New Semester

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A gentle breeze blows as the cherry blossoms rain down in spring, the sun is high in the sky with the clouds lazily playing hide and seek with it, and the cool spring day signals the beginning of another school year.

A new year, new experiences, new friends, a new adventure, and most importantly, the sprout of new romantic relationships. What is waiting for the students of J.S. University on the other side of those gates?

The students at J.S. University are starting a new semester this spring, and among them is a certain pink-haired student wearing a blue sweater who is determined to make this his best year going forward. Haruno Aoi is a second-year communication major, but because of his feminine features and his shy nature, he shies away from anything that would make him the center of attention.

But this year, he is determined to overcome his shy nature and put himself on the spot to build his confidence and come out of his shell, because one day he might really have to take over his father’s Idol agent company.

Aoi comes from a well-known and rich family that manages the top artists in Country X, and because of that, he became a target for bullies at school because of his father’s money and other benefits that came with being the only son of a multimillionaire. This contributed to making Aoi close off to people that weren't his family and his best friend Yukino, who once saved him from bullies back in middle school.

Aoi would much rather have his sister take over the company, but he also doesn't want to let his mother and father down, so this year he must do his best to be more confident and stand out a little more.

"Aoi, don't forget to call Mom when you're settled in; you know how she worries about you,” Maki said, stopping the car in front of Aoi’s new dorm.

Aoi held onto his seatbelt tightly, looking down at his legs, unsure of his decision to stand out while at the same time not hearing his sister.

“If you keep acting like this, I might just have to act like a guy and move into your dorm with you,” Maki said, placing her hand on her little brother’s head. Aoi’s face turned red in embarrassment, shaking his head.

“You don't have to do that, Maki; I’ll be fine. I’ve made up my mind.” Aoi said it with a determined look on his face.

“Now, that's the spirit. This is your new dorm number; we couldn't get you a room to yourself, but if you ever have any problems with your roommate, you can just talk to the dorm master, alright?” Maki explained, and Aoi nodded vigorously with a simple but sweet smile.

Maki smiled, and the two came down from the car to offload Aoi’s bags. After a few minutes, Maki got back into the car, waved goodbye to her brother, and headed off to work. Aoi turned around and faced the building, with a scared but serious look on his face. He took a deep breath and walked in with an ironclad resolve.

At the same time, seated on the window frame with a basketball in his hand, was another handsome young man. Kazumi Kosuke. The stone expression that he used to hide how he really felt softened as he looked at the school’s sports complex from his room.

Kosuke was an incredible athlete who got into a terrible accident playing basketball in junior high, but even after graduating, he has always been afraid to play again, wondering if he would ever be as good as he used to be. That made him take the decision to take three gap years before finally enrolling in college.

But this year was going to be different for him too; he had already signed up to join the school’s national team, and he really didn't want to end up as a wannabe coach. His family was a normal family that was able to provide for him and his two younger siblings, but Kosuke has always wanted to pay his family back for taking care of him, and what better way than to focus on his talent and studies to make it big?

In his last game in middle school, due to a misstep, he tore several main muscles and dislocated his ankle, making him miss out on opportunities to be scouted by legendary high schools.

In the meantime, while he was recovering, he worked together with his former friend and ex as a model for his collection and got a little famous doing that while in high school, but after their fallout, Kosuke walked away to pursue his real dream.

His sophomore year was going to be his debut year; he would make the school’s national team as a regular. But Kosuke has a secret.

Three years ago, on his way to a shoot, he barely made it on the train, and when he did, he was exhausted and dehydrated. Trying to catch his breath, someone handed him a bottle of water.

He looked up and locked eyes with the cutest boy he had ever seen. Stunned, he bowed slightly, receiving the water. The boy crouched in front of him with a smile while watching him. Kosuke looked away as he felt his heart skip a beat as the boy smiled at him.

Shy, he looked away; he was already with someone else. Why did this young boy make his heart skip a beat? But before he could get his answer, the train came to a stop and the pink-haired boy ran off the train in a hurry but he said something… After that, he has never seen the boy since then.

Aoi pulled on his bag into the building already filled with shirtless guys running and playing across the hall. Due to his small frame, he was pushed and shoved around the hall before even getting to the dorm master’s office.

He knocked on the door before opening it. The dorm master stood by the window, taking a smoke break. He turned around after hearing his door. His dark hair hung lazily in front of his glasses, with his sleeves rolled up as he sized the young boy who walked in.

“Haruno Aoi, second year; a pleasure to meet you.” The boy took a 90-degree bow in front of the slender man.

The man looked at Aoi before responding, “Matsume Megumi, Dorm Master. It's a pleasure to meet you. Have a seat.” The man responded by putting out his cigarette.

Megumi clicked away at the system pulling up student files and records. He opened up Aoi’s file and raised a brow at his assigned roommate. He looked up at the fragile boy in front of him before letting out a heavy sigh.

He placed a set of keys in front of him: “Room 301. Your roommate is already trying to get along.” Megumi said, trying not to show how worried he was about Aoi being paired with a slightly older roommate.

Aoi’s eyes lit up like two stares lost in the sky. Megumi was taken aback for a moment before shaking himself out of the young boy’s hypnotic trance and saying, “I’ll do my best.” He said this before exiting the office.

Megumi sat quietly for a while before he stood up, brought out another cigarette to light, and, with a puff of ash smoke, he smiled subtlety, “This is going to be another interesting year.”

Meanwhile, with Kosuke still lost in thoughts, the keys to the door jiggled and someone opened the door gently, walking in without any form of hesitancy or excitement, Kosuke simply said,

“I’ve taken the room on the right; feel free to take the other room or whatever.”

Aoi felt confused but dragged his stuff into his room and made himself at home, peaking at the boy by the window Aoi thought to himself,

“He’s really handsome; he must have a lot of girlfriends and be pretty confident; maybe I should go introduce myself; besides, we’ll be living together for the next year after all.”

Aoi picked out the red bean dish his mother gave him to offer his roommate and his neighbors. Despite Kosuke’s intimidating look, Aoi was determined to make his first friend other than Yukino.

He opened his door and stepped out. He slowly walked over to where Kosuke was seated by the window and couldn't help but admire him the more he looked at him. When Kosuke noticed he was being watched, he looked over to the person standing in front of him.

His reaction was priceless; his eyes were wide and a light blush spread across his face, Aoi too looked away when he realized he was staring, He held tightly to the tray and nodded and with the biggest smile he could muster, he said,

“Haruno Aoi, I’ll be your roommate for a while; let's work together and be friends, right?”

The only response was the sound of the basketball falling out of Kosuke’s hands.

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