Chapter 5: O' Kawaii Koto~
"Eh, a newcomer~?" Hayasaka Ai raised her hand to cover her mouth, her expression overly dramatic.
( •͈૦•͈ )
"Super handsome too. Is this Eri-chin's boyfriend?"
After saying that, Hayasaka glanced at Sakurai.
What the hell is this Sakurai guy up to?
Why's he hanging around with a bunch of gyaru?
"Hello, I'm Eri's boyfriend. Just call me Yuuto. This is our first time meeting, right?"
"That's right, first time." Hayasaka Ai untied the jacket around her waist.
It was a bit hot in the room.
Looking around, she noticed the only empty seat was next to Ryouta.
'Hmmm… maybe I should find a chance to get rid of this guy?'
He's been following her for days.
Phach! — with a sound, something strange fell from Hayasaka Ai's jacket pocket.
"Oh dear. Dropped something, sorry about that."
(๑>•̀๑)
"..."
One gyaru girl sitting in the corner caught sight of the object and froze.
That's a...
GUN?!!!
EHHHH WTH!!!!!!?
༼;´༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽
"I'm very interested in guns, so I usually collect gun replicas." Hayasaka Ai picked the gun up.
(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧
Oi oi! That drop earlier sounded way too heavy, didn't it?
Are toy guns really that weighty?
"Look, it's fake." Hayasaka Ai cocked the gun.
( ＾◡＾)っ/̵͇̿̿/'̿'̿ ̿ ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿̿
Clack.
"..."
She pointed the barrel toward Ryouta, and just as the blonde delinquent turned pale with fear.
"These fake models are so finely made now! Just like the real thing."
Eri tried to ease the tense atmosphere.
'Because it is real,' Hayasaka Ai sighed silently to herself.
As the personal maid of Ojou-sama Kaguya, carrying a gun for self-defense wasn't unusual, right?
Though usually, it was only for intimidation — not actual killing.
Those present also noticed that Hayasaka Ai clearly didn't want to sit next to the delinquent, so the gyaru girl who had been sitting next to Sakurai stood up to give her seat.
And so, Hayasaka Ai successfully approached Sakurai Saki.
"Hello there~" Sakurai still wore his sunny smile.
(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)੭
He was currently flustered enough to want to die on the spot.
Though he had mentally prepared for the possibility of running into someone he knew while working—
He hadn't expected to be this mortified.
It was the kind of embarrassment that made him want to dig a hole and bury himself forever.
Hayasaka Ai smiled as well.
(≖⩊≖)
But the two didn't speak much.
Sakurai Saki quickly redirected his attention to the client. As a rented boyfriend, he couldn't afford to neglect his temporary girlfriend.
Otherwise, his reputation would plummet.
Any factor that might affect his income had to be eliminated as early as possible.
( -_•)▄︻テحكـ━一💥
What followed was a long stretch of dull time. Sakurai got dragged into singing a few songs with everyone.
After separating from the group, somewhere on a Shibuya side street, Sakurai and the client ended their professional relationship.
Watching Sakurai's back gradually fade into the distance, Eri felt a hollow emptiness inside.
Just moments ago, he had been so gentle and sweet — now, he was cold as ice.
Though that was exactly what professionalism looked like.
Still… she couldn't help but wish he'd care about her, even just a little. Just a little would be enough.
Would she even be able to book him again tomorrow? Was there a lifetime subscription plan?
Thinking that—
She pulled out her pink, heavily accessorized smartphone and opened the boyfriend rental app.
'So extra~'
"( - ⌓ - )
All appointments were fully booked until next month.
...
Tidying his hair and clothes, Sakurai Saki stood at the entrance of the train station.
At the vending machine, Sakurai inserted a coin and waited for the can to drop.
He was addicted to coffee — if he didn't drink some regularly, he'd start getting sleepy.
One can dropped. Sakurai bought a second.
Thud!
Along with the sound of the coffee dropping into the tray, a slender, pale hand with clearly defined joints snatched the can.
