Ch. 17 - Bullying incident that was beginning to snowball

Harutaki’s afternoon passed without incident. But peace was only the calm before a storm, the time needed for an event to ripen and ferment.

After the third period ended, club members hurried to their clubrooms, cram school students packed up and bolted, and the “Go-Home Club” member Harutaki found his way blocked at the classroom door.

At the front stood a girl with a decent-enough face, though her black hair had been dyed an awkward, not-quite-blond shade that only made her look tacky.

“You’re the scumbag, right? Pffft, I heard you went soft with your girlfriend. True?”

These days, he was like a target propped up by Nogami herself. Anyone could come to him and take a potshot, vent their irritation, and move on.

Right or wrong didn’t matter. Facts didn’t matter. As long as Hoshikawa Harutaki existed, that was enough.

But he wasn’t just a target. He was a human being—one who could shoot back.

“Couldn’t get it in ‘cause it was too big. Kinda natural to lose it after rubbing around forever, don’t you think? Didn’t you people ever take health class?”

Instead of the mortified expression they’d been hoping for, Harutaki spoke calmly, matter-of-factly. The girls looked faintly disappointed.

Still, they weren’t the type to give up easily. Another hanger-on next to the ringleader snickered:

“Even if that’s true, being a virgin is still pathetic! With that face, and still no experience? What’s the deal—something wrong with you, or…”

“Hold it right there.”

Cut off mid-taunt, the girl assumed Harutaki had snapped. Her plain, ordinary face twisted with a triumphant grin.

“Listen, uh… Kanase-san, was it? And the rest of you. Why exactly do you think losing your virginity in high school or earlier is some kind of badge of honor? Since when did throwing your chastity away and turning yourself into a public restroom count as an achievement? Honestly, I feel sorry for your future partners.”

He jabbed a finger toward the guy who looked like the ringleader of the boys.

“Hey, you. Can you even imagine it? On your wedding night, finding out your bride isn’t a virgin is one thing. But while she’s with you, she might be comparing you to her ex. Or her ex-ex. Measuring length, girth, and technique. Imagine that.”

“G-Ghh—! Y-you’re going too far!”

The boy’s face drained pale just from picturing it—

Wait. Don’t tell me he’s already been through that?

What a pitiful bastard.

Shifting his gaze back to the ringleader girl, Harutaki’s eyes bore down with enough weight that she blurted defensively before he could say a word:

“I-I’m still a virgin, okay!? Got a problem with that!?”

“…Yui, didn’t you say you hooked up with a senior back in middle school…?” one of her friends muttered, bewildered.

To Harutaki, it was incomprehensible, these kids bragging about how many people they’d slept with, how early they’d “lost it.”

What, were their brains waterlogged?

“Well then, if you’re all that curious about my sex life, why don’t we hit a love hotel and find out firsthand? You pay, of course. Oh, and for the record, Okamoto 0.01s, the biggest size, still feel too tight, so I prefer bare. Bring your own morning-after pills.”

Harutaki took a step forward, his voice low.

“It’s pretty big. So whoever tries better be ready…”

Just like Nogami had experienced, his 185-centimeter frame carried weight in a high school hallway. Cold eyes, a shadowed glare, and suddenly he was towering over a cluster of 160-centimeter girls. None dared retort. Not until the boys shoved themselves between them did anyone breathe again.

“And one last thing—”

He pushed aside the two blocking the door and strode a few steps out, then looked back.

“Whatever’s between me and Izumi is a personal matter. You’d better not stick your noses in.”

Boasting served no purpose. “Personal matter” was all he left them. The rest, he trusted their overactive imaginations to fill in.

Love, hate, passion—still just a “personal matter,” right?

Besides, most of these students only knew Nogami by reputation as a bully, not someone who singled out nobodies by name.

And Harutaki? He hardly looked like a victim.

Once he was gone, the “Kanase gang” finally exhaled in relief. The heavy atmosphere evaporated, replaced instantly with gossip.

“Never heard of Nogami posting on the forum about anyone before… you?”

Blank stares all around, then heads shook.

“But remember what she did post?”

The girl called Yui, desperate to recover some pride, launched into analysis:

“Confessed to her, then groped her friend’s chest.”

“And the thread title was ‘Scumbag,’ right? Plus, he called her Izumi, straight-up.”

“No way anyone could grope Nogami’s friend and still show up to school.”

A boy chimed in, drawing nods.

“Yeah! I saw it once—someone bumped Nogami’s shoulder by accident. The next day, he was on his knees bawling, begging forgiveness in the hallway.”

“…Wait. Could his ex actually be Nogami?”

“Get out!”

“Seriously, have you ever heard of Nogami dating anyone?”

“No one dares confess to her. Well… except him. So when he said ‘personal matter’, maybe he meant—”

Yui lit up like she’d discovered fire.

“A breakup! He’s trying to win his ex back!”

“That’s hilarious. Let’s post the theory on the forum, see what others think.”

But when they opened the anonymous school board, the newest hot thread already blazed at the top:

“Someone saw that Scumbag and Shihou-san were spotted going into Starbucks together!”

“What?!”

Girls and boys alike crowded around the tiny screen.

[#3 on the Ideal Girlfriend Ranking, Shihou-san, falls prey to Scumbag’s clutches!]

“Nice title. We should make ours similar.”

Another girl thought a moment, then suggested eagerly:

“How about: ‘Scumbag’s Love-Hate Drama with Ex Nogami Takes a Twist—New Target Shihou?!’”

“Way too long! What is this, a light novel title?”

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