I Was Worn Out by Wine and Women-How Had I Gotten So Haggard!

Uesugi Hara was bored in class.

The math teacher droned on at the front of the room. Uesugi Hara had been able to understand the material and apply it to new problems years ago, and paired with the teacher's monotonous delivery, it was practically a lullaby.

He was doing fine himself, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kamuro Masumi's head bobbing up and down beside him. The movements were so slight that anyone who didn't know better might have thought she was earnestly agreeing with the teacher.

But Uesugi Hara could see clearly: her eyes had been firmly shut for ages, and her eyelashes fluttered softly with each breath.

She looked pretty good.

But really, his good buddy had probably already "fallen" in math class.

Kamuro, you're one of the elite in Class A! And you're already like this on the first day of class? What kind of "useless underdog makes a comeback" story are you starring in?

Chapter One: The Fallen Prodigy?

A class full of formulas and proofs was practically torture.

Uesugi Hara, however, didn't have Kamuro Masumi's good taste in naps.

He began flipping through the love letters in his desk drawer that he hadn't gotten around to dealing with yet.

Most of them said more or less the same thing.

Some were more poetic, their words full of subtle longing: "At first sight, you took my breath away. Since then, you've appeared in every dream"; "I glimpsed you leaning against the railing as the wind swept through the corridor, and all the cherry blossoms of April seemed to fall into my eyes"...

Others didn't bother with all that beating around the bush: "I thought you were an angel the moment I saw you. Those sharp brows and starry eyes made my heart flutter..." "I don't care whether you have a girlfriend or not—I just want to tell you: I like you. Like, really, really like you"...

—Shallow.

Uesugi Hara scoffed inwardly, his fingertips idly brushing the edge of the paper.

There were plenty of people who wanted him for his looks. They could all get in line and wait their turn.

He raised an eyebrow, a trace of displeasure rising in his heart. It wasn't their fault they were attracted to his looks, but it was their fault if that was all they cared about. With so many people around, couldn't even one of them see past his good looks and appreciate the "inner beauty" he kept deep inside?

Thinking this, he casually folded the letters into little squares and stuffed them into the corner of his desk, planning to throw them away after class.

The days passed in a quiet, uneventful blur.

Uesugi Hara's daily routine was simple enough: listen in class—or don't; clear away the mountain of love letters after class; trade a few jabs with Kamuro Masumi; occasionally goof off with Morishita Ai; mess with Sakayanagi Arisu whenever she came looking for trouble; and, of course... admire the pretty legs of anyone passing by.

Kamuro Masumi, meanwhile, seemed to have turned him into a recycling bin, tossing every beer she got her hands on his way.

He dutifully helped his good buddy deal with this "trouble," yet she wouldn't even give him the benefit of an extra glance at her legs.

Sometimes Uesugi Hara would grumble to himself: What kind of nonsense was this? I treated you like a brother, tucked you right into my pocket, and you turned around and kicked me into a ditch.

That wasn't an exaggeration. A few days ago, they'd gotten into an argument, and Kamuro Masumi had given him a proper kick. He could still feel a faint tingle just thinking about it.

On Saturday morning, a thin layer of steam fogged the bathroom mirror.

Uesugi Hara wiped the glass with his hand. The sight of his own face made him jump—faint dark circles hung beneath his eyes, and a weariness that wouldn't go away showed between his brows. He looked listless, with an indescribable air of exhaustion.

He froze. When had he started looking like this? Even after staying up several nights in a row, he'd never looked so haggard before.

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He touched his reflection without thinking, then thought back over the past few days: Kamuro Masumi had kept giving him beer, he'd spent every night admiring legs, and he'd stayed up late again last night... Comparing it with how he used to live, something suddenly clicked.

"Of course!" He slapped his forehead, suddenly enlightened. "I've been worn out by wine and women—that's why I look so haggard!"

Staring at his weary reflection, he took a deep breath and clenched his fist, making his decision with the solemnity of someone burning his bridges. "From this day forward, I'm quitting alcohol!"

