Chapter 267: Give and Take
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 267: Give and Take
"Bro! We have a guest!"
After letting me in, Yuika headed straight for Ryuji's room.
Even though it was the middle of the day, Ryuji was still lying in bed, the covers pulled all the way over his head as if he were still asleep.
"Ugh… five more minutes…"
"Honestly! Get up already!"
Yuika strode over to the bedside and yanked the covers off, revealing Ryuji in his pajamas, curled up like a fetus.
「Oh? You're here already?」
Just then, Chiaki poked her head through the closet wall.
Since Yuika was right there, I gave Chiaki a subtle nod of greeting and then pointed at Ryuji, silently asking her to do something about him.
Chiaki glanced at Ryuji, who still showed no intention of getting out of bed, and then suddenly snapped her fingers.
In that very moment,
"Agh, cold!"
Ryuji, who had been lost in dreamland just a second ago, shot upright.
"What! What was that!"
He frantically looked around, clutching the back of his neck.
To Yuika, who didn't know about Chiaki, it must have looked like he was putting on a bizarre one-man show. She narrowed her eyes and asked.
"Bro! Are you still dreaming?"
"No! Something really cold just touched my neck!"
Ryuji pleaded his case, but unfortunately for him, no one in the room was on his side.
"Yo."
Standing by the doorway, I casually held up the bag of manga. Ryuji blinked his blank eyes.
"Yoo-Sung? What are you doing here…."
"Still half-asleep? We promised I'd bring you the manga this weekend, remember?"
I winked, signaling him to play along. "Oh? Oh, yeah, we did," Ryuji mumbled, going along with it.
Anyway, with that problem solved, it was time for the unnecessary party, Yuika, to make her exit so we could talk.
"Yuika, could I possibly get a cup of tea? I rushed out of the house this morning and didn't even have a sip of water. I'm pretty thirsty."
"Oh! Yes! I'll get it for you right away!"
Having smoothly guided Yuika out of the room, I closed the wide-open door and spoke to Ryuji, who still looked bewildered.
"You were pretty surprised to see me show up all of a sudden, huh?"
Ryuji nodded, readily admitting it.
"So, what brings you to my place today?"
At Ryuji's question, I placed the bag full of manga on his desk and said.
"It's nothing major. I'm actually here today because of a favor for Chiaki."
"Chiaki?"
"She said there was something she wanted to buy and asked me to go with her."
As I explained the situation, Chiaki shot back with an indignant look.
「Hey! Why would you tell him that!」
I replied nonchalantly.
"I didn't say who."
「Still!」
Unlike Chiaki, who seemed anxious that her true objective would be revealed, Ryuji didn't seem to give it much thought. He just tilted his head and asked.
"Why didn't she ask me, the person she lives with? Why go all the way to Yoo-Sung?"
Chiaki flinched and averted her gaze as she answered.
「You're busy playing games on the weekend, Ryuji. I didn't want to bother you with my personal errands.」
What a clumsy lie.
No matter how much of a game addict Ryuji was, there was no way he would have ignored a request from his childhood friend, Chiaki.
"Ah, so that's what it was."
Huh…?
But contrary to my expectations, Ryuji bought Chiaki's ridiculous excuse hook, line, and sinker.
I didn't get it at first, but then I thought that maybe it was because of Japan's unique 'meiwaku' culture—the extreme aversion to inconveniencing others. In Japan, Chiaki's excuse might have actually sounded plausible.
I guess I was looking at it from too much of a Korean perspective.
In any case, having successfully made her excuse, Chiaki waited for Ryuji's response with a look of anticipation.
She needed Ryuji to say yes so she could go buy him a Christmas present.
If he offered to go with her instead, today's plan would be a complete bust.
Chiaki's face grew even more anxious at the thought, but surprisingly, Ryuji accepted her proposal without any hesitation.
"If that's the case, I can't complain. Have a good time."
Slip!
Like a scene straight out of a manga, Chiaki momentarily lost her balance in mid-air.
While I could rationalize it as something possible in a Jump-style universe, the fact that I no longer found these over-the-top reactions strange made me realize how much I'd changed.
「A-Aren't you going to ask what we're going to buy?」
Chiaki asked, her lips trembling. Ryuji waved his hand dismissively.
"Nah, asking something like that would be rude. There must be something you really want, which is why you asked Yoo-Sung instead of me. I'm not that clueless."
「…….」
At this point, I was starting to wonder if his cluelessness was just part of his character.
How could a person be so consistently dense?
