It was yet another sunny day~
All the joy started from that diving shop.
"Ah…"
"Ugh…"
Iori and Kouhei sat slumped in their chairs like their souls had been sucked out by succubi, trembling from time to time.
They looked completely lifeless.
No one knew exactly what they went through, but it was obvious they hadn't recovered yet…
"…What the heck did you two do yesterday?"
Aina was speechless. Why was it that every time she saw these two, they always came with new chaos?
"Ah… the 'cosplaying zombie beast'…"
"Don't call me the cosplaying zombie beast!!"
Why were they so hung up on that nickname anyway?!
"We're kind of short on money lately…"
"Thought we'd earn a little… but turns out that's way harder than we thought…"
The two sighed heavily.
The cost of the group training trip was pretty high. The club only covered the travel fare to Okinawa—everything else they had to pay themselves.
And it was only after getting part-time jobs that they realized how hard it is to actually earn money. Iori thought about the 250,000 yen IOU he owed to Shiro and just sank into despair.
"Wait? Didn't Chisa introduce you guys to a job?"
Azusa, who was sipping beer, looked puzzled. Just yesterday the two had eagerly gone off to work with Chisa.
"..."
The two fell silent. Then slowly raised their trembling arms… their pain was written all over their faces.
Their experience yesterday could only be described as tragic…
Tokita-senpai had gotten them jobs at a moving company. The physical labor was insane—the kind only someone with his monstrous physique could handle!
Sure, after busting their butts all day, they did earn a decent amount of money.
But…
Going out for a drink afterward was totally understandable, right?
Alcohol in Japan is pretty expensive… and they could really drink. So, them blowing all their wages in one night? Also understandable… right?
(´Д｀)
They had basically worked for free that day!!!
"Of course it's expensive if you're drinking at a bar… So where's Chisa?"
Azusa didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Drinking at bars was costly and had no vibe—if they'd just come back, they could've thrown a fun little drinking party!
"Uuuu~ it was too late to head back X﹏X"
"Tokita-senpai said he was going to earn back what he drank yesterday…"
Just thinking about how energetic Tokita looked when he left made their hearts ache again. They really got bodied in the physical fitness department…
Seeing the two on the verge of tears, Azusa couldn't help but feel a little bad.
"Well… why not borrow a bit from Shiro? Doesn't he do IOUs?"
{{(°△°;")}}
The two stared at her in horror—what kind of grim reaper was she?!
If they went to Shiro, that bastard would crank the interest rate to the max! And if they couldn't pay it back, they'd probably get shipped off to a boys' club!
And that wasn't a joke—they'd actually looked it up! The boys' club is real!!
"Absolutely not!"
They rejected the idea on the spot. Iori was already stressing about that 250,000 yen debt…
"…Just how afraid are you two of that boys' club anyway…"
From what she remembered, the vibe and dress code at that place wasn't much different from a regular drinking party…
"Speaking of which, where's Shiro?"
Aina looked around—wasn't their trio usually stuck together?
"Now that you mention it, Kotubuki-senpai isn't here either."
The two suddenly realized the oddity. Shouldn't everyone be lazing around the dive shop at this hour?
"Well, as for Shiro… he's been all secretive lately, coming home late too."
Azusa looked annoyed—clearly, Shiro's late nights had been messing with her evening plans!
"As for Buuki—he's working a part-time job too~"
!!!
Kotubuki-senpai?!
A job?!
Thinking about his buff physique and halfway-decent looks, the two's imaginations ran wild again.
"A pimp at a brothel?"
"Or maybe a dancer at the boys' club!"
"…What kind of image do you two even have of Kotubuki-senpai…"
Aina facepalmed. Wasn't it taboo to joke about your senpai like this?! Were they even real Japanese?!
"Pfft, hahaha—of course not, you two~"
Azusa laughed. These two were always a riot.
"So… wanna come see where Bukki's working?"
"Where he's working?"
"You sure it's not a boys' club?"
"Of course not. Just come with me—you'll see. Oh, and one of your other little friends is already there. Looks like he's making moves early~"
Azusa put away her phone with a mischievous grin. Kotubuki had just sent her a very entertaining message.
…
"Shiro-kun? Shiro-kun?"
A soft and gentle voice woke Shiro from his daze. Just now, for some reason… he'd felt a sudden chill!
Damn it! He'd made a rookie mistake—spacing out during a date!
He looked up at the person in front of him—a mature woman with cherry blossom-pink hair smiling sweetly at him.
Her gaze was so gentle, it felt like he was soaking in a hot spring.
He was smitten!
Utterly smitten!
Right now, Shiro was at a bar he'd discovered two days ago.
Not only were the drinks cheap, but most of the customers were students from nearby universities. The whole place radiated youthful vibes and hormones.
He'd been coming here for two days straight, meeting all sorts of girls. That's why he'd been getting home so late.
But just when he thought he'd found the perfect hunting ground… he saw someone new behind the bar—
Or rather… someone familiar.
Kotubuki Ryuujirou!!!
Shiro was stunned the moment he saw him!
Sure, the bar was close to Izu University, so it wasn't impossible to run into people he knew.
But of all people to bump into first—it was Kotubuki-senpai… and he was playing the role of a bartender?
Completely out of character!
Why was a guy who looked like a fitness model crossed with an AV actor working as a bartender here?!
And worse yet—he was actually popular!
It was so wrong on so many levels!
Because of the bar's open layout, Kotubuki also noticed Shiro right away.
He was a bit surprised too, but knowing Shiro's personality, it all made perfect sense. Nothing awkward about it, he even casually sent Azusa a little update~
Shiro, on the other hand, didn't try to avoid him either.
This was a bar, not a club—no need to be embarrassed. And after sampling Kotubuki-senpai's drink mixing skills, he just calmly got back to hunting for his prey.
That was when he spotted her—the mature, gentle beauty with cherry blossom-pink hair!
…
"Ah, sorry… I spaced out for a second."
Shiro placed a cocktail in front of her. A Pink Lady—a cocktail very suitable for women, and the same color as her hair.
(Pink Lady recipe: Chill the glass, shake 40ml gin, 15ml Cointreau, 15ml lemon juice, 15ml light cream, and a spoon of grenadine with ice)
"This is an apology."
Shiro smiled, making up for his earlier distraction.
He'd gotten so lost after introducing himself that he didn't even catch her name properly. What a fail!
Although… she had called him "Shiro-kun" right off the bat.
That had to be a good sign!
As expected, it was these gentle older women that really got his heart racing~
Shiro was pumped. This woman's charm wasn't any less than Nanaka's—plus, she probably didn't have Nanaka's extreme little-sister obsession, right?
"Wow, it's beautiful~ Did you make this just for me?"
Her soft gaze sparkled with joy.
She'd seen him jump in front of the bartender and insist on making that Pink Lady himself.
"Of course. It suits you perfectly."
Shiro looked at her silky pink hair.
She was like a cherry blossom tree standing by a hot spring—so beautiful it was mesmerizing.
"Thank you, I love it~"
The woman gently sipped the cocktail. The sweet, creamy aroma mellowed out the alcohol perfectly—it was smooth and velvety.
Watching her drink, Shiro was even more entranced. He kept thinking about how to subtly ask for her name again.
Damn it! Why did he space out back then?!
The woman put down her glass and smiled warmly at the manga-protagonist-looking boy in front of her.
Though he was trying to act calm, her sharp eyes caught the flicker of anxiety in his.
"Akane. You can call me Akane~"
In that moment, it was like a cherry blossom petal drifted down onto Shiro's head.
Saikou!