I Agree, but You Can’t Do Anything Too Extreme!

“How… how could I possibly say yes?!!”

With that weak, guilty shout, Yanami Anna’s fist lightly thumped Imaizumi Keita’s chest.

The force was soft—more like an attempt to hide the shame already spilling over.

“Imaizumi, you jerk!!!”

Imaizumi didn’t move, calmly accepting her performative protest, the smile on his lips deepening.

With those soft little punches, the energy flowing from Yanami wasn’t as pure as when their fingers interlocked, but it had its own flavor, soothing his inner turbulence.

It was also a sign that Yanami Anna had found herself a step down—
and that she had accepted this form of interaction completely.

Sure enough, after a couple of hits, Yanami pulled back her hand and put them on her hips, forcing herself into the bright, confident posture she used as the class’s social center—trying to regain control of the conversation.

“Alright, alright, joke’s over!”

She announced in an exaggerated tone, as if the girl whose face had been red to her neck moments ago never existed.

“Honestly though, I still have to thank you, Imaizumi-kun. Even though you can be really awful sometimes, this idea isn’t bad at all.”

She successfully regained the atmosphere.

“Speaking of which,”

Yanami smoothly shifted the topic to something more public and normal, completely avoiding the heart-racing contact from earlier.

“I actually heard about you from classmates before. They said although Imaizumi-kun always keeps to himself, you seem like the really handsome, cool, mysterious type!”

It was a very practiced “sunny-side social queen” technique.

By using “what friends said,” she softened the earlier topic about appearances and also cleverly complimented him—a way to make up for hitting him.

Watching her shift from stiff to natural, Imaizumi played along with faint amusement.

“So basically, getting a widely acknowledged handsome guy to pretend to be your boyfriend means you’re the one profiting the most, Yanami-san.”

He nudged the topic back into personal territory, tone now casual and teasing.

“Huh?!”

Yanami’s carefully maintained composure shattered instantly as she rushed to defend herself.

“You were the one who suggested it first! And don’t forget—you said you agreed because I look good! If anyone’s benefitting, it’s clearly you—”

She was about to push further and seize the upper hand, but suddenly froze.

The memory of her hand being wrapped in his warm palm—
their fingers woven together—
that lingering sensation hadn’t faded.

Yanami’s eyes wavered, and her follow-up lost all strength.

“W-well… whatever. This is a win-win! Yes. Win-win.”

Her voice grew faint with guilt, ending the topic awkwardly.

Imaizumi only laughed softly at her stubborn act and didn’t bother asking where the “win-win” was.

The future was unpredictable.

Who’d profit more—her or himself—he knew perfectly well.

After all, the comfort brought by that high-quality energy was undeniable.

…

Throughout the afternoon classes, Yanami Anna’s heart was locked in a constant struggle.

The teacher spoke on the podium, but she didn’t hear a single word.

Her eyes kept drifting toward the boy by the window.

The sunlight outlined his quiet profile—
a scene she’d seen countless times before—
yet now it carried a completely different meaning.

Agree or not?

This fake-relationship proposal was full of dangerous unknowns… and tempting possibilities.

Refuse, and she would have to face everything alone—
forced to play super-powered third wheel between Kusuke and Karen.

Accept, and she’d have to hand over some of her control to a boy she had only known for a few days…
yet who seemed to see through her completely.

What made it worse—
Yanami did, in fact, want to use this “fake dating” as a way to get closer to Imaizumi.

Just to experience a little more ‘lover-like’ contact, she tried to justify to herself.

The bell before the last period became her final countdown.

Right before it rang, she finally stood, dragging her feet toward Imaizumi Keita’s desk.

He was reading, and when the light before him dimmed, he lifted his head.

The girl standing there was twisting her fingers in her skirt, eyes wandering, looking like she was walking toward an execution.

Is this really something to agonize over…

Imaizumi wondered silently.

She clearly enjoyed holding hands at noon…

But he didn’t expose her.

Instead, he watched her with interest, waiting for her to speak.

“T-that…”

Yanami’s voice was barely above a mosquito’s hum.

“What you said at lunch… does it still count?”

Imaizumi closed his book and leaned back casually, eyes showing mild confusion.

“Which part? That you’re terrible at reacting? Or that you want to experience fingers interlocked again?”

“It’s not that!!”

Her face flared red instantly, voice rising.

“Just kidding.”

Imaizumi’s tone returned to normal.

“My proposal still stands. You didn’t think I was joking with you, right?”

“Who knows with you!”

Yanami shot back immediately, that bit of sass helping her recover courage.

“You’re such a horrible person, of course I’d be worried!”

“So, you’re here to confirm?”

“I’m here… to give you my answer!”

Yanami finally forced the words out, still unable to meet his eyes.

“I accept your proposal.”

Once she said it, it was like a massive weight lifted from her shoulders.

But then she suddenly remembered the “boundary rules” she’d spent all afternoon thinking up and hurried to add:

“But! You can’t do anything too extreme! And anything you do—you have to tell me first!”

It was the most protection she could claim for herself.

Imaizumi’s eyebrows twitched slightly, his calm expression not revealing whether he agreed or disagreed.

Yanami’s heart leapt to her throat—
worried that her one condition would break the arrangement.

“O-of course!”

She blurted again, awkwardly backing down.

“I’ll cooperate too! I won’t mess up again—I’ll… I’ll act properly!”

From setting boundaries
to immediately promising cooperation…
all in a few seconds.

Imaizumi couldn’t help laughing inside.

He liked this feeling—
of holding the initiative completely.

“Alright.”

He nodded, sealing their verbal agreement.

Yanami exhaled a long breath of relief.

“Then our cooperation starts today,” Imaizumi said smoothly.
“Did you refuse the after-school karaoke like we planned?”

“Ah…”

Her nerves tightened all over again.

Her shoulders slumped as she deflated completely.

“I tried…”

She reported weakly, “I told Karen I wasn’t feeling well today…”

“And the result?”

“Karen got more enthusiastic!”

Yanami’s voice was full of despair.

“She said girls feel better when they hang out together to change the mood! And she said Kusuke would worry too… I… I couldn’t say ‘no’ a second time…”

Imaizumi wasn’t surprised at all.

Himemiya Karen’s gentle pressure was exactly the weakness of someone with Yanami’s tough-outside-soft-inside personality.

He looked at her and asked knowingly:

“So, no way out?”

“…Mm.”

She nodded.

Then she perked up, raising her head confidently.

“So! Since you’re my ‘boyfriend’, of course you have to come with me! This is our first mission—you won’t refuse, right?!”

She tried to turn her own helplessness into a reasonable “boyfriend duty.”

Imaizumi couldn’t help finding it funny.

This idiot—
she could’ve just rejected them using the excuse of “a date with my boyfriend.”

But he didn’t call her out.

A karaoke room was filled with pressure from love rivals and the bitterness of a loser.

To him, it was the perfect environment to push Yanami further.

He’d been waiting for such a chance.

“Sure.”

He nodded without hesitation.

“After school, we’ll go together.”