Midsummer sun relentlessly beats down on the residential area. Haruto heads towards the Tojo house, feeling the scorching heat like his neck is being grilled by the sunlight pouring down from directly overhead. On days he has his housekeeping part-time job, he’s scheduled to practice being a couple with Ayaka from the early afternoon. Visiting the Tojo house for the first time since the barbecue, Haruto felt a slight tension as he checked his appearance before pressing the intercom button. “…Haruto-kun?” “Yeah, I’m here.” Haruto replied to Ayaka’s voice coming through the intercom. Immediately, the front door opened, and Ayaka appeared. “I’ve been waiting for you, Haruto-kun.” Seeing her welcome him with a beaming smile, Shizuku’s words from yesterday flashed through Haruto’s mind. “A girl doesn’t say ‘I like you’ to someone she doesn’t feel anything for.” Haruto couldn’t help but feel his face turning red at Ayaka’s smile, which made him want to stare. “Can I come in?” “Yes, of course.” Ayaka opened the door wide and invited Haruto in. “Oh, is it okay if I check the fridge first to think about today’s dinner menu?” Haruto said as he took off his shoes and stepped into the entrance. “Sure.” Together with Ayaka, who readily nodded, Haruto entered the living room. Then, Ikue, who had her laptop open on the living-dining table, called out to Haruto. “Welcome, Ōtsuki-kun.” “Thank you for having me. Thank you for inviting me to the barbecue the other day. It was very delicious and fun.” “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” “Onii-chan! Let’s do fireworks again!!” Ryota, who was watching a superhero show on the living room TV, said with sparkling eyes. Haruto replied to him with a smile.

“Okay, let’s do it again. Oh, Ikue-san. Is it okay if I check inside the fridge for a bit?” “Yes, of course.” Ikue, who was working remotely, looked up from her laptop and gave a smiling nod of approval. Haruto opened the fridge door and checked the ingredients. “Hey, Haruto-kun. What are you planning for dinner today?” “Hmm, oh, there’s pork loin, so how about ginger pork?” As if he heard Haruto’s voice saying that, Ryota came rushing over with a shout of joy. “Ginger pork!! I like ginger pork!!” “Okay. Then I’ll make delicious ginger pork today.” “Yay!!” Ikue was telling the joyfully running Ryota, “Hey, settle down.” “Is ginger pork okay with Ayaka-san and Ikue-san?” Haruto checked with the two of them just in case. In response, Ikue immediately replied, “Of course.” Ayaka, on the other hand, had a slightly strained look on her face. “Was ginger pork not good?” “Huh!? No, it’s not that I dislike it at all…” As she said that, her gaze wandered slightly, and Haruto tilted his head, when Ikue said to Haruto with a smile, “Ōtsuki-kun, ginger pork is perfectly fine for dinner tonight.” “Is that so?” “Yes, right, Ayaka?” “Yeah, it’s fine…” Her daughter gave a somewhat reluctant reply to her mother’s voice asking for agreement. While feeling a slight sense of discomfort, Haruto decided on ginger pork for today’s dinner, thinking it would be fine if they said it was okay. “Okay, Mom. I’ll go study in my room with Haruto-kun now. Let’s go, Haruto-kun.” “Ah, okay. See you in the evening then.” “Okay~. Good luck with your studies,” Ikue said, smiling and waving lightly at the two. Entering Ayaka’s room on the second floor, Haruto asked Ayaka to confirm. “Are you really okay with ginger pork, Ayaka? If you don’t like it, we can make a separate dish just for you.”

“No! It’s fine. I love ginger pork. It’s more like the problem is that I love it so much…” Ayaka waved both hands to refuse Haruto’s suggestion. After trailing off her words, she looked at Haruto with a determined gaze. “Haruto-kun.” “Y-yes.” Called by his name in a suddenly strong voice, Haruto couldn’t help but straighten his back. “The sparkler contest the day before yesterday. I won, right?” “…That’s right.” “Then, you’ll do what I say, right?” “W-within the bounds of common sense…” Haruto replied, feeling overwhelmed by Ayaka, who seemed to be in a fierce mood. Hearing his reply, Ayaka nodded contentedly and took out her smartphone, starting to look something up. Haruto waited nervously, wondering what she would demand, when Ayaka suddenly thrust her smartphone screen towards him and declared, “Haruto-kun, you’re going to do this with me!!” “Huh? …Couple Yoga?” While looking at the smartphone screen presented to him, Haruto slowly read out the words displayed on the screen. “Yes! Couple Yoga! I think this is perfect for practicing being a couple!” “…Is that so?” Haruto, who felt her criteria for being a couple were quite questionable, looked at Ayaka with a dubious gaze, but she started explaining with a very firm look in her eyes. “Couple Yoga is where you work together with someone to do poses you can’t do alone. So, it has better stretching than regular yoga.” “Oh.” “Also, it has various benefits like stress relief, improved sleep, and increased concentration!” Seeing Ayaka’s enthusiastic state, Haruto also became curious about what Couple Yoga was like and took her smartphone. He then scrolled through the screen and read the explanation about Couple Yoga. “I see, it’s easy and recommended even for beginners.” “Yeah, yeah!” “It lasts longer when done by two people than when done alone.”

