Next Time
Afterward, we took group sticker photos as a memento, then went to a bowling alley.
There, we drew lots, and the president and I ended up on one team, with the Akagi siblings on the other.
It was a pretty fierce battle, but in the end, the Akagi siblings won, so the president and I had to cover the karaoke bill.
It was the first time bowling for both of us.
After that, we went to karaoke and sang in turns for about two hours.
What surprised me a little here was that the president's singing was top-notch.
When I asked how, she said she had learned it as a basic refinement when she was young.
As expected of a young lady from a noble family, she was practically an all-rounder in everything except for the things she hadn't tried.
By the time we finished up at the karaoke bar, it was already 6 PM.
We had eaten ramen around 3 PM, which meant we had just been playing around ever since.
As the sun was beginning to set, I asked what we should do for dinner after leaving Nakano Broadway, and Minami suddenly chimed in with a suggestion.
"How about we have a get-together at Yu-seong's place for the first time in a while?"
At that, the president fanned herself open and laughed, "Ohohoho."
"An excellent idea, Minami. The last time we went to Kim Yu-seong's home was last year, after all."
The vice president, who had been listening to their conversation, pushed up his glasses and nodded in agreement.
"I think that's fine as well. We have to eat dinner before heading home anyway."
With the three of them in agreement, the flow naturally turned toward us eating at my house.
When I seemed to hesitate, the president nonchalantly pulled a black card out from behind her fan.
"Of course, I have no intention of getting a free meal like last time. I will pay my share properly this time."
"No, that's not what I was worried about. I was just thinking my mother might be surprised if I suddenly bring friends over."
"...Would it be difficult?"
The president asked, looking at me with a pitiful gaze.
Honestly, with her looking at me like that, how could I possibly refuse?
I asked the three of them for a moment and called my mother.
"What? Of course, you can. Bring them all over!"
Mrs. Lee Mi-ja's hearty permission seemed to be audible to everyone around, even though the phone wasn't on speaker mode.
Once the dinner was decided, Minami immediately made a call, and not long after, the same limousine we had seen earlier was waiting for us.
As I was getting into the limousine, a question suddenly popped into my head.
"By the way, how did you two get here, Vice President and Minami?"
The vice president flinched and opened his mouth.
"Y-You mean us?"
"We took a taxi. We're not used to the subway."
True, since their duty was to attend to the president, they probably had very few opportunities to ride the subway.
Once all four of us were aboard, the limousine began to glide down the streets, which were slowly growing dark.
A lot of things had happened, but in the end, our final destination for the day was my home.
***
"Welcome!"
As I opened the door and stepped into the restaurant, my mother, who happened to be in the main hall, greeted us with a bright smile.
Perhaps because I had called ahead, the side dishes were already set on a table.
"Ohohoho, it's been a long time, Mother."
"Oh my, President, it's been a while for you too."
As the president stepped forward to greet her naturally, my mother was delighted and took her hands.
It might have been a coincidence, but my mother's and the president's names were identical, save for one character.
Lee Mi-ja (李美子) and Saionji Kumiko (久美子).
Perhaps because of that, the two of them got along quite well.
"Since the president and the student council friends were coming today, I prepared our restaurant's signature dishes."
Saying so, my mother seated us at the pre-set table and called for my father in the kitchen.
A moment later, my father came out carrying a brazier filled with charcoal.
"Be careful, it's hot."
As I gave a slight warning, the president folded her fan and watched with an excited expression as the brazier was placed in the center of the table, as if it were a novelty.
"So this is that yakiniku."
"Is this your first time grilling it yourself?"
"Yes. Embarrassingly enough."
The president smiled self-deprecatingly, saying there were still many things she hadn't experienced.
Well, since she had an active desire to learn, I thought she'd be fine in no time.
She had been consistently having these "commoner experiences" whenever she had free time, and nowadays she was capably handling things she would have never even considered before.
I picked up the tongs to serve meat to the three of them.
"If you want more, just let me know. I'll grill as much as you want."
At that, the vice president's glasses glinted as he spoke.
"Hoh—are you sure you won't regret saying that?"
"Of course."
I replied, placing all the meat from the plate onto the grill at once.
Our restaurant specialized in Korean-style yakiniku, so we sold menu items with names familiar to Koreans, like samgyeopsal, pork neck, skirt meat, and pork jowl.
And it was only natural that the son of a barbecue restaurant owner would be good at grilling meat.
The meat sizzled on the grill.
As the delicious aroma filled the air, the three high school students, who were hungry after a long day of playing, swallowed hard.
The kings of charcoal grilling are, without a doubt, samgyeopsal and pork neck.
I grilled the samgyeopsal, fatty yet savory due to its layers of fat, and the pork neck, slightly tough but with its own unique flavor, until they were perfectly cooked on both sides, then cut them into bite-sized pieces.
There's a common myth that you should only flip meat once when grilling, but really, as long as it's golden brown on both sides, it's okay.
