I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

Ayase Satsuki was the class president of 2-B.
With her black ribbon-tied hair, round glasses, makeup-free face, and long skirt—she looked like the textbook model ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ of a perfect honor student. Maybe because of that, she was often elected class president against her own will ever since she was a child.

She didn’t particularly like the role of class president, but it wasn’t without merit.
While doing class president duties, she naturally came into contact with the teachers in the staff room, and that made school life a lot more convenient in various ways.
Ayase, being from an ordinary household, couldn’t afford to ignore such advantages, especially since Ichijo Academy’s tuition fees were steep for a private school.

Anyway, lately, there was one thing that had been troubling her.
It was about one of her classmates, Kim Yu-seong.
She first got to know Kim Yu-seong in their first year.

Back then, he didn’t look so bulky like he did now. In fact, he was so accomplished that he had gone up to the podium as the representative of the new students at the entrance ceremony. He was someone who naturally drew attention from the other students.
Now, with his end-of-the-world delinquent aura, it might be hard to imagine—but it was true.
He had all three: a tall figure, excellent grades, and a decent face.

Then, Kim Yu-seong caught the eye of the Student Council President, got roped into the council, and started seriously bulking up. That’s when disturbing rumors began to spread about him around the school—but Ayase knew they were false.
He simply wasn’t the type of person who’d do such things.
It was probably just baseless gossip spread by people who were jealous of him.

But when they became second years and the new school year started, girls began flocking to Kim Yu-seong’s side.
Unlike in the first year when he barely interacted with anyone and spent break times quietly reading books, he had now started actively socializing.
And the girls around him were all extraordinary beauties—so much so that people were now calling it Kim Yu-seong’s harem.

She couldn’t believe a person could change so drastically overnight, and so Ayase decided to look into the situation herself.
***
The first semester finals, which spanned three days, were finally over.

As for me, I wasn’t in bad condition, just like usual. But most of the students were groaning about the suddenly increased difficulty compared to the midterms, and judging by the answer sheets, it was as if a heavy rain had poured down on them.
Among all that, if there was someone whose performance stood out, it was Rika.
“Hell yeah! New personal best!”
Maybe it was the payoff from those one-on-one study sessions we’d had to keep our promise of hanging out this summer, but Rika managed to score top marks across all subjects, including math.

That probably meant she’d put in a lot of effort on her own as well.
“Congrats, Rika.”
“Hehe, it’s all thanks to Ryu-chan!”

“I didn’t really do much.”
After exchanging a few words of praise, we started getting ready to head home early.
Thanks to not having slept properly for several nights, I was planning to pass out the moment I got home.

“What, you’re just going home? The exams are finally over—you should hang out a bit.”
It was a nice offer, but I politely turned Satoru down.
“I’ve been pulling all-nighters. I’m dead tired. Let’s hang out next time. We’ve got summer vacation starting in a week anyway, so there’ll be plenty of time.”

“Well, that’s true.”
Satoru nodded, convinced, and that was the end of it.
We called it a day.

***
Next week, the first semester would be over.
Compared to last year, these three months had been pretty eventful—but somehow, I managed to get through them in one piece.

Looking back, it felt like every single day of this semester had been one incident after another.
It was hard to believe this was a high schooler’s daily life—there’d been that much chaos.
Maybe it was because I had ended up going through the kinds of things Sakamoto Ryuji, the original protagonist, was supposed to face. But that’s just speculation.

Normally, I would’ve been walking home with Rika. But since she had scored high and was celebrating by going shopping in Shibuya with her mom, I didn’t get to see her.
So I was heading toward the subway station alone for the first time in a while.
“Yu-seong-kun!”

A familiar voice grabbed me from behind.
When I turned around, wondering what was up, Ayase Satsuki was standing there in her school uniform.
“What is it, Class President?”

She pushed up her thick glasses and spoke.
“Do you have time right now? There’s something I want to ask you.”
It was a bit sudden, but I decided to accept her request.

Whatever the case, she was someone I’d known for two years now.
Strictly speaking, the only people I’d known longer at this school were the President and Satoru.
We went into a café near the subway station to talk.

***
Ayase’s question was a bit out of the blue.
“Yu-seong-kun, do you know what the other classes call you?”

I held my coffee cup in silence for a moment before answering.
“The Academy’s Strongest Man? Mr. Muscle? The Elite Yakuza who attends school as a hobby?”
“You’re surprisingly well-versed in your own rumors.”

“Well, rumors reach your ears even if you just sit still.”
Honestly, I didn’t bother responding to any of them because they were either too childish or too ridiculous.
“Then let’s cut to the chase. Do you know what nickname you’ve gotten lately, since you started hanging around with Rika, Sasha, and Karen?”

“…I doubt it’s anything good.”
And then she hit me with a nickname that was worse than I imagined.
“The Brutal King of Ichijo.”

“What the hell? That sounds like some eroge protagonist.”
“That just proves how unpleasantly people are looking at you.”
Ayase sipped her coffee.

“So what’s the truth?”
“The truth?”
“Which one of them are you planning to date? There must be at least one girl you’re into.”

That direct fastball aimed at my chest left me speechless.
“I’m not in that kind of relationship with any of them.”
“Really? For someone who says that, the way those girls look at you doesn’t seem like it’s just friendly.”

Ayase stared at me with clear eyes that seemed to see straight through me, pointing out facts I had tried to ignore.
“Honestly, aren’t you just being indecisive and can’t choose?”
There was no room to argue with that.

It seemed lying would be useless, so I let out a small sigh and spoke.
“…I was scared of breaking the way things are now.”
And there was something else I hadn’t told anyone.

In a romantic comedy, once the heroine is chosen, the story is basically over.
If I really was progressing through “Scramble Love” in place of Sakamoto Ryuji, then it was far too early to make that choice.
Not only that, but part of me worried—how many people could sincerely love a high schooler who looked like me?

Even I flinched at my own reflection in the mirror.
Would anyone seriously love someone like me, who looked like he belonged in a martial arts manga rather than a rom-com? That question never left my mind.
Maybe it was because I’d taken the protagonist role from Sakamoto Ryuji that those three girls had shown interest in me—but thinking that made it unbearable.

I’m human too. How could I not notice blatant affection?
But that hesitation was what kept me from acting more decisively.
Hearing my answer, Ayase looked at me for a moment, then smiled softly and set down her coffee cup.

“I’m relieved. Seems like the Yu-seong-kun I know hasn’t changed.”
“What do you mean?”
“A typical high school boy, if he realized pretty girls liked him, would try something—anything. But you? You got scared before even having a real conversation, and now you’re overthinking everything. I don’t think that kind of cautious approach is bad. Relationships aren’t something you do alone, after all.”

She looked me in the eyes as she said that.
“But don’t keep them waiting too long. They say when a woman holds a grudge, frost falls even in midsummer, you know?”
It was a sharp piece of advice. I gave her a bitter smile and nodded.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You helped me once in first year too, so I guess this is me returning the favor.”
With that, Ayase stood up from her seat.

“I’ll take care of the bill. You can finish your drink.”
“Already leaving?”
She nodded and pulled her wallet from her bag.

“School let out early today, so I should make the most of it.”
Strangely, those words didn’t seem to suit her at all—but I knew Ayase wasn’t just the perfect student she appeared to be on the outside.
“Thanks for today, Ayase.”

At that, she blushed faintly and snapped at me.
“Call me Class President like usual. That was way too cringe.”