#12 Jenga Tower

Love is a culmination of building blocks stacked upon each other. Like a Jenga tower.

Stability is important in a relationship. Yep, foundations are important.

Whether it was by chance, chemistry, or the eventuality of two close friends, coupling should never happen suddenly.

However, there are those that infringes on that unspoken rule and suffer its consequences.

First comes the expectations, then the disillusionment. And when the facades of the first date break, the passion begins to falter.

The blocks topple one by one.

Finding flaws, disagreements, yet never the contrary. Never talking it out in the open. Keeping secrets, lying constantly, bubbling up into streaks of annoyance. They begin to lose interest in one another, hang out less often.

As they say, it's easier to notice a single black dot on a blank piece of paper than to appreciate the beauty of its originally unblemished state. Humans are awkward, self-depreciating hypocrites like that.

And since neither takes the initiative to repair that relationship, that love eventually crumbles—

It's a common story that happens anywhere. A dull, average relationship.

...I felt a bad taste in my tongue as I recalled something that happened from the past.

Ah, this isn't about me now. Instead, look at that!

I stare at the only private spot in the center of the courtyard, a glasshouse built like the inner gardens of some kind of European nobility household.

A round marble table and a pair of seats, almost as if it was made for the sole purpose of having some sort of afternoon getaway. Plants of various seasons surrounded the suite in a myriad of gentle colors, with an inconspicuous A/C blowing overhead.

Of course, it would've been slightly off-putting for the common folk to use such a classy facility. But Yandere High does have expensive school fees as it is privately owned, so the students at least have an acceptable social class before they can even afford to enroll here. As a result, the student roll seemed to have accepted the existence of such an establishment.

Additionally, the designer seemed to have taken various things into consideration, and had somehow modified the architecture of the glasshouse to suit the original purpose of a school courtyard. As a result, this seemingly out-of-place crystalline tea-room had become more of a passable 'tourist spot' that students occasionally visited.

Mm-mm... I'll have to give praise to the school for having such luxurious furnishings. This place, isn't it amazing?

It's like a hotspot for couples. Ufufu~ Of course it feels that way, after all I designed it~

Well, thinking back at the bald-headed principal who kowtowed to me as if I was his new religion, I felt that my efforts over the past few months had paid off properly. The implementation of various amenities had surely raised the quality of life for both students and staff alike, and rumors of this major renovation, as well as a large reshuffling of academical staff that included prolific names within the country was one of the main reasons for my personal 'invites' to go so well.

After all, money is a universal language. Within a short period of time, this school project of mine had raised the prestige of the name "Yandere High". Although it was slightly overkill, the costs didn't even scratch the surface of the economical strength that I possess. Rather it was the intricate instructions that I needed to direct to my underlings that wore me down recently.

The only time my body feels invigorated is at moments like this.

The patients that have properly entered the glasshouse for their private talk. Their voices are practically muffled completely inside, but of course I could still hear them. I'm no voyeur, but I still have eyes and ears everywhere~

"....sick of... how many times... ...disgusting!"

"Wait, Yurea... listen... not what... coincidence!"

...Ahaaa... I rubbed my forehead and smiled wryly. So that's the gist of it.

A cheating boyfriend, huh. The jenga tower that I have immediately constructed within my head already looks like it has reached the tipping point. Their blocks have seemingly reached a point of fragility, where the slightest of outbursts would break their relationship completely.

The blonde-haired westerner, and his straight-laced girlfriend.

Firstly, the girl. Yurea Vayne. Second-year acting as the student head of the disciplinary committee. From the reports, it seemed that this lady was one of the key influences to the adjustment of skirt length for girls early last year.

Straight-laced. She does have her charms. Hmm, there's potential. Perhaps I'd missed some candidates since I'd left some vacancies to my supporting employees for this project.

Mm, anyway I continued to look through the records for that westerner. It is convenient for the facial recognition to identify people this accurately.

Tom... Miller huh. A half-American.

Ahh, he's the captain of the school's basketball team. Tom was about 1.9 meters in height and had a suave appearance befitting a foreigner. I could see how popular he was just from a glance. Not to mention he's rich.

Tom's father owns wineries here and controls considerable assets in high-class society. His mother works as a manager for a renowned apparel chain here in Japan, but it seems that she's currently overseas. They send money regularly to their only son while abroad, so Tom doesn't lack much in material needs. It's suffice to say that this amount of freedom is tantamount to spoiling their child without restraint.

Well, this is that, isn't it.

Tom's definitely cheating on Yurea, and from the livid look on her face, it... doesn't seem like it's the first time.

I scratched my chin. If I were to assess him fairly, Tom would probably not make it on the list for my main project I'm planning on recreating in this school.

Dogeza? Is that a dogeza? Uwaa... he's pretty thick-skinned huh.

Looking at his pitiful figure as he continued to shrink behind a lash of angry expletives out of Yurea's mouth, I couldn't help but sigh.

...I am an impartial cupid after all. Kids like them make mistakes all the time, so it's not fair if I stole his chance for repentance.

Should I fix it? I mulled over it for a moment.

Since it's only my first day, I guess I could do a nice thing for a prospective couple. But Tom is still lacking a bit more sincerity on his part. If he shows his willingness to change, I wouldn't mind fixing this messy situation for him. As they say, love and hate are two sides of the same coin. It's the modus operandi for a number of galges really. As long as the flags are properly fixed, the ship between Tom and Yurea will still sail. Trials and tribulations are what strengthen the blocks of this flimsy tower the most.

Yosh, I've decided. A way for Tom to prove himself then. Mmm, it shouldn't be too traumatic for Vayne-chan if I don't overdo it.

...Let's go with... Plan D-13 then.