Under Watchful Eyes
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
The sound of the classroom clock echoed loudly.
The Monday after midterms.
Today had an unusual amount of self-study time. With the new shackles of the intensive crackdown period in place, it seemed like the teachers were trying to give the exhausted students a break.
‘Just teach us instead…’
Glance…
I quietly shifted my gaze from my desk and looked around. Eyes met mine. Not just one pair—countless girls from other classes were staring.
‘This fucking…’
ㄴ[They’re all glancing over creepily lololol]
[Hikikomori: What the hell?? Why’s he like that??]
ㄴ[NightRat: That’s what happens during crackdown period]
ㄴ[NightRat: Girls keep sticking to him trying to make him break the rules somehow]
ㄴ[Hikikomori: I never did that though???]
ㄴ[NightRat: ???]
ㄴ[LunchboxCollector: What are you talking about??? Everyone did that]
ㄴ[RedNightSky: I didn’t either so why is it only me and that bastard who doesn’t know??]
ㄴ[Ares: What the hell is this about]
‘Did every Gallery member experience something different back then…? Some of them say it never happened to them…?’
For a moment, I felt wronged. Why did it feel like my events were always way more hardcore than everyone else’s? Sure, the others had their own ridiculous events too, but mine seemed to happen way too often.
This intensive crackdown period was no exception.
‘Why are they all staring like that…’
The girls kept glancing over. After class, during every break, girls from other classes would come over, chat with other students, and sneak glances at me. If this were a normal rom-com academy, I might’ve been thrilled about my prime time in life. But statistically, 99% of these girls were probably monsters. Having them look at me like I was prey wasn’t exciting in the slightest.
And they weren’t just looking.
“Hey, Ares. How do you usually study?”
“Yeah, it’s amazing.”
“I never thought you’d actually get first place in the whole school.”
“……”
During every break, the girls swarmed my desk.
‘What the hell is this…’
They clustered around me like delinquent girls picking on a loser, casually pressing close with strange, seductive looks in their eyes.
“Wow… Ares, your hands are huge. Can I touch them…?”
A cute girl with pigtails crouched beside my desk and started playing with my hand. And right then—
Slide…
‘This fucking—!!’
Teacher Bell poked her head through the front door, wearing a chilling smile with her doll-like eyes wide open.
ㄴ[StudentCouncilTerrorist: She’s crawling out from the floor lololol]
[Hikikomori: More importantly, what’s with all the girls around him???]
ㄴ[Hikikomori: Why are they all clinging to you and squealing??]
ㄴ[Ares: I don’t know either, damn it]
ㄴ[Hikikomori: This is seriously fucked up]
ㄴ[RedNightSky: I was thinking for a second that it wouldn’t be so bad if this bastard died]
ㄴ[Ares: You guys are way too harsh;;;]
ㄴ[LunchboxCollector: Ah lol look at this loser who’s never experienced the popular guy event before]
ㄴ[Ares: Don’t fan the flames, you bastard]
Slide, slide…
Teacher Bell rose from the front door and slowly approached me. She’d done the exact same thing earlier—right after Lana clung to me and Ellie dropped something. She appeared out of nowhere and started watching me like she was ready to deduct points at any moment.
My heart sank. I quickly turned to the girls around me.
“H-Hey, guys…! I, I really need to go to the bathroom, so… could you all head back now?”
But the girls just laughed.
“Huh? Then let’s go together!”
“Yeah, I was thinking of going too.”
“What…?”
Why the hell would we go to the bathroom together, you crazy bitches…
“N-No, it’s a big one…! It’s embarrassing…!!”
“Aww~, it’s fine. We’ll wait outside for you♡”
“Why would you wait for that!!”
“Kyaa! Even when he swears, he’s so tough…!”
These girls had lost their minds. I pushed my chair back in panic. The girls only moved closer. The strange scent I gave off was probably dulling their senses.
And then—
Tap, tap, tap.
“Eek!”
“Ares…”
Teacher Bell approached. Just as she raised her pen to say something—
Grab!
“Uwaaah!”
“Aaaah! Ares! Where are you going!”
Someone grabbed me and started dragging me away. Even as I was pulled along, I kept my eyes on Teacher Bell’s pen. Thankfully, I escaped before she could deduct any points.
“Ellie…?”
“L-Let’s go this way?”
The one who’d grabbed my hand and pulled me out was Ellie. She looked annoyed as she dragged me down the hallway.
…Did she help because she knew I was about to lose points? Or was she just unhappy seeing me surrounded by girls? Either way, I’d avoided losing points thanks to her.
“……”
“……”
Thud thud thud thud!
Maybe it was because I finally felt safe. As we ran—
Bounce bounce bounce.
‘…They’re really bouncing.’
