"Then can I go beat up that glasses girl?"
Yukiko snorted coldly, a flash of anger in her eyes. Her delicate brows arched slightly as she folded her arms across her chest and deliberately leaned away, clearly still harboring quite a grudge against Eri.
"You can if you want," Hayashi Shuichi shrugged, pretending not to care. "But with Eri's skills, if she ends up making you cry, don't come complaining to me."
"You!"
Yukiko's teeth itched with fury. Her face darkened as she leaped off the swing with a whoosh.
She started to storm off, only to be immediately yanked back by Hayashi Shuichi.
"Let go!" Yukiko jerked her wrist hard.
"No way!"
Hayashi Shuichi shamelessly refused. Ignoring her struggles, he pulled her straight into his arms.
"How did I never realize before that you're such a jerk?" Yukiko rolled her eyes at him, a mix of reproach and helplessness in her gaze.
"It's not too late to realize now," Hayashi Shuuki smiled faintly. "Honestly, I think I've gotten pretty thick-skinned lately. But like the saying goes: the shameless reign supreme."
His rogue tone made Yukiko laugh despite her anger. She opened her mouth to retort, but before a word escaped, Hayashi Shuichi seized the chance and kissed her.
"Y-you pervert! Mmph…"
Yukiko's eyes widened. She pushed hard against his chest, but couldn't budge him at all.
Hayashi Shuichi wrapped his arms around her slender waist, pulling her tightly against him. While forcibly kissing her, he started to slide a hand under her clothes for more.
Just then, he caught a rustle from the dense bushes nearby; the sound was especially clear in the quiet night.
Hayashi Shuichi had no interest in putting on a live show. His expression changed slightly, and he quickly released Yukiko, shouting toward the bushes, "Who's there?"
"What's wrong?" Yukiko, still dazed, tilted her head in confusion.
"Someone's hiding in those bushes." Hayashi Shuichi took her hand and walked over.
"There's someone else here?" Yukiko's face instantly flushed red.
Thinking of how she'd just looked, she bitterly pinched his arm. "This is all your fault!"
"Yes, yes, all my fault…" Hayashi Shuichi placated her while beginning to search the bushes.
Realizing they couldn't hide any longer, two small children clutching lemon tea crawled out from behind the foliage. They looked about five or six years old.
Moonlight spilled over them, illuminating two nervous, childish faces.
The little boy stepped protectively in front of the girl, eyeing Hayashi Shuichi warily. "W-what do you want?"
"What do I want?" Hayashi Shuichi almost laughed. "Shouldn't I be asking you two that? Sneaking around in bushes at your age, spying on people's dates?"
"You weren't on a date! That big sister was struggling the whole time!" the little girl behind him piped up timidly. "You must be the bad guy who bullies girls that Daddy told us about!"
"But… the big sister isn't struggling anymore?" The boy tilted his head, puzzled. "So is he a bad guy or not?"
Struggling?
Only then did Yukiko remember they'd been bickering. She glanced at their still-linked hands and yanked hers free as if burned.
"You didn't see wrong—this guy is the worst villain in the world!" She pointed accusingly at Hayashi Shuichi, cheeks puffed in anger.
Hearing that, the two kids grew even more frightened.
Yet despite their fear, the boy still bravely shielded the girl.
"M-my dad's a police officer! I'll tell him to arrest you!" the little girl shouted from behind.
"Oh? Then I guess I can't let you two live!" Hayashi Shuichi's face went blank as he clenched his fists, deliberately lowering his voice to sound menacing. "This spot's pretty nice for burying bodies…"
Before he could finish, Yukiko shoved him hard. "Idiot, stop scaring little kids!"
Hayashi Shuichi glanced at the trembling children clinging to each other, their small faces pale. Realizing his joke had gone too far, he forced a smile. "Sorry, big brother was just—"
The moment he smiled, the little girl burst into loud wails. The boy didn't cry, but his eyes reddened, brimming with tears.
"Hey, don't cry!" Hayashi Shuichi, never good with kids, instantly panicked.
"Serves you right!"
Yukiko shot him a reproachful glare, then crouched in front of the girl with a gentle smile. "Don't be scared. This big brother was only playing with you. He's not a bad person…"
"But he was bullying you earlier!" The boy stared at Hayashi Shuichi distrustfully.
"Um…" Yukiko's brows furrowed in amusement, unsure how to explain.
At that moment, two patrol officers happened to pass by. Hearing the girl's cries, she immediately screamed, "Help! Police! Help!"
The officers rushed into the small park, hands on their batons. "Freeze! Hands up—oh, Hayashi-kun?"
Hayashi Shuichi turned to see two familiar faces from the local koban near the pub: Kitano and Yoshioka. "It's you guys."
Yoshioka glanced between Hayashi Shuichi and the crying girl, recognition dawning. "Isn't this Officer Matsumoto's daughter? Sayuri-chan, right?"
"Officer Matsumoto? You mean Matsumoto Kiyochou from Section One? He's married?" Yukiko's face was pure disbelief. "And… his daughter is this adorable?"
"You know my daddy?" The girl stopped crying upon hearing her father's name.
"Your dad and I are friends. Now you know I'm not a bad guy, right?" Hayashi Shuichi smiled and reached to pat her head, but she flinched back in fear.
"Hayashi-kun, what exactly happened here?" Kitano asked.
"Just a little misunderstanding…"
Before Hayashi Shuichi could explain, the boy cut in, "He was bullying this big sister and forcing kisses on her!"
