After changing and slipping out of her room, Sato Ruri hesitated for a beat, then padded into the kitchen and said to her mother, "Mom, can you spot me two thousand yen? I'm heading out with friends."
"Didn't we just give you allowance last week? How'd you burn through it that fast?" Li's mother asked, puzzled.
"Because I treated some classmates to bobas." Sato Ruri's cheeks went a little pink.
"Boba isn't some kind of Holy Grail, you know. Stop drinking so much of it. Take it, and remember to be home early tonight."
Ruri's mother casually transferred the yen to her daughter, tossing the reminder over her shoulder.
"Got it."
Guilt prickling at her, Sato Ruri practically bolted out the door.
…
After picking up groceries at the market, Sato Ruri followed the pinned location to find Yūto Shō's place. Her expression flickered for a moment, but she finally worked up the nerve to ring the doorbell.
The door swung open soon enough, and Yūto Shō appeared in the entryway, raking his eyes over the girl from head to toe.
Although her outfit today was rather ordinary, Yūto Shō deliberately let his gaze burn into her, especially lingering on her prominent chest, scanning it like a final boss healthbar. Sato Ruri's chest was full and graceful; even the plainest clothes couldn't disguise that fact.
A chill crawled across Sato Ruri's skin under his stare. Embarrassed and irritated, she crossed her arms and said, "Can you maybe act a little more normal?"
Yūto Shō looked at her, unimpressed. "Are you trying to lecture me on how to behave?"
Sato Ruri's momentum collapsed, her shoulders sagging as she weakly mumbled, "I just… I mean, I'm only suggesting it, but that kind of thing isn't really okay."
Yūto Shō scoffed. "Men looking at chests—what's abnormal about that? It's hardwired into our DNA. Like a default setting. Without that wiring, men would lose all interest in women. How is the human race supposed to keep going then?"
Sato Ruri's head spun. She'd only meant to tell him not to be such a pervert, so how had they ended up debating the survival of the species? But she'd witnessed Yūto Shō's shamelessness firsthand, and she didn't have the energy to argue back, so she weakly conceded, "You're absolutely right."
Yūto Shō nodded, satisfied. "Sounds like you agree with me. So you don't mind me looking at your chest anymore. I'll be sure to pay it even more attention. Come in already, and remember to close the door."
Yūto Shō didn't give her a chance to respond. After speaking, he turned and headed back to the living room.
Sato Ruri was left frozen, her pretty face flushing scarlet. She quickly covered her chest with both hands, glaring daggers at his back. How had it spiraled into her supposedly agreeing to let him look at her chest? What a shameless guy.
The girl seethed for a moment, but still gathered her courage and followed him inside.
Her legs trembled, though, and she had the sinking feeling that something was going seriously sideways today.
…
"Kitchen's over there. Go on, I'm starving," Yūto Shō nodded toward the kitchen, gesturing for her to hurry.
Sato Ruri felt a small wave of relief, carried the groceries into the kitchen, looked around curiously, and then started cooking.
Suddenly, she sensed something off behind her. She turned and saw Yūto Shō standing right at her back. Her body went rigid and she asked warily, "What are you trying to do?"
Yūto Shō smiled. "Relax. I'm not planning to do anything to you. It's just that you came all the way to my house to cook for me, and I feel kind of guilty about it. I wanted to give you a gift."
The moment he mentioned a gift, Sato Ruri flashed back to her poor extorted piggy bank, and she immediately refused, saying, "No need. Actually, I just want to practice my cooking skills. It's inconvenient at home, so I'm just borrowing your place for a bit."
As she spoke, she turned to face Yūto Shō and quietly backed her hips against the sink, as if that alone could anchor her safely.
Yūto Shō caught her small movement, gave her a long look, and said, "I'll give you my autograph instead. That way you won't feel like you owe anything for accepting it."
Hearing it was only an autograph, Sato Ruri relaxed, though she internally griped, Who even wants your autograph? Do you think you're some kind of idol?
Still, she didn't dare provoke Yūto Shō, and since it was only an autograph, there was no real danger in it. If she refused again, he might lose his patience.
After weighing it for a bit, Sato Ruri decided to accept, nodding, "Alright, we'll talk about it after I finish cooking."
"So you agree to let me give you my autograph?" Yūto Shō pressed.
Sato Ruri felt an instinctive flicker of unease, but after thinking it over, she couldn't see how an autograph could be dangerous, so she nodded. "Yes, I agree."
Yūto Shō gave a meaningful smile, then pulled out the pen he'd prepared and said with mock seriousness, "But I can't wait. I want to sign it right now—so please take off your pants first."
"What—take off my pants?" Sato Ruri's voice spiked. "Why do you need me to take off my pants for an autograph? What exactly are you trying to pull?"
Yūto Shō flashed a sunny smile. "Because I want to sign it on your thigh."
Sato Ruri's scalp prickled. Realizing she'd walked straight into the trap again, she instinctively turned to flee, only to find Yūto Shō blocking her exit. There was nowhere to run.
Her heart plummeted.
Yūto Shō stepped closer, his voice dropping into that coaxing lilt grown-ups use on toddlers. "Come on, take them off. Don't worry—I just want to sign my name on your thigh. I won't do anything else to you, scout's honor."
Sato Ruri looked at him in pure fear, trembling as she choked out, "You swore last night you wouldn't bully me."
Yūto Shō paused, giving the girl a strange look. Sato Ruri wasn't some doe-eyed protagonist from a slice-of-life manga; he'd already bullied her several times, so how could she still buy into his oaths?
Then Sato Ruri's brow suddenly furrowed in a shy expression, her cheeks blooming pink as she said, "Yūto Shō, honestly, you don't have to act like this. If you really like me, you could just confess properly, but I'm not… you can't even be thinking about that."
Yūto Shō was taken aback. So that's it. She thought he was acting like this to get her attention. It was a pretty stock trope—the classic tsundere-coded boy who picks on the girl he secretly likes. Sato Ruri had clearly slotted him into that archetype.
Interesting.
Yūto Shō thought to himself.
He blinked and replied, "But I still want to sign my name on your thigh, Sato Ruri. Because then you'll belong to me."
Sato Ruri's mouth twitched, and inwardly she thought, Did this guy crawl out of a kindergarten? But she didn't dare lose her temper, so she scolded, "But how can you treat me like this? If I take off my pants in front of you, how am I supposed to look anyone in the eye ever again?"
Yūto Shō pondered, then asked her, "So, Sato Ruri, you don't mind the autograph itself—you just don't want to take off your pants, right?"
Sato Ruri nodded quickly. "Exactly. You can sign in a notebook, and I'll keep it somewhere safe forever."
Liar.
Yūto Shō gave her a sidelong glance, pretended to mull it over, then sighed. "Fine. You don't have to take them off."
Sato Ruri didn't even have time to feel relieved before Yūto Shō suddenly produced a pair of scissors, eyeing the girl with a sly smile. "If I just snip a little hole in your jeans, I can still sign there."
By that point, he had already closed the distance. While she stood there stunned, he crouched and swiftly clipped through the fabric on her thigh. The cut sat a little high, and the faintest hint of soft, dark hair was just visible beneath.
Sato Ruri felt a cool draft on her thigh, and by the time her brain caught up, her jeans had already been sliced open, exposing the pale skin underneath.
She stood there gobsmacked, then quickly slapped her hands over the gap on her leg, shrieking in shame and fury, "Yūto Shō, you pervert!"