In any case, it had been a while since I'd been to the student council room, so I decided to hear her out.
As I sat on the sofa, the student council treasurer, Akagi Minami, appeared as if from the shadows and placed green tea and yokan on the table.
Both were high-end goods brought in from Kyoto; the president, with her picky palate, wouldn't touch green tea or yokan unless they were from a specific brand.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Minami said, quietly stepping back.
As you might guess from their names, Vice President Akagi and the student council treasurer, Akagi Minami, are cousins.
The Akagi family is one of the branch families of the Saionji clan, and it seems they have served the main family as retainers for a very long time.
While the vice president is a hot-blooded type, contrary to his bookish appearance, the treasurer, Minami, is exceedingly cool-headed.
The two had polar opposite personalities, but their loyalty to the president was identical.
That was why I called the Ichijo Academy student council, with its suspiciously strong authority, the president's private organization.
The president sat at her personal desk, clasped her hands, and rested her chin on them.
The curtains behind her cast a shadow on her face, making her look like some kind of mastermind, but was there really a need to set such a mood in this situation…?
Just as I was pondering this internally.
"Kim Yu-seong."
"Yes."
"What are your plans for Golden Week?"
I hesitated for a moment but was soon able to answer.
"I don't have any particular plans for Golden Week. My parents have to run their store, so I'll probably just be at home."
The fitness club is closed during that period, so I really had nothing to do.
"Then that's perfect. I'd like you to help me with something then."
"What is it?"
The president swallowed hard and then, very slowly, began to speak.
"You're already aware that I've been working day and night on something recently, right?"
"Ah, you mean the exchange with the sister school in Russia."
"Yes. The talks went successfully last week, and it's been decided that they will send one exchange student to our school after Golden Week ends."
"I see."
But what does that have to do with anything?
"I want to give that exchange student a good impression of our school. So, I'd like to give them a small gift for our first meeting, something that won't feel like a burden to receive. What I mean is…"
For the president, who usually speaks so directly, the preamble was a bit long, but I realized what she was trying to say.
"So, you want me to help you pick out a gift for the exchange student?"
"Yes! That's right! That's exactly it!"
The president shot up from her seat, shouting in an excited voice, before realizing her mistake, blushing, and sitting back down.
"If that's what you need, of course I'll help. When would be a good time?"
"I-I'm free anytime. I'm the one asking for a favor, so I'll work around your schedule, Kim Yu-seong."
Hearing that, I took out my smartphone for a moment to check my calendar.
"Then how about the 29th, the first day of the holiday?"
"Perfect!"
The president answered my question in half a second flat.
When I looked at her with a surprised expression at her incredibly fast response, she thrust her fan at me and spoke forcefully.
"If you try to back out later saying something came up, I will never forgive you!"
"Huh? Y-Yes…"
She looked ready to strike me if I refused, so I ended up nodding my head in a daze.
Only then did the president lower her fan, seemingly satisfied, and begin humming as she started on her overdue paperwork.
…I really have no idea what's going on.
It seemed the president's business with me was concluded, so just as I was about to head back to the classroom, something came to mind and I asked.
"Can I join a club again starting this year?"
"Yeees~ I don't mind~"
When I asked before, I got a sharp "no," but now it seems to be fine.
I was right to ask while she was in a good mood.
"…This place is better for a d-date!"
"You don't know anything. This is the hot spot right now."
I told the vice president and Minami, who were sitting on the sofa passionately discussing something, that I was leaving, then quietly closed the door so as not to disturb them.
***
Originally, students in the student council were allowed to participate in regular club activities as long as it didn't interfere with their daily lives.
However, due to the president's insistence that I focus solely on student council work during my first year, I was forced to quit the board game club in the middle of the second semester and became a member of the "go-home club."
And now, an opportunity to join a club again had presented itself.
As I sat at my desk in the classroom reading a paper booklet distributed by the newspaper club, Kishimoto, who had just entered, asked curiously.
"Ryu-chan, what are you looking at?"
I turned slightly so she could also see the contents of the booklet.
"A flyer for new club members? Ryu-chan, you're a second-year and you haven't joined a club yet?"
I nodded.
