CH 17

When Tōjō Karen, Kishimoto Rika, and Kim Yoo-sung were enjoying shopping at Tokyu Department Store in Shibuya.

Major executives gathered one after another in the mansion of the Dongsung Society in Meguro-ku, Tokyo.

In a solemn atmosphere. 

Among them, the middle-aged man who was at the top was Naoto Tōjō, the sixth chairman of the Dongsung Society.

Naoto from “Blood Sea”.

He stroked the knife on his nose and looked earnestly at the executives’ faces, then suddenly slashed the sashimi bōchō1 in his hand on the floor.

“I think Karen has a crush on a guy.”

The moment they heard it the executives began to stir.

That was because all the people who participated in the meeting now were uncles who had watched Tōjō Karen growing from the sidelines before they were all executives of the organization.

The common thing among those gathered here was that they cared about Tōjō Karen, who was like a daughter or granddaughter.

Men who could give their ring finger for her, and for whom it wouldn’t hurt.

A key meeting of the leading members of the Dondung society

Although they gathered under this name, they were the personal fan club of Tōjō Karen.

And Tōjō Naoto, the president of the fan club and the No. 1 member, said, crumpling the scarred face.

“I don’t know who it is, but I can’t give my daughter to anyone. Sento!”

“Yes!”

Sento Osamu, the elite yakuza and accountant of the organization, pushed up his glasses with his middle finger and screened a video on the white wall of the meeting room with a projector.

“His name is Sakomoto Ryuji. He was born on October 7th. His parents are archaeologists, and he has a sister two years younger than him. He’s currently in the private Ichijo academy, and his grades are average. He’s pretty good at sports because he went to a karate club run by his father’s childhood friend since he was young. It is said that he recently injured two bullies who had a quarrel on the street two weeks ago, causing them to be hospitalized.”

“Well, he looks so thin like a girl, but he has some guts.”

When Naoto Tōjō muttered like that with his arms crossed, Sento nodded and turned the presentation to the next page.

“According to the information of the spy planted in Ichiyo Academy, it is estimated that this Monday is when the lady fell in love with this guy named Ryuji Sakamoto. The gangsters mentioned just before are freshmen in the kendo club where she belongs, and she seemed to have fallen in love with him after she visited to question him about the assault.”

“Wow! If it weren’t for that punk!”

“Then the next one.”

When Sento pressed the button on the remote control, a picture of Tōjō Karen’s friends who came to play a while ago appeared on the screen.

Then Naoto’s eyes, who was grinding his teeth, changed.

“That young man in the back, he has an extraordinary build.”

“Yes. It’s a student named Kim Yoo-sung that she brought with her the other day, saying that he was her friend. I investigated it separately because I thought it might have been planted by another organization, but he was just a normal student who liked sports. I heard that he has no particular criminal record and has the top grade in school.”

“Oh, the more I see him, the better he is. Okay, next.”

“The blonde girl next to her is another friend, Kishimoto Rika. Her father is Kishimoto Sojiro, a famous mangaka, and her mother, Kishimoto Maria, who is currently working as a part-time French instructor at Wase University’s language school. To be exact, I heard that she’s an elite who can speak four languages, including English, French, Japanese, and Korean. In her hometown, Shizuoka, Rika had such a good sense of fashion that she worked as a model for a fashion magazine, and she seems to have used her skills to teach her makeup methods.”

Beep!

When he displayed the data screen in the presentation in the form of before & after, all the executives in the conference hall admired.

“Oh! She was always cute, but she got cuter with makeup.”

“As expected of the lady. She has been extraordinary since she was a kid.”

“I thought she’d be beautiful when she grows up, but honestly, I didn’t know she’d be this pretty.””

When each of the executives were expressing their feelings, Naoto, her father, was looking at the picture and looking dissatisfied.

“Be quiet. I’m not in a good mood right now.”

The executives quickly closed their mouths when they saw his face, looking uncomfortable.

As there was a silence in the room, Sento quickly turned over to the next screen.

The details of various receipts were attached in pictures.

“Yesterday, she said she wanted to go to the hair shop for the first time, so I took her there myself. This is the receipt. And just today, your card was used again, and as you can see, it’s all clothing from stores in Tokyu Department Store.”

