Chapter 33 — Quiet Plans During the Holidays
Saeko's Room — Operation: Make Haru Fall in Love
The holidays should have felt peaceful.
No homework. No early alarm. No sprinting to class with bread in her mouth like in some cliché anime.
But Saeko didn't feel peaceful at all.
She lay on her bed, hugging her pillow, her phone glowing in front of her face. The screen showed the same thing it had been showing for the last ten minutes:
A modeling post.
A boy in soft lighting.
Silver hair, blue eyes, that calm expression.
Haruya.
She already knew it was him. Even without his name on it. Even without any information.
The world might be confused, but she wasn't.
"That pose…" she whispered to herself, staring at the picture. "That's my Haru…"
Her heart thumped softly. She zoomed in. Then zoomed out. Then zoomed in again, like a ritual.
Every time she looked, she felt the same mix of pride and panic.
Pride, because the boy she liked was so radiant the whole country was losing its mind over him.
Panic, because the more people loved him online, the more dangerous it felt.
(If everyone sees how perfect he is… what if someone steals him away?)
She rolled over, burying her face in the pillow, muffling a frustrated groan.
"No, no, no… Saeko, don't think like that. You're his friend. Calm down… be smart."
She sat up, clutching her knees.
The holidays were still going. No school for a few more days. No walking beside him in the hallway. No sitting next to him in class. No "Good morning, Haru-kun" from the seat next to him.
The distance made her chest feel tight.
"That's it," she whispered to herself. "I need to do something. When school starts again… I can't just keep acting like a background character."
She stared at the ceiling, thinking hard.
What could she do?
Confession?
Too soon. Her heart would explode and she'd probably faint mid-sentence.
Hug?
Way too bold.
Kiss?
Her brain shut down immediately.
"…Nope. I'll die."
She needed something in-between.
Something that said you're special to me without making him uncomfortable.
Her eyes wandered around her room. They landed on a small shelf near her desk, lined with little trinkets: cute phone straps, handkerchiefs, keychains, tiny protective charms from shrines.
A thought sparked.
"A gift…" she murmured. "That could work."
If she gave him a gift after the holidays, it would be a perfect excuse to talk more.
She could say something like:
"I saw this and it reminded me of you."
Or,
"I thought it would suit you."
Just imagining saying that made her ears burn.
But it was better than doing nothing.
What kind of gift, though?
Something expensive?
No, that might feel heavy.
Something cheap and random?
No, that'd feel thoughtless.
Something useful.
Something he could keep with him.
Something that made him think of her.
She picked up one of her own treasured items — a small, soft fabric charm strap on her phone. A simple white stitched tag with a pale blue thread and tiny embroidered star.
Something like this.
"Maybe a protection charm," she whispered. "For safety. It suits him… he's always surrounded by danger now… girls… internet… modeling… people looking at him for the wrong reasons…"
Her fingers curled around the charm.
"And… if it's from me… he'll carry a part of me with him."
She blushed hard at her own thought.
"Saeko, you're embarrassing," she told herself.
But she didn't take it back.
She grabbed her phone and opened a search tab:
Handmade charm shops
Custom keychains
Lucky strap for protection
Scroll. Scroll. Scroll.
She finally found a small online shop that allowed her to customize text stitched on a charm tag.
Text box:
Message:
She hesitated.
Should she write his name? Too direct.
Should she write "Haru"? WAY too intimate.
Should she write something neutral like "Safe Days"?
Her heart was beating faster again.
After a long debate with herself, she typed:
"Stay safe, Haru"
Then stared at it.
Her thumb hovered over the delete button. Then the confirm button. Then delete again.
"It's okay," she told herself, cheeks fully red now. "He'll just think it's a caring message… he won't know how much I mean it…"
She picked a color too — silver fabric with a faint blue thread. It reminded her of his hair and eyes.
Perfect.
She placed the order with shaking hands.
When the confirmation screen appeared, she hugged her phone to her chest and fell onto her bed, rolling from side to side.
"I did it… I actually did it…" she whispered, half laughing, half panicking. "Okay. Okay. Calm down, Saeko. When school starts… you'll give it to him… and maybe… step by step… he'll start to fall for you too…"
Outside, the world kept spinning, but inside that small room, one shy girl had just declared silent war on every other woman in the country.
Not with violence.
Not with threats.
With a tiny charm, a quiet heart, and a simple line of stitched words:
Stay safe, Haru.
