Chapter 109: Miko-chan: So the president Shirogane is a scumbag?!
Noon.
Sakurai Saki realized that Hayasaka Ai didn't invite him to lunch.
That only made him even more certain of one thought — the relationship between him and Hayasaka Ai hadn't become any closer just because they started dating.
As everyone probably knows, in Japan, many couples eat lunch together: they find a quiet corner with no people, whisper sweet nothings, feed each other, and spend their break together in a way that makes Ishigami Yu cry while firing off hundreds of "Shine-Shine-Beam" attacks.
Ishigami: (っಥ益ಥ)っ=========DEATH))) (っ˶ ˘ ᵕ˘)ˆᵕ ˆ˶ς)
But Hayasaka Ai didn't invite Sakurai Saki, which made General Affairs Sakurai feel extremely dejected.
Sakurai: ૮(˶╥︿╥)ა
He held his lunch box and walked out of the classroom.
Hayasaka Ai watched Sakurai Saki's back as he walked away.
In truth, she really wanted to eat lunch with him, but…
'If we eat together, then it'll be like an official announcement!'
At that point, the entire school—boys and girls—would know she was dating Sakurai-chan!
Just thinking about that made Hayasaka Ai feel unbearably embarrassed.
At the very least, this wasn't something she wanted to be the one to initiate.
————
Sakurai Saki pushed open the student council room door.
"Shirogane!!!!"
(つಥ﹏ಥ)つ
He shouted.
Then saw Shirogane Miyuki eating lunch.
After that, he froze.
"You are?"
(ง ◉ _ ◉)ง
Who are you? Someone important, someone unforgettable!
In that moment, Sakurai Saki felt like he was in a scene from Your Name, completely unable to recognize the person in front of him.
"I'm Shirogane Miyuki!" President Shirogane loudly declared.
Shirogane: ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧
"Nah nah nah, Shirogane. Where are your eye bags? And what about that face that looked like someone who's been working at a black company for hundreds of years?" Sakurai Saki looked at Shirogane in astonishment, scanning him from top to bottom, before sitting down opposite him.
"Lately I've been getting better rest, so I look more energetic." Shirogane Miyuki brushed his hair back.
Shirogane: ( •᷄ᴗ•́)و
Today, as he walked through the hallway, many students had greeted him.
And among them were girls. What does that mean? He, Shirogane Miyuki, was finally starting to become popular!
"No, something's off, Shirogane. I can't accept your current image! I don't get it at all!" Sakurai Saki spoke with dramatic intensity.
Can anyone imagine this?
Someone who used to look completely average takes off his glasses, and his looks suddenly shoot up from 5/10 to 12/10!
Is that reasonable? Not at all!
"The way you're talking…"
"Whatever, you becoming popular has nothing to do with me." Sakurai Saki stared a bit more before finally managing to somewhat accept it.
At this moment, Shirogane Miyuki was in a great mood.
Even Sakurai Saki had that reaction—so for him, Shirogane Miyuki, to become a popular handsome guy was only natural, right?
…Wait a second!
What good is being popular!?
"Sakurai, I realized something. I don't think I have a single girl to date…" Shirogane Miyuki discovered a blind spot.
"How do you know?" Sakurai Saki asked curiously.
"My feeling is… everyone just sees me as a friend. And I feel the same way." Shirogane stroked his chin.
Sakurai Saki opened his bento box.
"Shirogane, have you heard this saying—'start by being friends.' Dating isn't something that happens overnight. But honestly, if you really wanted to, if you went and randomly confessed to some girl right now, your success rate wouldn't be low."
Silently, there were quite a few girls secretly in love with Shirogane.
"No, Sakurai, you misunderstood me. What I mean is… there's no girl I like." Shirogane explained.
Of course he understood what dating was, but the problem was—there was no one who moved his heart right now!
"Huh?" Sakurai Saki picked up a piece of tempura he liked, took a bite, swallowed, and said: "You don't like anyone, then what's the point of dating? Dating just for the sake of dating—isn't that weird?"
Shirogane Miyuki covered his face with his hand, his voice filled with gloom: "If I don't start dating while I look less gloomy these days, I feel like there won't be many girls willing to go out with me later!"
(;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`)
No girl likes a guy with a threatening glare! Shirogane Miyuki clearly knew why girls usually didn't dare say hi to him in the hallway!
"Whatever, your problem isn't my business. I've already got a girlfriend anyway." Sakurai Saki spoke casually, with a hint of bragging.
Sakurai: ╮(˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)╭
"Just a girlfriend… Huh?" Shirogane Miyuki tilted his head. "Huh? NANI!"
Σ(°ロ°)!!!
"Girlfriend?"
