A/N: Guess what, I am back. I am such a workaholic that I found some time to write on my trip. So, here you go. Enjoy :)
Why the hell am I being compared to Kimura Takuya?
Like, seriously?
I mean sure, the dude was a national treasure in his prime. The kind of guy even your mom would blush over when he showed up on TV. But the guy's practically a fossil in idol years. Still handsome, sure, but a relic.
So what, does this nickname mean I'm a retro-style hottie now?
Tch. Ridiculous. I'm betting it came from one of the girls who were buzzing around me yesterday. Probably said something dumb like, "He has that old-school celebrity charm!" and it just stuck.
…Great. Just what I needed.
Dragging my feet through the front gates of the school building, I headed straight to the shoe lockers, swapped out my sneakers for the stiff, unforgiving school loafers, and trudged toward the classroom.
As soon as I stepped inside, every single pair of eyes snapped toward me like I was some kind of exotic creature on display at the zoo.
"Huh...? What now? Did I do something again?"
I froze mid-step.
Okay, if this was yesterday, I'd get it. I was the shiny new transfer student—prime meat for curiosity. But today's my second day. The novelty should've worn off by now, right?
And yet…
The stares weren't curious. They were... intense.
I made my way to the last seat by the window like usual—my unofficial throne of peace and solitude—feeling like I was walking under a spotlight.
The moment I sat down, a ripple passed through the classroom.
Whispers. Groups of two, three. Leaning in, glancing my way. A whole flock of gossip pigeons cooing away with their juicy breadcrumbs.
…What the hell is going on?
I leaned back, resting my cheek on one hand, squinting at the chattering masses like I was trying to decode a foreign language.
"Campus romance rumor," I concluded with the instinct of a man who's seen this kind of dumb drama in his past life.
College students were easy to read.
Boys were obsessed with games, boobs, and who won the latest PvP match.
Girls had their celebrities, trends, and relationship tea.
But when the entire class is this riled up?
You just know someone's love life got turned into the next Netflix special overnight.
The sudden arrival of our homeroom teacher saved me from the swirling whirlpool of attention. He entered, everyone snapped to attention, and just like that, peace was temporarily restored.
First class of the day began… and faded into white noise.
The teacher's voice sounded like it was coming from underwater. His lips moved, but my brain had already disconnected the audio. The subtitles weren't even loading.
And like always, my mind drifted.
Tomoko Matsumoto's lips.
Last night.
Soft, flushed, trembling with a mix of inexperience and desire.
She tapped out early though. Shame. My lion wasn't done roaring yet.
Kana Kobayakawa's freaky obsession with reptiles still gave me whiplash. I mean, snakes? Lizards? But then again… she did look kinda cute in that oversized sweater while talking about her pet gecko...
Mochizuki Haruka had replied to my LINE last night. She wants to meet this weekend.
..That could get interesting.
And then—Lisa Shiraishi.
Student council president.
Beautiful. Cool. Perfect scores. Ice Queen with perfect manners.
She barged into my life yesterday out of nowhere and tried to pull me into her club like it was the most natural thing in the world.
What's her deal, anyway?
Ugh. The more I thought about it, the faster time flew.
In fact, by the time I lifted my head again, the class was over.
It was lunchtime.
Unfortunately, there was no bento from Tomoko today. No love-filled rice balls. No pink chopsticks shoved into my mouth by a blushing tsundere. Just... simple reality
And my reality was cold, stale bread from the school cafeteria.
I grabbed two curry buns and a melon pan, resigned to my carb-heavy fate.
"Ginjo-san…"
I turned. A male voice?
Behind me stood a guy with short black hair, kind of nondescript, but vaguely familiar.
"We're in the same class. I'm Okamoto. Ryuichi Okamoto."
Ah, one of the few boys in class. No wonder I barely remembered him.
"Oh. Hello, Okamoto-san."
He looked relieved. Guess he thought I didn't recognize him at all.
"You eating alone?"
"Yeah."
"Then come with me. We usually eat on the rooftop. The terrace above the third floor."
"...Above?" I raised an eyebrow and asked, "I thought the building only had three floors."
"There's a hidden stairwell. You'll see.", He grinned as he said.
And just like that, I got peer-pressured into rooftop bonding.
Rookie mistake? Maybe. But hey, making allies in a new school isn't a bad idea.
The sun was nice up here.
Warm breeze, blue skies, and a perfect view of the courtyard. The rooftop terrace was surprisingly peaceful.
I sat down, unwrapped my curry bun, and before I could even take a bite—
"Ginjo-san," one of the boys began, barely containing his grin, "do you know? The whole class is talking about you."
"Yep. Everyone's buzzing."
Huh?
So that's what this was.
They invited me up here for intel.
I sighed and replied dryly, "...I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."
They exchanged looks. Then Okamoto leaned in with a wide-eyed stare.
"Eh?! Don't tell me you don't know?"
"What, did you really reject the student council president?"
"Yeah, yeah! I heard she confessed to you and you turned her down! But she won't give up and keeps chasing after you!"
"I even heard she ran away crying yesterday!"
...
I stared at them.
Head full of question marks.
NPCs had spawned around me, spewing dialogue boxes with golden exclamation marks and branching quest trees.
Reject Lisa Shiraishi? Make her cry?
Whaaaaaaat!?
Where the hell did that come from?!
And how did it already get turned into a dramatic soap opera!?
This happened literally yesterday. Gossip spreads faster than a cat video in a group chat.
I raised a hand to cut them off. "You're all mistaken. That's not what happened. Shiraishi-senpai just invited me to join a club. That's it."
Like a wet towel to a fire, their enthusiasm instantly deflated.
"Oh…"
"Yeah, I thought it sounded too wild…"
"Maybe it was just those gossipy girls twisting the story."
They chuckled awkwardly, trying to save themselves from embarassement.
I took another bite of my bread, chewing thoughtfully. "So... what kind of person is Lisa Shiraishi, anyway?"
"Ah, right. You're new, huh?"
"She's the goddess of this school," one of the guys said, eyes sparkling. "Top scores. Impeccable manners. Rich family. She's beautiful, but cold."
"They call her the Snow Flower . Untouchable."
"No matter how many guys confessed, she shut them down."
Another added, "She doesn't even join clubs. Just the student council."
"Wrong," Okamoto chimed in. "Last semester she did start a club. But no one joined, so it got disbanded."
A few jaws dropped.
"What kind of club was it?" I asked.
Okamoto scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Uhh… actually, I don't think anyone knows."