A Play Within a Play – Chapter 145
Ogami tilted her head slightly, her tone still calm but tinged with a hint of calculation.
"Oh? You're her fiancé?"
She blinked, her expression smooth.
"Mei Mei didn't tell us you two were already that close."
Her gaze drifted sideways to Mei Mei, slow and deliberate.
Mei Mei responded instantly, a little too fast:
"Uh, it was supposed to be a surprise!"
She forced a light laugh.
"Yes, yes—Ren is going to be my fiancé!"
Her heels clicked against the floor as she stepped closer to the couch, sliding in beside Ren. Her movements were polished, graceful… but her eyes were twitching.
Mei Mei reached out and held Ren's hand gingerly, and for a moment, it looked like things were going back on script.
Until Ren casually brushed her hand away.
And instead, he threw his arm around her shoulder.
Then, without blinking, he pulled her closer.
Mei Mei's body stiffened like a wire about to snap. Her smile stayed fixed on her lips, but her thoughts screamed like an alarm.
'WHAT?! What is he doing!?'
She glanced sideways at Ren, whose face remained the picture of serene calm. His lips curved into the slightest smirk, like he was enjoying a private joke no one else understood.
Across the room, Ogami's eyes narrowed.
She didn't frown, but the strain of holding her composure showed in the tightness at the edges of her mouth.
Jiro, on the other hand, didn't hide his disgust.
His frown deepened so much his whole face looked like it had folded inward. He glanced at Ogami sharply, his thoughts practically radiating out of his body:
'Ogami! You dragged me all the way here to show me this?!'
Still, both of them moved to the other side of the couch and sat down without a word. The air was heavy with mixed tension—resentment, calculation, and fake politeness.
But Ren was doing all of it on purpose.
His body language, his casual grin, the arm around Mei Mei's shoulder—it was all a performance. A mask to buy time.
'I need to think.'
Ren sat silently, letting his thoughts swirl beneath the calm surface of his expression.
'Ogami… she's supposed to be in her late eighties, right? A minor character in the original JJK timeline. Barely a blip. Just another side villain.'
His fingers tapped lightly against Mei Mei's upper arm as he stared at Ogami, pretending to listen, while his thoughts dove deep.
'All she really did was bring back Toji during Shibuya. And then she died because of it… Ha, not the smartest move. But then again, who could've expected Toji's body to be so monstrous that even the soul inside it got forced out? His body was stronger than the soul. That's a freak of nature.'
Ren's eyes flicked to Jiro next.
'Now this guy… Jiro Awasaka. Not special. A street-level curse user who used to work with Ogami. Got smacked around by Yuji and Megumi. His cursed technique, Inverse, was fun, but honestly, if I had Rika, I would just make her eat him...'
He leaned back slightly on the couch, keeping his posture loose.
'Still… interesting that they're here. Ogami's cursed technique, Séance… letting her manifest the souls or bodies of others through a host… that could explain how she got this far up. Took a face, killed a real higher-up, and slotted herself in. Neat trick.'
His smirk deepened just a fraction.
'She might actually have knowledge on the soul. That's exactly what I'm looking for…'
On the outside, Ren looked calm. Relaxed. Affectionate, even.
Mei Mei, meanwhile, was having her own silent crisis.
She kept her head turned politely toward Ogami and Jiro, nodding at their questions, but her thoughts were anything but polite.
'This brat… this little shit! Look at his smug smile!'
'Why is he touching me so casually!? That was never in the plan!'
Her mind was still racing from the sudden promotion—from fake girlfriend to fake fiancé—and now she had to deal with Ren actually acting like one too?
Her heart was beating faster than it should have. Not because of love or any romantic delusion. No—this was frustration.
Pure and simple.
She shifted slightly, adjusting herself under his arm and pressing a little closer as if to play along, but she glared at him from the corner of her eye.
Ren didn't flinch. Didn't blink. Didn't even glance at her.
Just smiled politely at their "guests."
Mei Mei gritted her teeth behind her smile.
'Two can play this game… You think you're clever? Fine. You want to act like a fiancé? I'll act like the most loving damn wife you've ever seen!'
But beneath all her layered thoughts, one simple truth echoed faintly—one she would never say out loud:
'His body is warm…'
Back across from them, Ogami folded her hands on her lap and continued watching them both. Her eyes never blinked, her face still calm.
But internally, she was piecing everything together.
'A special grade with that kind of confidence… No, boldness. Not just strong… He's reckless too. Confident in himself to a dangerous degree. That… could be troublesome. Or very useful.'
Jiro, meanwhile, just stared.
No thoughts. Just judgment. And disgust.
And the quiet scream of a grumpy old man who felt like he'd wasted his retirement years flying to a foreign country just to watch two children pretend to be in love.
And through all of it—beneath every glance and unspoken grudge—Ren was thinking.
Silently. Sharply.