Chapter 130 130: Ugly Feelings
Watanabe seized Yui's hair in a vicious grip, yanking her up from where she had been sitting with such force that strands of her silky locks were nearly torn from her scalp.
"O-Ouch! That hurts, Watanabe-san!" Yui gasped, her voice laced with panic as her body tensed from the sudden pain.
"It's supposed to hurt!" Watanabe snarled, her eyes blazing with unrestrained fury. "What kind of punishment would it be if it didn't?"
"H-Huh!?" Yui let out a strangled, confused sound, her breath uneven. "I don't understand, Watanabe-san! I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Don't you dare play innocent," Watanabe spat, her grip tightening as she pulled harder, forcing Yui's head back at an uncomfortable angle. "I saw you and Takahashi-senpai walking into a love motel together!"
A twisted knot of emotions coiled inside Watanabe—rage, heartbreak, and bitter resentment. Ever since she had first entered high school, her heart had belonged to Takahashi. She had admired him from afar, watching the way his sharp eyes focused on the game, how his sweat-drenched hair clung to his forehead as he played soccer with effortless grace. He had always seemed so far out of reach, yet she had kept him in her sights, waiting for the right moment to get closer.
She had known that Takahashi harbored feelings for Saionji Hina, but things had changed. Rumors had spread that Hina had started dating Okumura Kouhei. Whether they were truly together or just friends was still uncertain, but it was enough to give Watanabe hope. With Hina seemingly out of the picture, she had finally worked up the courage to make her move on Takahashi.
But then, she saw her.
Yui.
The sight of Takahashi and Yui slipping into a love motel had sent white-hot fury coursing through her veins. How dare she? How could she casually take the one person Watanabe had cherished for so long? To make matters worse, Hina continued to toy with the hearts of the boys in class, shamelessly flaunting herself while also attempting to captivate Okumura's attention.
It was infuriating.
"You're trying to steal Takahashi-senpai from me!" Watanabe's voice trembled with venomous resentment. "I was this close to getting closer to him, and then you ruined everything!"
Her fingers twisted into Yui's hair, wrenching it cruelly.
"Ahh! It hurts! Watanabe-san, please—!" Yui whimpered, her eyes squeezing shut as she writhed in pain.
But Watanabe wasn't finished.
She yanked Yui up again, her strength fueled by sheer hatred, before shoving her mercilessly against the wall. The impact sent a sharp thud echoing through the small karaoke room, making the walls tremble. The force of the collision knocked the air from Yui's lungs, and she staggered, her hands instinctively reaching for support.
A searing pain exploded across her cheek before she could even react.
A slap.
Hard, fast, and brutal.
A second one followed immediately after, striking the other side of her face with just as much force. The sharp, stinging heat spread across her skin, and her vision blurred from the sudden assault.
"What will the boys think once your pretty little face is ruined?" Watanabe sneered, her voice dripping with cruelty. "Will they still love you? Will they still fawn over you like pathetic little dogs?"
The next slap came even harder. Yui's head snapped to the side, a choked cry escaping her lips as the metallic taste of blood spread in her mouth.
Another.
And another.
Each strike echoed within the confined space, mixing with the muffled beats of the karaoke machine's music, which continued to blast from the speakers as if mocking the violence within. The room was soundproofed—no one outside would hear her cries, no matter how much she begged.
Watanabe's expression twisted with manic satisfaction. Every slap, every red mark that bloomed on Yui's delicate skin, filled her with exhilaration. This was retribution. This was justice.
"I'm going to ruin that pretty little face of yours," she whispered, her voice trembling with rage and ecstasy. She could feel her pulse pounding wildly, her breath quickened by the sheer rush of it all.
She turned toward the other girls in the room, who had been watching with amused smirks, their eyes gleaming with cruel delight.
"Come on, you three," Watanabe urged, her lips curling into a sinister smile. "Do the same to her."
The smirks widened.
And the real punishment began.
The air inside the karaoke room was thick with the lingering scent of sweat and perfume, mingling with the muffled thrum of music from the speakers. The once lively atmosphere had been replaced with something far darker—a stage for cruelty.
