Chapter 165: The Newspaper Club Trio
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 165: The Newspaper Club Trio
A few days later, the weekend of the interview finally arrived.
After my usual dawn workout, I stood in front of the mirror for the first time in a while and applied wax to my hair.
Normally, I would have just slapped on some toner and lotion and been done with it, but since they said they’d be taking photos for the newspaper today, I decided to put in a little more effort.
As I was finishing my breakfast after getting ready, my mother handed me a bowl of soup and asked.
"Are you going on a date today?"
"Huh? A date?"
"It's just that you never usually dress up, but you suddenly put wax in your hair."
Ah, so that's what this was about.
"It's not like that. I have an interview with someone from the school's newspaper club today."
"An interview? Did you do something wrong?"
"What kind of son do you think I am…."
"Hoho, just kidding."
My mother patted my shoulder as she spoke, then stared intently at my face.
"Still, you must take after your father. You're so handsome, son."
"You think so?"
I usually get told I look scary, so that felt pretty good to hear.
"Why do you think I still live with your good-for-nothing father? It's all because he's handsome."
"Ha, haha."
I laughed awkwardly and averted my gaze.
From an objective standpoint, my father was not a handsome man.
Anyway, after finishing breakfast, I took the bus for the first time in a long while to meet Ayabe-senpai.
The reason I wasn't taking the subway as usual was that she lived in the same Setagaya Ward as me.
'It's been a while since I've been on a bus.'
"Mom, that guy is huge. He looks like a gorilla."
"Shh. Be quiet. He'll hear you."
"……."
I usually called Mr. Yamada a gorilla without a second thought, but I guess that nickname can really sting.
I should stop starting next week.
I tried my best not to look in the child's direction until I reached my stop. The moment we arrived, I pressed the bell and got off.
Vrooom!
As the bus pulled away, I took a look around 'Nikotama,' a neighborhood I didn't usually visit.
Its official name is 'Futako-Tamagawa' Station, but since the name is too long, it's commonly called by its nickname, Nikotama.
The area around Nikotama Station was a recently booming downtown district, with numerous convenient facilities like shopping malls and department stores, making it a good place to meet people.
And the place where I was supposed to meet Ayabe-senpai was a sushi restaurant near the station.
Tinkle! Tinkle!
"Ah! Over here, Kim-kun!"
As I entered the restaurant, Ayabe-senpai, who seemed to have arrived first, waved her hand cheerfully to greet me.
I walked over to the table where she was sitting and asked.
"Why did you pick a sushi place for an interview?"
"This is my regular spot. I just came to eat. You're taking time out of your day for this interview, after all. So I should at least feed you a proper meal."
Ayabe-senpai then introduced the two people sitting next to her.
"This is Takagi, the vice president of our newspaper club, and this is Hanamiya, a first-year."
"I'm Takagi Ayase. I'm a second-year, just like you."
"I-I'm Hanami Yuzuko."
Their faces were familiar.
That was because I had met them when I visited the newspaper club the other day.
"We've met before."
Unaware of the full story, Ayabe-senpai tilted her head and said.
"Oh, really? That's great. These two will be my assistants for the interview today. Anyway, have a seat. Let's order first and then talk."
Hearing that, I sat down across from her.
It was a four-person table, so the first-year named Hanami Yuzuko ended up sitting next to me. She was so small, I thought she could give Karen a run for her money.
"President, are you treating us today?"
"Of course. Order whatever you want."
"Then I'll have the medium-fatty tuna set…"
"Ah, but you two, keep it under 2,000 yen."
"...I'll have the lunch set."
Maybe it was because they were the president and vice president, but they seemed to be perfectly in sync.
I looked at the menu and asked.
"Should I also order something under 2,000 yen?"
"Ah, no price limit for you, Kim-kun. Seriously, order anything you want."
"In that case…."
I decided not to hold back.
"I'll have the family set."
"The four-person family set? You don't have to worry about us, you can just order what you want."
"Oh, I'm eating it by myself."
"...The family set?"
"Yes."
The first-year, Hanami, who was sitting next to me, spoke with admiration.
"Guys are amazing, being able to eat so much."
Ayabe-senpai waved her hand in dismissal.
"No, no, Kim-kun's the weird one. Normal people can't eat that much."
Despite her words, Ayabe-senpai called over a waiter and placed the order without hesitation.
"Three lunch sets and one family set, please."
