Chapter 2
Staff room
Elyna clutched the high school track suit against her chest, watching the staff room warily. Being the first foreign teaching assistant came with its downsides; adjusting classes to take advantage of her presence was a little bumpy.
But Elyna knew how to read between the lines; the old teacher simply found her presence as useless as it was distasteful.
Hence the adjustment—a scramble to retreat to safer ground.
The sting of not being wanted came with unexpected relief.
PE class would be much livelier, not to mention Sano Kazuki’s teaching style allowed more breathing room.
The man simply was a delight to assist.
But for now, more practical concerns arose. The bell would soon ring, and Elyna had yet to find the right place to change. Around her, people worked silently beside steaming cups of coffee.
Elyna spotted Shintarō Fujimoto near the window; the physics teacher reviewed a textbook filled with dreadful equations, his square glasses catching the light.
The sturdy man had welcomed her warmly; he would probably help her. Elyna approached silently. “Fujimoto-sensei, could you tell me where to change?”
He didn’t even lift his gaze from the complicated equations, square glasses perched neatly on his nose. “Mmmm, Sano-san changes here.”
Her pulse quickened. “Here?”
No response, he was already lost in whatever dimensions he usually taught.
Elyna swallowed and circled her own desk.
Around her, male teachers worked—Takahashi marking papers with meticulous red strokes—and one other woman, whose name she failed to remember, buried in a massive volume. No one was paying attention to her.
There probably was a privacy rule about averting eyes she wasn’t aware of.
All right, when in Rome… Just be quick.
Elyna draped the regulation track suit on her chair and reached for the button of her slacks. After a moment of hesitation, she unfastened them and slid the fabric down her hips. She shivered, from both the cold and the exposure. Somewhere in the back of the room, someone drew a sharp breath.
Thank God I’m not wearing lace today.
The soft click of the door was her only warning before a violent spray of liquid erupted at her feet. A choked sound followed, drowned into a cough that sounded like a yelp of horror. Then the door clanged shut. Elyna spun around, heart slamming against her ribs.
Sano stood, wide-eyed, his hand still around the handle.
In the other, a half-empty ceramic mug of tea.
The same tea that had splattered on the ground and, unfortunately, across his shirt too.
His gaze took her in, redness marring his cheekbones before he averted his eyes and wiped at the last remnants of liquid dribbling down his chin.
“What are you doing?” he hissed.
Elyna shivered anew, mortified, and dove for the track pants to hide her bare legs. “I… Fujimoto-sensei said to change in the staff room!”
“Not like this!” Sano’s voice cracked as he set down the ruined tea.
Three desks ahead, Fujimoto finally seemed to emerge from his book. He blinked once, twice, then dipped his head. His shoulders were shaking from the effort of keeping his laughter in. To no avail; one moment later, a boisterous bark rose in the staff room.
Elyna’s face flared, embarrassment flooding her senses until only humiliation remained. She bit back tears, shivering in the cold air of the staff room. By now, all eyes were on her.
“You…” Fujimoto gasped. “I don’t…”
“Shin,” Sano’s voice dropped to a rumble, still facing the wall. No honorific. The dangerous lilt in his tone seemed to sober the physics teacher. Elyna blinked, frozen in place; she wanted the floor to crack open and swallow her whole.
Sano took a slow, deliberate breath. When he spoke again, his voice had returned to the pleasant, warm tone she now associated with him. “Elyna-san. Do you have your track suit?”
“Y-yes,” she squeaked.
“Put the track bottoms on first.” Each word emerged with exaggerated patience. “Over your trousers. Then remove your trousers underneath. Then change your top. Do you understand?”
Oh, this is why they ask for a base layer under the blouse! But the trousers… how the heck am I supposed to do that?
Elyna stared at his rigid back, then her discarded trousers. Sano steadfastly refused to turn, as if she wasn’t completely exposed to everyone in her knickers. Taking a peek around, she only found averted eyes.
A rush of warmth flooded her at this mark of consideration; they might probably laugh it out behind her back later. But for now, they offered her a modicum of honour while her brain stuttered over the logistics; pulling trousers on over trousers. Nothing connected.
“I… I don’t understand.” Her mortified plea gained her a long-suffering exhale. The sound of a man whose day had gone catastrophically sideways. “Of course you don’t,” he mumbled. Elyna had the sense to step into her tracksuit trousers. Her chest heaved with relief at being covered again.
In front of her, Sano took out his own tracksuit from his desk, his back still firmly turned. Then, he demonstrated the process with swift efficiency.
“Step into the track suit. Pull it up over your current trousers.” He reached into the waistband to unfasten his slacks. “Then you slide them down.” His movements were sharp, born of habit. In no time, he’d pulled his work trousers from one of the wide tracksuit legs.
Sano finally turned around to give her a wary look. “The track suit stays on the entire time. You are never…” He paused, looking for the right word.
Ass-naked in the staff room? Flashing your knickers?
"...exposed.”
The last word carried such profound discomfort that she winced. “Oh,” Elyna breathed. “Oh, that’s… that’s very clever.”
And only possible because their track pants are so wide.
“It’s basic modesty, Elyna-san,” he responded curtly. “Now please. Change.”
A sudden bout of anger rose in her gut as she removed her blouse and pulled on the tracksuit top over her undershirt. She drew the zipper up, grumbling. “I don’t understand why everyone bathes naked in onsen and this…”
She knew she sounded like a petulant child, but the humiliation burnt in her gut.
“That’s different,” Sano cut her off. “Context matters.”