Chatter – Chatter –

Only then did they realize the seriousness of the situation and started discussing with each other.

Despite his daughter’s beauty, Naoto’s reason for being very uncomfortable was nothing else.

His daughter, who wasn’t interested in makeup, suddenly learned makeup, and her who only used shampoo and conditioner went to a hair shop for the first time in her life, and as a kid who insisted on wearing school uniforms or comfortable clothes all year round suddenly went to a women’s clothing store?

There was only one thing that all these clues pointed to.

“I think she’s probably going on a date this weekend.”

“Sakamotooo!!”

“Mr. Chairman! I understand how you feel, but please bear with it!”

The executives, , rushed to stop Naoto, whose eyes turned with anger and seemed to be going to Ryuji Sakamoto right away with a knife.

After some time, the excitement finally subsided, and Naoto puffed out and said,

“The guys who have time on the weekend get together here! Do you understand?”

“Yes!”

“Our goal is to follow her on her date and stop them from doing anything harsh!”

“Yes!”

Naoto Tōjō, the sixth chairman of the Dongsung society, and eight other key executives.

Everyone had decided to participate!

*** 

“I’m exhausted~!”

After a lengthy shopping spree that took about two hours, Tōjō Karen was able to choose all the clothes and accessories to wear for tomorrow’s date.

And now we were having a late dinner at a homemade burger place in the food court of the department store.

“I don’t have the energy to chew anything anymore~.”

While Kishimoto said so, she was eating French fries with her cheeks puffed up like a squirrel.

Tōjō Karen watched her with difficulty and smacked her lips.

“Rika, once again, thank you very much.”

Then Rika waved as if it were nothing.

“Hey, we’re friends. This is not much between friends. So don’t worry too much. I had fun shopping with you.”

“Yeah, indeed from the beginning.” 

Tōjō, who snorted and laughed at Kishimoto’s nonsense, looked at me and asked, tilting her head.

“Kim Yoosung, will you be okay with a hamburger that big? This is on me, so you can eat as much as you want.”

I answered with a shrug when I heard her.

“It’s okay because I ate a lot of lunch. And I like rice more than bread.”

“Feel free to tell me if it’s not enough. This is cheap compared to what you helped me with.”

At first, I thought she was just a gangster, but after getting close, she was quite careful.

As expected, people must experience it in person to know.

When I stared at her, Tōjō asked, “What’s on my face?” and I replied “ketchup.”

Then Tōjō blushed and hurriedly wiped her face with a tissue.

Kishimoto, who was sucking coke with a straw next to her, suddenly asked.

“Karen, where are you going to meet Sakamoto tomorrow?”

“At 10 a.m. at Shibuya Station in front of Hachiko-san.”

“Did you decide the date course in advance?”

Then Tōjō nodded and replied.

“We can go to a cafe, have a cup of tea, go to a movie theater, eat and leave?”

Then Kishimoto, who had been drooping, suddenly hit the table, and revived.

“Get back! It’s your first date and you’re so complacent!”

“Huh? Huh?”

Tōjō looked surprised by her sudden scolding.

Whether or not, Kishimoto spoke enthusiastically.

“If you follow what others do, you won’t win the heart of the person you like! So how about here instead of the cinema!”

Saying that, what Kishimoto showed on her smartphone was an aquarium in Sunshine City, Ikebukuro.

Certainly, an aquarium is a place where many couples choose to date.

It was not a bad idea to meet in Shibuya and then go to Sunshine City by public transport because it would be quick to take the subway or bus.

It was also a cultural center, so there were many things to play and see like in Shibuya.

Eventually, Tōjō, who was persuaded by Kishimoto, added the aquarium to tomorrow’s date course.

After dinner, we parted ways with Tōjō in front of Shibuya Station and took the subway with a tired body, and Kishimoto, who sat next to me, asked.

“What are you doing tomorrow? Ryu-chan.”

“Maybe, I’ll just read manga at home.”

“Then let’s follow Tōjō together!”

“What?”

I looked at her wondering what else she was joking about, but she meant it when I saw her sparkling eyes.

“No, me too, the weekend… It’s the only time I’m free…”

“Did you forget about Golden Week?”

Uh-oh!

With one word I couldn’t resist, I decided to come Saturday calmly.

Just get me a real autograph.