Unexpectedly Becoming the Student Council President

To read until the final chapter. p atreon.com/casca02

Park Minhyuk, the secretary of the Ahsung High School Disciplinary Committee, had a secret hobby.

On the weekend, Minhyuk entered a figure store with a large bag, wearing a hood and round glasses, a smile spreading across his face as if he had entered paradise.

Minhyuk's steps halted in front of a limited-edition figure. The box shone brilliantly in his eyes: 'Iron-blooded Girl Marina Silver Armor Second Version…!'

Minhyuk quietly breathed in excitement as he purchased the figure.

Up until the beginning of this year, Minhyuk wasn't obsessed with figures. He had focused on romantic feelings toward real women.

However, unfortunately, Minhyuk's romantic feelings always ended in despair.

─ 'Sorry. Honestly… you're not my type.'

─ 'Just so you know, there's a rumor you're creepy.'

─ 'Did you really think I was that easy…?'

─ 'I didn't think of you that way. I just saw you as a friend…. Can we just stay friends? I'm sorry.'

─ 'Oh, Minhyuk…. Why would you confess to Nayeon? Who's going to announce it now?'

Minhyuk had an exceptionally good memory. The rejections from his confessions accumulated clearly in his mind, causing his head to hang lower and lower.

Often, he would kick his blanket in self-loathing as he lay in bed.

He wanted to hide in a hole to escape the memories. Eventually, Minhyuk resorted to hiding in cabinets or trash cans to feel some relief from the world.

One day, Minhyuk had a realization: Was there any need to crave love from people who would just avoid him?

That's when he noticed 2D characters.

Ideal beings that wouldn't plunge him into self-loathing. From then on, the anime character he enjoyed watching, Iron-blooded Girl Marina, started to look different to him.

It was the beginning of his 'otaku' journey.

In other words, the start of 'love.'

Minhyuk carried the bag with the figure box clutched to his chest. He left the store, his eyes scanning his surroundings cautiously.

There was no one suspicious.

'Never again will I go through what happened last time,' he thought.

Minhyuk repeated to himself like a mantra.

The day he was kidnapped by Anomia, he lost his limited-edition figure of Iron-blooded Girl Marina. Naturally, the experience stayed in his mind like a trauma.

The sale period was over, and only second-hand figures with other people's fingerprints appeared on online marketplaces. Minhyuk eventually gave up on that figure.

Thus, Minhyuk made a resolution.

'I will never lose Marina-chan, no matter what!'

Minhyuk moved forward cautiously, maintaining a state of extreme vigilance and even controlling his breathing.

But anxiety soon became reality.

Suddenly, a hand reached out from an alley and grabbed Minhyuk.

"Huh!"

Like a fish caught on a hook, the weak Minhyuk was dragged away. His heart sank.

The person pulling him was a mysterious woman wearing sunglasses and a mask.

Clearly suspicious.

"N-no…!"

Minhyuk's voice trembled.

Were the heavens refusing to let him have Iron-blooded Girl Marina?

Remembering his previous attack, Minhyuk thought.

The woman before him was undoubtedly a villain targeting him.

"P-please spare me…!"

Minhyuk trembled like a cornered deer.

But he had to protect what mattered.

Curling up, Minhyuk clutched his bag.

"Just kill me if you want…! But please, just let Marina-chan go home!"

"Minhyuk, it's me."

"…?"

The woman took off her sunglasses and mask, revealing her face.

"The wild Ha Yesong appears!"

Ha Yesong, the Disciplinary Committee member in charge of regulating public morals at Ahsung High School, greeted energetically with her usual catchphrase.

"...."

Minhyuk's expression turned icy.

As the fear in his chest dissipated, his heart turned frigid in reaction.

Yesong grinned and placed her arm around Minhyuk's shoulder.

"Hey, loser Minhyuk, what were you saying about Marina-chan? What's in that bag, huh? Minhyuk-kun?"

"I'll kill you."

"Haha!"

Yesong burst into laughter.

"I don't care about your privacy~. I'm not interested in the slightest, got it?"

"To trample on my innocent heart…, unforgivable…."

Tears welled up in Minhyuk's eyes.

His fragile heart had already been shredded.

"Anyway, is that why you didn't check your messages?"

"Messages?"

"There's a very important issue right now!"

"Nothing's more important than me going home right now."

"Just come with me."

Minhyuk, being weak, had no choice.