"Uh…"
The officers exchanged confused looks.
Hayashi Shuichi's face turned red as the "criminal."
Seeing he was too embarrassed to defend himself, Yukiko awkwardly chimed in, "Sorry, it's really just a misunderstanding. We were… just playing around."
Both officers were regulars at the pub and knew exactly what was going on between Hayashi Shuichi and Yukiko.
"Ah, I see," Kitano chuckled. "Shouldn't the pub be open right now? What are you two doing out here on a date…?"
Yoshioka quickly elbowed his partner, signaling him to drop it.
The couple had already said it was a misunderstanding—clearly just lovers' quarrel; no need to pry.
"This big brother really isn't a bad person," Yoshioka bent down to the children with a kind smile. "I guarantee it on my cherry-blossom badge."
With the officers' assurance, the kids finally believed Hayashi Shuichi wasn't dangerous.
"So what are you two doing out so late?" Yukiko teased, crouching to their level. "Don't tell me you're on a date too?"
The little girl shyly ducked her head. The boy's face turned crimson, but he stubbornly lifted his chin. "Of course not! My family runs a bakery. Every night we have leftover bread and lemon tea that would go to waste, so I bring it to share with my friend."
"We were eating bread and drinking tea on the other side of the park when we heard big sister yelling," he continued, pointing toward the slide. "We got curious, peeked over, and saw this big brother bullying you. Sayuri got scared, so I hid us in the bushes."
Hearing him bring it up again, Yukiko's smile faltered with embarrassment. She hastily changed the subject. "That wasn't a very good answer," she said, nodding toward the girl. "Look, you made your friend upset."
"Huh?" The boy looked at his companion in confusion. "Why be mad? I was telling the truth."
"I'm going home!" The little girl pouted, spun on her heel, and ran out of the park in a huff.
"What'd I do?" The boy scratched his head, staring after her, utterly baffled.
"Women are like that," Hayashi Shuichi patted the boy's shoulder with the air of a seasoned veteran. "You'll understand when you're older."
"Girls are so weird," the boy looked up at Hayashi Shuichi. "Was this big sister acting weird and mad for no reason too?"
"I wasn't!" Yukiko planted her hands on her hips and glared down at him.
The boy shrank back, then suddenly remembered something. He fetched a plastic bag from the bushes and shoved it into Hayashi Shuichi's hands. "We were wrong earlier. The rest of the lemon tea is for you."
With a wave, he dashed after the girl.
Seeing everything resolved, the officers said goodbye and left.
The little park, lively moments ago, fell quiet again, leaving only Hayashi Shuichi and Yukiko beneath the rustling trees.
Hayashi Shuichi opened the bag—one cup of lemon tea remained. He shook it gently. "Want some?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Yukiko snatched the cup and straw. "It wasn't meant just for you!"
She popped in the straw, took a big sip, and sighed happily. "So sweet and refreshing…"
Just as she savored it, a head suddenly leaned in and stole a huge gulp through the same straw.
"Yep, pretty tasty," Hayashi Shuichi nodded, checking the shop name on the cup. "We should stock some at the pub. The ladies would love it."
"You…" Yukiko stared at the cup, then at the innocent-looking Hayashi Shuichi, fuming. "Who said you could drink it? Now how am I supposed to drink any?"
"If you don't want it, I'll finish it." He grinned and took another big sip.
The cup was small; two gulps from him nearly emptied it.
"Who said I don't want it?!" Yukiko stomped her foot. "You drank almost the whole—"
Before she could finish, Hayashi Shuichi puffed his cheeks and leaned in close.
The next second, their lips met, and the sweet lemon tea flowed straight from his mouth into hers.
Caught off guard, Yukiko instinctively swallowed.
Hayashi Shuichi pulled back with a triumphant smirk. "Good, right?"
"Disgusting!" Yukiko pretended to gag, spitting at the ground.
Yet the blush creeping up her ears betrayed her bashfulness.
Thanks to those kids' interruption, most of Yukiko's earlier anger had melted away.
In truth, she'd long been mentally prepared for something between Hayashi Shuichi and Eri.
They'd been childhood sweethearts, and Eri clearly liked him. It would be perfectly normal if they ended up together.
If anything, she was the third party who'd inserted herself.
A quiet sigh escaped her; a hint of loneliness flickered in her eyes.
Noticing her silence, Hayashi Shuichi checked his watch. "It's past ten. Let me walk you home."
Yukiko nodded softly. He took her hand, and they headed toward the Fujimine apartment.
She didn't pull away.
Neither spoke the whole way; their shadows stretched long beneath the streetlights.
At the building entrance, just as Hayashi Shuichi was about to say goodnight, Yukiko suddenly remembered something. Panic flashed across her face as she frantically patted her pockets and cried, "Oh no! I left my house keys with the film crew in Takasaki!"
"How could you be so careless?" Hayashi Shuichi chuckled, shaking his head.
"It's all your fault!" Yukiko glared, full of grievance. "I was in such a rush to come see you that I forgot everything!"
"Mom and Dad are away too… What am I supposed to do tonight? Crash at Tomoka's? But it's already so late…"
She paced anxiously, brows knotted.
Seeing her spiral, Hayashi Shuichi suggested, "Why not just sleep at my place?"
At those words, Yukiko immediately clutched her chest, eyes wide with alarm. "You're not trying to lure me back to your place and then…"
(End of chapter)
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