Ch.110Good grief, Ojou-sama (3)

Putting down the bag I had been carrying on my shoulder,

Do Hamin sat down right next to me.

It seemed like just yesterday when he would ignore my signals to sit beside me,

but now seeing him voluntarily saying he wants to sit next to Miss Ban Do-young truly fills me with immeasurable emotion.

The loser I’ve been raising is finally playing the protagonist role.

You should be grateful, future Miss Ban Do-young.

“Punk, living the high life, huh? A loser like you even gets to sit in a place like this.”

“I-I guess so… Come to think of it, during field trips or school excursions, I always seemed to be afraid of or uncomfortable around the kids who sat in the very back.”

“Of course, this is the best seat after all.”

Whether in a bus or classroom, if you ask about the most preferred seat among students,

it would undoubtedly be the back window seat, furthest away from the teachers.

This is probably true regardless of era or region,

and likely holds true in any fictional world as well.

Though he has no way of knowing he’s the protagonist of this world,

Do Hamin was essentially sitting in the best seat both in the classroom and now on this bus heading to the airport.

“You should be grateful. Thanks to me passing Miss Miso’s belongings check first, I secured the best seats.”

“Yeah, thanks. Though I would have been fine with any other seat too.”

“Why? I thought you liked sitting in the back.”

“W-when I ride large vehicles like buses, I usually sit toward the front. I tend to get motion sickness. And I often end up dozing off too.”

“Ah, now that you mention it…”

Hearing Hamin’s explanation,

I recalled how he had dozed off at some point when we were in Sol-young’s car.

It happened right after I knocked out Lee Jeong-gyu, which seemed out of character for him.

I had thought he fell asleep because the tension had finally released.

“I didn’t know you get motion sickness. Then why didn’t you sit more toward the front? There are still some seats left.”

“It’s fine. I like it here.”

“You’re not just pretending to be okay, are you? If you’re worried about motion sickness, you can sit somewhere else.”

“…I like sitting next to you, Ban Do-young.”

“…”

“I mean…”

-THUD!

“Ugh…!”

The moment I saw Hamin’s face boldly declaring he wanted to sit next to me, I felt a strange sensation rising from within and quickly threw a punch toward his stomach.

“W-why so suddenly…!”

“Sorry, that was a bit dangerous just now. I urgently needed to enforce the loser quota.”

Phew, so this is what a school trip is all about.

Crisis approaches even before the proper event begins.

I needed to regain my composure by watching Hamin whimper like a loser as quickly as possible, or it could have been dangerous.

“W-what’s going on?!”

Just then, Miss Miso, who heard the commotion from outside, boarded the bus and rushed toward us.

“Ugh, uuugh…”

“Oh my, what happened to student Hamin? Why does he look so unwell? There’s even what looks like drool marks around his mouth!”

“I-it’s nothing. This guy Hamin. He says he gets severe motion sickness.”

“Oh dear… How severe must his car sickness be to be like this before we’ve even departed!”

“So careless. Here, I’ll give you the window seat, move to the inside.”

“Ugh… uuugh….”

“Hmm? It seems like Hamin is trying to say something?”

“What? The emergency medicine is in your bag? Wait, I’ll get it for you.”

I pushed Hamin into the window seat and created some distance from Miss Miso.

“H-how did you understand exactly what Hamin just said? I could only hear sounds of pain…”

“Well, we’re desk mates. I interpreted correctly, right?”

“Urrrgh…”

“He says yes.”

“Oh, as expected of Do-young… The teacher still has a long way to go.”

Miss Miso showed an expression of admiration as if she had gained a great insight.

After all, these were the words of Ban Do-young, who had been looking after Hamin more than anyone else.

Even if she didn’t think so herself, she had no choice but to believe it.

“I’ll take care of this, so Miss Miso should check on the other students waiting outside. Please don’t worry too much.”

“Ah, I understand. Then I’ll leave it to you. Thank you, Do-young!”

“It’s nothing, sister-in-law.”

I seated Hamin by the inside window and sent Miss Miso away.

“Just now it was getting so sweet I almost asked Hye-rang for some bleach, but fortunately I don’t think I’ll need to drink it.”

“I passed the belongings check in one go, so I momentarily forgot. You’re still Ban Do-young the bastard.”

“Hehe, feeling better now?”

“Uuugh….”

Looking at Hamin groaning with his forehead pressed against the window, I felt my composure returning.

Yes, this is the Hamin I know.

“Cut me some slack. I’m saving my emotions for important moments.”

“How is that saving anything?”

Just bear with it a little longer.

When you finally make that confession you’ve been preparing so hard for,

I’ll try my best to be the heroine you want me to be.

So until then.

I want to see the Hamin I’ve known all along,

the Hamin I can be somewhat comfortable with.

Weak, naive,

and a laughable loser who’s fun to tease.

Even if it’s just for today.

“Alright, we’re departing now!”

The journey to our final destination, Tokyo, was smoother than expected.

Though there were many complaints about the baggage checks and other preparations since morning,

once everyone had lightened their loads and boarded the bus, they enjoyed the time to the airport by chatting, catching up on sleep,

or using the karaoke machine on the bus.