Yesong sniffed the air and poked her head out of the alley.

"This way!"

She led Minhyuk somewhere.

"Good thing you're disguised too."

"What are we doing?"

"We're tailing someone."

"Ah, stalking. Do that pathetic stuff on your own, please. It's beneath me…."

"It looks like the Leader and Vice Leader are on a date."

"!"

Minhyuk adjusted his posture and seriously followed Yesong.

"Where? Track them by scent immediately."

"There they are…. Wait, am I a dog?"

Minhyuk didn't deny it.

They spotted a man and woman entering a large burger restaurant. It was Ahn Woo-jin and Oh Baek-seo, the Leader and Vice Leader of the Disciplinary Committee, respectively, both in casual clothes.

"Let's go."

"Okay."

Yesong and Minhyuk moved stealthily like spies.

"?"

However, to passersby, they just looked like a suspicious stalker and an otaku moving together.

The burger restaurant was spacious, providing many blind spots to observe Woo-jin and Baek-seo secretly.

Yesong and Minhyuk ordered burger sets and sat at a distance from Woo-jin and Baek-seo, hidden by a corner.

"Your double steak burger and teriyaki burger are ready."

Receiving their burger sets, Yesong and Minhyuk ate while sneakily glancing at Woo-jin and Baek-seo, peeking out from the corner.

"A burger place, alone together on the weekend…. This smells suspicious?"

"It's our respected Leader's love life. We need to verify and support it…. If they're a couple, it's my duty to protect their relationship…."

Yesong and Minhyuk conversed in hushed, collective soliloquy.

At that moment, a blonde girl with a ponytail entered the burger place.

It was Yoo Doha, the treasurer of the Ahsung High School Disciplinary Committee.

She immediately spotted the suspicious duo and approached them.

"Hey, Ha Yesong."

"Welcome, Yoo Doha."

"Why did you call me out on a weekend afternoon? What's this 'urgent matter'?"

"First, cover your face."

"?"

Yesong put a prepared hat on Doha's head. Minhyuk gestured urgently, and Doha crouched down.

"Lower your voice."

Yesong said to Doha.

"It seems the Leader and Vice Leader are on a date. You've heard the rumors they might be dating, right?"

"I don't care about that…."

"Our goal is to gather evidence that Leader and Vice Leader are dating. Keep that in mind."

Doha frowned.

"Why are we doing this troublesome thing?"

"Because I'm in charge of regulating public morals? It's my duty to verify if Leader and Vice Leader are dating."

"Then there's no need to call me…."

"I can't leave Doha-chan out. This is something we all need to confirm together."

"You're just doing this for fun."

"Yes."

Doha decided not to question further.

"Hm."

Whether the Leader and Vice Leader were dating or not didn't matter to her. However, since she was here, she decided to satisfy her curiosity.

After all, the Leader was someone she served, so knowing wouldn't hurt.

Doha sat with Yesong and Minhyuk, who nibbled on fries like rabbits while intensely spying on Woo-jin and Baek-seo.

***

We went to a burger place for a simple meal. But for some reason, strange stalkers began following us.

One of them was Ha Yesong, wearing sunglasses and a mask, and the other was Park Minhyuk, hugging a bag tightly. Yoo Doha had just joined them.

'What are they doing…?'

I pretended not to notice. I didn't want to acknowledge their presence.

'Are they tailing us? Suddenly?'

I didn't realize they were following us until we entered the burger place. But it was obvious now.

I suddenly admired the stoic junior who always kept a close eye on Lee Se-Ah.

'Baek-seo must have noticed too, right?'

If I noticed, there was no way Baek-seo hadn't.

At that moment, Baek-seo casually started speaking while sipping her drink through a straw.

"Hey, Leader."

"Why?"

"Have you heard that rumor lately?"

"What rumor?"

She asked while sipping my drink.

"The rumor that you and I are dating."

"Gah! Cough, cough!"

I choked on my drink and coughed repeatedly.

A rumor that we're dating?

"Are you okay?"

"Ah, I just swallowed wrong."

It didn't seem like a joke.

'How did I not know?'

Maybe I've been too busy lately.

Baek-seo rested her chin on her hand and smiled warmly.

"…Really?"

I asked to confirm.

"Yes. I heard that there's a rumor going around the Disciplinary Committee. I don't really mind."

"But I do…."

You might not care about your reputation, but I do.

