The eventful weekend passed, and just like clockwork, Monday arrived.
When I opened the back door and entered Class 2-B, the seat by the window was empty.
It seemed the protagonist, Sakamoto Ryuji, hadn't arrived at school yet.
"Morning."
As I casually dropped my bag and sat down, Satoru, who sat in front of me, struck up a conversation.
"Did you hear? That delinquent duo from the first year, the ones who were making a name for themselves, apparently went through the transfer process this morning."
"The first years?"
"Yeah. I don't know what happened, but they went out for a bit over the weekend, and when they got back, they supposedly locked themselves in their rooms and threw a tantrum about not wanting to go to school."
I had a good idea of what happened, but I pretended not to know and listened to Satoru.
"Their parents suspected bullying and came to the faculty office this morning to raise hell, but that's just ridiculous. I heard they eventually went home, fuming."
"There must be a reason. One they can't talk about."
"Right? If their behavior was always bad, they must have made plenty of enemies."
Satoru concluded as much and shrugged.
Thinking they got what they deserved, I opened the latest issue of Jump I'd bought at the convenience store this morning.
***
First period on Monday morning was Conversational English.
It was taught by our class's assistant homeroom teacher, Ms. Mizuki Nanae, and it was popular because it focused on basic English conversation rather than grammar.
Considering there are people who study English for over ten years through elementary, middle, and high school but can't even say a proper word to a foreigner, it was a very practical class.
"Which of this and this is cheaper?"
She would say a line with fluent pronunciation, and the students would repeat after her.
"Left apples are $ 5 cheaper than right bananas"
In the middle of class, I gently shook the shoulder of Rika, who was fast asleep behind a propped-up book.
Rika shot her head up.
"What is it, Ryu-chan?"
"The teacher was just looking at you."
Rika hurriedly wiped the drool from her mouth, flipped to the page I showed her, and started repeating the lines like a parrot.
Only then did the teacher's gaze move away.
After they finished reading one English passage, Ms. Mizuki looked around the class.
"Alright... since today is the 24th, how about the person sitting behind number 24 read the next passage?"
Number 24 in our class was Satoru.
And the person behind him was me.
"That's me."
I was surprised by the unexpected call, but I acted composed as I picked up my textbook and stood.
*Scraape!*
Naturally, all eyes turned to me.
Since I sat in the very back of the class, some even turned in their seats to look.
I turned the page and began to read the English passage.
"I'm James from England. I came to experience Japanese culture. Can you recommend a good place?"
Immediately after, Ms. Mizuki hit me with a surprise question.
"Th-then, what would be a suitable answer for this?"
I hesitated for a moment, but then I pieced together the words in my head and answered on the spot.
"I personally recommend Osaka because it is a place that is visited by many foreigners and has abundant tourism resources such as Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe."
The classroom fell silent for a moment.
A beat later, Ms. Mizuki hastily started clapping and said,
"Well done! That was a perfect answer!"
The rest of the class responded in kind and started clapping along.
I gave a slight bow of my head and sat back down.
After that, Ms. Mizuki continued the class for about ten more minutes before ending it just as the bell for break time rang.
Hmm. History is next, I think.
The assistant and main homeroom teachers having classes back-to-back in first and second period... I don't know who made this schedule, but I can feel the malice.
***
Mizuki Nanae was a fresh-faced new teacher, turning twenty-four this year.
Right after graduating from a provincial teacher's college, she had moved to Tokyo with big dreams and immediately landed a job here, at Ichijo Academy.
It was a prestigious school, well-known within the city for its high standards, and since it had only been six years since she herself had graduated from high school, she felt a pleasant sense of nostalgia.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all! My name is Mizuki Nanae!"
She would never forget the day she first introduced herself to the other teachers in the faculty office.
And the first class she was assigned to as an assistant homeroom teacher.
Naturally, it held a special meaning for her.
She knew that as the years went by, she might get used to welcoming new students and seeing old ones go, but for now, they were her one and only class, her one and only students.
But Mizuki, the new teacher who had been so full of dreams and passion at the beginning of the semester, had run into a major obstacle.
The problem was,
one of her students was terrifying.
***
Mizuki hated Mondays.
