The type of clothing to be designed this time was fashion with a more everyday feel. For Chihaya Tetsuya, although designing such clothing was a much more familiar task than creating performance wear, the overall difficulty had increased rather than decreased. After all, his goal this time was not a simple debut, but to make his fashion collection stand out at the [TGC]. As a brand-new personal label, the difficulty of achieving this goal at a fashion festival that was the focus of the entire nation, with numerous established brands participating, was self-evident.
"I should probably start by referencing the current trends in overseas fashion magazines, like France's [Ocelot] or something..."
"Tetsuya, is it okay to put the workbench here?"
"Right, I also need to do a little research on the other models appearing at the same time, to avoid clashing styles as much as possible..."
"...Tetsuya?"
"Speaking of which, I haven't systematically learned about runway walking before. I should take this opportunity to study it properly..."
"Sigh, do I really have to resort to this?"
Nagasaki Soyo, having called out to him repeatedly to no avail, first shook her head. Then, she stood on her tiptoes and whispered softly into the ear of the designer who was lost in his own world:
"Mr. President."
"Whoa?!"
Along with a tingling sensation as if an electric current had passed through him, Tetsuya cried out as he was jolted awake from his deep thoughts.
"Wh-what is it, Soyo?"
"The workbench... should it be placed here?"
With a look of resignation, Soyo directed his gaze to the mover in the distance who was waiting for an answer.
Seeing this, Tetsuya hurriedly went over.
"Sorry, sorry. Please put the workbench here, and as for the cabinets and clothing racks..."
"...Honestly."
For the past few days, Soyo had been by his side, running around for his new studio.
And this experience of working together had once again made her aware of his many "flaws."
The first, as just demonstrated, was that once this person started thinking about clothing-related problems, he would fall into a state that seemed to completely shut out the outside world. Unless he was given a sufficiently strong stimulus, it was absolutely impossible to wake him up.
The second was his naivety. When they went out to buy the necessary equipment for the new studio, he would earnestly take all of the merchants' exaggerated sales pitches as truth. If she hadn't been there to remind him to compare prices, this person would probably have bought everything he needed from the very first store.
As for the last point... it was something Soyo was currently trying to intervene in, and also a recurring problem—
"...You have dark circles again."
Looking at the slight darkness under his eyes, Soyo couldn't help but frown.
"This person definitely didn't get a good night's sleep yesterday."
Although he had indeed been busy with preparations for [StarrySky] these past few days, according to the schedule she had made, the time allotted for his sleep was quite ample...
"He won't go to sleep on time unless I'm watching him... Is this guy a rebellious teenager or something?"
His words, actions, and thoughts were so mature and proper, yet when it came to his lifestyle habits, he remained completely indifferent to what others said.
It seemed that for the next few days, she would have to consider going downstairs to check on him before bedtime!
"Oh, right... Soyo."
Just as Soyo was feeling helpless about how much trouble he was, Tetsuya, having finished giving instructions to the movers, returned to her side.
"Do you have any special plans this weekend?"
"Not really... What's up?"
"Oh, this weekend I was planning to go to a few select shops to check out the current best-selling fashion, so I wanted to ask if you'd like to go with me—"
"Of course, I'll go!"
Without even needing to know the destination, as long as she could go out with him on the weekend, Soyo would agree without a moment's hesitation.
However, she then thought of another very important question.
"...Is it just the two of us?"
"Since we're going to look at current fashion trends, I also invited Togawa along."
Tetsuya answered frankly.
"It might also bring her a lot of experience and inspiration for her upcoming studies."
"I see."
Her flash of inspiration was met with an expected answer. Fortunately, the answer wasn't so bad as to disappoint her; it merely changed from a "date" to a "shopping trip."
To be honest, being able to go to clothing stores with Sakiko was something Soyo would have wished for anyway.
But in that case, she would have to be more serious about her outfit and makeup for the day.
(When it comes to him, even against Sakiko... I will absolutely not yield.)
Soyo tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at the empty, unfinished studio before her.
(An apprentice and an assistant... which one is more important?)
That question, she supposed, could only be answered sometime in the future.
...
"Soyo is coming too?"
Togawa Sakiko, having been told by Tetsuya that Soyo would also be coming, put down her phone and showed a thoughtful expression.
"Well, that's not surprising. Since this trip to the select shops is work-related, it's normal to invite her."
That being said, Sakiko still felt it was a slight pity. After all, the two of them, who had been working and learning at [KaZoKu] all this time, had never had the chance for a solo date, so she had been holding onto a bit of natural anticipation.
However, she had long since grown accustomed to the feeling of her expectations being dashed. Moreover, Soyo's joining them wasn't an unacceptable misfortune. It was just one more person coming along. For her, who was not yet ready to confess her feelings, it didn't make too much of a difference.
...
Wait, if Soyo was coming too...
"...Then I can't wear this outfit."
Looking at the neatly folded blouse and plaid skirt on her low table, alarm bells suddenly went off in Sakiko's mind.
"A major feature of this combination is that it accentuates some of my body's curves, but if Soyo is there, it will have the opposite effect."
Sakiko, who already had one foot in the world of design, would naturally not make such a rudimentary mistake!
Out of a girl's pride, and also to uphold her dignity as a professional in the fashion industry, she walked toward her closet with immense seriousness...