The Handsome Boy I Saved from Getting Beaten on the Train… Turned Out to Be the “Prince” of an All-Girls School - V1 Chapter 35: I’m Jealous, Honestly

Chapter 35: I’m Jealous, Honestly

“I sincerely apologize for everything that’s happened.”

The conversation opened with an apology.

(What kind of thoughts must be running through his head as he bows right now?)

In front of me—a mere high schooler slouched deep in his chair—stood an older man, already well into his senior years, bowing so low beside the table that the top of his head was fully exposed.

I didn’t want to keep staring at that weary, thinning scalp, so I shifted my gaze toward the man standing next to him.

In contrast to the deeply bowing elder, the younger man—probably in his twenties—only gave a shallow nod, tilting his head slightly, all while his body kept fidgeting in small, jittery motions.

Like his displeasure was leaking out through every movement.

“My son… uploaded the video without permission. He’s done something truly inexcusable…”

“Please raise your head and have a seat, Akogi-san. We accept your apology. That’s fine with you too, right, Saito-kun?”

“Yes, Suzune-san.”

I gave a nod to Suzune-san, who was sitting beside me.

She clearly wasn’t in the mood to listen to a long, drawn-out apology at this point either.

Right now, we were sitting in the lounge café of a certain hotel.

We were here to receive a formal apology from the people responsible—for uploading that “Whoa-Whoa Dude” video online without our permission.

“But just to be clear—regarding the compensation, our demands remain exactly as outlined by our lawyer. While we’ve accepted your apology, that doesn’t mean we’ll be going easy on you when it comes to the settlement.”

“Yes… of course…”

Suzune-san responded with her usual calm yet firm tone, and the father, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, nodded in agreement.

“…So even after all that bowing, nothing’s changed? Then what’s the point of apologizing…”

The guy muttered under his breath, but in this tense, dead-silent room, every word was heard loud and clear.

“Jin! I-I’m so sorry! My foolish son just…”

The father panicked, turning pale at his son’s outburst.

This Jin guy—probably ten years older than me—was dressed neatly in a suit, but his face still had this unmistakable immaturity in a bad way.

“It’s fine. I wasn’t expecting anything from him anyway.”

From the start, this was someone who couldn’t take responsibility for what he’d done and had to be dragged here by his own father.

So I decided to be generous and chalk it up to “kids do stupid things.”

“…What?”

But Jin clearly didn’t like that.

He shot me a sharp glare, irritation written all over his face.

Probably didn’t like getting talked down to by a high schooler like me—but the fact that it showed so plainly just proved he was exactly the kind of guy I thought he was.

“Well then, with the apology from the Akogi side concluded, we’ll be taking our leave now.”

Completely unfazed by the tense atmosphere, Suzune-san began to wrap things up.

She probably didn’t want to hear another unpleasant word out of them.

“Y-Yes. Once again, I truly apologize. We’ll handle the compensation properly.”

Sensing her intent, the father quickly grabbed his idiot son Jin by the arm and tried to make a swift exit.

But then—

“Still, I can’t believe that prince-looking girl’s mom is the actress Kanon Hoshina. Her real name’s Suzune, right? Maybe I’ll tell my buddies~”

““…!?””

The sheer idiocy of that comment left everyone in the room—except him—completely speechless.

“W-Well, I mean, I do have some common sense, okay? Of course I’ll keep it a secret. You don’t have to worry.”

Maybe he realized from the looks on our faces that he’d screwed up, because Jin started chuckling awkwardly while saying something that made things even worse.

Is this guy for real…?

“You know, you really shouldn’t—wait, Saito-kun?”

“It’s okay, Suzune-san. Let me handle this one.”

Suzune-san’s brow furrowed ever so slightly at yet another idiotic comment from Jin, her annoyance starting to show.

But before she could speak, I stepped forward and positioned myself directly in front of Jin.

“Oh hey, it’s the real ‘Whoa-Whoa Dude.’ Been a while. Last time was on the train, right?”

The guy was speaking casually to me—despite being the one in the wrong and despite me being a high schooler.

But honestly, I didn’t even feel like getting mad about it anymore.

He was clearly an adult, but probably one who’d been met with nothing but disappointment and exasperation from everyone around him his whole life.

“…I’m kinda jealous, you know. Having a parent willing to bow their head for you like that.”

As I said that, I shifted my gaze to the father beside him—still bent at a 90-degree angle, trembling in silence.

“…Tch.”

Maybe he took my words as sarcasm, because Jin clicked his tongue, turned on his heel, and walked out of the café.

Leaving behind only his father, who kept bowing repeatedly toward us as he left—glancing back every few steps.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“Good work, Saito-kun.”

“You too, Suzune-san. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. In the entertainment world, you meet people like that all the time—completely impossible to understand.”

She let out a little laugh like it was nothing.

Man… the entertainment industry sounds terrifying.

“But I think your last line might’ve actually gotten through to that idiot son of his. It was sharp—brutally sharp.”

“I didn’t mean it as a jab or anything. That really was how I felt.”

