I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

Two days had passed since I got caught up in Goto’s situation and ended up fighting a biker gang.
And as always, a new Monday had arrived.

As usual, I woke up at 4 a.m., went for a jog, packed my lunchbox, and got on the subway in time to arrive at school. The thing that welcomed me was the stinging stares of the entire student body.
“……?”
I’d always attracted attention when I walked by, but it had never been to this extent.

I wanted to ask what was going on, but whenever I made eye contact with someone, they quickly looked away and slipped off, so there wasn’t even anyone to ask.
“Welcome, Kim Yu-seong.”
“Ah, good morning, sir.”

The only one acting the same as usual was our year supervisor, Matsuda-sensei.
Matsuda-sensei, as always, told me to button up my gakuran jacket, but I said it was out of my control and I couldn’t help it.
Which was true, because it really didn’t close.

“Kh, just get going.”
Since this was the usual routine, I gave a polite bow to the quickly resigned teacher and crossed the campus into the school building.
Even while I was pulling out my indoor shoes, the stares from students walking down the hallway poured onto me, but I still had no idea why.

Up until just this past Friday, I was just treated like a school curiosity.
Still holding onto my unsolved confusion, I entered Class 2-B, and standing in front of my desk with excited faces were the usual Bald Trio, who normally didn’t even talk to me.
“Kim-kun! Is the guy in this video by any chance you?!”

“This physique! This super strength! I really think it can only be you!”
“What’s your connection to the biker gang in the video?!”
…Huh?

I had no idea what they were talking about.
“What video are you talking about?”
“This! I’m talking about this!”
Then the bald guy with glasses shoved his smartphone at me, his face flushed with excitement.

In the low-quality video that could make your eyes hurt just by watching it, a group of high schoolers on illegally modified bikes were engaged in a massive brawl.
And in the center of the fight, there was a noticeably large man wearing a khaki-colored hoodie—and no matter how you looked at him, it was clearly me from Saturday.
“…….”

Cold sweat trickled down my spine.
I hadn’t expected someone to be filming during that chaotic mess.
The only silver lining was that the footage was so blurry—probably shot with a dashcam or a phone’s night mode—that it wasn’t very clear.

“That’s not me.”
So I shamelessly decided to just deny it.
“See! Told you it wasn’t him!”

“Ah, really? He looked just like you though.”
“Kim-kun’s always busy studying or working out, why would he waste time getting into fights like that?”
“Sorry for wasting your time.”

“This idiot kept insisting it was you.”
Hearing my answer, the other two members of the Bald Trio scolded the guy with glasses and returned to their seats.
And perhaps because that was now the “official” answer, the classmates around us, who had been eavesdropping, all started frantically typing away on their phones.

‘That was a close call.’
Good thing I’d been playing the model student all along for the sake of image reform.
***

Lunch break.
Today, the girls had apparently decided to talk among themselves, so I was eating alone with Satoru. Naturally, the video came up again.
“Yu-seong, did you see this? It blew up over the weekend—it’s a video of biker gangs fighting.”

Satoru said that as he shoved his smartphone at me.
It was the exact same video the Bald Trio had shown me in the morning, so I just shook my head.
“That guy isn’t me.”

“Seriously? Come on, just tell me. I won’t say a word to anyone else.”
“I don’t even know when this video was taken, but I don’t own clothes like that.”
As I said that and pointed to the khaki hoodie, Satoru clicked his tongue.

“Guess it really isn’t you. Alright.”
Satoru wasn’t the type to give up that easily, but since he had no proof for now, he seemed to back off temporarily.
Looks like I’ll have to seal that hoodie away for the time being.

It was a new one I bought at the department store to replace the hoodie that got wrecked in the Akihabara fight, but now I’d have to spend more money again.
As we chatted and ate the lunch I’d brought from home—
Murmur murmur—murmur murmur—

The cafeteria suddenly grew noisy.
Wondering what was going on, I turned my head, and saw a beautiful girl with light brown wavy hair walking gracefully from a distance.
For some reason, the oversized sunglasses on her face stood out as a point of interest.

And just like me, Satoru had clearly noticed her too, as the chopsticks in his hand clattered onto the table.
“N-n-n-n-Naotan!”
“Oh, the celebrity you were talking about?”

“Y-yeah. I heard she was starting school this week, but I didn’t expect to see her this soon!”
Satoru frantically searched through his uniform pocket, only to realize he had nothing and let out a wail.
“Gaaaaah! Why didn’t I bring paper and a pen?! This was the perfect chance to get Naotan’s autograph!”

