Chapter 97: The Omniscient Class President's Point of View
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 97: The Omniscient Class President's Point of View
Ayase Satsuki is the class president of Class 2-B.
With her black braided hair, round glasses, a face without a hint of makeup, and a long skirt, she was the very picture of a model student. Perhaps for that reason, she had often been chosen as class president since she was young, regardless of her own wishes.
It wasn't that she particularly liked the role, but it wasn't entirely without its merits.
By doing the class president's work, she naturally became acquainted with the teachers in the faculty office, which made school life more convenient in many ways.
Coming from an ordinary family, Ayase's situation was tight enough just paying the expensive tuition for the private Ichijo Academy; she couldn't afford to give up such an advantage.
In any case, she had a concern lately.
It was about her classmate, Kim Yoo-Sung.
The first time she got to know him was back in their first year.
Back then, he didn't have the hulking figure he did now. He was an outstanding student, so much so that he had stood on the platform as the freshman representative during the entrance ceremony. He was the center of attention for many students.
It was hard to even imagine now, with his current "End-of-century Conqueror" vibe, but it was true.
He had been the complete package: tall, with excellent grades and handsome looks.
The student council president had taken notice of him, he joined the student council, and as he seriously started to bulk up, nasty rumors about him began to circulate within the academy. But Ayase knew they were false.
He simply wasn't that kind of person.
They were probably just baseless rumors spread by those who were jealous of him.
But upon entering their second year, as the new semester began, women suddenly started flocking around the once-quiet Kim Yoo-Sung.
Unlike his first year, when he didn't hang out with anyone and spent his breaks quietly reading a book, he had become actively social in his second year.
And since every one of them was exceptionally beautiful, it even led people to call it the "Kim Yoo-Sung harem."
Thinking that a person couldn't change so drastically overnight, Ayase decided to figure out what was going on for herself.
*
The first semester final exams, which had spanned a total of three days, were finally over.
I, for one, took the tests in pretty good condition, as usual. But unlike the midterms, most students groaned at the drastically increased difficulty of the questions, and their test papers were a disaster.
Even so, if there was one person who got a noteworthy score, it was Rika.
"Yes! A new high score!"
It seemed my one-on-one tutoring, done to keep our promise to hang out together this summer, had paid off. Rika managed to get excellent scores in all her subjects, including math.
It meant she herself had put in a lot of effort.
"Congratulations, Rika."
"Hehe, it's all thanks to you, Ryu-chan."
"What did I even do?"
After exchanging a few words of praise, we prepared to head home early.
Thanks to not getting any proper sleep these past few days, I planned to go home and crash immediately.
"What? You're just going home? The exams are finally over, why don't we hang out?"
It was a tempting offer, but I politely declined Satoru's suggestion.
"I've been pulling all-nighters, so I'm dead tired. Let's hang out next time. Besides, vacation starts in a week, we can do whatever we want then."
"That's true."
Satoru was convinced by my words and nodded, and that was that.
We decided to call it a day.
*
The first semester would be over by next week.
Compared to last year, it had been a rather eventful three months, but somehow, I'd made it through safely.
Come to think of it, this entire semester had been a series of incidents, one after another.
I'd been run so ragged that I wondered what kind of high school student had such a busy daily life.
I suspected it was because I was experiencing the events that the original protagonist, Sakamoto Ryuji, was supposed to go through, but that was just speculation.
Normally, I would have walked this route to school with Rika, but the girl in question had gone shopping in Shibuya in her mom's car to celebrate her high score, so I couldn't see her.
Thanks to that, I was heading down to the subway station alone for the first time in a while.
"Yoo-Sung!"
A familiar voice stopped me from behind.
Wondering what it was, I turned around to see Ayase Satsuki standing there in her school uniform.
"What's up, Class President?"
Ayase pushed up her thick glasses slightly and said.
"Do you have time right now? There's something I'd like to ask you."
It was a bit of a sudden proposal, but I decided to accept her request.
For better or worse, I had known her for almost two years now.
When I thought about it, besides the President and Satoru, she was the person I'd known the longest at school.
We decided to talk at a cafe near the subway station.
*
Ayase's question was a bit out of the blue.
"Yoo-Sung, do you know what the students in other classes call you?"
I held my coffee cup and remained silent for a moment before answering.
"The Strongest Man in the Academy, Mr. Muscle, the Elite Yakuza Who Attends School as a Hobby?"
"You're surprisingly well-informed about your own rumors."
"Rumors are the kind of thing you hear even when you're just sitting still."
To be honest, they were all such childish nicknames and absurd stories that I hadn't bothered to respond to them.
"Then this will be quick. Do you know the nickname you got from being seen hanging around with Rika, Sasha, and Karen?"
"...I have a feeling it's not a good one."
And what came out of the class president's mouth was a nickname beyond my imagination.
"Ichijo's Brutal King."
"What kind of name is that? It sounds like something out of an adult game."
"I suppose it's proof that people don't look at you very favorably."
The class president said, sipping her coffee.
"So, what's the truth?"
"The truth?"
"Which of the three are you trying to date? You must have at least one person you're leaning towards."
I was at a loss for words at the sudden, direct pitch that hit so close to home.
"It's not that kind of relationship between me and them."
"Really? For people who aren't 'like that,' the way the girls look at you seems to hold more than just simple goodwill."
Ayase pointed out the facts I had been trying so hard to ignore, looking at me with transparent eyes that seemed to see right through a person's thoughts.
"The truth is, you're just being indecisive and can't choose who to date, isn't it?"
It was an undeniable truth, leaving no room for excuses.
Figuring it would be useless to lie, I let out a small sigh and spoke.
"...Because I was afraid of shattering the relationship we have now."
And there was another concern I couldn't tell anyone.
The romantic comedy genre typically ends the moment a main heroine is chosen.
If I was currently progressing through the story of 'Scramble Love' in place of Sakamoto Ryuji, then choosing a heroine already was far too early.
Not only that, but I was also worried about how many people could genuinely like a high school student who looked like me.
My own menacing appearance startled me every time I looked in the mirror.
The question of whether anyone could genuinely like me—someone who would look more at home in a fighting manga than a rom-com—never left my mind.
The thought that the three of them might only like me because I was fulfilling the protagonist's role in place of Sakamoto Ryuji was agonizing.
I'm human, too. How could I not notice their blatant affection?
But that hesitation was stopping me from acting more decisively.
After hearing my answer, the class president, who had been staring at me, smiled slightly and put down the coffee cup in her hand.
"I'm glad. It seems the Yoo-Sung I know hasn't changed."
"What do you mean by that?"
"A normal high school boy, if pretty girls like that showed interest in him, would first think about how to make a move, right? But you, Yoo-Sung, you're getting scared before you even have a proper conversation and are weighing all the pros and cons. I don't think approaching it with such caution is a bad thing. After all, a relationship isn't something you do alone."
The class president said, staring intently at me.
"Still, it's probably not a good idea to make them wait too long. You know what they say, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,' right?"
It was truly painful advice, so I nodded with a bitter smile.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"I owe you for helping me out back in our first year, so think of this as us helping each other out."
With that, the class president stood up from her seat first.
"I'll get the bill. Take your time and finish your drink."
"You're leaving already?"
The class president nodded and took her wallet out of her bag.
"School ended early, so I have to make the most of the day."
In a way, it was a statement that seemed to suit her the least, but I knew that Ayase wasn't the model student she appeared to be.
"Thanks for today, Ayase."
At that, Ayase's face flushed slightly, and she shot back at me.
"Just call me Class President like you always do. That's cringey."