Chapter 302
302 – [Side Story] Valentine’s Beginning
That day has returned again this year.
A lover’s day filled with the sweet and bitter smell of chocolate.
A.K.A A day to gift chocolate to your lover.
A.K.A #1 most hated anniversary chosen by solos.
February 14th.
Valentine’s Day.
It was originally a holiday that originated from the feast day of St. Valentino, but its original meaning was greatly altered after it entered the Eastern world, especially Japan.
It is a representative example of an anniversary in the West that was introduced as a corporate tactic and has completely become a part of the culture, but for singles, it is the day they hate the most in the year to go to school.
This is because you may go to school in the morning with an excited heart, but find yourself trudging home empty-handed in the evening.
For reference, until just a year ago, I was in almost the same situation as them.
Because I never thought there would be someone who would truly like a guy like me with a bunch of muscles and a scary look.
But this year I am different.
That’s because I’ve grown tremendously over the past year and now have 8 girlfriends that everyone can’t help but envy.
… What? Don’t you think the girlfriend number at the end is strange?
Shhh.
I know.
***
Beep beep! Beep beep! Beep beep! Beep!
“Uhm… “
Today, as usual, the sound of a cell phone notification rang, so I raised my upper body, rubbing my sleepy eyes.
“What time is it… “
I fumbled to turn on my phone screen and checked the time. It was 5 am.
I played a squid shooting game with Satoru and Ryuji until 2 a.M., So I woke up after only 3 hours of sleep.
Because I was so tired, I wanted to skip morning exercise, but perhaps because of the habit I had developed, I had already changed into jogging training clothes.
‘I can’t help it.’
You can’t take off what you’ve already worn.
Having given myself this indulgence, I put on my running shoes and went out the house, ignoring my brain’s desperate signal that I wanted to rest for just one day.
“Huh, huh, huh, huh.”
It seems like only yesterday that we had to go to great lengths to stop Chiaki from reaching Buddhahood in the New Year, but two months have already passed and it is already February.
The two-week winter break is over, and the third semester is now in full swing.
Unlike Korea, which usually operates on a two-semester system, Japanese schools operate on a three-semester system, so students attend school from early January to March, have a spring break of about a month, and then start the new semester in April .
Well, there are pros and cons to each, but since I lived as ■■■ for a longer period of time before possessing this body, I still haven’t gotten used to the existence of three semesters.
“Oh, are you going to the gym?”
“Yes, hello.”
I passed through the alley in front of my house and on my way to the riverbank, which is the running course I always run, I met Koichi, who works at a fish shop.
Mr. Koichi went to the fish market every morning and picked up the fish himself, so he started his day’s work much earlier than others.
“I bought this on the way, so eat it while you’re at it.”
While saying that, what Mr. Koichi threw was a ripe apple.
I accepted the apple with my right hand and immediately lowered my head.
“Thank you.”
“Yes, exercise hard.”
I waved at Mr. Koichi and then ran and ate the apple.
Normally, if I eat something while running, I can’t digest it, but I have a stomach of steel, so it’s okay.
Perhaps because it was so early, I haven’t met anyone else than Koichi since then.
Thanks to this, I no longer had to pay attention to others. After arriving at the riverbank, which was my destination, I picked up the tempo and started running.
“Hook, hook, hook, hook, hook.”
The breathing cycle that used to be regular while running gradually becomes faster.
I felt my heart pounding in my chest and the blood flow in my body speeding up.
Hayate’s walking technique, Oikaze, was applied as a technique, and because he ran while minimizing air resistance by wrapping energy around the surface of his body, he was able to run at a much faster speed than just running.
Instead, it’s because the body gets very hot and in cold weather like now, water vapor is released from the whole body.
To an unfamiliar person, it would probably look like a murderous robot from the future running at full speed.
In fact, I once made a female passerby cry while doing this in the early morning, and after that, I seriously refrained from running as much as possible when people were around.
After the 10 km distance in 30 minutes, I started practicing hayate at the final destination, Citizen’s Park covering.
There are a total of 7 techniques, starting from the 1st type, Kamaitachi, to the 7th type, Ryuunobori.
Because he was born as an assassin, Hayate’s every bite was strong and harsh.
As I followed the instructions in the secret book I had seen before in the ninja village and followed the seven herbivores, I could see traces of the previous Fuma Kotaro thinking about how to destroy the human body more efficiently and kill the enemy in an instant.
