No Show, I'm Skipping Out?

Sunday, Dorm 217.

"To be or not to be, that is the question. What exactly do people live for?"

Tatsuya Sakuya had no idea why he had started pondering such boring things. It wasn't as if he was a pilot whose engine had stalled.

I'm bored. I need to find something to do.

Lying on his bed, Tatsuya stretched out his right hand and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Then he suddenly thought of a way to pass the time.

He opened his phone and swiped to Karuizawa Kei's Line chat.

Tatsuya Sakuya: [My dearest, dearest, dearest girlfriend, your rental boyfriend is at your service.]

At that moment, Karuizawa Kei was browsing the latest clothing styles on her phone when she suddenly received Tatsuya's Line message.

Karuizawa Kei: [I'm looking at clothes. I currently have no obligation to be serviced.]

For a moment, Kei had no idea what he was trying to do.

Tatsuya Sakuya: [As your boyfriend, I have the right to fulfill my boyfriend duties. Please meet me at Keyaki Mall at 2:00 p.m. for an operation called a date. Otherwise, I will conduct an activity called skipping out on the order.]

Is this guy really not a bad person?

Kei began to regret whether she had chosen the wrong person. She regretted paying the points in advance—when she was clearly the client.

To keep her points from vanishing into thin air, Kei chose to reply.

Karuizawa Kei: [Fine. See you this afternoon.]

Having received a satisfactory answer, Tatsuya suddenly found a direction in life.

But it was only eleven in the morning, so he still had plenty of time.

Kamuro Masumi had been quiet for several days, so Tatsuya decided to ask what was going on.

Tatsuya Sakuya: [You there, pretty phantom thief?]

Several minutes passed, but Tatsuya received no response.

Tatsuya sent another message: [Are you there, Kamuro Masumi?]

He stared at the top of the chat window. Beneath the words Kamuro Masumi, [typing...] flashed for an extremely brief instant, then there was no movement at all for several more minutes.

Is she pretending not to see it?

Or am I seeing things?

Tatsuya came up with a good idea.

He opened the Line interface and sent her a 100-point red packet, with a note claiming it contained ten thousand points.

Sure enough, the very first second the red packet popped up on the screen—before even half a second had passed—a notification instantly appeared:

[Kamuro Masumi has successfully claimed your red packet.]

The next moment, two messages popped up in the chat box almost simultaneously.

Kamuro Masumi: [Scammer. It's clearly only a hundred points.]

Tatsuya Sakuya: [So you were online.]

Looking at Kamuro's message, Tatsuya leaned against his pillow and rapidly tapped at his screen.

Tatsuya Sakuya: [Consider the hundred points my treat for ice cream. Anyway, how have you considered the matter we discussed last time?]

On the other side of the screen, Kamuro Masumi looked at the message on her phone. She took a deep breath, practically able to picture Tatsuya's punchable expression behind the screen.

Kamuro Masumi: [I have no obligation to consider it, hentai.]

After sending that, Kamuro directly closed the chat window.

Tatsuya looked at his phone screen. Teasing her a little when he was bored counted as passing the time.

Noon.

Tatsuya went to the cafeteria and ate a large steaming bowl of beef banmian, along with a flatbread meat wrap.

Full and satisfied, he returned to his dorm, intending to rest for a while.

However.

When he opened his eyes again, the time on the screen clearly read:

[14:25 p.m.]

"Fuck, I overslept."

He flung off the blanket, grabbed his jacket, and rushed out the door.

2:30 p.m., central fountain plaza at Keyaki Mall.

Karuizawa Kei stood anxiously by the fountain, pacing back and forth.

"That damn guy... He actually made me wait for half an hour. He's totally a liar who doesn't keep his word."

A brisk set of footsteps suddenly sounded behind her.

"Sorry, sorry. I got carb coma after eating banmian at lunch and accidentally slept until now."

Kei stomped her foot in anger and lifted her head with an indignant huff.

"You've got the nerve to say you overslept? Look what time it is! Don't think you can fool me with some random excuse!"

"So, to apologize for being late, I'm covering all expenses today."

Tatsuya leaned a little closer and, with perfect ease, reached out. His long fingertips passed through her soft golden hair and tucked it behind her ear.

"Don't be mad."

The warm touch above her head made Kei's breath hitch. She retreated several steps in quick succession.

"Y-you... Why are you touching my hair like that? I specifically did this hairstyle before coming out!"

Tatsuya spread his hands.

"I'm just fulfilling my boyfriend duty to make amends. Come on, let's go buy clothes."

Second floor of Keyaki Mall, trendy women's clothing section.

Karuizawa Kei stood before a rack of autumn clothes, her fingertips lightly brushing along it before finally stopping at a soft beige knit cardigan. She looked hesitant and conflicted.

Before she could make up her mind, Tatsuya had already come close behind her, casually taken the garment down, and held it against her to gauge the fit.

"W-why did you suddenly get so close?!"

She took a small, flustered step forward, warmth spreading across her neck.

"I saw you staring at it for ages. This outfit suits you."

Tatsuya spoke naturally.

"If you like it, take it to the fitting room and try it on."

Kei held the clothes in her arms, though she still gave a haughty little hum.

"You picked it so fast... Is your taste even reliable?"

Though she said that, she still walked into the fitting room.

A few minutes later, the wooden fitting-room door creaked open.

Karuizawa Kei emerged wearing the beige cardigan and a plaid pleated skirt.

The soft beige made her petite, well-proportioned figure look even sweeter, giving her a distinct, gentle charm.

She walked up to Tatsuya, unable to hide the anticipation in her eyes.

"How is it...?"

Tatsuya Sakuya: "Very pretty. Even prettier than I imagined..."

Kei's cheeks warmed slightly. She took half a step back as if startled and hurriedly turned her head aside.

"I-I guess you have some taste."

Tatsuya took out his phone and scanned the code to pay, smoothly spending twelve thousand points.

While Kei returned to the fitting room to change, he also paid for an exquisite little heart-shaped pendant hair accessory beside the counter and quietly tucked it deep into the paper bag.

Evening.

Karuizawa Kei and Tatsuya Sakuya walked back toward the dorms.

Carrying the clothes in her hand, Kei suddenly quickened her pace, lightly spun around, and walked backward with both hands hidden behind her back.

"Today's performance was probably a ten out of ten."

Kei spoke first.

"Just asking, what's the full score?"

With his hands in his pockets, Tatsuya asked curiously.

"Obviously, it's one hundred."

Kei raised her petite chin.

"Why is my score so low?"

"First,"

Kei raised a slender index finger and waved it in front of him.

"I deducted fifty points on my own initiative."

"What kind of logic is that?"

Tatsuya sighed, wearing a helpless expression.

"Second, you were half an hour late for our first date, so that's another fifty points off."

Kei continued gesturing the numbers in the air, a hint of smugness flashing through her eyes.

Tatsuya Sakuya: "I can reluctantly accept that one, but doesn't that make my score zero?"

Karuizawa Kei stopped walking.

The evening glow painted the street golden-red, stretching the girl's slender silhouette long across the ground.

Turning her head in the backlight, with her small hands hidden behind her back, she wore an exceptionally beautiful smile.

"Since I had a lot of fun today, I've decided to give you an extra ten points."