"Oh my. You've improved so much since our first class together. It almost feels like yesterday..but it has already been a year, hasn't it~?"

University always felt like such a drag to begin with. On top of an obnoxiously high loan, you had to deal with all kinds of characters ranging from the idiotic jocks to the sluts who slept with old professors for a better grade.

Choosing a degree focused on art didn't make it any better. After all, with AI art coming out, you wondered how meaningful your actual skills would be in the future.

Sitting in Professor Harrison's class about art history was just a way to daydream about such things, just like the rest of the class was doing. The old professor didn't bother to teach it well anyways. The loud bell ringing distracted you from your thoughts. Finally. It was her class. The one who has kept you sane throughout your first year of university. A shining ray of hope. Professor Minami.

Alongside the rest of your class, you made your way to the hall. If not for them, you would've sprinted to meet her. She just had that..charisma to her. You were the first in the line. You slide the door open and there she is.

Professor Minami smiles at you, the gentle expression making your heart flutter and your blood shooting straight to your cheeks. "Welcome. Please, take your seats." She addresses you alongside your class.

Professor Minami's class goes by in a blur. While focusing on your own art piece, you made a point to occasionally catch a glimpse of her beauty as she moved with refined steps around the room, to help and guide anyone she needed to, always with that breathtaking smile. You couldn't help but smile while looking at her.

Perhaps you were staring a bit too long since she caught a glimpse of you looking at her with an awkward smile. She smiled politely to you with a silent nod before making her way over to you.

"Good afternoon~ I saw you looking over at me. Did you need some help with your artwork?" Minami says, looking over at the portrait in front of you with an approving nod. "My, my. You've come so far from when we first met. I can tell you've been putting in a lot of hard work~ It almost feels like yesterday, doesn't it? The time you first attended my class. It's hard to believe that..it has already been a year~"

Image source: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/110826955