Chapter 201: A Proposal
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 201: A Proposal
The meeting about the sports festival ended just as the 5th period was about to start.
Thanks to that, I’d only had a piece of bread for lunch, so I returned to class with a starving stomach.
Satoru, who must have eaten with another group today, was already in his seat. He spotted me and asked with a puzzled look.
"Why the long face?"
"I'm hungry."
"You didn't eat?"
"I did, but one piece of bread isn't enough."
Knowing what a big eater I usually was, Satoru gave a bitter smile and rummaged through his desk drawer.
"Want this? I stocked up on them for when I get hungry."
He held out a crunchy chocolate bar.
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
Normally, I wouldn't even touch chocolate, but this was no time to be picky.
To replenish my depleted calories, I tore open the yellow wrapper and began to wolf down the chocolate bar. Seeing this, Rika, who had been watching from the side, rummaged through her bag and pulled something out.
"Ryu-chan, eat this too."
What she shyly held out was a convenience store rice ball.
"Ah, thank you."
"It's nothing, really."
Rika said, turning her head away.
Seeing her act like that, my conscience pricked me, but I shamelessly accepted the rice ball and ate it with some water.
Thanks to their kind offerings, my hunger subsided to a certain degree, and I was able to prepare for the 5th period with a calm mind.
Rattle!
"Everyone, take your seats."
At the sound of Matsuda's voice as he slid open the front door, the noisy classroom quieted down as students found their desks.
"Wake up anyone who's sleeping."
Placing his textbook and attendance book on the teacher's desk, Matsuda wiped the chalk-dusted blackboard once with an eraser, then paused just as he was about to call roll, as if he’d suddenly realized something.
"Where's the class president?"
Her deskmate, Sasha, answered for her.
"She's absent today."
"Is that so? I didn't get any notice."
Tilting his head, Matsuda glanced at the class president's empty seat before starting to call out names in order of attendance number.
"Aizawa Minami."
"Here."
"Akagi Shun…"
*
After school.
"Well, I'm heading out first today. I have plans."
Rika, who would normally have walked home with me, said her goodbyes and left the classroom.
Seeing her leave, Sasha, who had just picked up her bag and walked over, asked me.
"Kim Yoo-Sung, did you and Kishimoto have a fight?"
Her question hit the nail right on the head.
All I could do was give a vague smile in response.
"Well… something like that."
I couldn't reveal the truth here.
But that seemed to be a sufficient answer for Sasha. She stared silently at Rika's desk for a moment before muttering under her breath.
"…She didn't seem like the type to give up easily."
Then, she shot me a sideways glance with her distinctive blue eyes, said, "See you tomorrow," and followed after Rika.
As I was left standing there all alone, Ryuji, who sat by the window, came over.
"Yoo-Sung-ah, let's walk home together."
Yaguchi and Hattori were clinging to both of his arms as if in a competition.
‘Hattori Ayame.’
The daughter of Hattori Hanzo, who had revealed her hidden identity in Kyoto.
With Ryuji's help, I had managed to get to the upper floor without fighting her, but for some reason, after the fight was over, she had fallen head over heels for him and decided to stay in Tokyo.
Thanks to that, his current girlfriend, Yaguchi, was at her wit's end.
He really was the protagonist of a rom-com; it felt like girls just flocked to him without him having to do a thing.
"Ryuji is my boyfriend!"
"Hmph! It's common knowledge in this industry that the childhood friend always loses, you know?"
"What?!"
Watching them fight like cats and dogs with Ryuji caught in the middle gave me a stomachache, even though it wasn't my problem.
"You've got it rough."
"…Thanks."
When I looked at him with pity, Ryuji shed a single tear in gratitude for my sympathy. What a chaotic mess.
In any case, since Ryuji had invited me, I grabbed my backpack and stood up to go home with them.
Rattle!
Our homeroom teacher, Matsuda, entered through the front door and asked the students still left in the classroom.
"Is anyone here close with the class president?"
The eyes of the remaining students naturally turned toward us.
Feeling compelled by their stares, I raised my right hand and asked what was wrong.
"Ah, it's nothing big, I just wanted someone to drop off these printouts summarizing today's lessons. Uh, if it's a bother, I can ask someone else."
"No, it's fine. I know where the class president lives."
When I offered to take them myself, Matsuda heaved a sigh of relief and handed me the papers.
"I'll leave it to you, then."
"Okay."
After putting the printouts in my bag, I looked at Ryuji, who was staring at me with a look of utter betrayal.
"Good luck."
"Y-Yoo-Sung-ah! Just walk with us part of the way!"
Ryuji hastily grabbed onto me.
He probably couldn't handle the two girls' pressure and was planning to use me as a buffer, but unfortunately for him, something had come up.