'So those guys…?'

I finally understood.

'They came to confirm if Baek-seo and I are dating?'

They must be serious about it if they're tailing us.

Their initiative is impressive.

But still.

'This is a mistake.'

It's a perfectly reasonable rumor.

Recently, since Baek-seo has been living next door and we've been commuting together, it's only natural for such a rumor to spread.

High school students tend to get excited and start rumors whenever boys and girls interact even a little.

Especially in Ahsung High School, where campus romances are strictly prohibited, such gossip becomes even more exciting.

'I should have been more careful.'

I was concerned about this.

But it was hard to distance myself from Baek-seo, who worried about my safety and insisted on commuting together. Not that I wanted to, either.

However, it seems I need to be more cautious from now on.

As the Leader, I need to strictly adhere to the school rules.

'For now, it's best to make those guys believe that Baek-seo and I are just friends and not a couple.'

Let's pretend not to know that they're here. They're clearly trying not to be noticed.

Right now, it's time to talk to Baek-seo.

"Baek-seo."

"Yes?"

"It's disgraceful for rumors to spread that the Leader and Vice Leader might be breaking the school rules. We should always be seen as exemplary, strictly adhering to the rules. So, let's be careful for a while…."

Just as I was about to speak firmly, Baek-seo interrupted.

"Leader, wait."

"Huh?"

Baek-seo picked up a napkin and leaned towards me, wiping my mouth.

"You had ketchup on your face."

"Ah, thanks…. But isn't this too close?"

Baek-seo was leaning uncomfortably close to me.

Moreover, even after wiping the ketchup, she didn't move her hand away from my mouth.

"Baek-seo? Wait, what are you…?"

She got even closer, almost as if she was going to kiss my cheek.

I swallowed nervously, feeling the tension rising.

"Leader."

Baek-seo's voice suddenly filled my ear.

"They took the bait."

"?"

Baek-seo smiled sweetly.

Two figures quickly approached us.

Whoosh! One of them threw off their sunglasses and mask.

"I got it! I captured the moment they were about to kiss!"

Ha Yesong. She pointed at us proudly like a reporter who had caught a scoop. Next to her, Minhyuk, wearing round glasses, pointed at us with a surprised expression.

Baek-seo and I turned our gazes towards them.

"You guys…?"

"Hi?"

Baek-seo greeted naturally.

"Baek-seo, so you and the Leader are really…?"

"Leader, are you really in that kind of relationship with the Vice Leader…?"

At that moment, Baek-seo showed Yesong and Minhyuk her smartphone screen, displaying footage of them approaching.

"Ah."

Instantly, Yesong and Minhyuk froze like ice.

Baek-seo's smartphone displayed footage of Yesong and Minhyuk approaching from the street.

"A trap?"

Yesong asked, and Baek-seo nodded. Just then, Doha approached Yesong and Minhyuk from behind.

Baek-seo put her phone back in her pocket and sat down again.

Had she planned to tease them from the start?

"The Leader and I were meeting for work. The rumors are false, so don't misunderstand."

Baek-seo said with her usual gentle smile, voicing what I had wanted to say.

Yeah, this is better.

I guess I was being overly cautious.

Anyway, the matter was resolved.

"Really…? If Baek-seo says so, then it must be true…."

Yesong and Minhyuk looked disappointed, let down by the anti-climactic turn of events.

They exchanged glances with Doha, and then Yesong asked me.

"What should we do now, Leader?"

"Why are you asking me?"

After reprimanding them for tailing us for a while.

We decided to have fun at a karaoke.

Since we had already met up, we agreed to go to a karaoke and have some fun.

It turned out to be quite enjoyable.

***

A female student in an Ahsung High School uniform was training in a dark room. She wore a Disciplinary Committee armband on her arm.

The screams of the undead echoed around her. The girl, with an emotionless expression, watched her minions fight.

Her expressionless demeanor was something the Ahsung High School Disciplinary Committee Leader highly valued.

Eventually, the girl raised her arm and snapped her fingers.

Snap!

With a sharp sound, the undead vanished into the shadows, sinking into the ground.

Only the traces of giant claws scratching the training dummy, walls, and floor remained.

Similar claw marks would be left during the Ahsung High School practical evaluation as well.

"…Useful."

In a monotonous voice, the expressionless girl turned and left the room.

To read until the final chapter. p atreon.com/casca02