“That’s right!” “It also has a diet effect.” “That’s right!!” Ayaka reacted particularly strongly to the word “diet” that Haruto uttered. Seeing that, Haruto somewhat guessed the reason why she was so keen on Couple Yoga. Well, she did eat quite a lot at the barbecue… Recalling Ayaka’s hearty eating the other day, he subtly smiled. To Haruto, Ayaka looked thin, and he even thought she might be healthier if she gained a little weight. However, saying that to her would be insensitive. As he thought about such things, Haruto was skimming through a website explaining Couple Yoga when his hand stopped at a photo showing example poses. “…Huh? Are we going to do this?” Haruto muttered unintentionally. What he saw was a pose where a man was underneath, lifting his hands and feet up to form a base, and a woman was on top, stretching her limbs out straight as if flying. Couple Yoga had acrobatic poses that went far beyond Haruto’s imagination. “Oh, I think that’s for advanced practitioners. Let’s start with something like this first.” Ayaka took her smartphone back from Haruto for a moment, looked something up, and then showed him the screen again. “We look like we can do this, right?” “…Yeah, well…” The pose Ayaka was suggesting was one where a man and woman sit cross-legged back-to-back, twist their bodies, place their hands on the other person’s thigh, and stretch their side. Certainly, it looked easy to do and seemed like a good stretch for the waist. However, what bothered Haruto was the sense of distance. Couple Yoga, literally “partner yoga,” is done with lovers, couples, partners, etc., and is performed by two people who completely trust each other. Therefore, all the poses were very close. “Um… you’re not… uncomfortable with this, Ayaka?” “Yeah! This is for di— I mean, for practicing being a couple!” Ayaka slightly slipped up. It was already obvious to Haruto that she was burning with enthusiasm for this Couple Yoga for the sake of dieting. However, Ayaka, burning with the destiny of women, couldn’t possibly notice that and was determined to carry out Couple Yoga, regardless of the closeness.

“First, let’s do some light stretching as preparation,” she said, and laid a yoga mat on the floor of her room. The fact that there was a mat here meant that she had probably tried yoga before and failed to continue. To Haruto, who was thinking that, she told him to sit on the mat. “Okay, Haruto-kun, sit here with your legs stretched out. I’ll push your back.” “Understood.” Haruto obediently sat on the yoga mat and took a forward bending posture, stretching his hands and feet forward. “Okay, I’ll push your back now, alright? Tell me if it hurts.” Saying that, Ayaka gently pushed Haruto’s back. Haruto gradually bent his upper body forward. The bending didn’t stop; the more Ayaka pushed, the more his upper body bent. “Huh? Huh? Isn’t your body too flexible, Haruto-kun?” Seeing that Haruto’s forehead was about to touch his knees, Ayaka let out a voice of surprise. “I’ve been doing stretching at the karate dojo since I was little.” “Oh, I see. Hey, can I push more?” “Yeah, it’s fine.” Ayaka, perhaps enjoying pushing the flexible Haruto, pushed his back with a little more force. “Does it hurt?” “Not at all.” Even while completely folding his body, Haruto replied without showing any sign of discomfort. “Is it okay if I push with all my strength?” “Okay… wait, hey!?” “Wow, that’s amazing! It’s fine even if I put my whole weight on you,” Ayaka said in an excited voice to Haruto, who seemed perfectly fine, as she pressed her body firmly against his back and pushed. Haruto, on the other hand, felt an incredibly soft and appealing sensation transferring from his back where she was pushing, and his mind was in turmoil. Of course, it wasn’t as if Ayaka was deliberately pressing her body against him; she was mainly using her arms to push Haruto’s back, but when she leaned forward to apply her whole weight, whether due to her attractive physique working against her or in Haruto’s favor, it ended up with her body pressing closely against his back. “Um… maybe that’s enough?” Haruto, neatly folded in half with Ayaka partly leaning on him, spoke up, unable to bear it anymore. “Oh, right. Sorry, I got carried away,” Ayaka said as she moved away. Haruto breathed a sigh of relief that the sensation on his back was finally

