Chapter 213: After-party
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 213: After-party
It had been a hectic day.
But after receiving our final report card—first place in the overall school rankings—all the exhaustion I’d felt completely vanished.
""Great work, everyone!""
After all the events of the sports festival had concluded, we gathered at an all-you-can-eat BBQ restaurant, raising our glasses filled with soft drinks high above our heads for a toast.
"Ahem! Everyone worked hard running around at the sports festival today! We're eating on the prize money you all won, so eat and drink to your heart's content! I'll cover whatever's left!"
"Thank you, Sensei!"
"Thanks for the food!"
We were at an age brimming with vigor.
Perhaps because both the boys and girls had spent the entire day exerting themselves, everyone happily dug into the meat.
"More meat over here, please!"
"And some drinks!"
Additional orders poured in from every table, and the staff rushed around frantically.
I happened to be sitting next to our homeroom teacher, Yamada, so I asked him.
"Sensei, aren't you overdoing it a bit?"
Even with the prize money from winning first place, it was a well-known fact that a teacher's salary wasn't much.
"This much is fine. Besides, you can't be stingy when it comes to feeding my students."
But Yamada just laughed as if it were nothing and patted my shoulder.
"You were the star of today's events, after all. So you should eat the most."
"...I was planning on it anyway."
I was touched, but I tried not to show it as I put the piece of meat Yamada had grilled for me into my mouth.
Maybe because it was protein after a long day of exercise, but it tasted absolutely divine.
Just then, Satoru, who was eating at the same table, asked.
"Sensei, is it okay if we order from the a la carte menu?"
"What?"
Yamada's composure visibly wavered.
But Satoru, oblivious, pointed to the menu item he wanted.
"These premium short ribs look delicious."
"...O-of course."
The beer glass in Yamada's hand trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
He was clearly shaken, but having received permission, Satoru confidently raised his right hand and called out.
"Excuse me! One order of premium short ribs over here!"
"Hey! No fair! We'll have the same!"
"This table too!"
And just like that, as if they had been waiting for the signal, a flood of additional orders followed.
It's rare for people to order a la carte items at an all-you-can-eat place, but I guess it's human nature to follow suit like a line of dominoes once one person starts.
The receipt grew longer in an instant, and Yamada's face turned pale, but Satoru just grinned cheerfully and started placing meat on the empty grill.
That guy... he definitely did that on purpose.
*
After the storm passed, everyone emerged from the restaurant patting their full stomachs with happy expressions—everyone except Yamada, who looked like he was about to cry.
Well, he brought it on himself, but I still felt a little sorry for him.
The bill came out to nearly 100,000 yen.
Even after subtracting the 50,000 yen our class won as prize money, it was still a huge hit to his wallet.
Just then, Satoru, picking his teeth as he walked, spoke up.
"Ah, that was a great meal! But it feels like a shame to just go home now."
Hearing that, one of the Bald Trio, our class's atmosphere makers, suggested.
"Yeah? Should we all go to karaoke then?"
"Karaoke? Sounds good."
It felt like we were following the typical after-party course.
First round at a BBQ place, second round at karaoke.
But it seemed everyone else felt the same way, as they started agreeing one by one.
As the mood shifted towards a second round, Yamada quickly took control of the situation.
"Alright, here's the plan. Those who want to go home can go home, and those who want to go to karaoke can go. You have school tomorrow, so don't stay out too late."
"Aww, Sensei, you should come with us!"
"I have to go home and prepare for tomorrow's classes!"
The girls clung to him, begging him to come, but perhaps fearing he'd get stuck with another bill, Yamada firmly refused and hailed a taxi home.
With the chaperone gone and only students left, the atmosphere became even more chaotic than before.
We'd only been drinking soft drinks, but it felt like everyone was drunk.
"Kim-kun! You're coming too, right?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
A girl who usually wouldn't even make eye contact with me was suddenly talking to me so familiarly. Honestly, it was hard to get used to.
