"Me, a model?"
Chihaya Tetsuya pointed to himself in disbelief.
"Are you serious, Sakiko?"
"There's no need to be so surprised, Tetsuya-kun. Think about it. As the head designer, the amount of time you spend in front of the stage is actually much longer than any of the models."
Togawa Sakiko said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"You have to stand in front of the booth to introduce the brand anyway, so you might as well wear your brand's clothes and display them at the same time!"
"Eh..."
Although Tetsuya's mind couldn't accept it immediately, what she said was an undeniable fact.
As the head designer and brand manager, he had to stay at his booth for almost the entire time. In terms of duration alone, he would indeed be there longer than the other models.
"Don't worry, Tetsuya-kun. I'm not designing some bizarre outfit, and you don't have to actually pose or hold yourself in a specific way like the other models."
Seeing that he still seemed hesitant, Sakiko continued.
"Jean-san's condition was just that he wanted to see my design at the exhibition, right? If that's the case, then having you wear clothes that I designed should also meet the standard... Not only that, but my sudden participation won't interfere with your original plan. You could call it a strategy that kills two birds with one stone."
"..."
Perhaps because he no longer had any worries holding him back, even when faced with such a sudden test, Sakiko's thinking had become even more agile and meticulous than before. Just as she said, if she designed the clothes he would wear on the day of the exhibition, it would perfectly solve the test while preserving his original display strategy...
"I understand."
With such sound reasoning, no matter how much Tetsuya didn't want to be a model, he couldn't find any reason to refuse.
Hearing this, Sakiko's lips curled into a smile, and she excitedly took his hand.
"You should have a measuring tape in your room, right, Tetsuya-kun? Let me borrow it!"
"Eh? Ah, okay..."
Carried along by her incredible enthusiasm, Tetsuya was pulled directly into his room.
Once they were inside, Sakiko promptly shut the door behind them and turned back to gently twist the lock.
Click.
"Eh?"
Tetsuya, who was about to get the measuring tape, expressed his confusion, while Sakiko muttered thoughtfully to herself.
"Heh... so it works properly."
With that, she unlocked the door again and looked back at him.
"Anyway, Tetsuya-kun, please take off your shirt first."
"Huh???"
The relief Tetsuya had felt when the door was unlocked was once again replaced by confusion.
"Do we need to go that far?"
"Well, I'm planning to make it to 'bespoke' standards. If that's the case, the more detailed the measurements, the better."
Sakiko said.
"Don't worry, Tetsuya-kun, I won't make you take everything off-"
"I-I suppose that's true."
"I'll at least let you keep your underwear on."
"No, no, that's still very problematic!"
Tetsuya shook his head like a bobblehead.
"Even with custom tailoring, there's a certain range for adjustments! Besides, men's clothing doesn't require measurements as precise as women's, so you can measure me just fine even if I'm wearing a shirt!"
"Alright, then..."
Sakiko nodded, looking a little disappointed.
"Then just change into your pajamas. That should be fine, right?"
"That... shouldn't be a problem."
"Mhm, mhm. Then you can start changing after you give me the measuring tape."
"..."
Under Sakiko's watchful gaze, Tetsuya first handed her the measuring tape, then took his pajamas out of the closet.
However, when he looked back at her, he found she had no intention of leaving the room...
"Um... Sakiko? I'm going to change now."
"Mhm, I know."
"Are you planning on just watching like this?"
"Could it be that you want me to help you change, Tetsuya-kun?!"
An incredibly joyful light bloomed in Sakiko's eyes.
"No problem at all! Then please, lie down on the bed!"
"You know that's not what I meant!"
Tetsuya put his pajamas aside, walked over to her, and felt her forehead.
"Sakiko? Are you really okay? You seem a little strange..."
Although he was well aware of her feelings for him, she had never before mixed so much personal desire into her work.
Hearing his concern, Sakiko fell silent for a moment, then lowered her head.
"I'm sorry... Tetsuya-kun. I'm feeling a little... euphoric right now."
For Sakiko, who had been bracing for the worst, her mental state over the past day had been a veritable roller coaster.
Her father's crime had been forgiven and pardoned, and the debt that had entangled them both now had a chance of being cleared in one go.
This girl, who had lived under heavy burdens and anxiety for the past year, desperately needed an outlet for the excitement welling up inside her.
And at this moment, Chihaya Tetsuya—the man she loved and the benefactor who had helped her achieve all this—was the most suitable "outlet" of all.
"Alright... let's put the measurements aside for a moment. Can you just hold me?"
Sakiko looked up and asked.
"Right now, I don't think I have the spare focus for work."
"Mhm, I understand."
With that, he opened his arms and pulled her into an embrace.
After being held, Sakiko was no longer as restless as before. She closed her eyes, and her somewhat ragged breathing gradually calmed to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat in her ear.
"Ever since I met you, Tetsuya-kun... only good things I can't even believe have happened to me."
