I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

“Is it okay... if I fall in love with you?”
A sudden confession.

I stared blankly at the President, completely dumbfounded.
Then, struggling to form words, I finally asked:
“So, does that mean... you want to date me?”

The President gave a slow nod.
“Yes. That’s right.”
“…Well, first of all, thank you. I mean it. But to be honest, I’m a little confused.”

It was the same when it came to Minato, but still—someone like the President? I’d never imagined someone so perfect would ever fall for me.
She wasn’t even a heroine from the original story.
In that sense, this had to be a pure, unfiltered confession of genuine affection. No ulterior motives.

Maybe that’s why I hesitated, and the President looked at me with a nervous expression.
“Do you… not like me?”
I quickly waved my hands.

“No, that’s not it. It’s not that I don’t like you. I just didn’t expect you to think of me that way. I mean—let’s be honest, I’m kind of… intimidating-looking, aren’t I?”
I scratched the back of my head and said it jokingly, but the President suddenly leaned in and exploded.
“No! Not at all! You’re not intimidating—you’re reliable!”

“Uh… y-yes, ma’am…”
Completely overwhelmed by her energy, I found myself agreeing instinctively.
And no, I was not caught off guard by her chest suddenly being right in my face.

“Really… Yu-seong, your opinion of yourself is way too low.”
“…My apologies.”
I said that reflexively, as if being scolded.
But the President crossed her arms and fired back instantly.

“Don’t apologize.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.”

“……”
With every option cut off, I had no choice but to just shut my mouth.
Maybe a minute passed like that.

In the awkward silence, the President finally spoke up.
“You’re a far more attractive person than you give yourself credit for, Yu-seong. Please don’t put yourself down so much. I fell for you because of your strength and your kindness.”
Getting praised like that—so sincerely and directly—made my skin crawl a little from embarrassment.
“And besides, I don’t judge people based on appearances, okay? No matter how you look, I’m fully willing to love you. You just need to sit there and quietly accept my affec—”

While sitting there listening to her praise, I rubbed the back of my neck and finally cut in with some effort.
“President.”
She stopped mid-sentence.

“What is it?”
I looked her in the eyes and said:
“To be honest, I think I’d be okay with dating you. We’ve known each other for a while, and we’ve always gotten along.”

Objectively speaking, if the President became my girlfriend, it’d be way more than I deserve.
Her expression brightened immediately.
“In that case—”

“But.”
I cut in and pointed out the reality of the situation.
“Like you said earlier… wouldn’t your family oppose it?”

We’re not characters in some children’s fairy tale. Just because two people agree to date doesn’t mean it’s all happily-ever-after.
Not to mention, her family was the Saionji Group—one of the top five conglomerates in all of Japan.
If I pissed off one of her elders, it wouldn’t take much for my entire family to be crushed like ants.

And maybe because she understood what I meant, the President bit her lip.
Then she insisted:
“If that’s the problem, then I’ll persuade my grandfather. He’s the one who decides everything in the Saionji household anyway.”

“President… you do realize how naive that sounds, right?”
I spoke gently, like trying to calm a child, and she finally lost her temper.
“What is that attitude?! I mustered all my courage to confess!”

“I’m taking this seriously too.”
I decided to just come clean with her.
“I know you didn’t say all this on a whim. But the truth is, we don’t have much time left.”

It was the end of August, which meant there were only about six months left until graduation.
And she was top of the third-years.
“You’re planning to go to university, right?”

“…Yes.”
“Then from second semester on, you’ll be swamped preparing for entrance exams. Even if we did start dating, we’d barely have time to see each other.”
“What if I said I won’t give up on either studying or love?”

“Then I’d make you. I don’t want to be the reason you fail your exams.”
“You really don’t back down, do you?”
With tears welling up in her eyes, she glared at me like I was being unfair.

“If you don’t want to date me, just say it outright. That’d be less painful.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying—here, first wipe your tears.”
I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket and handed it to her.

At first, she dabbed at her eyes delicately… and then she broke into full-on sobbing.
“Waaaah! You meanieee!”
I stared at her, flustered.

I’d hesitated because I was too shy to give a straight answer—and she clearly misunderstood.
So I quickly followed up:
“Six months! Just give me six months!”

Still sniffling, she blinked at me.
“S-six months?”
“Yes. If we’re really going to date, let’s wait until after your exams—six months from now.”

I said that as I gently took the handkerchief from her hand and held it to her nose.
“Okay, now blow. Go on.”
“Honk!”

Once she blew her nose, I looked down at her tear-streaked face and said:
“Like I said, I don’t want your grades to suffer because of dating me. So if, after you graduate, you still feel the same—would you confess to me again?”
I promise, next time, I won’t dance around it. I’ll give you a proper answer.

The President, eyes red like a bunny, asked quietly:
“What if I confessed again ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) right now?”
“Then I wouldn’t accept it.”

She hiccupped and stifled another sob before finally nodding with a strained voice.
“…Okay. I’ll wait.”
After crying her heart out, she suddenly seemed… younger. Like her mental age had dropped a bit.

I sat beside her and gently patted her back until she finally fell asleep.
***
Sure enough, when she came to later, the President was so embarrassed by everything she’d done while crying that she turned beet red.

“P-please forget everything I said while I was crying!”
“Everything? Even the confession?”
“Except that!!”

Face burning, she muttered, “Ugh… what the hell was I doing…”
She hadn’t realized it while crying, but now that it was over, it definitely felt like a personal cringe compilation.
I asked her:

“President, can I ask one thing?”
“What is it?”
“What was it you liked about me?”

“…Not telling.”
She stuck out her tongue.
Somehow, her demeanor felt a lot more relaxed now—like a wall between us had come down.

***
I must’ve dozed off while standing watch.
When I opened my eyes, the campfire had gone out, and the chill of the ocean breeze was seeping into my bones. The sky had already started to turn a pale gray-blue.

Just before dawn.
“Mmm…”
Seeing the President shiver and pull her blanket tighter behind me, I gathered some branches and sparked the fire again.

“Fwoof… fwoof…”
Ash got on my face as I blew into the coals. The flame flickered weakly—just about to go out—but finally, it caught.
As I stared down at the rekindled fire with satisfaction, the President stirred inside the hut and slowly opened her eyes.

“Mmm… What time is it?”
I glanced at my phone.
“6 a.m.”

“…Shinji and Minami still aren’t back?”
“Nope. They probably spent the night up in the mountains.”
They’re both ninjas, so I’m sure they’re fine—but I couldn’t help but worry anyway. I’m only human.

“Yaaawn… I think I’ll sleep a bit longer, then.”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
They say beautiful women are always sleepy.

She closed her eyes and drifted back off as if nothing happened.
Seeing that from beside the fire, I decided I’d get started on breakfast before it got too late.
I wasn’t going to forage like yesterday—just heat up some retort-packed food from the yacht in boiling water.

The moment I stepped into the sea to head toward the yacht—
Poooooo!
A ferry was cutting through the waves in the distance, approaching fast.

“A rescue ship!”
We’d only spent a day on the island, but I couldn’t help shouting in joy.