Even though she only had this class once a week, it was because whenever she entered the classroom, she would inevitably lock eyes with *that* student, who was impossible to miss.
Kim Yu-seong, commonly known as 'The Strongest Man at Ichijo Academy.'
His towering height, muscular build, and stoic face made it hard to believe he was just a high school student.
He was like a born monarch, destined from the start to rule over the world's weak.
She would enter the class repeating to herself over and over that she was a teacher, that she shouldn't think that way, that she had to treat all students equally—but the moment their eyes met, all that resolve would vanish.
To make matters worse, ominous rumors about him circulated: that he was the heir to a doomsday assassination art, that he'd fought a biker gang 50-to-1, that he was a promising talent coveted by the yakuza.
She had even consulted the class's main homeroom teacher, Mr. Matsuda, about this, but he had avoided her gaze and said,
"'Just give up on him. I've already given up on trying to guide that one.'"
A problem child so difficult that even the man in charge of student discipline for the second years—a man with a fiery temper, the face of a tiger, and the body of a gorilla—had given up on him.
This only made her fear Kim Yu-seong even more.
And then, the incident happened without any warning.
***
Monday, April 24th, first period.
The usual Conversational English class was underway.
Mizuki was pacing back and forth in front of the teacher's desk, reading the English passage aloud, trying her best to avoid eye contact with Kim Yu-seong.
"Which of this and this is cheaper?"
She would say a line, and the children would earnestly repeat it, even if their pronunciation was clumsy.
Feeling a sense of pride, she read the next sentence.
"Left apples are $ 5 cheaper than right bananas"
As she was in the middle of the lesson, she noticed that Kishimoto, in the back, was sound asleep, her upper body hidden behind a book.
She wanted to walk over and wake her up, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, because Kishimoto's seat was right next to Kim Yu-seong's.
So, while reciting the English passage, she kept glancing in that direction, and it seemed Kim Yu-seong noticed her gaze.
'Eek! We made eye contact!'
While she was screaming internally in surprise, Kim Yu-seong unexpectedly woke up the sleeping Kishimoto next to him, getting her to participate in the lesson.
His action was completely different from what she'd expected, and Mizuki thought, 'Maybe he's surprisingly nice, unlike the ominous rumors?'
Her internal sense of affinity for Kim Yu-seong rose slightly, and gaining a bit of confidence, she decided to proceed with the lesson.
"Alright... since today is the 24th, how about the person sitting behind number 24 read the next passage?"
A line she'd uttered without much thought while looking around the classroom.
But the one who responded was Kim Yu-seong.
*Scraape!*
The sound of the chair scraping seemed unusually loud.
"That's me."
Come to think of it, this was the first time she had ever heard his voice.
As he, a young man who far surpassed the average height of a Japanese person, stood up, the eyes of the class naturally drifted to the back.
Holding the textbook in one hand, Kim Yu-seong glanced down and read the part she had indicated.
"I'm James from England. I came to experience Japanese culture. Can you recommend a good place?"
'What's with that voice... '
Like the sounding of a ship's horn, his deep, heavy baritone carried an overwhelming charisma.
And yet, his English pronunciation was as fluent as a foreign film actor's, with no noticeable bad habits.
Perhaps it was because he was Korean.
Japanese people grow up exposed to a Japanized version of English from a young age, so it's a habit that's hard to break even as adults.
"Th-then, what would be a suitable answer for this?"
She had stuttered a bit from nervousness, but as she was inwardly praising herself for asking a good question, Kim Yu-seong once again delivered an answer with perfect pronunciation.
"I personally recommend Osaka because it is a place that is visited by many foreigners and has abundant tourism resources such as Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe."
When he finished his answer, a strange silence fell over the entire class.
"Ah."
Mizuki, the first to snap out of it, hastily started clapping to signify he'd done well.
Only then did Kim Yu-seong give a slight bow of his head and sit back down.
Mizuki, who had been momentarily captivated by his voice, shook her head and chided herself.
'Get a grip, Nanae! You're the teacher, and he's the student!'
To be terrified of him one moment and then smitten just by hearing his voice the next—how foolish.
She mentally whipped herself back to her senses and muddled through the rest of the class.
Little did she know, a much greater trial awaited her two days later.