She got her ideal job, reconciled with her former bandmates through his mediation, found a new direction and reason to move forward, and now even her father's situation had a hope of being completely resolved.
"To repay you for this, I suppose the only way is to offer myself to you... Hmm? But if I do that, wouldn't I be the one benefiting?"
Sakiko looked up, a troubled expression on her face.
"What should I do, Tetsuya-kun? At this point, I can't think of any other way to repay you for everything you've done for me."
"In that case... let's save it for later."
Tetsuya could fully understand her feelings.
It was just like when he was first taken in by the Chihaya family; the sudden happiness and the stark contrast with his past had left him living in a state between excitement and fear. But that feeling of being unmoored would eventually fade with time, becoming a reason to work harder or the resolve to do something.
"We have a long time together ahead of us. There's plenty of time to think about these things."
Speaking from experience, Tetsuya said the words that would bring her the most happiness at that moment.
"We'll just have to work a little harder so we can get used to all this sooner."
"...Mhm, you're right."
Although her current situation was the most ideal outcome, the happiness she longed for would only truly arrive after they had both fulfilled Jean's conditions.
Not just for herself, but for Tetsuya's sake as well, she couldn't afford to be complacent.
Even if, at this very moment, she wanted nothing more than to pounce on him right then and there and do all sorts of things, they both had things they had to do first. Besides... when it came to his "first time," she had that other, more important plan...
"Phew... Okay, let's start measuring, Tetsuya-kun."
Hearing her words, Tetsuya, who had expected more requests, asked in surprise.
"You've calmed down already?"
"I just decided to save this excitement for later."
Sakiko stepped out of his embrace, her cheeks flushed as she gripped the measuring tape in her hand.
"For now, I'll pour this passion into the design sheet."
...
After carefully measuring every part of Tetsuya she could, Sakiko immediately and eagerly packed her things, ready to go home and start drawing.
As for why she didn't just stay and draw at his house—
"I'm sorry, Tetsuya-kun, I can't stay here any longer."
Sakiko, whose hands had just caressed his entire body, said with utmost seriousness.
"If I stay here, something very bad might happen."
What kind of bad thing?
Although Tetsuya was a little curious, after dealing with so many girls, he had gradually learned that not all questions should be asked at the wrong time.
In the end, he didn't try to make her stay. After calling a taxi for her and seeing her off, he returned home.
When he opened the door again, the once-empty living room now had three more people in it.
"...Sakiko's already gone back?"
"Yes..."
Tetsuya nodded. He glanced at the three on the sofa, then at Anon's door, which had been shut until just now.
"Were you all in Anon's room this whole time?"
"Mhm."
Nagasaki Soyo nodded.
"We were trying to give Sakiko some space to be spoiled by you, but it seems things went much more smoothly than we expected."
"We were worried Sakiko-san would be devastated because of her father..."
Chihaya Anon patted her chest in relief.
"I'm so glad it ended peacefully. You're the best, big brother!"
"...The main reason Sakiko's father was saved this time was thanks to Jean's tolerance."
Tetsuya shook his head.
"And this matter is still far from over..."
"You mean Sakiko's outfit, and that condition he won't tell us until after the exhibition, right?"
The ever-practical Soyo didn't rush to celebrate either.
"While I doubt that Jean-san would deliberately make things difficult for you, satisfying his conditions probably won't be that simple."
She then asked him.
"Did he mention any specific numbers? Like a ranking in the joint exhibition, or specific sales figures."
"He didn't, but I think... we'll at least have to beat [NozAK!]."
Tetsuya said.
"If I can't even win against a shoddy plagiarist like that, no matter how generous Jean-san is, he'd probably be disappointed in me."
...
"Mhm, mhm, I see. So besides those two stage outfits, Mr. Chihaya also designed such an interesting costume for this band."
Jean watched the video of [MyGO!!!!!]'s first live show on his phone, his expression full of interest.
"Reflective materials. I see. This must be the design where he accumulated experience in using 'light'."
"Although this outfit has only appeared in the band's first performance so far, the reception seems to have been quite good."
Sakiko's father commented.
"Without this outfit, being scheduled to perform after [Summer Zodiac], they probably wouldn't have been able to leave any impression on the audience."
"I wouldn't say that. After all, this Mr. Chihaya's design philosophy... is to make the wearer and the clothing merge into a single, complete entity. If another band wore this outfit, it definitely wouldn't have the same effect."
Jean said, turning off the video.
"This is a practice that goes completely against the current mainstream fashion. For most mainstream designers today, the clothing is the main focus. The models are nothing more than walking hangers."
Hearing this, a worried look appeared on the face of Sakiko's father.
"Does that mean the strategy he's chosen might not be accepted by the fashion industry?"
"Well, about that... who can really say?"
Jean said meaningfully.
"I'm looking forward to it, too. Will the path Mr. Chihaya has chosen be rejected by the mainstream... or will it become the new direction for a new era?"
Next, let the results of the joint exhibition decide everything!
—45 days remain until the joint exhibition.