A Photographer, like a large lump of flesh, was adjusting his equipment, aiming his long lenses at the young woman.
Someone else was moving around the young woman to provide fill light.
A hint of dissatisfaction flickered in the young woman's eyes, but after a slight sigh, she still posed complexly as the Photographer instructed.
"...Very good, absolutely perfect, Reina-chan," the Photographer praised with a smile.
This was difficult.
Oshika Masaru thought, she came with a team.
It would probably be hard to approach her.
"Squat down first; they should be magazine Staff who came from out of town for a shoot," Oshika Masaru told his cronies, "Find out which hotel they're staying at tonight." As he spoke, a sinister smile curled on his lips, "Then we can just go stake out the hotel, wouldn't that be wonderful?"
"At Amagi Onsen Ryokan."
"Oh? Is that so?" Oshika Masaru smiled slightly. As expected, they were outsiders, heading straight for the famous landmark in Yaso Inaba. But these two finally got smart; they even found this out.
Then Oshika Masaru felt something was off.
"...Huh?" Because this voice belonged neither to his crony nor to his pal.
Oshika Masaru's PTSD flared up again.
The good news was that this voice didn't belong to Mr. Hayashi, who had made him suffer yesterday, though it was also a male voice.
Oshika Masaru was about to turn his head when his shoulder was hooked.
"Brother, what are you doing?"
Oshika Masaru turned his head and almost got burned by a lit cigarette butt.
The person holding his shoulder had a Seven Stars cigarette in his mouth, wearing a floral shirt of an unknown but likely designer brand. The top two buttons of the shirt were undone, revealing a large gold chain around his neck.
Oshika Masaru looked up at his face, and the first thing he saw was brilliant orange hair.
His face wasn't particularly handsome but not ugly either, a bit long, with slightly dark skin.
Oshika Masaru felt like he had seen this face somewhere before.
Upon closer thought, he indeed had.
This Mr. Hayashi actually looked surprisingly similar to himself; he had seen him in the mirror that morning.
But Oshika Masaru was a cautious person, especially after the trauma he experienced yesterday. He was particularly wary of unfamiliar faces, and the man's accent didn't sound like a local either.
"What the hell do you want?" Oshika Masaru's eyes narrowed, portraying the image of a delinquent.
"You've been looking at my girlfriend for so long, and you ask me what I want to do?" the orange-haired man said with a raised eyebrow. One hand was hooked over Oshika Masaru's shoulder, while the other held the Seven Stars cigarette, and he exhaled a puff of smoke.
Oshika Masaru suddenly understood a truth: there are countless beautiful girls in the world.
But none of them belong to you.
Those girls are mostly taken.
"Why do you say I'm looking at your woman?" Oshika Masaru clicked his tongue. "Can't I just be looking at the scenery?"
The other party had more people, so they had the advantage. Oshika Masaru obediently didn't want to conflict with this Mr. Hayashi.
With that, he was about to leave.
Having said that much, Oshika Masaru felt that they could part ways without further trouble.
He'd go his way, and I'd call my taxi.
But just as Oshika Masaru was about to turn around with his cronies, the orange-haired man reached out and pressed down on Oshika Masaru's shoulder.
"Who are you calling 'I'?" the orange-haired man asked with a smile.
In the faint laughter, Oshika Masaru heard a hint of chilling murderous intent.
It made a thin layer of cold sweat break out on his back in the middle of summer.
Damn, what kind of luck is this? Has he done anything immoral recently... Oh, it seems he's always doing something immoral.
Then why is he only getting his comeuppance now?
The heavens are unfair to him!!
...
...
Kobayashi Ayaka's Annoyance
Damn it, if a tiger doesn't show its might, do you think you're Wu Song?
Facing the obstruction, Oshika Masaru, who had suffered multiple setbacks, immediately lost his temper. He cursed in a rough voice:
"What the hell do you want? Didn't you realize I was about to leave?"
"Try calling yourself 'I' again?" the orange-haired man said.
"I, I'll say what I want, what's it to you!?" Oshika Masaru said. He couldn't lose face in front of his cronies; otherwise, how would he continue to make a living in Yaso Inaba?
Hachisuka Hidemichi nodded in satisfaction. He released his grip on Oshika Masaru's shoulder. "First, let's get acquainted. My name is Hachisuka Hidemichi. What's your name?"
"Why should I tell you..."
"Hmm?"
A glint of savagery flashed in Hachisuka Hidemichi's eyes.
"I, I'm Oshika Masaru, what do you want!?" Oshika Masaru asked, stiffening his neck.
"Local?" Hachisuka Hidemichi retorted.
"Yes, yes, so what?" Oshika Masaru said arrogantly.
Hachisuka Hidemichi didn't speak. He pulled out a Seven Stars cigarette pack from his board shorts pocket. "Smoke?"
Oshika Masaru:?
It seems my toughness still has some effect; it actually made this Mr. Hayashi's attitude friendlier.
"The beautiful woman over there who's being photographed is my girlfriend. I haven't even had her yet. If you dare to have any ideas about her, I'll bury you in the ocean," Hachisuka Hidemichi said, taking a deep drag from his cigarette and exhaling a light mist.
Oshika Masaru and his cronies' outstretched hands instantly froze.
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