---
Reina's Room — War Mode: Future Wife Strategy
On the other side of the city, Reina sat cross-legged in the middle of her stylish bedroom, her hair tied in a messy bun, surrounded by open shopping apps and handwritten notes.
Her phone screen displayed the same modelling photo of Haruya.
She had it saved.
Pinned.
Backed up twice.
She stared at it like it had personally offended her.
"So even internet is trying to steal you now," she muttered. "Unbelievable."
The posts.
The comments.
The endless streams of women calling him "my future husband," "my prince," "my angel."
Reina's eye twitched.
"You all are late," she said to the imaginary crowd. "I saw him first."
Of course that wasn't true.
Saeko was also a threat.
A serious one.
Reina had already admitted it to herself — grudgingly. Saeko was kind. Quiet. Loyal. Easy to sympathize with. The type of girl people naturally supported in romance.
Which meant Reina had to work three times harder.
"Okay," she said, clapping her hands once. "Focus. Holidays are still on. That means: time to prepare. When school starts again, I need to move first."
She picked up a notebook from the floor, where she had written a big, bold title on top of the page:
"PLAN TO MAKE HARUYA FALL FOR ME"
Below it, several bullet points were scribbled:
Be more gentle with him
Protect him from annoying girls
Improve cooking (practice bentos!!)
Study harder so I can tutor him
Don't glare at him like he's my enemy (very important)
She sighed.
"Why am I working harder for this than for my exams…"
Her eyes shifted to the next part of the page:
"GIFT IDEA FOR AFTER HOLIDAYS"
She had written suggestions and crossed almost all of them out.
Watch?
Too heavy. Too adult.
Clothes?
His family already buys him expensive clothes.
Sweets?
Too common.
She tapped the pen against her lips.
"What do boys like in this world…?"
Then she frowned.
"Wait. I hate boys in this world. They're lazy, spoiled, rude, greedy… except him."
She sighed again, annoyed by how easily she excluded Haruya from every insult.
He wasn't like the others. He didn't act entitled. He didn't treat women as servants.
He said thank you.
He apologised.
He smiled with genuine warmth.
The memory of his smile in the archery field flashed in her mind.
The way he had calmly said, "Thank you, Reina," while looking her directly in the eyes.
Her heart did an uncomfortable flip.
"Tch… this is so unfair…"
She flipped a page and started a fresh section.
"What would suit him?" she murmured. "Something he can use often… something personal, but not strange… something that reminds him of me…"
Her gaze fell on her own wrist.
She was wearing a thin, braided bracelet — a simple black cord with a tiny metallic charm at the center. It had been a gift from her mother on her birthday. She never took it off.
Bracelet.
Her mind clicked.
"What if… I give him one too?" she whispered.
Not romantic on the surface.
Could be called a "friendship bracelet."
But she knew what it would mean.
Every time he lifted his hand, every time he looked down, every time someone asked him, "Where did you get that?", her presence would be there.
She opened a browser window and typed:
Custom bracelet, adjustable, unisex
Scroll. Scroll. Scroll.
She found a shop that sold simple braided bracelets with a small customizable charm in the middle. Her finger hovered over the options.
Black cord?
Too harsh.
White?
Too easily stained.
Silver-gray?
…Like his hair color.
She picked that.
Charm shape?
Star?
Heart? (she skipped past that so fast she nearly threw her phone)
Circle?
Small rectangular plate?
She chose a thin rectangular plate, subtle and clean.
Engraving text:
Her eyes lingered on the empty box.
What should it say?
His name?
Too direct.
Her name?
Too obvious.
Something neutral, like "Protected," "Treasure," or "Special"?
She shook her head.
After several minutes of aggressive overthinking, she typed:
"Property of Haru"
Then blinked.
Her cheeks heated.
"That sounds… wrong," she muttered. "No, no, no. Delete. People will think weird things…"
She erased it and tried again.
"For Haru"
She stared at it.
Simple.
Direct.
Still a little personal.
If anyone saw it, they'd just think it was a thoughtful inscription.
But both of them would know she had chosen the words carefully.
She placed the order.
When the confirmation came in, Reina leaned back on both hands and let out a long breath she didn't realize she was holding.
"So that's it," she said softly. "Gift is decided."
Her gaze returned to the image of Haruya on her phone.
Those cool blue eyes, that calm face.
"Listen, Haru," she whispered to the screen. "The moment holidays end, I'm not letting you drift further away. I'll move closer. Gently. Day by day. You won't even realize when you start falling for me."