One by one, the girls took turns slapping Yui, their open palms crashing against her already swollen cheeks. Each impact sent sharp, stinging vibrations through her skin, forcing her head to snap violently from side to side. A dull, rhythmic crack echoed through the room, accompanied by venom-laced insults.
"You really think you can just steal them away from us?" one of them sneered before delivering a sharp slap that left a blazing red imprint on Yui's pale skin.
"You act so innocent, but you're just a filthy slut," another hissed, her voice trembling with suppressed rage as she swung her hand hard against Yui's cheek, jerking her head sideways.
The pain was relentless. It spread across Yui's face like wildfire, burning her skin with each fresh strike. Her body swayed from the force of their collective fury, her knees trembling beneath her. But still, she endured.
These girls—each of them—had their hearts set on certain boys in their class. And yet, those boys had fallen prey to Yui's charm, lured in by her flirtation, by the way she smiled at them, touched them, whispered sweet things in their ears. It was enough to drive them mad with envy. And now, they were making her pay for it.
Minutes stretched on, their rage pouring out in repeated blows, until the fire in them began to wane. Their energy was nearly spent, their once-steady hands trembling from exertion.
Panting heavily, Watanabe stepped back, dragging the sleeve of her uniform across her sweat-dampened brow. Around her, the other girls hunched over, breathless, their arms aching from the repeated abuse they had inflicted. Their palms were sore, their fingers tingling with the aftershocks of every slap.
And yet—why did it still feel so unsatisfying?
Her gaze fell to Yui, who now sat slumped against the wall, her head bowed so low that her long bangs concealed her face. Bruises had already begun to bloom along her cheeks, red and swollen from their assault.
Still, she didn't cry.
Not once.
Something about that sent a fresh wave of irritation rolling through Watanabe's chest.
With a sharp inhale, she reached down and grabbed Yui's chin, yanking it upward.
"Now look at you," she sneered, her voice laced with cruel amusement. "You're beneath us now. Without the boys fawning over you, without them shielding you, you're nothing. Just worthless trash left on the side of the road."
Her words should have felt satisfying, should have eased the deep, ugly resentment festering inside her. But they didn't.
The anger still simmered. The hatred still burned.
Why?
She had slapped Yui until her hands ached, had humiliated her in front of everyone—but it still wasn't enough. It wasn't enough.
A deep scowl twisted Watanabe's face.
"I really hate you," she spat, venom dripping from every syllable.
And then—
"Oh, is that so?"
A voice, soft yet eerily composed, sliced through the tension like a blade through silk.
Watanabe's breath hitched.
Slowly, almost lazily, Yui lifted her head. Her face was a mess of red, the imprint of each slap carved into her skin. And yet, despite it all, her lips curled into something that was not quite a smirk, but close—dangerously close.
Watanabe's fingers stiffened around Yui's chin.
"Oh? You still have the energy to talk?" she scoffed, though there was an uneasy edge to her voice. "Even after everything? You must have a second layer of skin. Then again, considering you're a snake, I shouldn't be surprised."
She expected Yui to wince, to shrink back, to break.
But instead, Yui chuckled.
The sound sent a cold shiver racing down Watanabe's spine.
"I see now," Yui mused, her voice carrying an unsettling steadiness. "I understand what you were trying to say, Watanabe-san. What all of you wanted me to realize."
Her swollen lips curled further.
"You wanted me to see that I stole the boys you had feelings for."
A muscle in Watanabe's jaw twitched.
"But," Yui continued, tilting her head slightly, strands of hair falling over her bruised skin, "don't you think you're barking up the wrong tree?"
"What?" Watanabe's brow furrowed.
Yui's chuckle deepened, her amusement unmistakable now.
"I mean," she said, her tone dripping with mockery, "shouldn't you have taken this issue up with them instead of me? After all, it's not my fault that all of you are so ugly that they can't even stand to look at you."
The room fell into a suffocating silence.
A sharp, electric rage ignited within Watanabe's chest, roaring back to life with violent intensity.
And then—
Smack!
Before she even realized it, her hand flew across Yui's face once more, the impact resounding through the room like a gunshot.
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