A few days passed.
“Ohohoho! Please try the spicy stir-fried pork my father made!”
Contrary to the expectation that she would feel very out of place as the daughter of a wealthy family, the President fully adapted to living in our house.
Normally, serving in the shop would be my mother’s job, but the President, wanting to help out since she was staying with us, took the initiative herself.
“Miss! Two orders of spicy stir-fried pork here!”
“Can we get a refill of draft beer?”
“Please wait a moment!”
The President responded in her refined tone, taking orders from the regulars.
Wearing an apron, she quickly ran to the kitchen to place the orders and then brought the refilled beer glasses.
She was always talented enough to be called a refined lady, and the serving skills she learned from my mother in such a short time were also top-notch, befitting the Saionji name.
The shop, which was already doing well, became even more prosperous with the appearance of our new ‘poster girl’.
“Hey, what are you standing there for? Go and help the President.”
“Ah, yes.”
I had been standing at the counter, blankly staring at the President, when my mother nudged me to start carrying plates in a hurry.
After such a hectic business hour, it was finally closing time at 9 o’clock.
“Father, please have a drink.”
“Oh, I must accept a drink poured by our Saionji girl.”
The sight of the President pouring beer into my father’s glass after a day’s work made her seem more like family than me.
“...Excuse me.”
“Hm? What’s the matter?”
“Aren’t you two getting too used to this? What will you do when the President leaves?”
Both my parents froze simultaneously.
“Haha, what a scary thing to say. Our Saionji girl wouldn’t disappear without a word.”
“Oh dear, if you have time to say such things, eat an apple.”
With that, my mother forcibly put an apple in my mouth.
It seemed they wanted to deny reality.
Watching the two of them, I said I would go in first and stood up.
Thud!
I went into my room and sat down on a chair.
The room, about 10 pyeong in size, was filled with exercise equipment, leaving no place to step, but the resulting narrowness somehow made me feel at ease. R�
And then I realized the reality a bit late.
‘Isn’t this dangerous?’
At first, I had just given the President a room because she had nowhere to go, but now she seemed more integrated into this household than I was.
Someone who didn’t know might think the President was the child of this house, not me.
‘To think this would make me worry.’
Looking at it this way, the President was truly an enchanting woman.
While I was agonizing alone...
Knock, knock!
Someone knocked on my door.
“Yu-seong, may I come in?”
“Ah, yes. Come in.”
When I gave permission, the President opened the door and came in.
She was holding a plate of fruit.
The President put the plate on the desk and asked,
“So, what happened to the Vice President?”
“According to Minami, he took full responsibility for the recent incident and returned to his hometown to await punishment. He submitted a leave of absence to the school. Since there’s not much time left until graduation, it would be a waste to drop out because of the punishment.”
“...That’s true.”
“I plan to keep a position open for Shinji to return at any time. Honestly, if I turn away such a loyal retainer, who would want to work for me? It’s only natural to do this.”
“You’re commendable.”
I patted the President’s trembling shoulder.
Overwhelmed with emotion, the President, who had been sniffling more with each word, took a deep breath and asked,
“Shinji will be safe, right?”
“The Vice President will be safe. The Vice President I know would go through fire and water for you, President.”
Sniffle.
“...Thank you for comforting me.”
“I’m your one and only boyfriend. This much is only natural.”
After our conversation ended, the President stayed in my arms for a long time before finally pulling away.
“Thank you for indulging me. I feel much lighter.”
“I’m glad to hear that. If you have any difficulties in the future, feel free to tell me.”
“Hehe, thank you, but I’ll decline. It feels like I’m exposing my weaknesses to you.”
The President said this while wiping her teary eyes with her sleeve, then suddenly kissed my cheek.
“Good night.”
“Yes, you too, President.”
The President nodded with a gentle smile and then left the room.
Left alone in the room, I stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, then worked out intensely to erase the naughty thoughts that kept surfacing, finally falling asleep late at night.
After the school trip ended, normal daily life resumed.
A life of going to school in the morning, attending classes, doing club activities, and then returning home.
Soon, there would be a sports event, but until then, normal school life would continue.
Typically, a school trip is one of the biggest events for high school students.
And such events usually bring changes in relationships.
The excitement of the trip leads to finding love, and such affection is directed toward the opposite sex who lives closest.
In other words...
After the school trip, the number of couples in the class increased dramatically.
At a glance, there were at least three couples.
The most noticeable couple among them was Ryuji and Yaguchi, who confirmed their feelings for each other in front of many people.
“I want to kill them.”
“Just bear with it.”
I was startled by Chiaki’s words floating beside me and said that.
But my words seemed to pour oil on the fire for Chiaki, who had to watch the two being lovey-dovey all day as a sort of guardian spirit for Ryuji.
“Why should I watch the person I like be lovey-dovey with another girl every day?!!!”
Uh, I don’t have much to say if you put it that way.
As I inadvertently avoided her gaze, Chiaki glared at the two who were being lovey-dovey and let out a threatening sound like a dinosaur.
At that moment, Rika, who was sitting next to me, asked,
“Ryu-chan, do you have time this weekend?”
“Huh? This weekend?”
“Yeah. I want you to keep the promise you made last time, this weekend.”
Rika said that and looked up at me with a nervous face.