Shopping Mall
"This skirt feels like it'd really suit you," Takumi Yuuya said, holding up a sleek black dress for Miura Yumiko.
"I'll go try it." Yumiko took the dress and disappeared into the fitting room.
Yuuya walked over to where Yuigahama Yui and Ebina Hina were waiting.
"Yuigahama-san, Ebina-san, you're probably curious about what happened yesterday, right?"
Both girls leaned in, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Hayama Hayato has always had someone he liked. Yesterday, he finally made that clear." Yuuya explained matter-of-factly.
"Eh? But isn't Hayato-kun with Yumiko…?" Yui blinked.
"I thought the same thing. Yumiko has always worked so hard to chase after him, but in reality, she was just a convenient shield. And despite knowing that, she never gave up."
Their reactions couldn't have been more different—Yuigahama looked lost, while Ebina's sharp eyes caught on quickly.
"After Hayama came clean, Yumiko was devastated. So I came up with a plan. I'd play the part of her boyfriend, but a terrible one. If Hayama saw that, he'd feel responsible—since he's the one who introduced Yumiko to me in the first place—and step in to 'save' her."
"This is…" Yuigahama blinked again, struggling to process it.
"It's not a bad plan, but even if it succeeds, it'll be messy to wrap up," Ebina adjusted her glasses.
"This plan will never succeed." Yuuya shook his head.
"Eh? N-Never succeed?" Yui was dumbfounded.
"What you mean is… this whole scheme isn't about making Yumiko win Hayato's affection, but about crushing her hopes completely?" Ebina guessed after a pause.
Yuuya glanced toward the fitting room.
"Until now, she's lived inside lies she wove for herself. Now she's trapped inside a lie I've spun. Only by being completely disappointed can Miura Yumiko truly let go of Hayama Hayato."
"I'm telling you this because I don't want you two to be confused forever," he continued. "And because I want you involved. Do you want your friend to keep living inside a lie, or to finally see reality?"
"I…" Yuigahama looked helplessly at Ebina.
"Yumiko probably already senses how this ends. Deep down, she still clings to hope. I won't interfere in your plan, but I won't help either. However it turns out, that's on Yumiko." Ebina's voice was calm.
Yuuya nodded.
"Just watch. I'll let her be disappointed. Then, she'll break up with me."
Dessert Café
Later, Yuuya and Yumiko sat down in a dessert buffet café. For two thousand yen, you could eat as much as you wanted for an hour.
Yuuya didn't care much for sweets—his plate had only five small cakes. Yumiko's was about the same.
Meanwhile, Yuigahama and Ebina were still at the counter, carefully picking out desserts.
Watching their backs, Yuuya spoke quietly.
"I talked with your friends earlier. Yuigahama-san seems really easy to fool. I want her contact info."
"…Excuse me?" Yumiko froze with her fork in midair.
"Ebina-san's too sharp, so I'll pass on her. But Yuigahama? After we break up, I'll go after her. Since I helped you, I expect you to help me out in return."
[Disgust from Miura Yumiko +30]
Yumiko stayed silent, forcing down another bite of cake.
Yuuya glanced at her and added, "This weekend, I'll take Hayato to my family company. Yukinoshita Haruno will be there too. You should work on getting Hayato to notice you more—though compared to Haruno-san, his eyes will inevitably…"
[Disgust from Miura Yumiko +50]
"I won't help you chase after Yui," Yumiko cut him off coldly. "If you want her, do it yourself."
Yuuya only chuckled and let the matter drop.
A few minutes later, Yuigahama and Ebina returned to the table, trays stacked with sweets.
An Hour Later – Outside the Mall
"Yuigahama-san, Ebina-san—can we exchange contact info?" Yuuya asked casually, phone in hand.
"Uh…" Yui glanced at Yumiko nervously.
"I don't mind," Ebina said easily, pulling out her phone.
Yumiko said nothing.
Seeing that, Yui hesitated, then exchanged numbers with Yuuya as well.
With two new contacts saved, Yuuya took Yumiko's hand in his, smiling.
"Let's go again sometime. My treat next time."
"Thanks for the desserts, Yuuya-kun," Yui said brightly.
"I won't hold back," Ebina added with a grin.
After saying goodbye to Yumiko too, the two left together.
Yuuya raised his phone, snapping a picture of him and Yumiko holding hands. Yumiko blinked at him in confusion.
He immediately sent the photo to Sawamura Eriri with a short message:
"Sorry, I was out on a date just now."
Ten seconds later—
[Disgust from Sawamura Eriri +30]
Pocketing his phone, Yuuya looked at Yumiko.
"I've got another date lined up. Want me to walk you to the station, or will you come along?"
[Disgust from Miura Yumiko +30]
"I can go home on my own," Yumiko said flatly, staring ahead.
"That won't do. I still want to hold your hand. Last night, I dreamt we were getting married. Just as we were about to kiss, I woke up. That's called missing material. Care to help me make up for it?" Yuuya said with mock seriousness.
[Disgust from Miura Yumiko +50]
She stared at him, expressionless.
Yuuya laughed lightly. "Relax, I'm kidding. I'll walk you to the station."
Station Front
After seeing Yumiko off into the station, Yuuya pulled out his phone again. A new message from Eriri blinked on the screen:
"So what's next?"
There wasn't a trace of blame in her words.
Yuuya thought for a moment, then typed back:
"Simple. Aki Tomoya came to you, right? You asked me directly, and I learned from you that you and he were childhood friends. I'll keep playing the bad guy and see how he responds. I'll send you screenshots of our chat."
A minute later, her reply came.
"Thanks."
Yuuya quickly found Aki Tomoya's contact and fired off a message:
"Aki Tomoya, you lied to me? You told me you didn't know Eriri, and I believed you. And now you went straight to her and ratted me out about meeting other girls? You'd better explain yourself, or I'll come find you tonight."
Message sent successfully.
Sliding his phone away, Yuuya started walking home.
When he got back, a reply from Tomoya was waiting.
"I used to be Eriri's friend, so I felt I should warn her."
Kicking off his shoes and sitting down on the couch, Yuuya typed back:
"Fine, I'll let it slide this time. Just don't stick your nose in where it doesn't belong again."
The response came quickly:
"Yuuya-kun, please take Eriri seriously."
"You're just her friend. You don't have the right to say that to me."
"I know I don't, but in the anime I watch, the protagonist always says things like that."
"You think you're the protagonist?"
"…I'm just a background character."
"Tomorrow, I'm inviting Eriri over to my house again. If you want to stop me, then come stop me."
Yuuya hit send, then immediately screenshotted the conversation and forwarded it to Eriri.