I glanced at Ellie’s profile while we ran. We’d run together a few nights ago too, but it had been dark and urgent back then. Now I could clearly see how much her chest was—
“Ares, 5 points deducted for leering.”
“Uwaaaaaah!!”
“Kyaaaaah!!”
Teacher Bell’s voice came from right beside me. When I turned, she was crawling across the ceiling like a spider, scoring me. She landed in front of the fallen Ellie and me.
Tap.
Teacher Bell calmly walked over and scribbled something down.
“Both of you were running in the hallway. 1 point deducted.”
Scribble, scribble.
Then she smiled with that doll-like face and walked away.
“S-Sorry, Ares…! I didn’t mean to—”
“No, it’s fine… It’s fine…”
It wasn’t fine.
‘How many points have I lost now…?’
If I went below negative 50… it was a dead end. I started the day with 10 points. Lost 6 more just now. Total: 16. 34 points left.
“Ares…”
At Ellie’s call, I looked at her. My eyes naturally drifted down to the massive valley below her neck. And then—
Tap tap tap tap tap.
“Hiiiiik!! I-I wasn’t looking!! I wasn’t looking!!”
“……”
Teacher Bell had already returned, smiling down at me with that doll-like expression. I frantically waved my hands in denial. She silently turned and left again.
“Ares…?”
“Sorry, Ellie!!”
“H-Hey, where are you—!”
Thud thud thud thud!
I turned away from Ellie and sprinted down the hallway. I had to run. Staying near Ellie was too dangerous. Leering alone cost 5 points. If I stayed with her, I’d hit negative 50 in a single day.
“Ares…!”
Ellie’s voice called after me. She sounded hurt. I’d explain everything and apologize properly later. But if I wanted to survive, I had no choice. This week, nothing was more dangerous to me than Ellie.
And then—
Bump!
“Ack! S-Sorry…!”
“Ares, 1 point deducted for running in the hallway.”
“Uwaaaaaah!!”
Teacher Bell had appeared right in front of me again. She deducted the point and walked past me down the hallway.
“……”
33 points left.
“Fuck…”
This is seriously dangerous…?
Should I just skip school…?
ㄴ[Ares: Damn it]
[NightRat: What the hell did you do to lose that many points in the morning;;;]
ㄴ[Ares: I was really careful though…]
ㄴ[Hikikomori: Kyaa die popular guy die]
ㄴ[RedNightSky: Die!]
ㄴ[Ares: If you’re not gonna help then fuck off]
[ForGlory: This bastard loses points faster than anyone in history lololol]
‘What should I do…?’
I couldn’t skip school. That would also violate the rules. If I kept skipping, my points would eventually hit the dead end anyway.
‘But losing points just for looking…’
This wasn’t the kind of event where I could relax just because the teacher wasn’t around. That crazy woman appeared like a ghost the moment I broke a rule. I could still picture her crawling out from under the classroom door like Sadako.
‘I still have to go to class though…’
Break time was almost over. Being outside during class was definitely against the rules too. I had to go back soon… but would I be able to keep my points if I did?
“Knock knock~.”
Just then, a familiar voice called out to me as I sat worrying on the fifth-floor stairs.
“What are you doing sitting here? Hehe.”
“Lana…?”
Lana was looking up at me from the bottom of the stairs.
“I saw earlier. You lost a ton of points, didn’t you?”
“……Yeah.”
“So you’re hiding here?”
“If I go back, I’ll probably lose more…”
“Aww, you just have to not break the rules~.”
“It’s not as easy as it sounds…”
Lana quietly approached and sat beside me. She didn’t cling like before. Instead, she kept a considerate distance and just looked at me.
‘Even being with Lana right now is dangerous…’
I forced my eyes down to the floor so I wouldn’t look at her. If I accidentally glanced at her neck, thighs, or chest, I’d lose points immediately.
“Aren’t you going back to class?”
“I have to.”
“Hmm, but you’re worried about losing points, right?”
“Well, yeah…”
“Then…… want to skip together?”
“……What?”
Lana suddenly said something ridiculous. When I looked up at her, she smiled brightly.
“Let’s ditch together.”
“……”
There was no way that would work.
“Teacher~! Ares says his thighs hurt too much so he wants to leave early!”
“What? Oh, you’re hurt, Ares. Well, exams are over, so go ahead.”
“And~, I have a stomachache too…”
“Why you?”
“Because I’m a girl~.”
“Ah, right. I wasn’t being considerate. Go on.”
“Yay.”
“……”
It worked…?
Lana dragged me to the staff room and smoothly lied her way into getting early dismissal approval. Maybe because exams were over, our homeroom teacher just looked annoyed and quickly filled out the forms before handing them to us.
“Shall we go?”
“W-Wait a second…!”
“With these, we’re fine now.”
