What will happen when the principal's granddaughter has to disguise herself as a boy in an elite all-boys school and face a triple threat from three boys who quickly see through her mask?
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Aoki is a bit of a mystery.
He's charming and fun, but his warm exterior masks a dark, troubled soul, one that Hana has known all too well in the last ten years they've been friends.
He sauntered into her life like he saunters into everything-confident, goofy, and disarming. Ever since she met Ni-ki, Aoki became a constant presence, and no matter how much she tried, she couldn't seem to shake him off.
With his troubled family and soul, her family became his refuge from the storms within and without.
Hana has seen how effortlessly he brushes off boys who come onto her, embarrassing them in front of everyone like yesterday's refuse.
She's helped him through depression and suicidal thoughts.
Since she turned thirteen, she's been his crutch, keeping him alive. Hana has ignored how he pushes himself back into his own depression with self-pity, self-harm, and self-destructive tendencies.
Maybe she liked it. Maybe she liked being needed by someone so deeply.
Then she left.
He still calls sometimes, but Hana has managed to keep him at arm's length since attending Soumu High. Until now.
Now, he's sitting at the dining room table in her Grandpa's house behind the school. He's laughing and joking with him like they're family.
The weight that lifted while she was at Soumu has returned to crush her.
"Don't hog the gravy, Hana," Grandpa prods, snapping her out of her thoughts. She passes the gravy bowl to him with a mumbled apology.
"Sorry, Grandpa."
"Doesn't this feel like old times?" Aoki exclaims, his smile crinkling the edge of his eyes.
"It really does! I'm so glad you could visit," Grandpa responds, grinning at the two of them sitting side by side.
He's been trying to play matchmaker between Aoki and Hana for years, thankfully without success. Aoki just laughs and smiles, popping a spring roll into his mouth.
At least he doesn't know about Hana's disguise at Bighit Academy. That's a small relief.
"So what's next for you, Aoki?" Grandpa, always the planner, asks.
"Now, Mr. Bang, you know I don't want to go back to Japan," Aoki teases, the familiarity of it echoing from the past. "But I do have an announcement. Next semester, I'm transferring here."
Hana's heart skips a beat, and she freezes halfway through a bite of roast beef. Part of her is angry that he'll be so close, but another part likes the idea of being his stabilizer again, his best friend.
This conflict is why she's never truly been able to erase him from her life.
Grandpa chimes in again, hopeful as ever, "You'll be so close to Hana again."