"Yes, right away."
After the waiter left, Ayabe-senpai took a sip of water and said.
"But you can finish it all, right? I won't forgive you if you leave any leftovers."
"Don't you worry. It'll be more than enough."
When I patted my stomach, she gave me a look of disbelief but soon let out a small sigh.
"Anyway, today's interview will consist of 20 questions I've selected from the list I sent you before. You've prepared your answers, right?"
"Of course."
"I'll be recording our conversation for accuracy. Is that okay with you?"
"Yes. As long as it's okay for me to record as well."
"Hm. That's fine. I guess that's all we need to confirm beforehand."
She must have jotted down today's agenda on her phone, as she had been staring at the screen the whole time. She finally put her phone in her pocket and asked me.
"This is just a personal question, but can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Where do you work out? I think I've gained some weight from sitting at my desk studying all the time."
"It's a gym near my house. I can give you a business card if you'd like."
I took out the business card of Director Nakayama that I kept in my wallet.
"C-Can I get one too?"
"Me too!"
Perhaps because dieting was a shared interest, the other two, who had been awkwardly sipping their water, hastily asked as well.
"If you call this number, the director will be happy to help you. Fuma-senpai from the Kendo club goes there too."
"Fuma!"
At the mention of a familiar name, all three newspaper club members raised their voices in unison.
"If that straight-laced president goes there, then it must be the real deal."
"We have to go!"
New female members joining... I could already picture how thrilled the director and the male members would be.
Anyway, while we were chatting, our food arrived.
"Wow! It looks delicious!"
The plates were adorned with neat, colorful pieces of sushi.
The lunch set came with 12 pieces of sushi, but the family set had 50.
Honestly, I could eat more if I really wanted to, but my conscience pricked at the thought of ordering more when someone else was paying.
"Well then, let's eat."
First things first, let's eat. I'll think about the interview after the meal.
*
Thirty minutes later.
After a satisfying meal, we moved to a nearby coffee shop.
The three of them ordered coffee and dessert, speaking in a language I could barely understand.
I, on the other hand, just got a basic Americano.
"Are you sure you don't want anything?"
"Yes. This is enough for me."
The saying that women have a separate stomach for dessert must be true. The three of them, who had just been complaining about how full they were, were now each eating a large slice of cake.
In any case, we were all reasonably full, and it seemed like a good time to get down to business, so I brought it up first.
"So, when does the interview start?"
"Ah, sorry. Just after I finish this."
With those words, Ayabe-senpai popped the last piece of her lemon cheesecake into her mouth. With a satisfied expression, she wiped the cream from the corner of her lips and said.
"You don't have to be too nervous just because it's an interview. Even if you slip up, I'll edit it appropriately, so just tell me the truth as it is."
"Yes, I understand."
"Alright, let's begin."
Ayabe-senpai took a small recorder and a notepad out of the handbag she had placed to her right.
"First, could you briefly introduce yourself?"
I cleared my throat, looked directly at Hanami who was holding the camera, and spoke.
"Uh… My name is Kim Yoo-Sung, and I'm currently a second-year student at the private Ichijo Academy. I look forward to the interview today."
"Woooooow!"
Ayabe-senpai responded with an exaggerated round of applause.
"Ahem, now for the long-awaited first question. Are you aware of the rumors about you that are currently circulating at Ichijo Academy?"
"Not all of them, but I know some. I've overheard them, and my friends have told me about them."
"Hmm, hmm, I see."
Ayabe-senpai tapped her chin with her pen and nodded.
"Then, a follow-up second question. There's a rumor that you're an elite yakuza. Is that true? Someone said they saw you going in and out of a samurai residence in the suburbs."
"Uh… that's…."
I was momentarily at a loss for words.
The first part was a blatant lie, but it was possible someone had actually seen the latter.
After all, Karen's house was a yakuza den.
Sensing my hesitation, Ayabe-senpai's eyes lit up.
"Is it true?!"
"No, it's not like that. It's more like... an acquaintance of mine has a foot in that world, and I was just visiting normally...."
For the sake of protecting Karen's privacy, I couldn't bring myself to tell the truth and chose to beat around the bush.
'I have no choice.'
Unlike my own reputation, which couldn't get any worse, the fact that she was a yakuza's daughter seemed to be a secret at school.
After that, Ayabe-senpai's sharp questions continued to pour in.