo." I called her out in a plain tone and waved at her.