My Scumbag System-Chapter 349: My Boyfriend (Who Isn’t My Boyfriend) Invited Me To His Room And I Am Not Okay

Chapter 349: My Boyfriend (Who Isn’t My Boyfriend) Invited Me To His Room And I Am Not Okay

Emi Aoyama woke up feeling like absolute garbage.

Her pillow was damp. Her eyes felt puffy. Her stomach twisted with a knot that no amount of cute affirmations from her "Daily Positivity" app could unravel.

"Today you are enough," chirped her phone screen.

Emi swiped the notification away.

She hadn’t slept well. Her dreams kept replaying the same scenes on loop: Satori’s face when he looked at Natalia, that little half-smile nobody else got to see. Skylar coming out of his room yesterday morning, her violet hair tousled, that smug little curl to her lips. The way he’d touched Monica’s shoulder after the dungeon, gentle, reassuring.

"Stop it," Emi muttered, pressing her palms against her eyes. "Stop being jealous. You’re better than this. He said to wait. He said he’d be ready. I just have to trust him."

She grabbed her phone, checking for messages.

Nothing.

"It’s fine. He’s busy. He has a lot on his plate. It’s fine."

It wasn’t fine.

Emi flopped back onto her mattress, staring at the ceiling where she’d stuck little glow-in-the-dark stars in a pattern matching the Valkyrie constellation. That had been during her first week at NVA, when everything felt possible. When she thought being a healer meant she’d stand proudly at the center of a team, indispensable. Essential. Needed.

Before she realized healers were just background characters in someone else’s story.

Before she realized she was in love with the main character.

Before she realized she wasn’t the only one.

"This is stupid," she told the stars. "I’m being stupid."

The stars, wisely, kept their opinions to themselves.

The Onyx House common room was chaos as usual. Jaime flexed in front of the window, using the glass as a mirror while counting reps loud enough for the entire building to hear. The twins bickered over the last strawberry yogurt. Juan slept on the couch, a textbook open on his face.

Normal morning. Everything was fine.

Emi poured herself a bowl of cereal, careful to keep her smile in place. She was the sunshine girl. The one who kept everyone’s spirits up. That was her role. So she smiled. She laughed when Raphael nearly tripped over Juan’s outstretched leg. She complimented Hikari’s new hair tie. She asked Juan if he slept well (he grunted).

"This is fine," she whispered into her cereal. "I’m fine. Everything is—"

The air changed.

Satori and Natalia entered the kitchen together. Not touching, but close. Synchronized. Like they existed in their own little bubble that nobody else could penetrate. Natalia’s eyes scanned the room, territory-marking. Satori went straight for the coffee.

At her usual corner table, Skylar sat nursing a black coffee. Her violet eyes tracked Satori with an intensity that made Emi’s stomach twist. It wasn’t lust exactly. More like... hunger.

"Good morning, people who aren’t terrible," Satori announced to the room.

"Does that include me?" Jaime asked hopefully.

"No."

"Harsh, brother. But fair."

Monica sat at a small table with Jacob, their heads bent over a datapad. She was actually smiling, which was weird. Since joining Onyx House, Monica had mostly worn the haunted look of someone expecting a monster attack at any moment. Now she was pointing at something on the screen, actually animated.

Jacob was blushing so hard Emi thought his head might explode.

"Young love," Isabelle commented, appearing beside Emi like a ghost. "Adorable, isn’t it?"

"What? They’re not—"

"Please. He brings her tea. She listens to his conspiracy theories. They’re practically engaged by Onyx standards."

Emi swallowed. "That’s not—I mean, they barely know each other."

Isabelle’s perfect eyebrow arched. "Time is relative when it comes to feelings, Emi. Some people can know each other for years and feel nothing. Others need only a moment."

Was that... was Isabelle trying to give her advice?

"Thanks, I guess?"

"You’re welcome. Also, you’re pouring orange juice into your cereal."

Emi looked down. "Oh. OH! Gross!"

As she scrambled to fix her breakfast disaster, she felt it. Eyes on her.

She looked up.

Satori was watching her. His expression unreadable. Then he nodded toward the door.

Her heart stopped.

They found a quiet spot in the hallway, just around the corner from the common room. The morning bustle of Onyx House continued behind them, a comforting backdrop of normalcy against the thundering of Emi’s heart.

"You’ve been avoiding me," Satori said without preamble.

"What? No!" Emi’s hands fluttered like panicked birds. "I haven’t—I’ve just been busy—there’s so much to do after the mission—"

"Emi."

She stopped.

Satori sighed, leaning against the wall. "I can see it. The way you look at me when you think I’m not paying attention. The way your smile gets tight when Natalia’s around. The way you watch Skylar like she’s going to steal something from you."

"I’m not—" Her voice was so small.

"You are. And it’s okay."

Something inside Emi cracked. A dam breaking. Words spilling out.

"How is it okay? I don’t understand what we are! You kissed me, you said those things, and then nothing, and I see them with you, and I know I’m not supposed to be jealous, but I am, and I hate myself for it!"

She was crying now. Couldn’t stop it.

Satori stepped forward. Pulled her into his arms. His shirt smelled like coffee and that weird sandalwood cologne he’d started using. It was comforting and heart-breaking at the same time.

"You’re not nothing, Emi," he said quietly. "You’re not an afterthought. You’re not a placeholder until someone better comes along."

"Then what am I?" she mumbled against his chest.

Satori’s hand came up, tilting her chin so she had to meet his eyes.

"You’re the light."

She blinked, confused.

"Natalia is the ice. The control. The discipline. Skylar is the shadow. The chaos. The edge. But you..." His thumb brushed a tear from her cheek. "You’re the thing that makes the rest of it bearable. The warmth that reminds me I’m still human."

"That sounds like a lot of pressure."

Satori smiled. "It is. Can you handle it?"

Emi took a deep breath. Steadied herself.

"I don’t know. But I want to try."

Something changed in Satori’s expression then. Something hungry. Something that made her knees weak.

"Then tonight. After lights out. Come to my room."

Her eyes went wide.

"Not for that," he added quickly. "Not unless you want it. I just want to talk. Really talk. No interruptions. No masks."

"And if I want... more?" Her voice barely worked. Her face felt on fire.

Satori’s smile turned wicked. "Then we’ll figure that out together."

She nodded. Couldn’t speak.

"Good." He released her, stepping back. "Now go practice your smile. The others are watching."