Chaos in Classroom of the Elite: Class 1-C

Since they had already planned to check out what Sakayanagi was up to in the afternoon, Yukio and Karuizawa put their lighthearted discussion about single and twin ponytails on hold. Rejoining hands, they walked into the cinema.

They couldn't venture too far for a morning outing since they had plans later in the day, so Yukio settled on a movie date as the destination.

Karuizawa, however, was absolutely thrilled. Watching a movie together in a cinema's couple's seat with the guy she liked seemed incredibly romantic and fulfilling to her. She didn't need anything more to be perfectly happy.

As they settled in, she curiously glanced around in the dimly lit theater, taking in the experience of sitting in a couple's seat. She had seen these seats from afar before, but this was her first time actually sitting in one.

It was just a large, reclined sofa with tall dividers blocking the view from the sides and behind, with the big screen right in front of them. Karuizawa suddenly felt that the couple's seat wasn't all that special after all.

As her mind wandered, the movie began. The story was a workplace romance centered around a perfume company, featuring a male lead with a keen sense of smell and a female lead who had a strong body odor.

The general plot was that the female lead had always had a strong body odor, which led to her being ostracized and ridiculed since childhood. She tried to cover it up with perfume, but the male lead's sharp sense of smell detected it anyway.

Contrary to the norm, the male lead found this scent incredibly appealing and began to pursue the female lead. One particularly absurd yet exciting scene involved the male lead tracking down the female lead, who was being harassed by a drunkard, by following her scent and eventually driving the drunkard away.

Yukio was amazed by the film, marveling at how creative and playful the art from this side of Japan was. He had heard that this movie was originally a TV series before being adapted into a film.

While Yukio was fascinated by the film's playful artistry, Karuizawa watched it with a completely different mindset, as if she were a thief sneaking around.

First, Karuizawa's sapphire blue eyes subtly shifted toward the corners, using her peripheral vision to glance at Yukio. Seeing that Yukio's attention was focused on the movie, she quickly lowered her head and discreetly sniffed herself.

She clenched her right hand into a fist and made a small, encouraging gesture to herself. 'Good! No sweat smell!'

Sometimes, the difference in how men and women think can lead to completely different reactions, even when watching the same movie.

However, the sound of Karuizawa lowering her head and taking deep sniffs didn't go unnoticed by Yukio, despite the loud movie playing. He became curious about what she was sniffing.

Wondering what she was smelling, Yukio tilted his head slightly toward Karuizawa and caught a faint whiff of a delicate lavender scent.

It was like the last trace of fragrance left by a flower just before it was blown away by the wind—a subtle yet lingering scent that graced the air even after the flower was gone.

"Did you wear perfume today, Kei?" Yukio asked instinctively. He personally liked this kind of light, fresh, and refined fragrance, much more than those overpowering perfumes that could almost knock someone out.

"Huh? Ah!" Karuizawa, on the other hand, was not as relaxed. Watching the movie had made her worried that she might have a sweat smell, so she was already feeling anxious. Now, hearing Yukio's question, she glanced at him and noticed how close he was.

If there was any smell, he would definitely notice it, right? Did she really not sweat earlier? Feeling a bit nervous, Karuizawa quickly denied it, "No, no! You're probably just smelling the scent of my body wash or shampoo."

For this rare date with Yukio, Karuizawa had meticulously prepared. She had set multiple alarms and forced herself to get up before dawn to shower and blow-dry her hair, which took over half an hour.

She also applied a bit of light makeup and took care of her skin, but she didn't use any perfume. After all, perfume was expensive, and although Karuizawa had a little "secret fund" from Yukio, it would be hard to explain her use of perfume to her friends.

Her friends and the rest of Class D lived quite frugally. Makeup might go unnoticed, but perfume would be too obvious and hard to explain away.

Yukio somewhat believed her; it was probably just the scent of her body wash. However, Karuizawa's flustered reaction sparked a bit of playful mischief in Yukio's mind.

He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper, "Really? I find that hard to believe. What kind of shampoo or body wash scent can linger for so long?"

"It's true, it's true," Karuizawa replied, still unaware of Yukio's playful intentions. "It's the one I always use. Didn't you notice it last summer when the water was out?"

"I don't believe you." No matter what Karuizawa said, Yukio wasn't going to believe it. Instead, he leaned in even closer, almost burying his face in her neck, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he murmured, "Unless you let me check."

Feeling the warm breath against her neck, Karuizawa's body stiffened, instinctively tensing up. By now, how could she not understand what was going on?

The darkened theater concealed her blushing face, but her slightly fluttering eyelashes betrayed her inner nervousness. Still, the lack of any resistance on her part also revealed her anticipation. "H-How are you going to check?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Karuizawa felt an intense nervousness, her heart pounding so hard that it felt like it might leap out of her throat at any moment. Her chest echoed with a thunderous beat, chaotic and overwhelming.

Even Karuizawa herself didn't realize that her usually confident tone had softened, becoming almost a whisper, like a tender confession in the rain that could stir someone's soul.

Wait, shouldn't she be more concerned about their surroundings? Even though it was a weekday, there were still some people in the theater watching the movie.

Wouldn't it be terribly embarrassing if someone noticed them? Karuizawa, moving like a stiff, mechanical doll, slowly turned her head to glance around, and her heart quickly settled.

The design of the couple's seating successfully blocked all outside views, ensuring that no one would notice their small, intimate gestures.

Yukio found the whole situation amusing and, without further hesitation, gently tugged down the collar of Karuizawa's blue shirt underneath her school uniform, revealing her pale, delicate neck. "Like this," he said with a smile.

As for the rest of the movie, Karuizawa had no memory of it at all. She only vaguely remembered that the ending was happy, with the main characters finding happiness together—a reflection, perhaps, of the beautiful hopes she held in her heart.

And in her heart, she kept apologizing to the couple's seat. She now recognized her mistake; at first, she thought there was nothing special about it. But now, she had to admit that this couple's seat was truly something special!

After coming out of the restroom, Karuizawa, her face flushed, leaned against Yukio, her left hand occasionally rising to cover her neck. "How... how did it end up being so obvious? If someone sees it, they'll definitely get suspicious."

Yukio tugged up the collar of his shirt, "That's why I carefully adjusted the position. With the collar covering it, it's usually not visible."

"You're right." With that reassurance, Karuizawa's anxiety slowly faded. She also kept her eyes fixed on the area below Yukio's shirt collar, laughing smugly, as if her own 'achievement' was hidden there as well.

Seeing this, Yukio took her hand again. "I still need to go to the eel farm this afternoon. But for now, let's go have lunch."