Having agreed on a second round, we all headed to a karaoke place in the downtown area.
*
"Kim-kun, over here!"
Since there were so many of us, we split into two groups and went into separate rooms.
With fourteen people in each room, they were completely packed.
Everyone naturally huddled together on the sofas, and a few of the more energetic kids were the first to grab the microphones and start singing upbeat dance songs.
I somehow ended up sitting next to Rika. Noticing the bandage on her forehead, I asked cautiously.
"Rika, are you okay from your fall this morning?"
Rika, who had been fiddling with her phone, jumped in surprise and answered.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. It's not a big deal."
She said this with a bright smile, but it seemed like she was deliberately exaggerating it so I wouldn't worry.
"..."
I watched her in silence for a moment before speaking.
"I'm sorry."
"Huh? For what? If it's about the cut, I'm really okay, I promise."
"Not about that. I mean for not being able to treat you like I normally do."
Finally seeming to understand what I meant, Rika scratched her cheek with a troubled expression.
It must have been a difficult topic for her to discuss, too.
Especially in a situation with so many people around to overhear.
Thankfully, drowned out by the loud music, the others probably just thought Rika and I were having a simple chat. But if the two of us talked alone for too long while everyone else was having fun, it would obviously look strange.
Besides, thanks to the weird rumors going around school, people already thought of Rika as my girlfriend.
She mumbled something, as if wanting to speak, then suddenly leaned in and whispered in my ear.
"Ryu-chan, can we talk outside for a minute?"
I looked at Rika, surprised.
But I soon realized it was the best way, so I obediently followed her out.
Rika led me out of the room to a deserted emergency exit.
Once we were alone, Rika placed her hands on her hips.
"Ryu-chan, I think you've been misunderstanding something for a while now, so I'll make this quick."
Then, she looked at me with a serious expression and said.
"It's true that you rejected my confession at the amusement park. But I have no intention of crying and playing the tragic heroine over something like that."
"..."
"It's not like I was dead set on becoming your girlfriend from the start. It's just fun being with you, so maybe I confessed because I wanted to have you all to myself before someone else did."
I parted my lips to say something, but then pressed them shut.
I couldn't think of anything to say.
Rika looked me straight in the eye with her distinctive green eyes and said.
"I know what you're worried about, but I wasn't hurt by the rejection. So you don't have to be so overly cautious with me based on your own assumptions."
Bold.
That one word was enough to describe the Rika in front of me now.
Her original character was probably the mischievous, imp-like type.
But the side she showed me was always so gentle that I thought her personality had changed.
It seems I was mistaken.
The Rika standing before me now hadn't given up on me, even though I'd clearly told her there was someone else I liked.
If anything, she seemed more obsessed.
The girl named Rika was someone who could be as cunning as she needed to be to get what she wanted.
"Just treat me comfortably, like you did before."
At her earnest plea, I found myself nodding before I even realized it.
Where did it all go wrong?
I asked myself, but I couldn't find an answer.
*
After our short conversation, we returned to the room and rejoined our classmates.
I glanced at Rika's profile as she sang, acting as if nothing had happened.
Looking at her now, her jawline seemed a little slimmer than before.
She said she was fine after I rejected her at the amusement park, but that was probably a lie.
Heartbreak brings a pain so immense you can't control it.
I knew that well from past experience.
But Rika, having experienced that frustration, chose not to give up, but to try again.
It seemed she planned to keep liking me.
She had adopted a rather defiant attitude, even though I'd told her there was someone else.
My head grew complicated thinking about the future.
Reality isn't a manga.
A harem is a concept that can't exist within the bounds of common sense.
Unless you literally rewrite the laws, you ultimately have to choose just one person.
If it came to that, I would probably choose the President.
That's why I was even more worried about Rika.
I couldn't even begin to imagine how she would react when she was rejected a second time.
Amidst the uniquely exciting atmosphere of the karaoke room, where everyone was laughing and having fun, I alone clutched my aching stomach and began to worry about what was to come.