Judging by how furious Jin had looked, he probably thought I was mocking him.

Something like, “A grown man letting his parent bow for him—aren’t you ashamed?”

But that wasn’t my intention at all.

To me, a parent who bows their head for the sake of their child…

That’s someone strong, someone dignified.

Someone admirable.

My parents, on the other hand…

“Saito-kun.”

“Yes? Suzu—mmph!?”

Just as I turned around in response to Suzune-san’s voice, something soft pressed against my face.

“Don’t make that face. You looked like a puppy someone abandoned.”

“…I wasn’t making that face.”

“Yes, you were.”

My weak denial was completely ignored as Suzune-san gently pulled my face into her chest.

So soft… and she smells really nice.

Somehow… it calmed me down.

“It’s okay, Saito-kun. Once you and Rei-chan get married, I’ll be your mother-in-law. So technically, I can become your mom too, right?”

“…Um, marriage? I’m still in high school, you know.”

“That’s right. You’re just a high schooler.”

Just a high schooler…

She emphasized that part—

Maybe because she knew who I really was beneath the surface.

Because she knew that was what I wanted more than anything.

“That’s why it’s okay to rely on the adults around you.”

As she cradled my head against her, Suzune-san gently stroked my hair.

The warmth of her touch tickled a little, but it felt so comforting,

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes without even realizing it.

“Thank you, Suzune-san.”

“Feeling better now?”

“Yes.”

If I stayed close to her any longer, I felt like I might never be able to pull away.

So I made a conscious effort to step back from Suzune-san’s embrace.

“You really are Saito-kun… Never letting yourself get swept away by sweet words, even at a time like this.”

“Wait, was that some kind of trap just now?”

That was close.

Good job holding back, me. Seriously, well done.

“Fufufu. Did your heart skip a beat?”

“…I mean, if a tabloid snapped a picture of the actress Kanon Hoshina hugging a high school boy in broad daylight, it’d be a huge scandal.”

“In that case, maybe I’ll just have you take me along with Rei-chan~”

“Please don’t mess with me like that.”

I tried to throw a jab back at her… but it didn’t land at all.

Yeah, I lost that round.

“You seemed a little emotional back there during the meeting… Was that because of a fight with Rei-chan?”

“It wasn’t a fight. We were completely in the wrong.”

“Rei-chan tends to close herself off the moment something happens. But I think she’s changed a lot since meeting you, Saito-kun. So please… take care of my daughter.”

“You really are her mother.”

“That’s right. If you manage to win over Rei-chan, this charming future mother-in-law comes as a bonus too.”

…That’s a pretty tempting bonus.

But seriously, don’t ever say that in front of Rei.

With that thought in mind, I parted ways with my potential mother-in-law.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“Rei really is loved by everyone around her, huh…”

Lying on my bed at home, staring up at the ceiling, I muttered to myself.

Sasaki-san.

Her mother, Suzune-san.

Both of them were proud of Rei’s kindness.

Even Rinna, deep down, seemed to truly care about her in her own way.

And it’s exactly because Rei is that kind of person…

That I became friends with her too.

“I just need to be honest and tell Rei how I feel.”

After my talk with Suzune-san, I felt lighter—like a weight had lifted off my chest.

Last time, I think I’d been too focused on needing to make things right.

And that pressure just made me come off stiff and awkward.

“But still… why did Rei try so hard to hide that injury from us?”

The question suddenly popped into my head.

She got that scar trying to protect Hyoka-chan.

So why would she go so far as to cut ties with us over it?

If people knew the truth, they’d admire Rei even more for it.

Which only made it harder to understand.

Rei—someone with such an admirable story—had cried and said, “You’re the one person I didn’t want to find out.”

Why?

“…Well, I guess I’ll just have to ask her myself. Alright—tomorrow’s Monday. I’ll wake up early and head to Rei’s place to pick her up.”

Maybe it sounds a bit impulsive…

But hey, whatever. I think it’s fine.

Right now, I was kind of riding the high of finally deciding to just speak my heart.

Yeah—I was definitely feeling a little too confident.

(Beep-beep ♪)

Just as I made up my mind, my phone rang.

The name on the screen belonged to none other than the woman who teased me earlier and jokingly nominated herself as my future mother-in-law—Suzune-san.

Perfect timing.

“Hello, Mother-in-law. Thanks for earlier—really appreciate it. Actually, I wanted to ask you something. Would it be alright if I came by a bit early tomorrow morning?”

As payback for all her teasing, I casually tossed out the “mother-in-law” line while answering the call.

I was hoping to fluster her a little…

But… huh?

“Suzune-san?”

Even though she was the one who called, she didn’t say anything.

Was the signal bad?

“Kujou…kun… Rei… she…”

“What about Rei?”

“Kujou-kun… Rei-chan left the house… She’s gone…”

That weak, trembling voice—

Suzune-san, barely holding it together, forced those words out from the other end of the call.

And before I even realized it,

I was already out the door, clutching my phone tight.

The sky had already started to darken.