Chapter 5: One Hell of a Day

I was being hunted.

Not by a stray dog. Not by a debt collector. Not even by a professor looking for a late assignment.

I was being pursued by a frantic mob of female students whose eyes glowed like the torches of a lynch mob.

"You’ve got it all wrong!" I screamed, taking the stairs two at a time.

"Takeda-san’s boyfriend is our boyfriend too!" one of them shrieked.

What kind of twisted logic is that?!

Their footsteps echoed through the hallway like war drums announcing my imminent execution. I pulled a sharp right. First floor. Long corridor. My lungs felt like they were being forcibly vacuumed out of my chest.

Is this how harem protagonists in manga actually live? If so, I officially retract every ounce of envy I’ve ever felt toward them.

"Don't let him get away!" "Capture him!"

Capture? I’m a human being, not a limited-edition idol photocard!

I bolted toward the back of the campus—an area usually deserted, silent as a secret location for NPCs. I leaned against a wall, gasping for air. The world seemed to stand still for a heartbeat.

Safe. Finally, for a moment, I'm—

"Found you."

The soft voice pierced through the silence like a notification you couldn't skip. I turned my head slowly. A girl with a ribbon in her hair stood there. Her smile was sweet, but the aura behind her felt like a storm waiting for the signal to strike.

"He's over here!" she yelled.

Dammit.

I spun around and ran again. My legs felt like they were paying the price for every sin I’d committed in a previous life. I burst through the first-floor hallway—and that’s when I saw her.

Kurumi.

She was sitting by the window, opening her lunchbox with a peaceful expression, as if the world wasn't currently trying to hunt me down. The sunlight kissed her hair, making the scene look like a slow-motion sequence from a spring drink commercial.

Without thinking, I lunged toward her.

"Kurumi!"

She looked up, startled. "Huh? Kengo-kun? What’s wrong? You look like you're being chased by a ghost."

"You have to help me!" I wheezed, my breath coming in ragged stabs.

"What?"

The sound of the mob drew closer. Time was narrowing like a closing throat. I had no other choice. I looked her straight in the eyes.

"Please... just for this once... be my girlfriend!"

The chopsticks in her hand clattered to the floor.

"EHHH?!"

Her face turned crimson in a matter of seconds. The fanatics were almost upon us. I bowed my head slightly.

"Sorry. It's an emergency."

Kurumi glanced past me, her eyes widening as she saw the approaching horde. She understood immediately.

"You over there! Hand that man over to us right now!" one of the fanatics demanded.

Kurumi took a deep breath.

"A-ano... actually, there's something I need to tell you all."

The mob skidded to a halt.

"The truth is, Kengo-kun is my boyfriend! He isn't Takeda-san's boyfriend at all!"

Silence. It was as if someone had pressed the mute button on the entire hallway. Kurumi stood in front of me; her cheeks were flushed, but her gaze was unwavering.

"Kengo-san and I have been dating since the very start of the semester!"

Since the start?! That was some god-tier improvisation.

"So please... stop bothering my boyfriend. He belongs to no one but me."

The fanatics looked at each other, stunned. "So he's a cheater..." "Takeda-sama must be so disappointed..." "He doesn't deserve to be anywhere near Takeda-sama..."

One by one, they retreated like an army that had realized they were attacking the wrong target. Finally, the hallway was empty. Peace returned.

"Thank you," I breathed, finally able to fill my lungs. "You saved my life."

Kurumi was still gripping my sleeve. "Kengo-kun..."

"Yeah?"

"Don't say things like that so carelessly..."

"I know. I'm sorry."

She looked down at her feet. "The problem is... my heart didn't know it was just an act."

I froze. Why did that sentence feel more dangerous than the thirty fanatics I had just escaped?

"We... were just pretending, right?" she asked softly.

Neither of us could look the other in the eye.

"If you want to take it seriously... I wouldn't mind," I muttered.

Why did I say that? What is wrong with me?

Kurumi remained silent for a long time. "I know. You just didn't have any other choice, right?"

"Yeah."

Suddenly, my heart began to throb. It felt like an old, rusted engine that had been dead for years, suddenly jolting back to life.

"Kurumi... I'm sorry for springing that on you."

She gave me a small, fragile smile. "Just think of it as emergency acting."

I let out a sigh of relief.

"But please... don't do it again."

"I'll try my best."

"And as for your answer just now... I'll hold onto it for a while."

I blinked. What answer? I had a sinking feeling that something significant was shifting in the air, something that would haunt me in the future. But Kurumi had already started walking toward the cafeteria.

Meanwhile, Takeda was still being pursued by his own fan club. He scrambled into the Heartbreak Society room and dove under the table.

Thump!

He hit his head. "Dammit..."

A notebook lay on the floor right in front of him. The name on the cover read: Muramasa Kengo.

Out of desperation and boredom, he flipped it open. His eyes widened as he saw a series of handwritten notes that seemed to speak directly to his soul.

"Be proud of who you are, and never be ashamed of how others see you."

Takeda went still. He read on.

"People don't have to like you, and you don't have to care."

A tear escaped his eye without permission. He remembered his old self. Dorky. Nerdy. But free.

"Stop comparing yourself to others, and you will discover how truly valuable and unique you are."

His hands began to tremble.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to move forward despite it. Believe in yourself. You are stronger than you think."

He began to sob quietly under the table.

"The best investment you can make is in yourself, not in others."

For the first time in years, he wasn't crying because of the pressure or the fame. He was crying because he missed the person he used to be.

The following day.

Takeda was absent from his classes. For some reason, the glares from the fanatics were directed at me again. Please don't tell me this is my fault too.

Then—the classroom door swung open.

A man with messy black hair, thick-rimmed glasses, and the unmistakable aura of a studious nerd stood in the doorway.

"Sorry I'm late," he said.

"Who are you? Are you in the wrong class?" the professor asked.

"Eh? No, Sensei. Do you not recognize me?"

"I don't."

The man offered a small, genuine smile. "It's me. Ikeo Takeda."

"EEEEEHHHH?!"

The room exploded. Takeda walked calmly toward his seat. The long blonde hair was gone. The striking blue contacts were replaced by his natural green eyes. He looked like an entirely different person.

The fanatics didn't even know how to react. They didn't recognize their idol in this plain, unassuming student.

I stared at him. So, this was your choice.

Takeda caught my eye and offered a silent nod. In his heart, he whispered—

Kengo-san... thank you. Because of your words, I finally know who I really am.

And for the first time—he smiled. It wasn't a model’s smile. It wasn't for branding. It was a smile that finally belonged to him.