Seeing Satoru act like a total idol otaku—so different from his usual intellectual image—was surprisingly fresh from a friend’s perspective.
Was she really that famous?
I tilted my head in doubt and popped a piece of jajun-gwon into my mouth.

And then, Satoru’s pupils dilated sharply.
“H-h-hey, Yu-seong. Naotan’s heading this way.”
“She probably came to the cafeteria to eat and is just looking for a seat.”

“No, it’s not that. She’s actually walking straight to our table.”
“You’re being delusional. Stop drinking your own kool-aid and just eat your—”
“Hello, senpai.”

Huh?
Startled by the soft voice behind me, I turned around.
There stood the very same beautiful girl we’d just seen—arms crossed.

She removed her oversized sunglasses and spoke.
“If you don’t mind… may I sit with you for a bit?”
I stared at her, chopsticks still in my mouth, and asked with a bewildered expression,

“Uh, wouldn’t that be uncomfortable for you? I mean, it’s just guys here.”
“That’s alright. I’m used to it from drama and film shoots.”
She clearly had some kind of business.

Satoru was already frozen solid, and if she just kept standing there, we’d keep drawing attention from everyone around. So I let out a small sigh and nodded.
“Alright, have a seat. I don’t know what this is about, but whatever.”
“Thank you. You’re very kind♪”

Minato Naoya said that with a bright smile and pulled out the chair next to me before sitting down.
What the hell is happening on a Monday morning?
***

At that same time, on the school rooftop.
Rika, Karen, and Sasha had decided to eat lunch together without Kim Yu-seong just for today. They sat in a circle, eating their bento lunches.
As usual, the mood was friendly and casual with all kinds of chit-chat, when Rika took a sip of her boxed juice and suddenly dropped a bombshell.

“I like Ryu-chan.”
“Pffft!”
At those words, Karen spit out the water she was drinking.

Thankfully, Sasha, who was sitting in front of her, swiftly dodged, so she wasn’t hit directly by the spray, but she still frowned slightly in irritation.
“What the hell was that, Redhead.”
“Cough, cough.”

Karen coughed repeatedly and turned to Rika beside her.
“Wh-what do you mean, Rika?”
“I mean, all three of us here—me included—seem to like Yu-seong, right?”

Karen turned beet red at those words.
“M-me? Like Kim Yu-seong?!”
Watching her, Sasha {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} crossed her arms and said with exasperation,

“Did you really think you were hiding it well, Redhead? It’s written all over your face that you like Kim Yu-seong.”
“Kuh……”
Hit where it hurt, Karen had nothing more to say and shut her mouth tightly.

Seeing this, Rika smiled awkwardly and said,
“Don’t hate each other so much, okay? After all, we’re rivals in love.”
Sasha seemed to like that phrase and nodded, mumbling,

“Rivals in love, huh. I like that. My mother always said that sometimes, love you fight for is more precious than love that comes easy.”
“Really? Hehehe…”
Rika scratched the back of her head bashfully at Sasha’s compliment, then shook her head firmly and said,

“Anyway, what I want to say is this. Since it seems like all three of us like Yu-seong, rather than getting in each other’s way, how about we cheer each other on instead?”
“Oho—so you’re suggesting an alliance?”
Sasha murmured with interest, and Rika nodded.

“From what I can tell, the number of girls around Yu-seong is only going to increase. And the more that happens, the less chance any of us has. So before things get ugly, how about we agree not to fight among ourselves?”
Karen, stuck between the two, cautiously asked,
“…When you say agreement, what exactly do you mean?”

“If a new girl shows up, we watch her carefully. And we don’t sabotage each other’s moves. Then, when one of us ends up dating Ryu-chan, the others back off peacefully.”
“That’s quite a reasonable proposal.”
“Right? So Sasha-chan, you…”

“But I don’t really like that approach.”
Sasha stood up, firmly cutting Rika off.
“A Russian woman wins her love with her own hands. That’s how it’s always been. My mother did, and so did my grandmother’s generation.”

She looked down at Rika as she said this.
“I won’t criticize your way. But I’ll go my own way. That’s fine, right?”
At Sasha’s confident question, Rika hesitated—unlike her usual bubbly and confident self.

But since she realized there was no other option, she eventually nodded.
“Alright.”
“I’ll get going then. Enjoy your lunch.”

With that, Sasha left the rooftop first. Rika, now on the verge of tears, looked at Karen and asked,
“Karen-chan? Did I do something wrong? I just wanted us to stay friends, like now…”
“…You didn’t do anything wrong, Rika. Sasha’s just got a bit of a sharp edge to her.”

‘Thanks to your kindness, I was saved.’
Karen murmured that silently to herself as she gently patted Rika’s trembling back.