gone, but he also noticed his own feeling of slight disappointment, leading to a mild self-loathing. “Okay, then let’s switch places. Haruto-kun, will you push my back?” “…Um, can I finish my stretching first?” Haruto said, sitting on the yoga mat with a slightly awkward expression. Haruto, who would have various problems if he stood up now, wished to continue sitting and stretching. “Oh, I see. That’s more efficient,” Ayaka nodded at Haruto’s suggestion. He felt a sense of relief that he didn’t have to stand up for the time being, while also feeling both excitement and a hint of anxiety about the upcoming Couple Yoga. After Haruto finished his series of stretches, Ayaka moved away from his back and said, “Okay, let’s switch now. This time, Haruto-kun will push my back.” Saying that, Ayaka sat on the yoga mat with her legs stretched out. Haruto, who had somehow managed to calm his mind during his own stretching, moved behind Ayaka and gently placed his palms on her back. “Okay, I’ll push now, alright?” “Yeah, go ahead.” After giving a heads-up, Haruto slowly pushed Ayaka’s back. At the same time, a strange sound like “Unyuu~” came from her mouth. “…Are you okay? Does it hurt?” “Hoooh~… I-it’s fine.” A rather cute groan escaped from Ayaka, who was desperately reaching her arms towards her toes. Hearing that, Haruto desperately tried to hold back his laughter. “Then, I’ll push a little harder?” “Ugh, please do…” Haruto pushed her back slightly stronger than before. “Okay, hold it here for ten seconds.” “Gunyuu…” “One, two, three…” “Haruto-kun… aren’t you counting slowly?” “Four, that’s not true, is it? It’s normal, you know? Okay, fi-ve, si-x…” While Haruto was counting, Ayaka was enduring with a slight struggle, groaning “Fununu…” “Nine, ten, okay, that’s it.” “Phew! That stretched really well~.” “Okay, now let’s open your legs and lean your body to the right.”

“…Are you actually quite a drill sergeant, Haruto-kun?” Ayaka said with half-closed eyes, looking back at Haruto behind her. Haruto replied to her with a cheerful smile. “That’s not true, you know? I’m the type who encourages and helps you grow.” “Hmm.” To Haruto, who denied it, she showed a slightly displeased expression. “Okay, face forward. I’m going to lean your body to the right.” “Ugyu~…” Pushed on the back by Haruto, Ayaka let out another cute groan. It wasn’t that her body was particularly stiff, but compared to Haruto, who had been stretching since childhood, the angle of her bend was completely different. “One, two, three…” Haruto counted while pushing Ayaka’s back. When she was pushing his back, he had felt flustered by the soft sensation he occasionally felt, so although it wasn’t exactly retaliation, he slowed down his counting just a little. After opening her legs and bending her upper body to the right, left, and forward, Ayaka then sat with the soles of her feet together and had Haruto press down on her knees. “If your teaching policy is to praise and help grow, I’d like you to praise me more while you push,” Ayaka said, slightly pouting at Haruto, who had been relentlessly pushing her back. “…Ayaka, your body is so flexible~. Okay, I’ll count slowly, alright? One, two.” “I feel like you’re making fun of me…” “I’ll push your knees a little more, okay? I’m sure you can do it, Ayaka. Okay, fi-ve, si-x.” “Unununu…” “Nine, ten, okay, finished. You did great.” To Haruto, who lightly patted her shoulder at the end and gave words of praise, Ayaka pouted her lips in dissatisfaction, saying, “I still feel like you’re making fun of me…” Seeing her reaction, Haruto smiled amusingly. “Your reactions when I was pushing your back were funny, so I couldn’t help it.” “Ah, so you were making fun of me after all!” To Ayaka, who puffed up her cheeks cutely, Haruto gave a wry smile, saying, “Sorry, sorry.” Despite complaining, “Geez!”, at his apology, Ayaka seemed to be enjoying herself, as a slight smile played on her lips.

