Chapter 9: Club Trial
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 9: Club Trial
In any case, it had been a while since I’d come to the student council room, so I decided to hear her out.
As I sat on the sofa, the student council's treasurer, Akagi Minami, appeared as if from the shadows and placed green tea and yokan on the table.
Both were high-end products brought all the way from Kyoto. The president had a discerning palate and wouldn't touch anything but this specific brand of tea and yokan.
"Thanks."
"It's nothing."
With that, Minami quietly stepped back.
As you might guess from their names, Vice President Akagi and the treasurer, Akagi Minami, are cousins.
The Akagi family is a branch of the Saionji clan and has apparently served the main family for a very long time.
While the vice president looks like a model student but is actually the hot-blooded type, Minami the treasurer is exceedingly cool-headed.
The two had polar opposite personalities, but their loyalty to the president was identical.
That was why I called the Ichijo Academy student council, with its suspiciously vast power, the president's private organization.
The president sat at her personal desk, clasped her hands, and rested her chin on them.
The curtains behind her cast a shadow over her face, making her look like some kind of mastermind, but was there really a need to set such a dramatic mood right now...?
I was pondering this question internally when she spoke.
"Kim Yoo-Sung-kun."
"Yes?"
"What are you doing for Golden Week?"
I paused for a moment before answering.
"For Golden Week? I don't have any particular plans. My parents have to run their shop, so I'll probably just be at home."
The fitness club is closed during that period, so I really had nothing to do.
"Perfect. In that case, I'd like you to help me with something."
"What is it?"
The president swallowed hard, then began to speak very slowly.
"You're already aware that I've been working day and night on a certain project, correct?"
"Ah, you mean the exchange with the Russian sister school."
"Yes. The talks went well last week, and they've decided to send an exchange student to our school after Golden Week ends."
"I see."
But what does that have to do with anything?
"I want to make a good impression on this exchange student. So, I'd like to give them a small gift when we first meet—something that won't feel like a burden. What I mean is..."
For the president, who was usually so direct, this was a rather long preamble, but I realized what she was trying to say.
"So you want me to help you pick out a gift for the exchange student?"
"Yes! That's right! That's exactly it!"
She shot up from her seat, shouting in an excited voice, then, as if belatedly realizing her mistake, she blushed and sat back down.
"If that's all, of course I'll help. When would be a good time for you?"
"I-I'm free anytime. I'm the one asking for a favor, so I'll adjust to your schedule, Kim Yoo-Sung-kun."
Hearing that, I took out my smartphone and checked my calendar.
"How about the 29th, the first day of the holiday?"
"That's perfect!"
The president answered my question in less than half a second.
When I stared at her, surprised by her rapid response, she thrust her fan at me and said forcefully,
"If you try to back out later saying something came up, I will never forgive you!"
"Huh? Y-Yes..."
She looked like she might actually hit me if I refused, so I reflexively nodded.
Only then did the president lower her fan, looking satisfied. She started humming to herself as she began tackling her pile of paperwork.
...I really have no idea what's going on.
It seemed like the president was done with me, so just as I was about to head back to class, I remembered something and asked.
"Um, is it okay for me to join a club again this year?"
"Suure~ I don't mind~"
When I'd asked before, she'd given me a sharp 'no,' but now it seemed to be okay.
I guess I was right to ask while she was in a good mood.
"...This is the best spot for a d-date!"
"You don't know anything. This is the hot spot right now."
I told the vice president and Minami, who were passionately discussing something on the sofa, that I was leaving, then quietly closed the door so as not to disturb them.
*
Originally, student council members were allowed to participate in regular club activities as long as it didn't interfere with their daily lives.
However, due to the president's insistence that I focus solely on council duties during my first year, I was forced to quit the board game club in the middle of the second semester and became a member of the 'going-home club'.
And now, an opportunity to join a club had finally come again.
As I sat at my desk reading a paper booklet distributed by the newspaper club, Kishimoto, who had just entered the classroom, asked curiously.
"What are you looking at, Ryu-chan?"
I angled my body slightly so she could see the booklet's contents.
"A new member recruitment flyer? Ryu-chan, you're a second-year and you haven't joined a club yet?"
