Chapter 48: The Villain (Revised)
“Was she not angry just now because her usual style is more revealing? Or was it because she liked me?”
While waiting for Kyoko Utada to change clothes, Ryuichi Sugawara frowned, recalling how she had fled earlier, and began contemplating his next move.
His goal this time was clear: to lift Kyoko Utada’s spirits without making her develop any attachment to him—in fact, he wanted her to feel irritation or even anger toward him.
Anger and sadness are different—both unpleasant emotions that leave strong impressions and memories, but anger is easier to vent and thus easier to forget.
In short, to achieve this goal, he had to ruin this date.
With little time to plan and limited knowledge about his target, he had no choice but to improvise.
That said, he considered the task effortless.
After all, ruining a date is far easier than making one successful; all it took was to do a few distasteful and awkward things.
Though this was his expectation, in practice it proved more difficult than anticipated.
Just now, despite knowing Kyoko had her clothes disheveled, he not only refrained from warning her but deliberately stared at her exposed skin and private areas.
To him, this lecherous behavior was utterly repugnant, yet Kyoko Utada didn’t get angry—she only turned away in deep embarrassment and fled to change.
Realizing the situation was more complicated than he thought, Ryuichi glanced around for ideas.
“Got it!”
In an instant, he improvised a new plan with whatever was at hand.
Without hesitation, he propped his legs up on the coffee table in front of the sofa.
Such behavior was extremely rude, especially as a guest in someone’s home.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Sugawara,” Kyoko finally emerged from her room.
Her disheveled red hair was now neatly combed and tied into a single ponytail. She wore an off-shoulder white printed t-shirt and black hot pants.
She had applied light makeup—concealer and lipstick—but time was so tight she hadn’t even managed eyeshadow or contouring.
Though not an expert in fashion, Ryuichi could tell her style was quite good.
“So slow, I’m about to die of thirst,” he said bluntly, still with his legs on the table, scrutinizing her appearance with a frown.
“Sorry, I was as quick as I could be… You wanted iced barley tea, right? I’ll get it for you now,” Kyoko said nervously, unbothered by his rude tone.
—
“Kyoko! What on earth are you doing?!”
Outside, Aine Ishiguro listened in through a voice message on her phone, fists clenched in frustration at Kyoko’s lack of resistance.
Even as a bystander, she was angered by Ryuichi’s words. Despite his provocations, Kyoko showed no anger. She didn’t even ask him to leave—she was serving him tea!
“I always suspected Kyoko was a people-pleaser with a crush, but I never thought she’d go this far,” Yoshino Sakai sighed, no longer able to enjoy the spectacle.
—
“Kyoko…”
Yuki Takanashi was equally despairing, unsure how to even respond.
She had feared Ryuichi might have been too harsh, but now it was clear he wasn’t harsh enough.
—
“Here you go.”
Kyoko returned from the kitchen with a glass of iced barley tea.
Seeing her hand him the drink so earnestly, Ryuichi, who had been trying to provoke her, was caught off guard and simply took the glass, gulping it down.
As he tilted his head back to drink, Kyoko couldn’t help but watch the movement of his Adam’s apple.
“Not enough. Pour me another glass.”
After finishing the first, Ryuichi commanded.
“Okay.”
Realizing he was genuinely thirsty, Kyoko hurried off to the kitchen again.
This time, she didn’t just pour a glass—she carried a large bottle of barley tea, worried he wouldn’t have enough.
“Here,” she said, handing him the full glass again.
“…”
In truth, Ryuichi wasn’t really thirsty. He had ordered a drink at the café earlier just out of courtesy.
But now, there was no turning back. He took the glass and drank heartily again.
This time, he didn’t finish it all at once, leaving a little behind.
“Plop.”
Seeing his generous drinking, Kyoko quickly unscrewed the bottle cap and refilled his glass.
Faced with this, Ryuichi felt utterly defeated, as if his punches landed on cotton.
“Sugawara, how did you find out where I live?”
Finally solving his thirst problem, Kyoko asked shyly after screwing the bottle cap back on.
“Is it so hard to find out your address? I’m a top student—I just asked your teacher.”
Ryuichi couldn’t admit he’d been invited by her close friend, so he feigned pride.
“Oh wow! That’s impressive!”
Though boasting, Kyoko was genuinely impressed, clapping her hands.
“Of course, I’m not like you.”
Though smiling and polite, Ryuichi was determined to make her dislike him as much as possible.
“Um… Sugawara, why did you come to see me?”
—
At that question, Kyoko’s smile stiffened, but she quickly regained composure and shifted the topic.
“I heard you weren’t at school today.”
Seeing the fleeting disappointment on her face and having understood her character somewhat, Ryuichi decided to escalate his strategy.
“Were you worried about my health? Thanks!”
Kyoko was pleasantly surprised by this reason.
“I’m not done yet. Don’t interrupt.”
Seeing her imaginative mind at work, Ryuichi glared at her to stop her from overthinking.
“Okay.”
Despite being scolded, Kyoko didn’t get angry; instead, she obediently nodded and made a zipping gesture by her mouth.
“Then I’ve reconsidered and changed my mind… Let me ask you: do you really want to go to karaoke with me?”
“…”
“You can answer now.”
Seeing her silent, Ryuichi sighed in frustration.
“Yes.”
“Do you like me very much?”
“Yes.”
Though embarrassed to admit her true feelings, Kyoko nodded.
“Since that’s the case, I have a condition. If you can fulfill it, I’ll go to karaoke with you—and even be your boyfriend.”
“What's the condition?”
Kyoko perked up, fully attentive, sensing an opportunity.
“Your pretty best friends, right? Drug them and knock them out once, and then I’ll go out with you…”
Seeing her hopeful and excited reaction, Ryuichi wasn’t surprised as he laid out an impossible demand.
“Ah!”
At that moment, a splash of water interrupted his words.
“Get out! Scum like you, get out of my house!”
Like a lion sensing an attack on its vulnerable spot, the once compliant Kyoko now glared furiously, trembling with rage.
Truly, appearances can be deceiving. She hadn’t expected that a polite, handsome guy like Ryuichi Sugawara would be just like the other scumbags she’d met before—approaching her only to get close to her best friends, especially Yuki.