“Okay, we’re done with the warm-up, so next is the main part, Couple Yoga.” “Understood, um… which pose should we start with?” “First, let’s do this one where we sit and twist our bodies?” Ayaka suggested while showing Haruto the smartphone screen. “Okay, first we sit cross-legged back-to-back.” Haruto leaned in to look at her smartphone screen and check the pose. When he sat cross-legged on the yoga mat, Ayaka also sat cross-legged, aligning her back with his. “With this, we twist our waists and place our hands on Haruto-kun’s knees, right?” “That’s right. I’ll also place my hands on Ayaka’s knees.” They both twisted their bodies at the same time and placed their hands on each other’s knees. “How is it? Is this right?” “Probably. But it feels kind of good, like my waist and back are stretching.” They maintained the posture of sitting cross-legged back-to-back and twisting their bodies. Ayaka’s back was pressed tightly against Haruto’s back, transmitting a soft warmth and her breathing. Feeling that, Haruto’s heart naturally pounded, and his face turned red. “Next is the other side.” “Understood.” At Ayaka’s words, they switched the direction they twisted their bodies. While doing yoga with Ayaka, Haruto’s mind was filled with thoughts about her feelings, wondering what she thought of him. “Phew, okay, let’s do this pose next?” Ayaka showed Haruto her smartphone screen again. It said “Tree Pose” and showed an image of a male and female pair standing on one leg side by side, raising their hands to form a pose like a single tree. “…It’s quite close, isn’t it?” “It’s Couple Yoga, you know. You don’t like it, Haruto-kun?” Ayaka asked, tilting her head slightly. Seeing her expression, Haruto felt she was being unfair. There was no way he could refuse when she said something like that with such a face. “Um, do I stand like this?” While looking at Ayaka’s smartphone screen, Haruto took the Tree Pose. Seeing that, she showed a happy expression. Then, she moved next to Haruto and took the same pose. “Couple Yoga is quite fun,” Ayaka said with a beaming smile right next to him, her profile visible.

Haruto watched her out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge what was in her heart. What does Ayaka think of me…? Ayaka, who was so close that there was no personal space at all, yet smiled happily without showing any sign of discomfort. The practice of being a couple, which Ayaka had suggested so that she could act as a perfect girlfriend in front of his grandmother. Did she really propose this just to improve the quality of the fake girlfriend role? As Haruto thought about such things, Shizuku’s words came back to his mind, along with her dramatic sigh. “Practicing being a couple? That’s Tojo-senpai trying her best to get Haru-senpai to notice her.” If Shizuku’s words were true… “Haruto-kun, let’s try this heart pose next,” Ayaka said, looking cheerful and smiling. Seeing her smile, Haruto thought. Maybe I am dense, slow, and a blockhead, just as Shizuku said. But what if my idea is just a misunderstanding…? If I interpreted Ayaka’s feelings on my own and confessed only to be rejected, this housekeeping part-time job would turn into hell from now on. Ayaka, who knew nothing of Haruto’s conflict, gave him a captivating smile that troubled him. “Haruto-kun, put your left foot forward. I’ll put my right foot forward.” “Like this?” “Yeah. Then, put your feet together and hold hands.” Saying that, Ayaka reached out her hand towards Haruto. Haruto took her hand. “With this, we pull each other to make a heart shape.” At her words, Haruto pulled Ayaka’s hand gently. “Haha, we should take a picture of this pose.” “But it might be a little embarrassing to be seen doing this by others.” If the boys at school saw him so close to Ayaka, the school idol, happily doing Couple Yoga like this, Haruto would surely get beaten up. “Haruto-kun, next is the boat pose.” “Isn’t this pretty difficult if you’re not flexible? Are you sure, Ayaka?” “Ah, you just made fun of me, didn’t you? It’s fine, I can do it!” To Ayaka, who puffed up her cheeks cutely, Haruto naturally smiled, and they continued to diligently work on Couple Yoga afterwards. After finishing a series of Couple Yoga poses, Ayaka and Haruto spread open their reference books on the desk and applied themselves to studying. Since they had declared to Ikue and Shuichi that they would be studying, they couldn’t keep practicing being a couple forever. They had to study properly to some extent and get good grades on the tests after the summer break, or Ikue and the others would ask, “What exactly were you doing?” Ayaka said with a serious expression while writing in her notebook, “Maybe it’s the effect of Couple Yoga? I feel like I can concentrate really

well.” “My circulation seems to have improved, and my body feels loosened up,” Haruto said, stopping his studying for a moment to pick up his smartphone and look up the benefits of Couple Yoga. “Yoga also has the effect of meditation, so it’s great for improving concentration.” “It also improves sleep, and it helps with dieting too! It was quite fun doing it, and Couple Yoga has so many benefits!” Haruto, who returned a smile to Ayaka speaking with a beaming face, happened to read a cautionary note about the effects of Couple Yoga. “…Hey, it says here that you need to continue this for three or four months for the diet effect to show?” Hearing those words, Ayaka’s pen stopped dead. She slowly raised her face and deliberately gave a thumbs-up. “Perseverance is power, Haruto-kun.” “…Indeed,” Haruto resumed studying with a wry smile. He’ll probably be invited to ‘do Couple Yoga?’ quite often from now on, he thought. As he considered this, Haruto thought that maybe that wasn’t so bad after all.