Thanks to the strong heat of the charcoal, the meat cooked in an instant. I moved the cooked pieces to the edge of the grill and put on fresh ones.
The three of them, who had been holding their chopsticks and swallowing their saliva, began to eat without hesitation as soon as I gave them the signal.
"Take your time. There's still plenty of meat left."
It seemed there weren't many customers today, probably because everyone was away on vacation.
With three hungry high school students visiting, we wouldn't have to worry about leftover meat stock.
And once I started eating, I could eat quite a bit myself.
I explained the various side dishes to the three of them.
"This is called myeongi namul and kkaennip jangajji, they're delicious wrapped with meat. Oh, and that's ssamjang, a sauce made by mixing gochujang and doenjang. It's a fantastic match with the meat."
Unlike the Akagi siblings, who seemed to have eaten yakiniku many times, the president seemed to be struggling a bit since it was her first time, so I made a wrap myself and offered it to her.
"President, say 'ah'."
Her face turned red as she replied.
"To do such a shameless thing in front of others... h-how lewd!"
"My arm is going to fall off. Come on."
The president hesitated for a moment before gracefully accepting the wrap I had made.
Munch, munch—
"How is it? Delicious, right?"
At my question, the president shyly nodded.
Minami, who had been watching from the side, suddenly spoke up.
"Aren't you going to eat, Yu-seong? I think you can hand the tongs over to me now."
I was grateful for her thoughtful consideration, but for today, I decided to be stubborn.
"No, it's fine. It's better if the person who's good at grilling does the grilling, right? Don't worry about me and eat a lot. I'm eating on my own just fine."
As I said that, I picked up a piece of meat with my chopsticks and put it in my mouth. Minami reluctantly nodded.
"Hahahaha! I can still eat more! Kim Yu-seong!"
"Vice President, please eat a little slower. One might think someone's chasing you."
Even with my scolding, the vice president's eating pace didn't slow down.
Thanks to him, I was constantly placing meat on the grill without a break.
The president, who had been watching me intently, suddenly made a wrap and offered it to me.
"Oh, I can make my own."
"You keep saying that, but you're not eating."
She insisted again, and I couldn't refuse.
As I took the wrap, the president asked with a nervous expression.
"How is it?"
After chewing and swallowing everything in my mouth, I gave her a thumbs-up.
"It's delicious."
Only then did the president break into a wide grin.
"Huhu, of course it is. Look who made it."
The pleasant night, with the student council all together for the first time in a while, deepened.
***
"Goodbye!"
"Come again~"
Waved off by Kim Yu-seong and his mother, Saionji Kumiko and the Akagi siblings left the restaurant.
The sky had already turned completely dark.
Considering they had been bustling about since early morning to go to Asakusa, they had been out and about for almost the entire day.
Her body was tired, but Saionji Kumiko felt a warm emotion lingering in her chest.
On the way back to the mansion in the car, Akagi Shinjiro and Akagi Minami, sitting in the opposite seats of the limousine, bowed their heads simultaneously.
"We apologize, Young Lady. We should have tactfully stepped aside midway through."
"We were so caught up in having fun that we couldn't find the right timing to leave."
At their sincere apology, Saionji Kumiko shook her head with a faint smile on her lips.
"No, it's alright. I was more than satisfied with today."
As Kumiko spoke, she recalled the day's events.
Waiting for someone for the first time in her life, eating ice cream with Kim Yu-seong in Asakusa, laughing and chatting while picking out items, and Kim Yu-seong telling her she was beautiful when she wore the kimono.
That wasn't all.
"It's been a long time since I played with you two like this, not since we were children. It brought back a lot of old memories."
The student council, as an organization, fundamentally revolved around Saionji Kumiko.
That was only natural, but she sometimes felt a strange sense of loneliness.
It was because she thought the two of them no longer treated her the way they used to.
But that was all a misunderstanding.
"I had fun playing 'spot the difference' with Minami today. The game of bowling was also enjoyable, and taking sticker photos and singing at karaoke together have become wonderful memories."
The date with Kim Yu-seong, whom she adored, was nice, but the day she spent united with them under the name of the student council held a special meaning beyond just a date.
"Thank you for always being with me. Shinjiro, Minami. I'm always grateful."
As Saionji Kumiko said this and slightly bowed her head, the two of them wore choked-up expressions.
"...I will follow you for the rest of my life."
"Young Lady..."
As a strangely heartwarming atmosphere flowed, Saionji Kumiko, perhaps unable to bear the awkwardness, cleared her throat with ahem and spoke.
"Anyway, I'll be satisfied with this for today. This won't be the only chance, after all. You two will help me, of course, won't you?"
The two of them nodded simultaneously.
"Of course!"
"Naturally."
And so, the memorable first night of Golden Week concluded with the three, bound by their master-servant relationship, reaffirming their bond once more.