“Everyone, please refrain from solo activities inside the airport, and make sure to move together with your group members! If you need anything or have questions, always find the teachers first, don’t forget!”

Perhaps thanks to the experienced teachers,

and Miss Miso’s passionate guidance fueled by her newfound confidence through experience.

The first-year students of Bulsa High arrived at the airport without any trouble or unexpected situations,

and boarded the plane on time.

“Since we’re not the only ones on this flight, please make sure to sit in your assigned seat numbers. Do not change seats arbitrarily!”

“Ugh, if it’s by number, I have to sit with the class president. Her boobs are so huge, I’ll be cramped the whole way.”

“You think I want to sit next to you? And if we’re talking about being cramped, I have it worse with your unnecessarily tall self…”

“Anyone want to switch seats? Sitting next to Choi Sa-hyang would be more comfortable.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, Do-young?”

“Or Miss Miso would be fine too.”

“N-no switching seats, I said! And even if it were allowed, I wouldn’t switch for that reason!”

Unfortunately, since the airplane seats were arranged by roll numbers,

boys had to sit with boys, and girls with girls.

So regrettably,

the seat next to Miss Ban Do-young on the flight to Japan was taken by Virgin-no-more.

.

.

.

[Ladies and gentlemen, our aircraft has arrived at Narita Airport. For your safety, please remain seated with your seatbelts fastened until the aircraft comes to a complete stop and the seatbelt sign is turned off…]

Ban Do-young’s first overseas trip in 27 years of life.

Or more precisely, should I call it an isekai overseas trip?

I never thought my first plane ride and first step on foreign soil would happen

after being reincarnated into a webtoon world rather than in reality.

In webtoons or animations, for ease of communication,

people from different countries either understand each other’s languages, or everyone speaks the protagonist’s language…

[Ladies & gentleman, We have landed at Narita International Airport…]

“Hmm, I understood ‘ladies and gentlemen’ and ‘airport’.”

“How impressive. Miss Ban Do-young with a midterm average of 72 points. With that level of listening comprehension, you might score 82 next time.”

Well, I guess I couldn’t expect that kind of portrayal when the school teaches English and second foreign languages.

It seems the webtoon and the world inside it are different after all.

“After disembarking, we’ll head straight to our accommodation with our luggage. Since our outdoor activities officially begin tomorrow, please rest well today to prepare for tomorrow. After dinner, as planned, there will be a recreation event in the indoor hall, so students who are participating, don’t forget to prepare diligently!”

“Finally tonight, Hamin. Or should I call you Hami today?”

“Come to our room as soon as you’ve unpacked at the accommodation. Got it?”

“Y-yeah…”

The chicken-cat gang who had appointed themselves as Hamin’s stylists were already fired up.

The event they were most looking forward to on this school trip was probably the contest happening tonight.

“Hey, Hamin.”

“Uh, yeah.”

“See you on stage later?”

“…Huh?”

Of course, I was also preparing for tonight.

**

After arriving at the accommodation, the Bulsa High students quickly unpacked, finished dinner,

and gathered one by one in the indoor hall where the recreation event was to take place, dressed in comfortable clothes.

“Hello everyone! I’m Jin Chan-won, class 2 president and MC for this Miss Bulsa High Contest!”

“…And I’m Ahn Seong-kyung, class 1 president.”

“Hey, hey… Ms. Ahn Seong-kyung. You need to raise your energy level, this is a contest after all.”

“If you were forced to be an MC just because you’re the only female class president, would you be energetic in this situation?”

“A-anyway, Bulsa High’s traditional Miss Contest! We’re starting right now!”

“Woooah!”

Although it was the first contest targeting only male students at Bulsa High,

the audience atmosphere was surprisingly good.

“The winner of this contest will be given the official title of ‘Bulsa High Goddess’! All students who participated in Bulsa Middle School trips would know this, right?”

“Finally, I can say ‘unofficial’ every time that damn Ban Do-young calls herself the Bulsa High Goddess. Hehehe.”

“T-then shall we call our first contestant?”

“Woooah!”

Despite the female MC Ahn Seong-kyung’s terrible away-game hosting,

the event maintained a certain balance thanks to the desperate collar-grabbing hosting of male MC Jin Chan-won.

“Hey, who do you think will win? Want to bet?”

“I caught a glimpse of that class 3 kid with makeup while eating earlier, and he looked pretty convincing.”

“No way, there’s a kid from class 4 who was a trainee at an entertainment agency until middle school. In the end, a good-looking guy in drag looks the prettiest. He’ll definitely win first place.”

“First up, class 1’s prospective Bulsa High Goddess! Do Hamin! No, Miss Do Hami, please come out!”

“…Huh?”

Naturally, when they heard the name of Do Hamin, who had no connections with any Bulsa High students, students from other classes tilted their heads and whispered about the unfamiliar name that had just been called.

“Do Hami…? Who’s that? Do you know them? I’ve never heard of them.”

“No, not at all. Just watch and move on. It’s probably nothing special anyway.”

Until Hamin’s name was called,

no one in the audience had high expectations or showed much interest. After all, they knew nothing about Hamin.

“H-hello…! I’m D-Do Hami…”

“…What the.”

That is, until he, or rather she, stepped onto the stage.