Chapter 86: Fuma Style Has No Blind Spots
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 86: Fuma Style Has No Blind Spots
It was a day like any other.
But today was a little different.
The reason was Fuma-senpai, who had been up since the crack of dawn, trailing me around.
"Good morning, Kim Yoo-Sung."
4 AM.
The time I go jogging with Goto Kazuya, who's no longer my student but a full-fledged gym buddy.
"What a coincidence. To meet at a time like this."
But Fuma-senpai joined our jog as if she'd been waiting for us.
Seeing this, that punk Kazu asked if Hyung-nim and her were a thing, but I just pretended not to hear and picked up the pace.
"Hey! Wait up! Hyung-nim!"
Thanks to me, Kazu, who still lacks cardio, was groaning, but Fuma-senpai, being a ninja, kept up with my speed without much trouble.
It seems I can't shake her off this easily.
After the jog, she went straight back to her place, perhaps bothered by the smell of sweat, but I couldn't let my guard down.
And as if to prove my ominous premonition right, Fuma-senpai was waiting for me in front of my house as I was leaving for school.
"...Senpai, don't you have club activities in the morning?"
Fuma-senpai retorted with a shameless look on her face.
"I'm a third-year too. With the Center Exam just around the corner, I can't afford to neglect my studies. I'm only acting as the club president until the end of the first semester, then I plan to pass the position on to a junior in the second semester."
With that, she boarded the same subway car and naturally snagged the seat next to me.
"Ah! Ryu-chan! Good morning!"
Rika, who had just come over from the next car, spotted me and started to wave, but then she saw Fuma-senpai sitting next to me and her face stiffened.
"Who's she?"
It seemed she didn't remember, so I kindly explained.
"She's the president of the Kendo Club. We sparred once."
"Oh. Her."
Rika nodded and casually sat down on my other side.
"So why is she sitting right next to you, Ryu-chan?"
Fuma-senpai was the one who answered.
"Our houses are nearby. We met completely 'by chance'."
"Heh, 'by chance,' you say."
Is that some kind of new slang I don't know about?
The two of them kept emphasizing the word 'by chance' as they talked.
Anyway, it's a good thirty-minute subway ride to school, so a little conversation helps pass the time.
I watched the two of them chat away animatedly and replied to a text from Minato, who, as usual, had sent me another long message today.
It seems the ratings for The Blue, the show I had a minor role in, have been soaring day after day, and she's become so busy she can barely catch her breath.
So she can't even come to school if she wanted to. Half of her message was just her whining about how she missed seeing my muscles.
After dealing with that for a bit, we finally got off the subway and arrived at Ichijo Academy.
As late June approached, the school was once again on high alert.
That was because final exams and summer vacation were coming up in July.
If you get a low score and fail this time, you'll have to come in for supplementary classes during your long-awaited summer vacation.
Of course, for the average student, it wasn't a huge concern, but for someone like Rika, who wasn't exactly fond of studying, it was a major crisis.
Maybe that's why, but she's been participating more actively in class lately.
As we greeted Matsuda-sensei, who was guarding the school gate, he smiled and welcomed us, but then he tilted his head in confusion when he saw Fuma-senpai.
"Fuma? What are you doing here at this hour? You're usually here much earlier."
Fuma-senpai covered her mouth with her hand and smiled as she spoke.
"I can't just focus on training forever. I have to consider my future, don't I?"
"I see. Studying is important for a student, after all."
The teacher said, nodding, before grabbing the scruff of a student trying to sneak past the gate.
"And I say this all the time, but Kim, I'd appreciate it if you'd button up your uniform."
"I'm sorry, but that's impossible."
"Yeah, I figured."
Matsuda-sensei nodded as if he'd already reached enlightenment.
"Go on in."
"Yes, sir. Have a good day."
After safely passing through the gate again today, we were heading toward the high school building when Fuma-senpai asked curiously.
"By the way, how come that girl doesn't get caught in Matsuda-sensei's inspection?"
Rika shrugged and answered.
"Because my hair is naturally blonde. Plus, nail polish isn't against the school rules, and skirts are okay as long as they're above the knee."
Like any fashion-conscious high school girl, Rika knew the Ichijo Academy dress code inside and out.
She could probably give Matsuda-sensei, the head teacher for her grade, a run for his money.
If only she used that memory for her studies.
