266 – Chiaki’s Request
December is already halfway through.
The atmosphere in the classroom is chaotic in many ways, probably because winter vacation is only about a week away.
“So, Yooseong, what are you going to do for Christmas?”
While eating lunch together in the student cafeteria after a long time, I put my chopsticks in my mouth and thought about Satoru’s surprise question.
“Hmm… maybe, maybe we’ll go on a date.”
This is the first Christmas since the president and Rika became lovers.
No matter what, I had a girlfriend for the first time in my life, so I wanted to spend Christmas in peace.
After hearing my answer, Satoru leaned back in her chair and stretched out her limbs.
“I envy you! I want a girlfriend too!”
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She tried to make her a lover all year long, but it was me and Ryuji who actually got a boyfriend, so Satoru’s feeling of deprivation is probably no joke.
However, seeing that she only complained to herself like this and didn’t show any more negative emotions to us, it made me think that Satoru is a real jerk too.
Because he’s this kind of guy, he must have assumed the position of best friend to Ryuji, who was called the Harem King in the original work.
“What are you two doing?”
Did I say that even a tiger will come if I say it?
At that time, Ryuji, the last member of the trio of Class 2-B, came over to our table.
He had yakisoba bread in his hand, and he’s probably going to eat one of those for lunch today.
I asked as I pulled out a chair.
“Where are Yaguchi and Hattori going and are you alone?”
“He said he was going to eat with you guys today, so he kindly let you go?”
With that said, Ryuji, who casually took a seat next to her, asked as she opened the bag of bread.
“Since I heard it from a distance, it seemed like they were talking about what to do for Christmas. Are you going to play Christmas just the two of you?”
Then Satoru looked straight at Ryuji.
“You’re crazy. Why do I have to spend Christmas with the boys?”
“…….”
Cancel what I just said.
This guy is all good, but his snout is a problem.
It was a living witness to the saying that the mouth is a hole that invites disaster, since a guy who looks fine in his own way loses his score every time he opens his mouth.
“But why are you suddenly biting rice cakes? Do you have any appointments for Christmas?”
“Oh, nothing really.”
At Ryuji’s seemingly insignificant reply, Satoru and I asked a question at the same time.
“”Why?!””
Then Ryuji looked at us with a prickly expression.
“Why are you both doing that? Should there be?”
“No no, the guy with the peppers running fine doesn’t do anything with his girlfriend on Christmas?”
In response to Satoru’s question, Ryuji waved his right hand as if it didn’t matter.
“Ah~ Now, what’s new? It’s already been over 10 years since I’ve known him. Yaguchi wouldn’t even care about that now?”
“…….”
As a novice in dating, it was obviously a wrong move, but Ryuji, the person involved, didn’t seem to know that he had made a mistake.
And as if to represent my feelings, Satoru tapped the guy’s head with the blade of his hand and said.
“Your relationship is only three months old, so why are you acting like an old couple who have been together for the rest of your life? Go on a date for Christmas when your brother says something nice.”
Then Ryuji replied with a puzzled expression.
“I have no money.”
I was surprised to hear that.
“What? Where did you spend all the prize money you won a while ago?”
“Wow, what, what, what!”
Then Ryuji panicked and tried to cover my mouth.
Ah. It was a secret.
Belatedly realizing that I had made a mistake in my words, I kept my mouth shut, and Satoru tilted his head with a puzzled look on his face.
“Prize? What prize?”
“Uh… well, I got some prize money for winning an amateur gaming competition a while ago.”
“What? If you received something like that, you should have reported it to your brother!”
Fortunately, thanks to Ryuji’s good manners, Satoru was fooled innocently.
Anyway, the topic of conversation quickly moved on to that, probably because the prize money was mentioned.
“So you’re saying you don’t have money for a date after you’ve won all your winnings?”
Then, Ryuji averted her gaze and answered.
“Not long ago, I spent everything except for food because I booked a limited edition game.”
“…Are you stupid?”
“I have no face…”
No, I’m not blaming her for buying her stuff with her own money, but that doesn’t mean she’ll spend all her winnings without leaving money for a Christmas date with her girlfriend.
“Why don’t you find a part-time job? There are a lot of them these days.”
“Since our school is a preparatory school, part-time jobs are prohibited.”
“Oh, I did.”
I forgot because I always saw Fuma-senpai secretly working part-time at her convenience store.