"I had to quit in my first year due to some circumstances. I was thinking of joining something again."
At that, Kishimoto clapped her hands as if it were perfect timing.
"Then do you want to go around with me? I heard all the clubs are holding trial sessions after school starting today!"
"Trial sessions?"
"Yeah! It's better to go try them out in person and decide rather than just staring at a piece of paper in the classroom!"
She had a point.
I'd joined the board game club before without much thought, so I'd never tried out any other clubs.
I decided to accept her tempting offer and tour the clubs after school.
***
"So, where should we go first?"
To the question of Kishimoto, a transfer student who, like me, didn't belong to a club yet, I mentioned a place I'd already thought of.
"I want to check out a sports club first."
"A sports club?"
"I'm curious to see how far my skills will take me."
To be honest, thinking about it rationally, I had only trained my body to its limits at a local gym.
And I had always wondered if that would be effective at a practical level, like in a sports club.
I'd lived my life like a hamster on a wheel, just going between home, school, and the gym, so I never really had a chance to test my abilities.
When I voiced this opinion, Kishimoto made a very tomboyish expression and suggested we go to the sports field.
"What club is holding their trial session on the field?"
Kishimoto beamed and replied.
"The soccer club!"
***
The soccer club at Ichijo Academy boasted the highest competition rate among all club activities.
It made sense. Guys who play sports are cool.
And soccer was one of the most familiar sports to the average person.
While some knocked on the door simply because they liked soccer and wanted to play, there were also quite a few freshmen who came with the intention of joining a sports club to monopolize the attention of the girls.
And among the freshmen, who were all of similar height having just started high school, there was one young man who stood out with an unrivaled presence.
'Wh-Why is that guy here?'
Ryohei, the captain of the soccer club and a third-year for whom this would be his last year to compete in the nationals, was shocked to see Kim Yu-seong—a student surrounded by ominous rumors—standing among the freshmen hoping for a trial session.
A truly overwhelming physique.
His superior height, far exceeding the average for Japanese men, and the muscles that filled his entire frame were like a full-body weapon.
If he appeared on the field, there would probably be no one at the high school level who could stand against him.
'I want this man!'
What position would he excel in?
In Ryohei's mind, the ominous rumors about Kim Yu-seong no longer mattered.
He had dedicated everything to the soccer club for three years of high school.
He loved soccer more than anyone and wanted to be recognized for it.
But there was no one in the current soccer club who could match his passion.
Soccer is fundamentally a team game.
No matter how skilled a player is, they can't dominate the field with a one-man show.
If only there were two, no, even just one more member with skill comparable to his, they could aim for the national tournament finals this year.
That's how desperate Ryohei was for a powerful new member.
"Alright, come up one by one and kick the ball."
But he had to refrain from showing it too openly.
If he made it obvious, Kim Yu-seong might feel pressured and go to another club.
So he planned to persuade him earnestly, as naturally as rain soaking into the ground.
One by one, they kicked the ball toward the goal, and finally, Kim Yu-seong's long-awaited turn came.
*Gulp—*
He was imposing enough while sitting, but standing up and coming right in front of him, his presence was even more overwhelming.
Standing before him, Ryohei felt like a dwarf.
Even though the height difference was probably only about 10 centimeters.
"Should I kick this?"
Kim Yu-seong looked down at the ball and asked in a heavy, low voice.
"Huh? Uh, yeah."
Ryohei, snapping back to his senses, hurriedly nodded, and Kim Yu-seong took a small step back.
Then he lifted his leg high,
*BAAAM!!!*
and kicked the soccer ball with a tremendous roar.
Ryohei whipped his head around, puzzled by the unmoved goal net, then looked back at Kim Yu-seong and witnessed an unbelievable sight.
It was no wonder; the soccer ball, which normally would have been perfectly fine after being kicked—
—lay at Kim Yu-seong's feet, its side gruesomely burst open.
"Wh-What the."
As Ryohei muttered that inadvertently, Kim Yu-seong glanced down at his foot, shook his head, and said.
"This won't do."
"Then it's the basketball club next!"
Ryohei could only stare blankly at the magnificent back of the man walking away with the blonde high school girl.