After saying it, he looked in the mirror again, as if he could already see his former, spirited self.

The determination at the corner of his mouth, though, looked comically earnest.

Uesugi Hara immediately sent Kamuro Masumi a message: "You don't have to give me beer anymore. Your buddy's quitting alcohol!"

After quite a while, Kamuro Masumi finally replied, sounding groggy and a little annoyed, like she'd just woken up. "Huh? What's with you this early in the morning? Quitting alcohol? You're probably still asleep."

As soon as the message appeared, another one followed. She seemed to have suddenly realized something, and her tone grew suspicious. "Wait! Quitting alcohol?! You drank all the beer I gave you? Are you old enough to drink?"

"No," Uesugi Hara replied honestly.

"Then what you're doing is illegal." Kamuro Masumi's next message came right away. "I could report you to the school. But if you do what I say from now on, I won't."

Uesugi Hara looked at the words on his screen and found them a little funny. Was his good buddy trying to get one over on him? She must still be asleep.

His fingers flew over the screen as he typed his reply. He even added a mischievous smiley: "You seem to have forgotten where that beer came from. 😏 If you report me, I'll tell them I saw you use Sleight of Hand to steal it. I wanted to report you, but then you threatened me and forced me to drink it with you. You said you'd scream that I'd harassed you if I refused. I only broke the rules because I was intimidated by your tyranny. Heh heh heh."

Kamuro Masumi had just sat up in bed, still wearing a loose cotton pajama top. She covered her mouth and yawned, a little tear of sleepiness gathering in the corner of her eye, and slowly swiped across her Terminal to reply.

Then Uesugi Hara's message popped up, and her yawn abruptly stopped halfway. Her eyes went wide.

What did he mean, "you threatened me"?

Kamuro Masumi felt her temples throb as anger shot straight to her head. Who was it that had shamelessly come over in the first place, saying, "Let me look at your legs and I'll cover for you"? And who was the one with a perfectly straight face who'd said something as perverted as "Let me look at your legs"?

She gritted her teeth and knocked her Terminal against the blanket. Her fingers stabbed rapidly at the screen, as though she wanted to pound all her frustration into the words.

"You pervert! How can you say something like that with a straight face?" Kamuro Masumi's furious message popped onto the screen.

"Why can't I?" Uesugi Hara replied, full of righteous confidence. "Besides, didn't you use Sleight of Hand to get the beer? Didn't you give it to me?"

"Heh." Kamuro Masumi sent back two characters, a cold, gritted-teeth laugh practically seeping through the screen. "Uesugi Hara, just tell me—how did the beer taste?"

"Not good." Uesugi Hara replied without hesitation, then added, "It was kind of bad. Nothing like what my underlings used to bring me as tribute."

Kamuro Masumi looked at the screen and couldn't help snorting. Oh, underlings? This guy really could say anything. Who knew what he was bragging about now?

"Forget it, I'm not arguing with you. A lady doesn't fight with a man." Kamuro Masumi sent. "Forget whether you drink or not. I'm not stealing any more beer either."

"Oh? Have you mended your ways and found your conscience?" Uesugi Hara seized the chance to tease her.

"Heh." Kamuro Masumi replied with a single syllable, but her fingers unconsciously tightened around her phone.

She remembered what had happened last night, and her face warmed a little. Sakayanagi Arisu had actually caught her in the act—how could she live up to her reputation for Sleight of Hand after that? She'd only recently been caught by Uesugi Hara, and now, just a few days later...

She gave a soft snort, suppressed her embarrassment, and didn't reply to Uesugi Hara.

When Uesugi Hara saw that Kamuro Masumi wasn't replying, he couldn't be bothered to keep teasing her. He casually tucked his Terminal back into his pocket.

He glanced up at his own listless, haggard reflection again and clicked his tongue. Tch—looks like he shouldn't have stayed up late last night.

Thinking this, he turned and walked out of the bathroom, deciding to head back to bed for another nap and get some energy back.