NTR Kousuke

Chapter 48

Waiting for Yukari-san at the film club.

Today after school, Yukari-san said she'd stop by a salon and a beauty parlor, shoot a PV for the beauty contest, and then come over.

She sent a message on LINE saying she'd be a little late.

Tanaka-kun grumbles,

Tanaka: "Class 6 is cunning. We put so much effort into polishing Tomonaga-san, who was a raw gem, into a jewel, and now they're using her in her sparkling state as their class's poster girl. And on top of that, she's all dolled up from the beauty parlor and salon that we paid for. Filming her first... unbelievable."

He keeps muttering under his breath.

Preparations for the cultural festival are reaching their peak, and it's finally cultural festival week.

Since it's happening next weekend, club activities and committees are basically on hold, and everyone is putting their all into festival preparations.

Our class decided on a hamburger shop, so the top clique girls, Koji, Hiroshi, and I are super busy every day preparing the food stall.

I'm with the film club, and Nagase-san is also handling student council duties, so we're swamped!

Nagase-san and I share our schedules and keep in close contact via LINE.

While waiting, Yukari-san arrives!

Yukari: "Sorry! I'm late!"

I already thought she was a beautiful girl.

But after the salon and beauty parlor, with her makeup done perfectly, Yukari-san looks astonishingly glamorous and stunning.

Yukari: "Kousuke-kun, do I look... weird?"

My heart is pounding. Not the kind of pounding from a fear of women.

I have to say this properly.

"Beautiful."

Yukari-san goes 'pom!' and taps my shoulder!

Yukari: "Geez! Compliment me more!"

"Really beautiful."

"Geez! You're hopeless, Kousuke-kun! I'm gonna fix that part of you, okay? From now on!"

She giggles, then, following Tanaka-kun's instructions, changes into a white dress bought yesterday and touches up her makeup a little.

A girl from the drama club, who was asked to help, watches over her.

Since it's a seated interview, it doesn't need to be too flashy, so just a slight touch-up is enough, apparently.

Yukari-san is surrounded by the film club members to shield her from view as they escort her to the rooftop.

Yukari: "Why? This makes me nervous. I can go by myself, don't escort me like this!"

Yukari-san seems to be scared, as if she has some painful memories.

Rooftop

The lighting is already set up.

Here, we'll film Yukari-san from various angles and later edit it to show how beautiful she's become!

Then, finally, a Q&A-style interview in the clubroom.

To avoid visible clothing lines, the shoot is scheduled for 30 minutes later.

We're running behind, so it's already past 6 PM.

We've prepared a heater and a bench coat, but right before filming, to ensure a good complexion on camera, she walks around to warm up her body for the shoot.

I'm the one accompanying her as she walks around.

What did we talk about? Probably memories of dieting, tough times, and fun moments. But none of it really sinks in.

The girl walking beside me is so captivating that my heart is completely stolen.

Yukari-san smiles mischievously,

Yukari: "I made it this far thanks to you, Kousuke-kun. Thank you. Of course, it's thanks to everyone, but you're special."

"That's not true. It's because you worked hard, Yukari-san. Your hard work can't be summed up in just one word."

Yukari: "There you go again! Making me happy! You're gonna make me cry!"

Yukari-san taps me with a 'pom pom.'

Yukari: "Alright, after we film this and do the interview, the documentary is done! Then it's just up to everyone to edit it into a full documentary, right?"

I nod. The film club members will probably handle that.

I haven't been able to help at all with the basketball club's food stall, and I'm already stretched thin with our class's stall.

Yukari: "Once the cultural festival is over, we can meet up as much as we want, right? Yeah, the cultural festival isn't the goal, it's the starting line!"

"You're just trying to say something cool for the sake of it, aren't you?"

Yukari: "Ugh. This is the part where you're supposed to say, 'Our adventure starts now!' right?"

"No way, I'm not saying something like a canceled series ending...!"

As we laugh together, Tanaka-kun announces the start of filming.

Alright, I'll be right back! Yukari-san dashes out barefoot into the chilly November air.

As Yukari-san heads over, Tanaka-kun comes by in her place,

Tanaka: "Kousuke-kun, good job."

I reply with a 'good job' as well.

Tanaka: "She's a great girl, take good care of her, okay?"

What are you talking about? I play dumb.

Tanaka: "You can tell just by looking, right? Not everyone is like Mishima-san."

I nod,

Tanaka: "...Honestly, at first, I thought if she changed, it might help you recover."

I'm surprised.

Tanaka: "But while filming, I saw there were already girls around you who could help you recover, and I got a bit annoyed."

I tap the shoulder of my best friend who says this with a laugh. The girls around me? Nagase-san? Airi-senpai?

Tanaka: "But, she turned into Yukari-san just as I produced, didn't she?"

Tanaka-kun has a smug look on his face!

Tanaka: "She's not a natural beauty. Well, maybe she was, but she was buried for so long. Unlike girls who've always been in the top clique, her [defense] is low."

I kinda get it.

She probably doesn't have the skills to navigate social situations or deal with people, so she's likely to get hurt easily or become a target of jealousy and attacks.

Tanaka-kun expressed that as 'defense.'

Tanaka: "So, she'll need your support from now on, Kousuke-kun. If we just transform her, make her beautiful, and then say bye-bye, she'll definitely face tough times or get really hurt. So, please take care of that."

Tanaka-kun observes things well.

I nod.

Yukari-san is being filmed from various angles.

Beautiful, glamorous, stunning.

They bring out a chair, she sits down, and strikes a few poses.

Filming continues with different situations.

Tanaka-kun and I keep talking quietly the whole time.

Tanaka: "I've been filming Yukari-san this whole time, and seeing her become more charming day by day, I almost fell for her myself. Toward the end, I was in trouble. ...Kousuke-kun, if it's you, I..."

Huh?! His feelings? Tanaka-kun?

Unusually, Tanaka-kun shows an angry expression...

Tanaka: "If you're going to date Yukari-san... protect her from guys like these too! You punks! Learn your lesson!"

I look over and see Yukari-san on the chair, lifting the hem of her dress just to the point where her underwear is almost visible, blushing bright red while being made to state her measurements after dieting...!

Seriously, these guys...! They never let their guard down...!

The filming crew is getting a serious lecture from Tanaka-kun.

Tanaka-kun, a first-year, is already seen as the next club president.

Then, we move locations back to the film club's clubroom.

Yukari-san answers Tanaka-kun's questions in a Q&A format.

After finishing all the questions, Yukari-san leaves the clubroom.

Yukari: "Thank you so much."

She gives a beautiful bow and exits the clubroom.

"It's over!"

"Good job!"

"Let's edit this!"

The film club is super excited!

Normally, we'd have a wrap-up party, but there's editing to do, and Yukari-san has the beauty contest coming up, so we disband for now!

Finally, Yukari-san, in tears, takes the hands of each film club member one by one to express her gratitude.

Tanaka-kun films that scene.

After Yukari-san stops crying, she puts on a mask, and we head home together.