Chapter 39

(A/N Notes: I don't feel satisfied with how this chapter turned out, and I hope the next one turns out better)

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It was lunchtime of the next day, and as usual, Sakurako was having lunch with Himari, Kohaku, and Hitori, but different from yesterday and every other day… Sakurako hadn't touched her food yet. Instead, she appeared to be staring at nothing as she clearly appeared to be absentminded.

"…"

As the two childhood friends argued, Sakurako finally moved and took a bite from her food, yet she didn't show any signs that she was tasting the food, instead, her body appeared to just be moving on its own to ensure she wouldn't be hungry.

While all that happened, the fourth person, Kaneko Hitori, could try to escape reality by remembering something very important.

"…"

She reminded herself that she needed money so that she could afford her very expensive hobby, and between her answers of asking her parents for money or getting a part-time job… She decided to get a part-time job because she preferred fear over dying from embarrassment.

Little did she know, that she had just set up an 'unwanted encounter' flag.

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Some time later, in another place

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It was after school, and that meant that for some people it was the time they would be attending their club activities, and that was true for Ichiro, who was the president of the tea ceremony club.

"Alright, everyone! Are you all ready for today's activity?"

At his question, all the members nodded in unison as they looked at him with fear and sweating bullets.

"That's great! Now, for today we'll be using this blend of…"

As Ichiro began showing the tea they would be using, and how to prepare it. Everyone's attention turned to each other, as they spoke to one another in a really low voice so that they wouldn't be noticed by Ichiro.

"Hey, did something happen to the president for him to be like this?"

"I don't know, I just heard from a friend of a friend, that knows a guy in his classroom, who said that this might be related to the president's girlfriend"

"Ah, that's right. He has a girlfriend, doesn't he? Did they have a fight?"

"No one knows, some are saying that they broke up, others say that they had a fight, and others say that it might be something else entirely"

"… Does that mean we'll have to endure this pressure from the president every day, until the situation with his girlfriend is resolved!?"

"I… I think we will…"

"Nooooooooo!!!"

"Did you all get what I just said?"

"!?"

Ichiro's voice brought everyone back to their senses, but because they hadn't been paying attention to his explanation, all they could do was nod and hope he didn't notice it.

"Is that so? Then you all won't mind if I punish anyone who gets even a single detail wrong, right?"

"Wah!? That's tyranny!"

"Then you should've paid attention to my words, instead of trying to find out what happened between me and my cute fiancée"

The boy who complained tried to argue back, but he couldn't find any argument to use against Ichiro.

"But because I am a benevolent tyrant. I'll only give you all a slap with the wooden stick for any mistake that you make"

"Hey! That isn't benevolent at all!"

"Yeah! We demand a fairer punishment!"

"That's right! We demand that you stop slapping us with the wooden stick!"

"Okay, then you all will instead tell everyone about one of your most embarrassing memories"

Hearing the second option, everyone became silent, since this one was worse than the first.

"Y-You know, President Ichiro. I-I kinda prefer the wooden stick now"

"Y-Yeah, please forget about this new punishment and instead just use the wooden like usual"

"Please, anything but that punishment idea. I beg you, President Ichiro!"

"…" *Shows a very friendly smile* "Okay! You all can start now. 5 minutes should be enough for everyone, right?"

"Wha!?"

"What are you guys doing? The clock is already ticking"

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!"

With their honor and social lives at stake, the club members began to desperately try to make their brains remember what Ichiro had explained earlier, All the while they were under the watchful eyes of Ichiro as he kept his scarier-than usual, smiling face.

"…"

But under that mask, Ichiro was currently blushing as he was unable to forget about yesterday's kiss, and even had a bad sleep as well, which made him slightly more irritable than normal.

After the five minutes had ended, Ichiro made every single one of the members wish for death as they felt like they were dying as they told everyone about one of their most embarrassing memories.

Timeskip

"I'm back!"

Ichiro announced his arrival as he took off his shoes in the entrance corridor of his house, and he was quickly greeted back by his mother.

"Welcome back, Ichiro"

"Hello, mom. Did something happen at the cafe today?"

"Not really, but a girl passed to ask if she could work here"

"And how was she?"

"Honestly, her social skills are non-existent, she tends to overthink too much, she's quite slow, and she's all pretty bad at cooking"

"You hired her, didn't you?"

"Of course, I did! She had a really cute appearance, and if I give her a small work on her appearance she'll fit perfectly into our new uniforms!"

"Well, as long as you don't mind, and she learns quick enough to not be a burden, I don't see a problem in hiring her"

"Yes!"

Ichiro will be meeting the new part-time worker tomorrow after school.