It was quite difficult to escape the swarm of reporters rushing in like moths to a fla, all eager to get an interview, and make my way inside the school.
“Ugh! Kim Yu-seong! Leave this to and go!”
If my horoom teacher, Yamada, who was also the head teacher for the second year, hadn’t thrown himself in front of the reporters to block them, I’d probably still be stuck wrestling with them at the school gate.
“Whew, it’s hectic.”
“Tell about it.”
Clatter!
Ryuji, Yaguchi, and I shared these thoughts as we entered the classroom through the back door, imdiately drawing the attention of our classmates.
But the emotions behind their stares were a little different from usual.
Normally, it would be sothing close to fear, but today it seed more like… admiration?
One of the trio of baldies, the one with glasses, approached and asked.
“Kim, is it true that you’re Fuma Kotaro’s disciple? The whole internet is buzzing with stories about you.”
I suddenly realized just how powerful the na Fuma Kotaro was.
In the underworld, Fuma Kotaro was famous by the nickna ‘Black Yaksha’, but in public, he went by a different na.
That na was none other than,
‘National Hero.’
He earned the nickna by winning the GOF, an unlimited weight martial arts tournant that gathered the best fighters from around the world, promoting Japan’s martial arts prowess on the global stage.
As expected in a world with a manga-like atmosphere, it was quite an over-the-top, embarrassing thought.
Although the popularity of the GOF had waned with the retirent of its golden generation, the prestige of the event remained high. Fans of the sport would still religiously watch the tournant, which was held every three years.
Despite its short history, the tournant’s global recognition rivaled that of the World Cup, which was why my male classmates seed so enthusiastic about it.
But it had nothing to do with .
After all, it had only been a week since I first t Fuma Kotaro, Senior Fuma’s father.
So my answer was simple.
“Uh, it’s just viral marketing.”
Sothing like black propaganda.
“For that, there’s even an interview included.”
“What?”
I had no idea what he was talking about, so I stared intently at the smartphone screen he showed .
‘Exclusive scoop! Fuma Kotaro actually has a successor?!’
At first glance, the headline seed like typical clickbait, but the accompanying photo of Fuma Kotaro made it clear that it wasn’t just a tabloid article.
Q. What is your relationship with the high schooler (?) in the video?
A. Kim Yu-seong is my spiritual successor, having inherited all of my techniques.
They even confird my real na, making it impossible for to deny anything.
“So, what’s the truth?”
In the end, I had no choice but to acknowledge the suspicions of my classmates and admit one more thing.
“…Yeah, I’m his disciple.”
I had fallen right into that sly old man’s psychological ga.
Today was just a whirlwind of chaos.
The people who usually ignored suddenly started sucking up to .
At lunchti, I had to escape to the rooftop to avoid the overwhelming attention and eat my lunch in peace.
“…That concludes today’s eting.”
After the Student Council eting wrapped up, I was one of the last to leave the eting room, and I felt the intense gaze of the President on , so I casually turned my head.
“Why have you been staring at like that for a while now?”
The President chuckled and rested her chin on the desk, smiling.
“I just realized again how handso your side profile is, Yu-seong.”
“Even if you keep complinting , you’re not going to get anything from it.”
“Oh my, I’m just telling the truth.”
The President said that with a mischievous grin, then quickly moved on to the main point.
“I saw how much trouble you had with the reporters this morning on your way to school. If you want, I can have all the articles about you taken down. What do you want to do?”
I paused for a mont, considering the President’s offer.
With the power of the Saionji family behind her, erasing all the rumors surrounding wouldn’t be impossible.
But the problem was that too many people already had access to my personal information.
It was probably easier to identify because I was wearing my school uniform in the video.
“It’s fine. It’s not like I have anything to hide anyway.”
If it were entirely fabricated, it would be different. But the fact that I’d learned the Fuma family’s secret martial art couldn’t be erased now.
Thinking about it, calling a spiritual successor wasn’t really wrong, so Fuma Kotaro didn’t lie in his interview.
“Well, if that’s your decision, I won’t intervene. But you’ll be dealing with it for a while. Once a topic catches fire, it won’t die down unless sothing bigger overshadows it.”
“It’s not like I’m debuting as a celebrity, so I’ll manage sohow. But let’s stop talking about these heavy topics and discuss the upcoming festival instead.”
“Haha, the festival, huh?”
“Yes. It’s your last festival at this school, so we should make it worthwhile, don’t you think?”
Next year, the President would graduate and leave this school.
Of course, it didn’t an I wouldn’t see her at all, but once she dived into the competition to beco the family’s heir, there was no doubt we’d have far less ti to et.
When I ntioned that, suggesting we make as many mories as possible while we still had ti, the President looked at with a touched expression.
“Yu-seong…”
At that mont…
“Ahem! Miss, romance is fine, but could you save it for a more appropriate ti and place?”
Minami, who had been sorting the eting papers nearby, scolded us with a pointed remark.