I nodded. "I had to quit in my first year due to some circumstances. I was thinking of joining something again."
At that, Kishimoto clapped her hands as if on cue.
"Then do you want to check them out with me? I heard all the clubs are holding trial activities after school starting today!"
"Trial activities?"
"Yeah! It's better to go try them out in person than to just stare at a piece of paper in the classroom, right?"
She had a point.
Before, I'd joined the board game club without much thought, so I'd never tried out any other clubs.
Tempted by her offer, I decided to tour the clubs with her after school.
*
"So, where should we go first?"
To Kishimoto's question—she was a transfer student and, like me, didn't belong to a club yet—I answered with a place I'd already thought of.
"I want to check out a sports club first."
"A sports club?"
"I'm curious to see how far my skills will take me."
To be honest, when I thought about it rationally, all I'd done was train my body to its absolute limit at a local gym.
I'd always wondered if that would be enough to cut it at a practical level, like in a sports club.
My life was a simple loop between home, school, and the gym, like a hamster on a wheel, so I never really had a chance to test my abilities.
When I explained this, Kishimoto made a mischievous face and suggested we head to the sports field.
"What club is holding their trial on the sports field?"
Kishimoto grinned brightly and answered, "The soccer club!"
*
The soccer club boasted the highest competition rate of all the clubs at Ichijo Academy.
And for good reason—guys who play sports are cool.
Plus, soccer was one of the most familiar sports to the average person.
While some knocked on the door simply because they loved soccer and wanted to play, a good number of freshmen came with the hope of joining a sports club to monopolize the attention of the girls.
And among the freshmen, who were all of about the same height having just entered high school, there was one man who stood out with an unrivaled presence.
'Wh-Why is that guy here?'
Ryohei, the soccer club captain and a third-year for whom this would be his last chance to compete in the nationals, was stunned to see Kim Yoo-Sung—a student surrounded by ominous rumors—standing among the freshmen hoping to try out for the club.
His physique was truly overwhelming.
His superior height, which far surpassed the average for Japanese men, and the muscles that covered his entire body made him look like a walking weapon.
If he stepped onto the field, no one at the high school level would be able to stop him.
'I want this guy!'
What position would he be best at?
In Ryohei's mind, the ominous rumors about Kim Yoo-Sung no longer mattered.
He had dedicated his entire three years of high school to the soccer club.
He loved soccer more than anyone and wanted to be recognized for his skill.
But there was no one in the current club who could match his passion.
Soccer is fundamentally a team game.
No matter how brilliant a player is, they can't dominate the field with a one-man show.
If he had just two—no, even one—more member with similar skills, they could aim for the national tournament finals this year.
That's how desperate Ryohei was for a powerful new recruit.
"Alright, come up one by one and kick the ball."
But he had to refrain from showing his eagerness too openly.
If he made it obvious, Kim Yoo-Sung might feel pressured and go to another club.
So he planned to persuade him earnestly but naturally, like rain seeping into the ground.
One by one, they kicked the ball toward the goal, and finally, Kim Yoo-Sung's long-awaited turn came.
Gulp—
He was intimidating enough sitting down, but standing right in front of him, his presence was even more overwhelming.
Standing before him, Ryohei felt like a dwarf.
Even though the height difference was probably only about 10 centimeters.
"Should I just kick this?" Kim Yoo-Sung asked in a deep, heavy voice, looking down at the ball.
"Huh? O-Oh, yeah." Ryohei, snapping back to his senses, nodded hastily, and Kim Yoo-Sung took a small step back.
Then, he lifted his leg high and—
BOOOOM!!!
—kicked the soccer ball with a tremendous roar.
Ryohei whipped his head around, puzzled by the undisturbed goal net, then looked back at Kim Yoo-Sung and witnessed an unbelievable sight.
A soccer ball, which should have been perfectly fine after a simple kick, was lying at Kim Yoo-Sung's feet, its side gruesomely burst open.
"Wh-What the..."
As Ryohei muttered unconsciously, Kim Yoo-Sung glanced down at his own foot, shook his head, and said,
"This place won't do."
"Next up is the basketball club, then!"
All Ryohei could do was stare blankly at his imposing back as he walked away with the blonde high school girl.