We parted ways in front of the shoe lockers on the first floor.
After all, the second-year classrooms were on the second floor, and the third-year classrooms were on the third.
Fuma-senpai said she'd see me at the gym and then took something out and handed it to me.
"What's this?"
"It's a lunch I made myself. Whether or not I can cook well—a key condition for being a good wife—is something you can only judge by tasting it yourself."
"...Thanks, I'll enjoy it."
"Mm. Savor it thoroughly, and tell me what you think later."
With that, Fuma-senpai turned her back and coolly walked off toward her club room.
It seemed she was heading to the Kendo Club, albeit late.
Finally left alone with me, Rika stared at the lunch box Fuma-senpai had given me with a strange look in her eyes.
"Are you going to eat that?"
"She gave it to me, I can't just not eat it."
Rika put her hands on her hips and said, pouting slightly.
"Then I'm eating your lunch today, Ryu-chan."
"...I don't know about that."
My retort made Rika's eyes narrow, but I pretended not to notice and fled to the classroom.
*
Lunchtime.
Normally, I would've eaten with Rika, Sasha, and Karen, but today I had some business with the Vice President, so I headed to the Student Council room with two lunch boxes.
"...But why is Fuma-senpai here?"
"Food tastes better when you eat it together, Kim Yoo-Sung."
With a shameless look on her face, Fuma-senpai had followed me all the way to the Student Council room and was now opening her lunch box.
The contents of her lunch box were the same as mine: stir-fried bean sprouts, scrambled eggs, and stir-fried pork shoulder.
Among them, what particularly caught my eye was the pickled radish, which was a different color than usual.
It turned out to be tsukemono (pickled vegetables), which have an excellent, clean taste.
Anyway, since I couldn't let the food go to waste, I was silently eating Fuma-senpai's lunch when the Vice President spoke with a displeased look on his face.
"President Fuma, this is strictly the Student Council room. How dare you eat your lunch in our sacred space? Should I take this as a challenge to the Student Council?"
Fuma-senpai paused her meal and pointed her chopsticks at the Vice President.
"I know you guys eat in here all the time anyway. And it's not like I'm the only one eating right now."
"Kim Yoo-Sung is the secretary of the Student Council. While his act is just as irreverent, there is at least some room for extenuating circumstances."
"Huh? We're not supposed to do that?"
I asked while eating my lunch, and the Vice President shot me a glare.
Mm. I guess that means I should just shut up and eat instead of stirring the pot.
Finally, the President, who had been gazing out the window with her chair turned, spoke for the first time.
"Fuma-yang, I was already aware that you've always been rather clueless and shameless."
"Thanks for the compliment, Saionji-yang."
"That wasn't a compliment! ...Ahem, anyway, what I want to say is this. Kim Yoo-Sung-kun is our Student Council's secretary. In other words, he is like an extension of my own body, the President's. So would you please refrain from interfering with him as you please?"
As the President's bold declaration ended, the Vice President and Minami, who were standing behind her, burst into thunderous applause.
However, Fuma-senpai, the target of those words, simply replied with an indifferent expression, her chopsticks still in her mouth.
"Student Council business and who he dates are two completely separate matters. I'd appreciate it if you didn't order me around so haughtily. I don't take orders from those weaker than me."
As Fuma-senpai retorted on the spot, the President, having lost the argument, trembled with rage.
In the first place, the position of Student Council secretary wasn't that big of a deal.
It couldn't be helped.
Anyway, while the President was stewing over her defeat, I finished the lunch box she'd brought and returned the empty container to Fuma-senpai.
"Thanks, I enjoyed the meal."
"You're welcome. I can make it for you every day if you want. With miso soup."
"I'll have to politely decline."
I felt like if I gave her an inch, she'd take a mile, so I told her a firm no, but Fuma-senpai showed no signs of giving up.
'This is driving me crazy.'
It seemed she was in this for the long haul.
And if that happened, I'd be helpless and my weakness would be exposed.
As I pondered a way to naturally shake Fuma-senpai off, I ate the rice balls I'd packed for my own lunch in the Student Council room.
"Ah, this is good."
"I told you to stop eating in the Student Council room!"
The Vice President exploded in anger, but I pretended not to hear and diligently stuffed the rice balls into my mouth.
I still had a lot more to eat to meet my daily calorie intake, after all.