Chapter 32: Rika's Counterattack
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 32: Rika's Counterattack
Yesterday, I had a great time eating and hanging out with the President and the other student council members late into the night.
The three of them stayed after dinner, chatting while they ate the fruit my mother had cut for them, and left around nine.
In any case, that eventful first day passed, and the morning of the second day of Golden Week arrived.
"…I'm bored."
As usual, I woke up at 4 AM. But even after finishing my daily routine, I found myself with too much time on my hands and a growing sense of boredom.
I have no complaints about living by a strict schedule, but it's worth noting how I suddenly have nothing to do whenever Golden Week comes around.
A big part of it was that I didn't have any particular hobbies, aside from reading manga.
We didn't have a computer or a home game console like most people did.
So, with nothing better to do than lie on the floor and scroll through video sites on my phone, I shot up when a message suddenly came in.
Ting!
「Hiii! Ryu-chan! You didn't forget your promise to come over today, did you?」
I replied immediately.
「I was actually waiting for you to message me.」
「I asked Papa the day before yesterday, and he said today would be fine. So come to my house by 12. Mama wants to treat you to lunch since you're always helping me out.」
After sending that message, Rika sent me an address through the messenger app.
It was a map of the area around Seijo, where she lived.
The route was simple, so I didn't think I'd have to worry about getting lost.
I checked the time on my phone. It was only 9 AM.
Besides, Seijo Station was only two stops away from Chitose-Funabashi Station, where my house was. Unlike yesterday, I wouldn't be late even if I left around eleven.
I took out all the volumes of Golden Samurai from my bookshelf and packed them in my bag in advance.
I planned to get them all signed when I met Kishimoto-sensei today.
I also packed a permanent marker for autographs and some autograph paper.
With that, my preparations for visiting Rika's house were complete.
I was invited, but I wondered if it was okay to go empty-handed. After some thought, I decided to buy a box of stamina drinks from a supermarket on the way.
For some reason, I had this image of professional authors stacking stamina drinks next to their desks and chugging them.
Excited at the thought of meeting the esteemed Kishimoto-sensei in just three hours, I grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom, planning to wash up with far more care than usual.
*
Dressed neatly, I left the house at 11 AM as planned.
Setagaya Ward is the most densely populated area in Tokyo.
As such, it has a considerable amount of foot traffic. As I approached the subway turnstiles, the people in front of me glanced around nervously before giving me a wide berth.
Honestly, I usually found these kinds of misunderstanding stares incredibly uncomfortable, but today, I was grateful they helped me save time.
I tapped my Suica on the IC reader and stood on the subway platform, waiting for the next train.
Before long, a train pulled into the station. Only after the disembarking passengers had poured out like an ebbing tide was I able to squeeze myself into the car.
As I stood holding onto the pole by the door, I could feel people around me sneaking curious glances at my body.
I knew better than anyone how people usually saw me.
Well, it's not like I could give up the muscles I'd worked so hard to build, and frankly, I didn't think there was anything wrong with how I looked now.
It would be strange to force myself to conform to others' standards just because I was afraid of their stares or prejudices.
I decided to focus on my phone screen until I reached my destination.
*
Since it was only two stops from my house, it took just ten minutes to get to Seijo Station.
When I came out of the subway platform and up to ground level, a neighborhood that felt like it had completely different air, despite being in the same Setagaya Ward, unfolded before my eyes.
If I were to make a comparison to Korea, would it be like crossing from Gangbuk to Gangnam?
Just looking at the clothes of the people walking around, I could feel an air of wealth.
I stopped by a supermarket near the station and bought a box of stamina drinks.
It was a pretty painful expense on a high school student's allowance, but considering it was for my favorite author, I felt it was a worthy purchase.
Perhaps because Seijo is one of Tokyo's representative affluent neighborhoods, it was dominated by large, detached houses rather than apartments.
As I walked along the sidewalk, I stood on my tiptoes and peeked over the walls to see two-story houses with swimming pools, the kind you'd only see in movies, scattered about casually.
And my destination for the day, Rika's house, was located a short distance from the subway station.
Given the nature of an author's profession, where privacy is important, it seemed she had deliberately bought a house far from the station, which had a lot of foot traffic.
Following the map Rika had sent me this morning, I walked diligently up the hill and finally stopped in front of a three-story house surrounded by a large wall.
