The three-day midterm exams finally ended today.
Honestly, I hardly knew how those three days passed.
But I guess it’s good that I think I did well on the exams.
I didn’t make any particular mistakes, so I expected good scores.
As I was packing my bag to go home, Satoru, sitting in the front, asked anxiously,
“Yu-seong, how was your exam?”
“Just normal. The score differentiation didn’t seem that great, so maybe the final exams will be harder.”
“Aargh! I’m doomed! Why was it so hard for me?!”
“You should have studied more regularly.”
As I shrugged and said he had brought it upon himself, Rika, sitting beside me, spoke with a bright expression.“I think I did much better this time than usual! Maybe it’s all thanks to Yu-seong!”
“What? It’s not like I taught you that much. It’s all because of your hard work.”
“Really? Hehe.”
Rika chuckled shyly, scratching the back of her head.
“Anyway, the exams are over, so why don’t we go out? I’ll treat you to karaoke today.”
“Oh, that sounds good.”
“Satoru, you coming too?”
“What? You were going to leave me out? You trickster.”
Satoru said that and tried to put me in a headlock, but quickly gave up due to the height difference between us while we were sitting.
“But hey, Yu-seong, did you know?”
“What?”
“There’s another rumor about you this time. It’s not a good one.”
“What is it this time?”
“They say you fought with Russian mafias on the street, 20 against 1?”
“…….”
Could someone have seen me fighting in Akihabara during Golden Week?
I broke out in a cold sweat without realizing it.
“Haha, I was aware that some believed I fought a biker gang 50 against 1, but Russian mafia this time? Aren’t people watching too many movies?”
“Yeah, really.”
I forced a smile and agreed with Satoru, hoping this awkward topic would pass quickly.
Just then, Sasha approached with her bag.
“Yu-seong! I heard everything from the front! We’re going to karaoke today! I’ll make you listen to my heavenly voice!”
As always, Sasha said this with confidence, showing off.
Calling her own voice “heavenly,” how thick-skinned could she be?
Satoru asked Sasha,
“What songs are you planning to sing?”
“Obviously anime songs.”
“Wow, so hip…”
Hey, don’t say that so openly in front of her.
But Sasha, seemingly unfazed by just that, nonchalantly rummaged through her bag.
Click!
“Say that again, Momochi.”
As the black muzzle of a gun pointed right at his face, Momochi gasped and raised his hands.
“I’m sorry! I spoke out of line!”
“Good, you understand.”
Sasha, having easily instilled manners and extracted an apology, blew on the gun barrel that hadn’t shot anything and put it back in her bag.
Rika, seeing this, asked with shining eyes,
“Sasha-chan, is that a model gun?”
“It’s an automatic pistol, a TT-33. I illegally modified it to increase the number of bullets it can hold. Just in case, I’ve also attached a silencer.”
Momochi, looking anxious at her non-chalant answer, asked,
“…It’s a model gun, right?”
“Maybe.”
But Sasha kept her answers vague and then turned to me, sitting in the chair,
“Is the redhead going to the karaoke too?”
“Probably.”
“Hmph, then it’s time to crush her with my skills.”
“…Do you think that will go as planned?”
Something I learned the last time I went to karaoke with Karen was that she was surprisingly good at singing.
Aside from her song selection being heavily skewed towards enka.1
“You doubt my skills? I’ve always been perfect. That won’t change.”
Sasha said that, raised her chin, and ignited her fighting spirit towards Karen.
It seemed like those two were going to battle it out today as well.
Since this had almost become a daily scene, I stopped thinking too much about it.
The karaoke we went to with Karen was located in Shibuya, which could be considered a neighboring area.
Being in a bustling area, the price wasn’t cheap, but since all the girls were wealthy, they considered such expenses to be nothing.
Because of this, only Satoru and I, who had come from middle schools in other districts, had a realistic sense of spending.
“2000 yen per hour for karaoke? Honestly, isn’t that too expensive for a student’s allowance?”
Even the drinks were extra.