Across the room, Fujimoto purposefully avoided her gaze. Sheepish. As Sano discarded his tea-stained shirt, Elyna sighed. “I’m really, truly sorry.” Her voice came out smaller than she intended, throat tight with embarrassment.
Sorry for the shirt. Sorry for the show. Sorry for making things awkward and getting pissed.
His gaze lifted to hers, guarded, and she had a hard time holding it. Especially since he stood in his undershirt, shoulders and arms on full display. He seemed to find what he was looking for in her expression, for he retreated to his desk.
Mesmerised, Elyna watched him pull on his tracksuit top. His eyebrow lifted slightly then, a silent question that needed no words: Are you going to watch me change now?
Heat flooded her face anew. “Right. Sorry. I’m going.”
She fled from the room and made her way to the shoe locker, hoping the students she crossed paths with wouldn’t remark on her red cheeks. Yet, she caught a few ‘hello sensei’ that she rewarded with a nod.
Elyna retrieved her sneakers and sunk on a bench, heart still hammering in shame. When the bell rang, the last stragglers filed away from the room, leaving her stranded in a sea of confusion. Shame slowly gave way to an underlying consideration. An out of place, pretty inappropriate one.
To see Sano without the armour of formal clothing…
Stop it. Stop it right now.
This was absolutely not the time to find her supervisor attractive. Or any time, really. Ever. Japan didn’t mess with hierarchy, and she wasn’t about to. Her position was precarious enough.
When a pair of shoes appeared beside her feet, Elyna willed the blush away and looked up to find Sano standing there.
“Ready?” The kindness had returned to his voice, a spark of humour flickering in his warm gaze. Loose strands brushed his high cheekbones, playing hide-and-seek with his sharp eyebrows.
Elyna gave him the best smile she could muster. They walked towards the gymnasium together, the silence awkward as they crossed the covered paths.
His steps were steady and measured, hers slightly too quick from nerves. She wondered if the careful distance he kept was because he feared she might spontaneously combust or, worse, undress again without warning.
Eventually, Elyna exploded. “Sano-sensei, I’m truly…”
“It’s alright.” The sharp edges had softened. He glanced at her briefly, and she caught a faint dusting of pink colouring his cheekbones. “I was just… surprised. And a little embarrassed, too.”
The admission floored her more than the tea spray had; a man, admitting feelings?
He kept his gaze ahead, sunlight filtering through treetops and making his dark hair shimmer.
His stresses were ramrod straight, not as black as Katayū’s, but smooth enough to catch the light and reveal those strange rusty hues.
“We never needed a changing room until now, to be honest. You’re the first female PE assistant we have.”
He let his words trail. It didn’t feel like an excuse, but Elyna was grateful for the explanation. “I could change with the girls in the Gymnasium, perhaps?” she suggested.
Sano gave her a considering look, long legs eating away the distance.
“That… would be a good temporary solution, yes.” When they emerged in the sun, he marked a pregnant pause.
Elyna stopped in her tracks, eyebrows rising at the uneasy expression on his face.
“By the way, Fujimoto-san didn’t mean to prank you. ”
Irritation washed over her; she bit it back. In retrospect, she could understand how, exactly, the situation had become so catastrophic. Two people assuming the other knew unspoken rules.
“I understand. He was distracted and… well. I just wished he had not laughed so loud.”
Sano’s posture softened as he allowed a small smile to bloom. “That’s Shin… Fujimoto-san for you.”
Elyna felt the knot in her chest loosen. They were both just stumbling through this cultural minefield together after all.
They resumed their trek in companionable silence, the earlier tension dissolving. When he spoke again, his tone was more practical. “While we’re touching on cultural subjects, do you remember the student that asked you if you weren’t cold the other day?”
Elyna frowned, searching her memory through the fog of embarrassment still clinging to her thoughts. “Ah, yes?”
“He meant that your hair was wet.”
She blinked. “OK. What of it?”
“It’s… not done.” The hesitation told her he wasn’t entirely comfortable. “It means you didn’t bother drying it for the others.”
Frustration flared in her chest at the absurdity of such interpretation. “That’s preposterous! It’s none of anyone’s business whether…”
Sano lifted his hands, cutting her off gently. “I know, I know. I don’t quite adhere to that one either.”
She stared at him, all wind taken out of her sails. A heavy sigh escaped her at having trampled another unspoken rule. “Fine. I’ll ask my mother if she has a hairdryer.”
Surprise flickered across his face. “You don’t?”
Elyna shook her head, oscillating between amusement and ire. As if a hair dryer was indispensable to a girl’s household. “No. It damages my hair because it’s very thin.” She touched the ends self-consciously, the strands slipping between her fingers.
For a moment, she felt the weight of his attention like a physical touch. Then he looked away sharply. Was he still sore about her earlier fumble?
They reached the gymnasium, finding class 3-C already assembled. Senda Haruki stood at the front, posture military straight. Behind him, Onishi Shūji leant against the wall with studied casualness, dark hair tousled as his catlike gaze zeroed in on Elyna.
Sano moved to the front with controlled grace; the morning’s chaos seemed to slide off him as he addressed the class.
Voice steady, he outlined the program for the volleyball session, his tone carrying easily across the gymnasium.
Unfazed, he handled every preposterous suggestion from Shūji with warm detachment, not rising to the bait.
Needless to say, Elyna was impressed. Was that the reason why Katayū chose him to be Shūji’s homeroom teacher?
The man is unflappable. Except when finding his teaching assistant half-naked in the staff room.
Elyna: had a nice case of turning myself into a fool this morning
Aksel: oh? Did you sneeze on someone?
Elyna: worse…