Sakurai's girlfriend!?
Shirogane lowered his voice and asked secretly, "Who is it?"
"Hayasaka-san," Sakurai Saki replied flatly.
Shirogane Miyuki was his best friend, tight-lipped and trustworthy—there was no worry about this leaking.
"Sakurai, let me confirm something!"
Shirogane Miyuki swallowed hard.
"Does Hayasaka-san know she's your girlfriend?" he asked.
That question...
Made Sakurai Saki go silent, freezing the atmosphere. It was hard to imagine those words coming out of Shirogane Miyuki's mouth.
"...When did you two start dating?"
Sakurai Saki still didn't respond.
"Didn't you used to call her Ai-chan? Why are you calling her Hayasaka-san now?" Shirogane Miyuki stabbed his friend twice—not just stabs, but two critical hits.
Sakurai Saki gritted his teeth and took a big bite of rice.
"I already kissed her."
"Oh." Shirogane Miyuki didn't react as Sakurai Saki had expected. "Hayasaka-san is a gyaru, so doing things like that isn't that unusual, right?"
"Didn't you guys used to hug all the time in the second half of last year too?"
Honestly, Shirogane Miyuki still hoped Sakurai Saki would end up with Fujiwara Chika.
Hayasaka Ai… how should he put it—in Shirogane's eyes, she felt kind of fake, like she was wearing a mask.
Besides, she wasn't a member of the student council, and she didn't participate in any clubs after school. It was said she worked part-time to buy fashion items, but there were also plenty of girls gossiping behind her back, saying she was doing enjo-kousai (compensated dating), though Shirogane didn't believe that.
But if Sakurai dated Hayasaka-san, it felt like they wouldn't have much time to spend together. Both had part-time jobs, and such a relationship would be difficult to maintain for long.
"Shirogane, if you don't understand something, don't casually give your opinion." Sakurai Saki said coldly.
Sakurai: (ꐦㅍ _ㅍ)
"Sorry," Shirogane Miyuki replied sincerely.
"Forget it." Sakurai Saki changed the subject.
He had come here precisely to ask how to close the distance with his girlfriend.
Although that question in itself was strange—because, if someone's already your girlfriend, why would you still need to "close the distance"? That concept itself was a paradox.
If the distance weren't already close, she wouldn't be your girlfriend. And once she's your girlfriend, the distance shouldn't be something you have to forcefully reduce—it should be a natural process.
"Shirogane, how do I become close and affectionate with my girlfriend?"
"You're asking me?" Shirogane Miyuki pointed to himself.
I'm Shirogane, and you're asking me?
I've never even held a girl's hand before.
You come in here asking about how to handle romantic relationships—how am I supposed to answer? Draw from my past life memories?
…Wait a second, did I even have a girlfriend in my past life?
Shirogane: (˵ಥ‿ಥ˵ )
"You're the only person I can share this with. If I don't ask you, then who else?" Sakurai Saki clearly didn't want to talk about this kind of thing in front of Ishigami Yuu.
"Let's put that question aside for now." Shirogane Miyuki set down his chopsticks.
Then his expression turned serious: "What are you planning to do about the situation with Secretary Fujiwara?"
"Keep things as they are," Sakurai Saki answered curtly.
"You mean… you're planning to two-time?" Shirogane Miyuki asked in disbelief.
"No, I'm not dating Secretary Fujiwara." Sakurai Saki replied, confused.
Shiroganei: (≖ - ≖)
But the way you're treating Fujiwara right now—it's basically no different from being a couple!
Feeding each other food, hugging—if you kissed one day, it wouldn't even be surprising!
"Sakurai, here's how I see it: a guy can be a scumbag, but he can't be an unclear scumbag. If you don't want to hurt someone, then you'd better make a choice." Shirogane Miyuki stated his view.
He didn't want his best friend to become a scumbag, but even less did he want to see him stringing people along without clarity.
Sakurai Saki rubbed his forehead, "So you're saying I should secretly date Secretary Fujiwara too while I'm already dating Hayasaka-san?"
General Affairs Sakurai shouted loudly: "Wouldn't that make me a complete trash-tier scumbag?!"
"I misjudged you, Shirogane. You're a damn scumbag!" Sakurai Saki said, full of disappointment.
Outside the student council room—
Iino Miko had just arrived to submit some documents, and she used the file folder to cover her face.
So the president Shirogane is a scumbag!
'And here I thought he was a good guy all this time!'
"Disgusting!"
( ｡ •̀ ᴖ •́ ｡ )
Miko-chan stomped away in anger.
Someone like that isn't fit to be student council president! Next election, I'm definitely running! I'll drag trash like him down from that position!