Rika, Karen, and Sasha had clear preferences in song selection: Rika sang everything from the latest hits and idol songs to famous anime tunes, while Karen favored enka, and Sasha stuck to anime songs.
Both had quite extreme song choices.
But one could not criticize them, as Karen and Sasha’s vocal power and technique were nearly professional.
To the point where Rika, who normally sang well, seemed overshadowed.
We took turns reserving songs, and then it was my turn again.
I held the karaoke remote and chose a song by a singer whose recent work had impressed me without giving it much thought.
“Moshiya.” 2
It felt like a song that you just had to sing at least once when you were at karaoke.
“Ah~ That was fun~”
It seemed like we had spent nearly three hours at karaoke.
But since school had ended earlier than usual due to exams, it was only about 2 PM.
Satoru, leading the way through the streets of Shibuya teeming with students who had finished their exams, turned around and asked,
“I’m hungry since we haven’t had lunch yet. Want to go to a handmade burger place nearby?”
“Sounds good.”
“I’m in.”
“Not a bad suggestion.”
Even Sasha praised the idea, making it a timely suggestion indeed.
Well, we were a group of high schoolers who got hungry as soon as they turned around, so such a response was expected.
“Great. Then just trust me and follow.”
As Satoru said that and turned around,
Bang!
“Watch out, idiot!”
“Whoa!”
Suddenly, a bike zoomed past him with a blaring horn.
Curiosity piqued, and I noticed a thug in shabby clothes on a heavily modified bike, flipping a middle finger at Satoru.
“…….”
The guy, seeing me beside Satoru, appeared slightly startled but quickly adopted a forced, arrogant smile and said,
“What are you gonna do staring like that, idiot?! Wanna fight me?”
I kept my response brief.
After passing my bag, which I had been carrying over my shoulder, to Satoru, I slowly advanced and said,
“Get down.”
“Okay.”
The thug, who had been posturing arrogantly until just then, immediately dismounted his bike, his expression one of terror.
I closed the distance quickly since he wasn’t far, and looking down at him, who seemed no taller than 170cm, I asked,
“What should one do when they’ve done something wrong?”
The thug, shaking and avoiding eye contact, stammered,
“I-I should apologize.”
I patted his shoulder and gestured towards Satoru, who was holding my bag.
“Now, what do you need to say?”
Sweating profusely, the thug quickly bowed,
“I was wrong to start trouble. I’m sorry!”
It appeared he had finally grasped proper road etiquette, so I patted his shoulder again and advised,
“Be careful.”
He nodded in understanding.
When I instructed him to leave, he rode off on his bike without looking back.
Tsk, what’s with acting tough and then caving so easily?
Having resolved the issue, I returned to the group and met Satoru’s gaze, which held an embarrassingly admiring look.
“Yu-seong…”
“Give me my bag.”
Feeling a bit sheepish, I brusquely retrieved my bag from Satoru.
Karen, who had observed the entire ordeal, quietly inquired,
“Should I ask my father to take care of the biker gangs around here? They seem to be getting out of hand.”
Not wanting to be outdone, Sasha added,
“If we deploy our special agents, we can ensure they won’t even be able to find their bones.”
I told them both to let it go, insisting we head for burgers since we were all hungry.
They clicked their tongues in disappointment but didn’t pursue the matter further.
“Let’s go, Satoru.”
With that, I nudged Satoru, who nodded and led us to the handmade burger joint he knew.
After going to karaoke with friends and grabbing a quick lunch at a burger shop, I rode the subway home. In front of the restaurant, I noticed an unfamiliar bike.
Curious whether it belonged to a customer, I entered the store on the ground floor. There, I saw a young man with a regent hairstyle, drenched in sweat, voraciously consuming beef soup. He waved at me.
“Here! Big brother!”
…Who was this guy?
ED/N: Enka is a traditional style of Japanese music known for emotional songs about love and loss. In karaoke, enka is popular, especially among older people. It's a way to enjoy and express Japanese culture through singing. ️
ED/N: A popular karaoke song in Japan. ️
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