Hayasaka Ai grabbed the can of coffee, opened it, and took a sip.
"Black coffee… so bitter."
(,,>﹏<,,)
"Then don't drink it," Sakurai snapped.
(ㅅ•᎑•)
Drinking for free and still complaining.
"I don't even like coffee, yet you keep treating me to coffee." Hayasaka had now put her jacket back on.
It was already eight in the evening, and the air had turned a bit chilly.
"Don't let Fujiwara-san find out about this."
After taking a few sips, Sakurai spoke up.
If Secretary Fujiwara found out, she might just book up his schedule for the next two years straight.
"Your current job is rental boyfriend, huh?"
"You figured it out already?"
As Sakurai said that, he saw the blonde gyaru pull out her phone and open Wikipedia.
"You even used an encyclopedia to look it up? That's dirty play, Ai-chan."
"Were you born in the Shouwa era or something? So bad at accepting new things?" Hayasaka Ai shot back.
"I'll kill you, Ai-chan," Sakurai said as he took a sip of coffee.
Enjoying the comfort brought by caffeine, Sakurai squinted slightly.
"A job where you have to force a smile like that—you clearly don't have to do it." Hayasaka watched him closely.
It felt like… maybe he was too embarrassed to be a full-on male escort, so he picked being a rental boyfriend as the next best thing?
To be honest… they weren't all that different.
Maybe the latter just looked a bit more proper?
"Eight thousand yen an hour—where else are you going to find a job like that?" Sakurai Saki let the cold Shibuya wind blow past him.
Surrounding them were stylishly dressed young women.
Far in the distance, nightclubs sparkled with neon lights.
"Let Ai onee-san be your sugar mommy?" Hayasaka Ai suddenly blurted out.
"For real?" Sakurai Saki tilted his head, looking directly at her.
As always, she was unreadable.
Probably just joking?
"Just kidding." Hayasaka Ai suddenly shrank back.
╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭
For a moment, neither of them said anything more.
"Didn't expect to let you get the drop on me."
"Sakurai-chan, you don't want your secret spreading around either, right? So…" Hayasaka casually tossed the coffee can—clink, it landed right in the trash.
"Let's go to a love hotel!" Sakurai suddenly said, "Now that you've got me by the throat, I have no choice but to offer up this precious virgin body of mine."
(੭ ˊ^ˋ)੭ ♡
"..." Whatever slight flutter had stirred in Hayasaka immediately vanished.
"What I meant was, tonight you play support, and I'll carry the team."
"If it's about games, say whatever you want, but how about we talk about grown-up stuff instead?" Sakurai Saki knew her weak point well.
She was bad at handling direct attacks.
The classic "strong offense, paper defense" type.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to tell the whole school about your job." Hayasaka Ai threatened.
<(ꐦㅍ _ㅍ)>
"Umu, then let's talk games." Sakurai Saki surrendered instantly.
(╥ ω ╥)
If the whole school really found out… he'd probably have no choice but to kill everyone who knew, right~?
Of course, that was just a joke.
Tomorrow, he'd be changing superpowers, and without the ability of "Death Note," killing would be way too much trouble.
Better to spend that time figuring out how to make more money.
"Didn't you say you also took a tutoring job? And that household had five kids?" Hayasaka Ai said while roughly yanking Sakurai's jacket off and wrapping it around herself.
Stripped of his coat, Sakurai replied, "Only tutor from Monday to Wednesday. Right now, there's only one who's actually studying—Nakano Miku from Class C. Her dad's one of the school's shareholders, and the teacher recommended me there."
"Alone in a room with a bishoujo every night, what luck~" Hayasaka looked straight into Sakurai's eyes, teasing: "Sakurai-chan~"
(≖⩊≖)
"Ai-chan, you really are jealous, huh."
"Don't get the wrong idea, we're just friends. The person who'll fall for you?~ Not even born yet~"
So you're the tsundere type, huh, Ai-chan~
O' Kawaii Koto~