After that, Lana and I headed straight for the school gate without even grabbing our bags. The moment we stepped outside—
“Where are you two going right now?”
“……”
“Ah, Teacher Bell.”
Teacher Bell stood beside the gate, staring at us with dark eyes. Lana confidently held out the two slips of paper.
“We’re not feeling well. We got permission from our homeroom teacher. …It’s fine, right?”
“…Early… dismissal?”
Teacher Bell carefully examined the papers. A moment later, she smiled and nodded.
“Yes. Both of you, rest well and see you tomorrow.”
Then she turned and walked back into the school like nothing had happened.
“It actually worked…?”
“I told you, didn’t I? Let’s go.”
Lana grinned triumphantly and grabbed my hand.
“W-Wait…!! This is against the rules…!!”
“It’s fine~. Look, the teacher’s not coming, right?”
“Huh…? You’re right…?”
Even though Lana was holding my hand, Teacher Bell just kept walking toward the school. She didn’t even look our way.
“Maybe outside school is fine?”
“Maybe…?”
Did that mean I could finally relax? The tension that had been building all morning suddenly melted away.
“Alright, since it’s fine now, let’s go.”
“Ah, yeah.”
“I know a really good place.”
“……A good place?”
“Yeah, a dessert shop.”
“Dessert…? Weren’t we going back to the dorm…?”
“What are you talking about? If we go straight to the dorm, that’s not really skipping, you idiot.”
“…I don’t think we’re skipping anymore since we already got permission to leave.”
Lana didn’t let go of my hand as she led me toward the shopping district instead of the dorm. The area was quiet since most of the customers were students who were currently in class.
“Coming here at this time feels like we’re doing something bad, doesn’t it?”
Lana giggled as she entered one of the buildings. She seemed to be enjoying the situation.
“Yeah…”
Leaving early by pretending to be sick and coming here was definitely a bad thing. Honestly, I felt a little excited too. Though I was still a bit anxious.
‘Will this be okay…? No, it should be fine, right…?’
From what I’d seen earlier, it seemed like things outside school didn’t get flagged. So there shouldn’t be a problem.
“How is it? Isn’t this place great? It’s a private room.”
“…But why a dessert café all of a sudden?”
“What, did you forget our promise? That’s mean.”
“Promise…?”
“You said you’d give me a present if you got first place in school.”
“Ah.”
As she spoke, Lana naturally sat down right beside me. There were plenty of seats in front, but she chose the one next to me anyway.
‘The first-place present…’
Her words reminded me of what happened last time. When Lana bit my hand as an example… I’d been looking forward to whatever present she’d give me.
‘Then… if we came here because of that present…’
And now we were in a private room at a dessert café, sitting right next to each other.
“This place… is popular with school couples.”
“……I-Is that so?”
“Why do you think that is…?”
“Who knows…”
Lana quietly leaned her shoulder against mine. At the same time, my imagination started racing, and my eyes kept drifting to her lips.
Huh?
Right here?
Was she going to do that thing she demonstrated last time…?
“Even during crackdown period… it should be fine here, right…?”
Lana whispered softly as she picked up one of the desserts we’d bought earlier and brought it to my mouth.
“Here…”
“Mmph…”
Slide.
The long stick-shaped cookie slipped between my lips, filling my mouth with a savory aroma and sweet chocolate flavor. Thump, thump, thump.
And then—
Lana took the other end of the cookie into her own mouth.
‘W-Wait, wait, wait…?’
Crunch, crunch.
Lana’s lips moved delicately as she slowly nibbled away at the cookie, her face gradually getting closer to mine.
Slide…
At the same time, she placed her hand over mine.
‘Wait… if we do this…’
Crunch, crunch, crunch…
Would this be okay? No, NightRat said he’d even kissed before. So if it was just a kiss… or even just touching lips…
And when Lana had eaten about half the cookie—
“……Haa.”
She half-closed her eyes and let out a soft breath, as if asking me to come closer.
“……”
“……Mmm.”
“……”
“……”
Lana’s large eyes gazed at me with a dreamy look. As if entranced by that gaze—
Crunch.
I took another bite of the cookie. Slide…
Our hands, which had been stacked on top of each other, slowly intertwined until our fingers were laced together.
Crunch, crunch, crunch…
A few more bites. Just a few more and our lips would touch—
“━━Both of you, improper heterosexual interaction. 10 points deducted.”
“Eh…”
“Mmm?”
A chilling female voice came from above our heads. I froze and slowly looked up. There, with her long hair hanging down, was Teacher Bell peeking over the wall of the private room, staring at us.
“Uwaaaaaaaaah!!!”
Just come out normally for once, damn it.
“Eek, ah, u-uh, sorry. Ares. …I guess even outside doesn’t work.”
“……”
Tap, tap, tap…
Teacher Bell casually walked out of the dessert shop.