"See you tomorrow."
I gave the three of them a light wave and left the classroom first.
I had to hurry if I wanted to stop by the class president's house before the sun went down.
*
After school, the first place Rika headed after leaving the classroom wasn't the subway station, but the student council room on the third floor of the annex building.
As she wasn't in any club activities, it was extremely rare for her to come to the annex for any reason other than a class, but today she was here because she had been invited by a certain individual.
Knock, knock!
"Come in."
Hearing the voice from inside, Rika took a small, deep breath before opening the door and stepping into the student council room.
Creeak!
Beyond the antique wooden door, the first impression of the space that unfolded before Rika's eyes was that of a 'castle'.
The furniture and desks were clearly luxury items at a single glance, and the atmosphere was one of refined dignity.
Rika herself came from a fairly wealthy family, but it was nothing compared to the prestige of the Saionji family, which ran one of the top ten corporations in Japan.
And the master of this breathtaking space was sitting on a sofa in the very center of the student council room, waiting to greet her.
"Welcome, Miss Kishimoto Rika."
The Student Council President, Saionji Kumiko.
"We've met before, haven't we?"
"Yes."
As she said, Saionji Kumiko and Kishimoto Rika had met at the beginning of the semester.
But at that time, Rika hadn't yet fallen for Kim Yoo-Sung, and besides, she had no personal reason to get involved with Kumiko, a third-year student.
That was why Rika had been so anticlimactically defeated in the heroine race, completely unaware of the existence of the person who would become her greatest rival.
The real danger had been right under her nose all along.
"Why did you ask to see me today?"
Rika asked, her expression wary. Kumiko replied with a relaxed smile.
"Why don't we sit down and talk? I expect this conversation will be quite long."
"…Fine."
At her suggestion, Rika sat down on the opposite seat without another word.
The two of them now faced each other across a long table.
"Minami."
"Yes, Young Lady."
When Kumiko called her name, Minami elegantly poured herbal tea into the pre-arranged teacups.
Rika, who had been watching silently, spoke up.
"So, what exactly did you mean by the text you sent me earlier?"
At her question, Kumiko let out a small chuckle and set down the teacup she was holding.
"It's exactly as I said. I know who Yoo-Sung-kun is in love with."
"…And who is that?"
To Rika's cautious question, Kumiko pressed her right hand to her chest and declared proudly.
"It is I."
"……."
A heavy silence fell over the student council room.
Realizing the reaction was completely different from what she had expected, Kumiko's expression turned to one of belated panic as she asked again.
"D-Did I say something strange?"
"No, it's not that…"
Rika said, the tension draining from her face.
"Did you call me here just to brag, President?"
"No, of course not. I don't enjoy doing such cruel things."
"Then why did you call me?"
As if her patience was wearing thin, Rika's voice began to sharpen. Kumiko cleared her throat with a ahem and began to speak.
"Alright, I'll get straight to the point. Miss Rika, won't you join the harem I'm creating for Yoo-Sung-kun?"
"A harem… you say?"
"Yes. A harem."
The completely unexpected word left Rika with a blank expression.
A harem. A group of women loving and sharing a single man.
It was a genre commonly known as a "harem series," and as a fan of shonen manga, Rika was of course familiar with the term.
But that only made her more confused.
The words of the sole victor.
"Are you trying to make fun of me?"
A harem couldn't possibly be realistic.
That kind of thing only happened in manga.
In the first place, how many people in the world could generously forgive their lover for looking at another woman?
Legally, emotionally—the possibility of a harem existing in the modern world was extremely low.
But Kumiko flatly refuted Rika's opinion.
"No, I am being completely serious. If you accept my proposal, I am willing to share Yoo-Sung-kun's love. Are you perhaps worried about being treated as a concubine? If so, there's also the option of overhauling this country's laws. I have my own connections in the political world, so making polygamy legal is also possible."
After listening to Kumiko's explanation, Rika thought for a moment before asking.
"Why on earth are you making such an offer, President? From start to finish, it seems like the terms are only favorable to me."
Rika's words cut to the heart of the matter.
As she said, Kumiko had no reason to share her lover, Kim Yoo-Sung, with another woman.
But she had her own circumstances.
A shameful, embarrassing situation that was difficult to tell others.
She cleared her throat and looked at Rika.
"Please don't think this is strange when you hear it."
"Pardon?"
As Rika tilted her head innocently, Kumiko lowered her gaze and explained her reasoning.
"Yoo-Sung-kun's virility is just too much."
"……?"
At first, Rika didn't understand what Kumiko was saying and just blinked her eyes. But soon, the meaning of the words sank in, and her face turned as red as an apple.
Because even though she dressed like a gyaru on the outside, Rika was also a virgin.