She smirked a little at her own confidence, but under that, her pulse was still fragile.
"Saeko… the internet… celebrities… I don't care who it is. I'm not losing."
She picked up her notebook again and underlined a single line she had written earlier:
"Future wife position: I will claim it with my own hands."
In the quiet of her room, it sounded like a vow.
A competitive one.
But a sincere one too.
---
Haruya's Room — A Star in His Thoughts
While the girls were planning silent wars and stitched promises, the boy at the center of everything lay sprawled on his bed, one arm over his eyes, his phone resting on his chest.
Holiday mornings in his mansion were quiet.
Too quiet, sometimes.
No school noise.
No footsteps in the hallway.
Just the distant sounds of maids working downstairs and the occasional clinking of dishes from the kitchen.
His phone buzzed twice earlier — a "Good morning" from Saeko and another from Reina. He had replied with a simple greeting and a small smile.
Now, though, his mind was somewhere else.
Or rather, with someone else.
Miyahara Yume.
He lifted his arm and picked up his phone again, unlocking the screen. A few open tabs showed her profile, interview clips, and photos from her previous campaigns.
She wasn't just pretty. That word felt too weak.
She was… polished. Controlled. Regal.
But yesterday, in front of him, all that control had cracked.
He remembered the moment clearly:
Her eyes widening when she saw him.
The faint pink color on her cheeks.
The way her voice had stumbled on simple words.
"I–I'm honored to meet you."
He chuckled softly to himself.
"For someone that famous," he murmured, "she was really cute."
He hadn't been scared of her.
In his old world, celebrity felt distant and unreal. Here, she stood just a few steps away, human, nervous, and trying her best not to fall apart in front of a boy.
It felt strange… but also kind of flattering.
He played back her expression in his mind — the way she tried to look composed but her eyes kept drifting back to him, like gravity tugged her back every time.
"She really looked like she was about to faint," he said, amused.
His thoughts shifted a little.
This was a reverse chastity world. Men were rare. Men were treasures.
He knew that.
He accepted that.
He was even using it for his own dream.
A dream of a harem.
Not the cheap,not lusty kind incest he had seen in certain trashy stories from his past world.
A proper one.
Where every girl had her own story,
Where they all chose him too, not just the other way around.
He thought of Saeko's shy eyes and soft voice.
Reina's sharp tongue and protectiveness.
And now…
Miyahara Yume.
He stared at her picture on the screen — one where she was smiling confidently on a red carpet, eyes shining under camera flashes.
"If I can bring someone like her into my harem…" he mused. "That would be insane."
There was no arrogance in his tone.
More like a child staring at a game's secret bonus character and realizing they might actually unlock it.
He turned the phone off and tossed it above his head, letting it land safely on the pillow.
"Objectively speaking," he told the ceiling, "she passes all conditions."
She respected his agency.
She signed confidentiality without complaint.
She didn't try to treat him like a lust toy.
Yes, she had pushed to meet him, invested money, moved pieces behind the scenes… but even in that, she hadn't crossed any lines that made him werid out.
She was intense… but not rotten.
"And she's beautiful," he added casually. "Very, very beautiful."
He covered his face with his arm again.
In his previous life, if someone had told him a top celebrity would blush in front of him, he would've laughed them out of the room.
Now it had actually happened.
He felt a mix of gratitude and excitement.
"Alright," he whispered to himself. "Decision made."
He took a deep breath.
"In my future harem plan… Yume is officially a candidate."
He could almost hear his old self shouting in disbelief.
A small laugh escaped his lips.
"I'll take it slow," he said. "I won't rush her. But if she keeps looking at me like that… if she keeps treating me kindly… then I'll make sure she doesn't regret falling for me."
He closed his eyes for a moment, listening to his own heartbeat.
His previous life wasn't perfect.
But Now.
But he wasn't sad or regretful but happy.
He had a protective family.
He had Saeko and Reina.
He had a rising star path as a model.
And now, the attention of a national icon.
"This world really is a cheat," he murmured, half amused, half grateful.
In another corner of the city, Saeko waited for her charm to arrive.
Reina imagined what Haru would look like with her bracelet on his wrist.
Miyahara Yume replayed his soft "Nice to meet you" in her mind like it was music.
None of them coordinated.
None of them knew what the others were doing.
But all of them…
All of them were quietly tightening their hold around the same boy, in their own way.
And Haruya, lying on his bed with a tiny smirk, had no idea how chaotic things would become once the holidays ended.
— To be continued.