I Was Possessed By An Unknown Manga

Kim Yu-seong! Who is he?!

The shadowy Student Council that rules the academy—within just two short years of enrollment, he became a legendary figure, building countless legends!

Rumor has it that he’s the last successor of the end-of-century SUPER NINJA assassination technique, that he once fought off an army of ninjas alone in a hotel, or that the boss of the Russian Red Mafia has his eye on him as a future son-in-law, but no one really believed such wild stories.

‘It’s not like this is some manga. Who would believe such nonsense?’

Even though he himself was obsessed with cosplay and manga, he could still tell the difference between 2D and 3D.

Fearful of the prejudiced stares and bullying from others, he became even stricter about his behavior—this was the way of the otaku world.

‘It must just be rumors blown out of proportion by seeing those steroid-inflated balloon muscles.’

He was used to the popular kids judging people based on appearances.

‘Hey! Hey! Gomi’s drawing dirty pictures again!’

‘Hhheuehh~’ ¹

In an instant, his school life flashed before his eyes, and Gomi’s vision blurred with tears. Quickly wiping them with a handkerchief, he sat in the window-side seat Kim Yu-seong had guided him to.

‘Yeah! Don’t lose heart, me!’

No matter how scary he looked on the outside, the other person was also made of flesh, just like him.

Besides, he was a customer. There was no reason to be scared just because he looked intimidating.

Once he and his friend were seated, Kim Yu-seong, dressed in a maid outfit, slightly bowed and spoke.

“May I take your order, Master?”

‘His voice is terrifying!!’

Though the other person was certainly just serving them normally, his cavernous, deep voice made it feel like they were being dragged into a debt collector’s office.

“Th-the menu, please…”

Gomi’s earlier determination was quickly forgotten as he meekly asked for the menu, and Maid Kim Yu-seong swiftly pulled one from his apron.

“Today’s recommended dishes are Chinese-style omelet rice and tantanmen.”

“Ch-Chinese-style?”

In a maid cafe?

“I’m confident in the taste. I make the food myself.”

But as soon as Kim Yu-seong followed up with this explanation, Gomi unconsciously shut his mouth.

‘The food in maid cafes is usually known for being overpriced and underwhelming, but charging 1,500 yen at a school festival…’

When he saw the price, Gomi snapped back to reality and decided to order a cheaper drink instead of a meal, but his friend Yoshida, unable to withstand Kim Yu-seong’s subtle pressure, immediately ordered.

“We’ll take both!”

Are you crazy, Yoshida?!

This isn’t the middle of Akihabara, and you’re spending 3,000 yen on a single meal at a school festival cafe!

Gomi stared at his friend Yoshida in shock, but Yoshida, already consumed by fear, had lost his wits.

“Hehehehe.”

‘Ugh! I have to keep my head straight at least!’

Feeling an odd sense of hostility toward Kim Yu-seong for pressuring the almighty customer into buying food, Gomi gritted his teeth and spoke.

“I’ll just have the coffee and madeleine set, please.”

“…Thank you for your order.”

Kim Yu-seong gave him a strangely disappointed look before turning around and heading into the kitchen, his back appearing somewhat lonely.

Feeling a twisted satisfaction from this, Gomi inwardly smiled and muttered to himself.

‘How unfortunate, Kim Yu-seong! This time, I win!’

But ten minutes later, Gomi would regret his decision.

“Here is your Chinese-style omelet rice and tantanmen.”

Phwoosh!

As soon as the lid was lifted, an overwhelming fragrance filled the classroom.

It wasn’t the clumsy work of a student; it looked like something a top-tier chef from a five-star hotel would make.

Even the red broth gave off a slightly spicy yet sweet scent!

Contrary to his initial expectations, what lay in front of Yoshida was a superb Chinese dish.

“And here is your coffee and madeleine set.”

“Ugh!”

What the hell is this difference?!

It’s completely different from what I thought.

Gomi thought he had made the rational choice, but as soon as the lid was lifted, it became clear that he was the fool, stuck with an 800-yen coffee and madeleine set.

To avoid facing the cruel reality, Gomi averted his eyes from his happily eating friend and stuffed the coffee and madeleine into his mouth.

The familiar taste of a mass-produced product.

‘It’s not that it tastes bad! It doesn’t, but still!’

The food his friend was eating in front of him just looked too delicious.

“Excuse me!”

“Yes?”

“Can I order another Chinese-style omelet rice here?”

Like the saying “dango over flowers,”² Gomi finally caved in to his raging hunger.