"This must be it."
When I pressed the doorbell next to the main gate, a familiar voice came from the speaker.
「Ah! Ryu-chan! You're finally here! Come on in!」
Clunk!
The gate opened on its own, as if Rika had operated the lock from inside.
I carefully pushed the gate open and stepped inside.
"Whoa…"
I'm not one to be easily impressed, but I felt I had to make an exception today.
A scene straight out of a movie was unfolding right before my eyes.
A wide, green lawn, a private swimming pool, a garage packed with foreign cars, and a three-story, multi-level house.
The entire building was painted in monotone colors, giving it a clean and sharp first impression.
I walked slowly along the stone path leading to the front door.
A Golden Retriever that had been running around the yard came bounding over, wagging its tail as if to welcome me.
Considering most animals were afraid of me, I had to admit it was a remarkably carefree creature.
I gently scratched the neck of the affectionate dog before starting to walk toward the house's entrance again.
Just as I was about to reach the front door, the firmly closed door swung open, and Rika, dressed in casual clothes, popped out.
"Surprise!"
As I stared at her bright face with a deadpan expression, Rika puffed out her cheeks as if she found it no fun and placed her hands on her hips.
"In a situation like this, aren't you supposed to at least pretend to be a little surprised?"
"No, I am plenty surprised. I'm just trying to figure out how I should react."
As I answered, I casually stroked the head of the Golden Retriever, which was now tugging at my pant leg, begging me to play. Rika called out its name as if it were a common occurrence.
"Taro!"
At that, the dog that had been clinging to my pants and refusing to let go immediately ran to Rika and stuck to her like glue.
When Rika saw me looking at them with envy, she smiled like a cat, puffed out her chest, and said.
"Isn't our Taro the cutest?"
I honestly admitted it.
"If I ever get the chance, I'd love to raise one myself."
"Hmph."
Rika, looking as pleased as if she had been the one complimented, raised her chin and gestured for me to come inside.
At her invitation, I carefully closed the front door and entered.
"Excuse me for intruding."
Just then, someone approached from the living room.
"Oh my~ Welcome~"
I turned my head to greet them and flinched when I saw a blonde beauty who was a spitting image of Rika.
"Uh… excuse me…"
I was about to ask if she was Rika's older sister but hesitated for a moment.
In a rom-com, when someone appears at this kind of timing, there was a high probability that she was the mother, not the sister.
But her appearance was too young to have a 17-year-old high school girl as a daughter, which caused a bit of cognitive dissonance.
At most, she looked to be in her mid-to-late twenties.
Surely she must be Rika's older sister, not her mother?
I was about to ask if she was Rika's sister as I'd originally planned, but the thought of what I'd do if she really was the mother made me freeze up again like a broken robot.
Usually, if you get the form of address wrong on the first meeting, the atmosphere remains awkward afterward.
So, should I follow the cliché and ask if she's the mother?
But what if I ask if she's the mother, and she's actually the older sister?
That would create an even more irreversibly chilly atmosphere.
Considering the various possibilities, I concluded that asking if she was the sister was the correct answer.
If she really was the older sister, that would be that. And if she was actually the mother, it would mean she looked younger than her age, so there was no way she'd take my question badly.
Alright. I've made my decision.
"Are you Rika's older sister?"
As I asked, the blonde foreign beauty who looked just like Rika burst out laughing and waved her hand.
"Oh my, look at you. Are you trying to flatter me right off the bat? I may look young, but not so young that I could be mistaken for my daughter's sister."
Rika's mother confirmed it with her words.
I let out a faint sigh of relief, glad I had made the right choice, and held out the box of stamina drinks I was carrying.
"I felt bad coming empty-handed, so I bought this on the way."
Rika's mother looked a little surprised at the box of stamina drinks I offered, then took it from me.
"You could have just come empty-handed, you didn't need to bring anything. Please, come in. My daughter and I were actually bustling around all morning because we heard you were coming, Yoo-Sung."
"Mama!"
Rika, blushing, hurriedly covered her mother's mouth, while her mother just giggled, teasing her daughter playfully.
No matter how I looked at it, they seemed more like sisters with a bit of an age gap than a mother and daughter. Thinking to myself how amazing the world of rom-coms was, I followed the two of them toward the kitchen.