Watching their conversation from the side, I decided to intervene before the atmosphere got any more heated.
"In that case, I'll be borrowing Chiaki. Should I just bring her back home after we're done shopping?"
"Ah, yeah. That should be fine. Thanks for putting up with Chiaki's whims for me today, Yoo-Sung."
Ryuji said, flashing a dazzling smile.
This guy is hopeless, I thought, as I offered my body to Chiaki, who had just separated from Ryuji.
*
After enjoying a glass of cool oolong tea, I left the tower mansion. Chiaki and I then took the subway to a nearby downtown area.
"By the way, where's Mahes?"
「Mahes? Why are you suddenly asking about that Egyptian guy?」
"I just feel like I haven't seen him around much lately."
Unlike Chiaki, who was originally an earth-bound spirit and couldn't stray far from the person she possessed, Mahes, the self-proclaimed great pharaoh, had no such restrictions on his movement.
Perhaps because of that, he seemed to be wandering around on his own these days, unlike at the beginning of the semester when he used to follow Ryuji everywhere.
「He left early this morning, saying he was going to Mount Fuji. He said that unlike the city, you can see the stars clearly from the summit.」
"The stars? Why the stars all of a sudden?"
「He said he saw a strange star while looking at the night sky from the veranda yesterday. He was muttering something in a language only he understands, saying it seemed like a bad omen.」
"Is that so?"
Come to think of it, I didn't know much about Mahes.
If this were a Jump-style battle series, Mahes would be the very definition of a walking plot device, but since this was a romantic comedy world, it seemed he wasn't getting much of a chance to shine.
It had been quite a while since I'd spent time alone with Chiaki like this, so we spent the entire subway ride catching up.
The main topic of Chiaki's conversation was, of course, Ryuji. Seeing how every other word out of her mouth was 'Ryuji this,' 'Ryuji that,' or 'that guy Ryuji,' it was clear she was head over heels for him.
Well, I suppose she must love him that much to still be lingering in the world of the living, unable to move on.
Just then, a little boy sitting in front of me suddenly pointed a finger at me and said.
"Mom, that man keeps talking to himself."
"Eek! I'm so sorry!"
"……."
Right, I was on the subway.
A delayed wave of embarrassment washed over me, and I hung my head, my face turning red.
*
Although I was unintentionally treated like a crazy person by a child, they were just strangers I'd never see again.
I tried to console myself with that mental victory, but the wound to my pride didn't heal so easily.
Chiaki, the cause of all this, was clutching her stomach and roaring with laughter, but when I threatened her with, "Should we just go home now?" she instantly reverted to her demure self.
"So, what do you want to get him?"
Christmas presents generally fall into two categories.
Gifts that make the recipient happy, and gifts that don't.
Of course, considering Ryuji's usual behavior, the best gift would be a video game, but there was no way I was going to suggest that to Chiaki.
I had some tact, after all.
And as if my prediction was on the mark, Chiaki couldn't answer my question right away. She just fidgeted with her fingers before finally managing to speak.
「I want to give Ryuji something meaningful. That's why I wanted to ask you.」
"A meaningful gift?"
「I don't know what kind of gifts boys like these days. But if possible, I'd like it to be something he can keep for a long time.」
"Hmm…"
Something he can keep for a long time.
The hurdle had just been raised significantly.
"Alright, let's put the gift on the back burner for now. Want to just walk for a bit?"
「Ah, okay.」
We still had plenty of time.
There was no need to rush our decision, so walking around and thinking it over slowly didn't seem like a bad idea.
About five minutes after we started walking without a destination, a thought occurred to me, and I spoke up.
"Chiaki, speaking of which, there's something I wanted to ask you, too."
「What is it?」
"I need to buy a gift for my girlfriend. Could you help me pick something out?"
The world runs on give and take.
When you receive a favor, you're supposed to pay it back, even if it's not double the amount.
Perhaps persuaded by this logic, Chiaki readily agreed to my request.
「Okay. Let's do that.」
That was the answer I was waiting for. I stopped walking.
"Then I'll have to ask for your help right away."
It was because a store that perfectly suited my purpose had just come into view.
「What? A jewelry shop? Are you rich?」
Chiaki stared at me, dumbfounded, but I didn't bother to answer.
Because in my bank account sat the hefty sum of 100,000 yen I had recently received for a broadcast appearance.
"Let's go inside and talk."
I said, opening the store door and heading in first. Chiaki, who had been staring at me with a blank expression, quickly followed behind me, shouting, 「Hey! Wait up!」