After practicing in a trance for about an hour, I looked around and saw a group of ladies who had come out for an early morning workout surrounding me and looking at me in amazement.
“Bachelor, where do you go to the gym?”
“Muscles are no joke.”
“It wasn’t like this even when my husband was young.”
While saying that, the ladies approach slowly.
“Huh? Huh?”
When I came to my senses, I was suddenly surrounded by a siege of ajummas.
“Oh my, look at these thighs. There’s no stone at all.”
“It looks like you have heavy equipment on your arms instead of biceps?”
“It looks like there’s a ghost on its back.”
Although I didn’t touch him directly, he looked at me as if he was licking my entire body, and I felt shame for some reason, so I unconsciously covered major parts of my body with my palms.
And then he spoke carefully.
“I… Can I stop going?”
Then the ladies started and moved to the side.
“Agmoney! Look at my mind!”
“I’m sorry! Bachelor! I didn’t do that on purpose!”
“The handsome bachelor has a nice voice!”
He said something as if he was making excuses, but to be honest, I couldn’t hear a word.
I just wanted to get out of this place as quickly as possible.
I picked up the training uniform that I had left on the bench and ran out of the citizen’s park.
I think I should exercise in a less crowded place next time.
***
“Puhahaha! Yoosung, you’re the kind of guy who feels shame too!”
“… It’s noisy.”
When I came to school and told him what happened this morning, Satoru, who was sitting in front of me, burst out laughing.
Well, that’s what I meant from the beginning, but I’m secretly upset because they’re ridiculing me so openly.
“Why is the atmosphere in the class like this? It feels like we are on the verge of war.”
To be more precise, the boys in my class were acting as if they were no different from usual and were secretly observing their surroundings.
Would you say it’s like a meerkat scouting the surrounding terrain?
Even some girls were looking around with a little hesitation.
“What? Yoosung, you don’t know what day it is?”
“What day is it?”
When I asked with a puzzled expression, Satoru pressed me with a puzzled expression.
“It’s Valentine’s Day! Valentine’s Day!”
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, it was like that.
What happened this morning had such an impact that I completely forgot about it.
But it seemed different to Satoru.
“You’re saying you can relax because you have someone to give chocolate to anyway, you deceiver.”
“…If you say that, I’ll have nothing to say.”
The fact that Rika and I are dating has already spread throughout the class.
Of course, in order to prevent suspicion of two legs (actually, there are eight legs), I did not open my mouth in front of Satoru about the chairman or the members of the group led by the chairman.
“I really want to receive chocolate this year too! Not the usual friendship chocolate!”
It was time for Satoru to vent her anger by shouting like that.
“I’m sorry because it’s friendship chocolate.”
Ayase appeared right behind him holding a wooden basket.
“Class leader?!”
“Now, it’s up to you.”
Ayase said that and handed out a small, bite-sized piece of chocolate to Satoru.
From noble mtl dot come
“… Class President, this doesn’t mean that, right?”
“Do you want to die? Just tell me, and I’ll bury you anytime.”
“It’s a joke! A joke!”
As Ayase’s eyes behind the glasses became harsh, Satoru quickly became a dog with a wagging tail.
“Anyway, if you just treat him a little nice, he’ll climb up quickly.”
“I’m sorry.”
When Satoru apologized with a sullen expression, it was finally my turn.
“This is Yooseong’s job.”
Saying that, what Ayase handed me was a round chocolate in the same shape as Satoru’s.
‘Huh?’
I was momentarily puzzled, then saw Ayase winking so that only I could see.
“It won’t taste good once it melts, so I recommend eating it as quickly as possible.”
And then she leaves her place as if nothing had happened.
It seemed like he was probably going to hand out chocolate to the entire class.
‘What is it?’
I opened the chocolate wrapper to check the identity of the signal Ayase gave me.
Then, what was inside the foil was not chocolate, but a small note.
When I opened the note and checked its contents, there was a simple note written on it.
[To the rooftop during lunch time.]
It looks like Ayase’s sincere chocolate will be given at that time.
‘It’s cute.’
I happily smiled on the inside and put the note in my pants pocket, and without realizing it, I looked at Satoru with pity as he was eating the friendship chocolate that Ayase had given him, saying, “I’ll definitely get a real chocolate this year!”.
Gomen, Satoru.
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