“Then how about getting an advance payment from your parents?”
“He’s in the Amazon jungle.”
“What about borrowing from a friend?”
“Would you guys lend it to me?”
Ryuji’s hands are suddenly reaching out towards us.
“…….”
Satoru and I turned away from Ryuji’s palm at the same time.
“Honestly, there is no way.”
“Well, it’s Ryuji who gets ripped off for not having a date on Christmas, not us.”
“Please! Lend me just 10,000 yen! I’ll pay you back as soon as I get my allowance next month!”
It even came out with two hands together, which can be said to be a special move of a boy cartoon character, but our eyes watching it were cold.
“My mom says that her friends don’t trade money.”
“I’m sorry. I need a lot of money for Christmas too.”
So we politely refused Ryuji’s request, and we escaped from the student cafeteria before the despairing guy clung to us any more.
***
「Hey! Yuseong Kim! Wait a minute!」
It was Chiaki’s sharp voice that made me suddenly stop in the middle of the street after escaping from the student cafeteria as if I were running away with Satoru.
Talking to her in the middle of her street might make her look like an idiot, so I told Satoru to go back to her classroom first, and then she moved her place to a quiet, unoccupied place.
“What’s up?”
When I asked with a sullen face, Chiaki, who was floating in the air, asked with a puzzled look.
「What’s wrong with your expression?」
“As I said beforehand, I will not lend money to Ryuji.”
When I said that and raised both hands, Chiaki smiled incredulously and said,
「Isn’t that why you came here? I’m not even a mother.”
“Then what did you come for?”
Then instead of answering my question right away, Chiaki kept fiddling with the hem of her skirt and averting her gaze.
It seems to be a very difficult request to say.
However, as if he had made up his mind before long, Chiaki spoke to me with a serious expression.
「Can you help me this Saturday?」
“This Saturday?”
「Yes. I want to buy a Christmas present for Ryuji.”
Fortunately, it’s a much more normal request than I thought.
After Chiaki’s charges were cleared, I relaxed my expression and asked as I folded my arms.
“I don’t mind helping you, where did you get the money for the presents?”
Then Chiaki replied with a hehehe- laugh.
「I shared the prize money I received from the beauty pageant the other day with Ryuji.」
As far as I know, Ryuji’s final ranking in the beauty pageant was 3rd.
In other words, he received 10,000 yen as prize money, but if it was half of it, it was said that only 5,000 yen fell to Ryuji in the end.
… Did that guy sell his man’s pride for 5,000 yen?
I feel extremely sad after knowing the inside story.
「So what is the answer? Will you do it Are you talking?”
I replied with a shrug.
“It’s between you and me, I can do that much.”
No matter what, she is like a younger sister who has been living in the same room for a while.
He said he was going to do something extraordinary for the first time in a while, but he had no intention of ruining it, even though he couldn’t help.
“So, can I help you this Saturday? Where do you want to meet?”
Then Chiaki tilted her head as if she had heard something she couldn’t understand.
「Why do you need a meeting place? I can’t go, so you’ll have to come.”
“…What?”
***
Saturday, December 23rd.
The weekend before Christmas Eve.
I left the house early in the morning and went to Ryuji’s house nearby.
‘This place is always gorgeous.’
This is the 5th time I have visited Tower Mansion, which at first glance seems incredibly expensive.
If the previous four visits were for ordinary fun with Ryuji and Satoru, today I came for a completely different reason.
Ping Pong!
After waiting for a while, the intercom on the first floor was connected, and Ryuji’s younger sister Yuika’s voice came through the speaker.
「Yes~ This is the Sakamoto family~ … uh? Yoosung’s brother? What are you doing on the weekend morning?」
“Oh, the last time I came, I borrowed a comic book from Ryuji, so I came to pick it up.”
「Wait a minute.」
Knock! The intercom cuts off with a sound, and the automatic door opens.
I naturally entered the lobby and got on the elevator that went straight up.
The door opened, and I walked down the long hallway and pressed the doorbell in front of Ryuji’s house once again, when I heard light footsteps from inside.
After a while, the tightly closed front door opened, and Yuika, wearing twin tails as usual, greeted me.
“Hello! Yoosung oppa! Come on in!”
“Oh, thank you.”
As I said that, I bowed my head and stepped into the tower mansion where the two siblings live together, along with a bag full of comic books.