To a perpetual single like her, it must have been a bit of an eyesore.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Minami. I didn’t even realize.”
The President apologized gracefully and then stood up to head back to the Student Council room.
“Oh, by the way, Yu-seong, I have so good news.”
“What’s that?”
“Shinji will be able to return to school next week.”
“Really? The Vice President?!”
I was genuinely shocked.
It was because, though he was officially on leave, the Vice President had been dismissed from his family after the incident at the engagent ceremony.
I assud he wouldn’t be able to return anyti soon, but he was coming back.
The President seed pleased by my reaction and playfully hid her smile behind her fan, looking smug.
“They said he might have to repeat a year if his absence continued, so I pulled so strings. I may look like this, but I’m quite capable, you know?”
“President! You’re amazing!”
“Ohohoho! Praise so more!”
When I looked at her with admiration, she let out a villainous lady laugh, sothing I hadn’t heard in a while.
As expected, she was as weak to complints as ever.
Watching our exchange, Minami let out a deep sigh and remarked,
“Honestly, what a sickeningly perfect couple.”
After finishing everything I had to do in the Student Council room, I said goodbye to the President and Minami and left first.
Unless I had club activities, I usually finished school around 4 or 5 in the afternoon.
In my case, I was a mber of both the Student Council and the Board Ga Club, but the latter was more of a formality, as I rarely participated.
Honestly, life was just too busy for to visit the clubroom often.
Afraid that the morning’s chaos would repeat itself if I left through the front gate, I decided to use the back gate for the first ti in a while. As I made my way toward the subway station, I spotted a familiar face leaning against the wall, waiting for soone.
“Nao?”
It was Minato Nao, a junior who had confessed to at the sumr festival several months ago.
I had heard that she rarely ca to school since the second sester because of her busy schedule as a famous actress, but it seed like she had attended today.
Just as I spotted her, she noticed , too. She waved her right hand energetically while still leaning against the wall.
“Oh! Senior! It’s been a while!”
Her face was bright and carefree, as if nothing had happened on that day.
I approached her, hiding the slight awkwardness I felt.
“It’s been a while. How have you been?”
Nao patted on the shoulder and said,
“Of course I haven’t been well! My once-in-a-lifeti confession got rejected so cleanly!”
“Ugh!”
Nao’s words, laced with so lingering bitterness, made my smile freeze.
“Hahaha, I’m just joking! Just joking! I’m totally fine now!”
Nao said that while putting her hands behind her back.
“Right after you rejected , I went ho and cried my eyes out. But as ti passed, I realized I was okay. I guess you were right, Senior. It seems I liked your muscles more than I liked you.”
She said sothing that would’ve shocked anyone else, then winked and asked,
“But more importantly, didn’t you miss ? After all, you did like having a pretty junior like around, didn’t you?”
“Well, I guess I did feel a little lonely.”
Nao used to fill my phone notifications with dozens of ssages every day, but after that day, she stopped contacting , and we didn’t speak again.
When sothing’s always there and then suddenly gone, its absence feels much bigger.
“Honestly, I thought you’d blocked .”
“Really? That’s too bad. I was hoping you’d be the one to reach out first.”
“I’m not that inconsiderate, you know.”
After I had already rejected her so clearly, reaching out first would’ve felt pretty pathetic.
“Anyway, I was worried about you, but you look healthy, so that’s good. What brings you to school today?”
“Oh my? Is it weird for a student to co to school? The drama I was filming is over, and if I skip any more, I’ll be short on attendance days, so I’ve been coming regularly lately.”
“Really? That’s good, then. You’ll be able to enjoy the upcoming school festival.”
“Haha, I’ve been looking forward to the Fujiwara Festival. It’s the first school event I’ll be able to participate in since I enrolled here.”
“The Student Council has put a lot of effort into it, so enjoy it to the fullest.”
“That’s exactly what I plan to do.”
After saying that and shrugging her shoulders, Nao suddenly let out an “Ah” and raised her voice.
“Senior, could you spare so ti during the festival next week?”
“What?”
I was taken aback by her sudden request, and Nao smiled sheepishly before explaining.
“I hate to say this, but since I rarely co to school, I don’t have any close friends in my class. So I thought it would be nice to have soone to enjoy the festival with.”
“If that’s the reason, then sure.”
As long as I had enough ti to go on a date with the President, I was fine with spending the rest of the ti with Nao.
Plus, I still felt a little guilty about rejecting her confession before.
“Wow! Thank you!”
As soon as I agreed, Nao grabbed both of my hands tightly.
Flustered by her sudden touch, I quickly pulled my hands away, but Nao poked my side with her finger and teased.
“Senior, are you seriously getting shy with that big fra of yours?”
This girl, even though it had been a while since we last t, was still as playful as ever.
Maybe it was the confidence that ca from working as an actress for so long?
We continued chatting until her manager’s car arrived at the back gate to pick her up, and then I headed ho.
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