“Kyaa! We’re a hit on the first day!”

Behind me, I could hear the excited voices of the girls in the cooking crew.

It was understandable, as the maid cafe, which had only just opened, was already packed with customers from other classes within the first hour.

In truth, the only reason such an ordinary cosplay cafe was doing so well was entirely thanks to the two meal options I had prepared.

The Chinese-style omelet rice and tantanmen.

These were the result of Ayase, the President, fully trusting me, the son of a restaurant owner.

For the Chinese-style omelet rice, I replaced the standard filling with Chinese-style fried rice, and for the tantanmen, I made it with a peanut butter base, simple seafood, vegetables, and minced meat.

In reality, there were limits to the kinds of dishes we could cook inside the classroom.

Especially with Chinese cuisine, where strong heat was key, making it on the fly posed several challenges, so I had to use a few shortcuts.

I had pre-cooked the Chinese fried rice used in the omelet rice at home and brought it to school, and for the tantanmen, I simplified the cooking process by using pre-made Chinese noodles with a homemade sauce and carefully measured ingredients.

As a result, the authentic Chinese flavors, which you couldn’t normally find at a maid cafe, played a major role in drawing customers in.

“Two omelet rices and one tantanmen for table 3!”

“Someone wash these dishes quickly! We’re running out of plates!”

The male students in maid outfits were running around frantically.

Of course, the girls in butler outfits were just as busy.

Honestly, by this point, I was wondering if we even needed to be a maid cafe, but at least there was some nice eye candy, so I guess it was fine.

I was thinking that as I scrubbed a frying pan.

“Hey! If someone calls you, you should answer! Gomi!”

That was when a commotion started outside.

In the end, despite the tempting aroma, Gomi gave in and ordered the Chinese-style omelet rice, but he didn’t regret his decision.

‘It’s delicious!’

The white rice, coated in chili oil, mixed harmoniously with the various vegetables and egg strips in his mouth.

The more he chewed, the more he could taste the savory flavor of the rice and the rich meat.

What could have been overwhelming was perfectly balanced by the spiciness of the chili oil.

“Haa, hoo, haa, hoo.”

With steamy breaths, Gomi continued his solitary battle with the fried rice, and before he knew it, nearly half of the omelet rice had disappeared.

‘Only half left already?’

It wasn’t that there was still half remaining—there was only half left.

Flinch!

Gomi, who usually didn’t have much of an appetite, was startled by his own thoughts and glanced toward the kitchen without realizing it.

‘Kim Yu-seong made this, didn’t he?’

Maybe he had misjudged him based on appearance alone.

A person who could make food this delicious couldn’t possibly be bad.

‘I’ll have to apologize when I see him again.’

Thinking that, Gomi let out a small laugh and was about to continue eating when—

Thwack!

“Hey! If someone calls you, you should answer! Gomi!”

Suddenly, someone hit him on the back of the head.

“……”

Lost in his own world, Gomi snapped back to reality, his face showing confusion as he turned around.

Without realizing it, his face twisted into a grimace.

The one who had hit him was Nagamatsu, one of the kids who bullied him in class.

Seeing Gomi’s expression, Nagamatsu smirked and said,

“Hey, lighten up. If someone saw, they’d think I’m bullying you.”

“Don’t do this here, Nagamatsu. People are watching.”

“Don’t do this? Are you giving me orders now? You’ve grown, haven’t you? For someone like Gomi.”

Thwack! Thwack!

Ignoring his words, Nagamatsu kept hitting Gomi on the head.

But Gomi knew what would happen if he resisted, so he clenched his teeth and waited for the humiliating moment to pass.

“Hey, hey, what’s with that look? You look like you want to kill me.”

But maybe because people were watching, Nagamatsu was more persistent than usual in his bullying. Just as Gomi’s friend Yoshida, who had been watching, couldn’t take it anymore and was about to step in—

“Stop it.”

Grip!

“Wh-What?!”

Nagamatsu spun around in surprise, shocked by the thick hand that suddenly grabbed his wrist.

Standing in front of him was a suspiciously muscular maid with a masked face.

“Violence is prohibited on school grounds.”

“K-Kim Yu-seong!”

“…I’m not Kim Yu-seong.”

He said this, pointing to the name tag on the chest of his maid uniform.

“I am Suisei Z (ZANG).”

TL/N: Groaning sound. ️

ED/N: A Japanese idiom that means valuing practicality or immediate gratification (like food) over aesthetic or superficial pleasures (like flowers). ️