Jhin had said he was sleeping in the break room, but in reality he'd gone off to spend the night at Hitori Gotoh's place. Chisato, who'd snuck out late at night ready to cause some mischief, couldn't find him anywhere and had no choice but to obediently go back to her room and sleep.
The next morning, Takina Inoue's mood had settled down, and she'd returned to her usual expressionless ice-beauty look, receiving on-the-job training from Chisato. Her urge to return to headquarters wasn't nearly as strong as it had been at first — if anything, she seemed a little lost about what she wanted.
"Ahh~ where did Jhin-nii run off to?" Once Chisato finished teaching Takina the basics of customer service, she slumped over the counter like a deflated ball.
Since Jhin wasn't in the shop, Kurumi was openly slacking off in that beige hoodie of hers. She'd stayed up late playing games the night before, so naturally she'd seen Chisato sneak out of her room through the drone she kept parked in the corner, clearly up to something.
Remembering the miraculous methods Jhin had pulled off the day before, Kurumi doubted Chisato would actually succeed.
Since the man himself wasn't around, Kurumi figured there was no harm in gossiping a little with the two girls about Jhin. She closed the game on her tablet and spoke up. "Chisato, Takina — have either of you noticed anything unbelievable about Jhin?"
"Oh, oh, yes!" Chisato definitely had things to say on that topic. A flush of excitement rose to her cheeks. "Jhin-nii smells really good, and being held by him makes you feel completely relaxed — it's unbelievable!"
"There's no way for us to verify what you're saying, though. Right, Takina?"
"Ah — that... actually, yesterday... I felt something similar too." Talking about the first time in her life she'd been held by a man, a flicker of embarrassment crossed Takina Inoue's purple eyes, though her face stayed as flat as ever.
"Speaking of which, how exactly did he knock you out yesterday?" Kurumi tilted her head, eyes sweeping over her twice as she raised an eyebrow. "Are you the type who falls asleep the moment you relax?"
Takina herself couldn't quite explain how she'd fallen asleep the day before. She could only vaguely describe the sensation. "The Store Manager pulled me into his arms, and then I felt really relaxed, and then I was asleep."
"Just like that, in an instant?"
"In an instant."
Hearing this, Chisato grew envious all over again. She wanted Jhin to pull her into his arms and pat her head too — he'd never done anything like that to her. Then she started studying her partner's appearance more closely.
Takina Inoue had glossy black hair reaching past her shoulders and a pair of bright purple eyes. Though she rarely showed expression and was easily mistaken for being angry, that couldn't hide the fact that she was a beauty — if anything, this kind of ice-cold beauty was actually quite popular.
After all, everyone wants to see the ice melt just for them.
An idea struck Chisato, and she said in a trembling voice, "Don't tell me... Jhin-nii likes girls like you!?"
"...?" Takina didn't understand why this topic had suddenly come up. For the sake of keeping her partner's emotions stable, she said bluntly, "I don't have any feelings like that for the Store Manager. I won't get in the way of what you're doing."
These words moved Chisato deeply, and she pulled Takina into a bear hug. "Aww~ Takina, you're such a good girl!"
Thinking back on the disaster-level courtship methods Chisato had been using all this time, Kurumi sighed. "You really are hopeless. If you like Jhin that much, why not just confess directly?"
"But... Jhin-nii has a girlfriend. I'm worried he'd turn me down."
"What!? The Store Manager has a girlfriend??"
Chisato answered as if it were obvious. "He's so handsome, and his personality is so kind and gentle — it'd be weirder if he didn't have a girlfriend."
So you're saying my partner is planning to steal someone else's man, or be the other woman?
Takina felt her image of Chisato as a top-tier Lycoris ace shatter into pieces. Chisato's combat reflexes and skill had genuinely shone during their previous escort mission, but her current lovestruck-airhead behavior was so overwhelming it completely buried all those good qualities.
After holding it in for a long moment, Takina finally said, "Maybe... you should just give up?"
"No way!" Chisato answered firmly. "Ever since the day he saved me, I decided I'd repay that debt to him. That's something I absolutely have to do!"
So that attitude of yours is exactly why Jhin won't accept you...
Kurumi finally understood why Jhin had had that particular conversation with Kazami Kazuki. So he'd already seen through it — that what Chisato felt for him was mostly gratitude, not love.
No wonder he had a girlfriend already — he was sharp when it came to matters of the heart. Too bad he was such a shameless playboy.
Knowing she herself was also on the list of girls being courted — or rather, already a hopeless case — Kurumi felt a pang of sorrow well up. She silently opened her game again to console herself.
...
"Going to a café?" Hitori Gotoh blinked her moist blue eyes, not understanding why her boyfriend suddenly wanted to take her out.
"That's right." Jhin caught a lock of her hair between two fingers, twirling it idly. "I'll probably be spending a lot of time at that café going forward, so it's better if I introduce you to the staff there ahead of time."
"Ah... str-strangers?" Hitori Gotoh shrank her head down, asking weakly, "Can I not go?"
"No~ you~ can't~"
"Uu~" She let out a pitiful whimper, pressing herself closer into Jhin's chest. Then she stretched her neck up and pecked him lightly on the cheek, asking in a faint voice, "Th-this... this won't work either?"
"Bocchi-chan... you're playing with fire."
"Eh? Wait... don't... it's already morning!"
"The morning sets the tone for the whole day — a bit of morning exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle too."
"Mmm, you're always picking on me."
Around ten in the morning, Jhin finally led Hitori Gotoh downstairs, under the approving gaze of her mother-in-law, who — being a woman of experience herself — knew exactly what had put that blooming flush on her daughter's face. Smiling, she set out the warmed-up breakfast for the two of them. "Go wash up quickly, breakfast's ready and warm for you."
After finishing breakfast, the two of them stepped out only to run into Ikuyo Kita, who'd come looking for Hitori Gotoh to hang out. So the original plan of "take my girlfriend to the café to get familiar with the place" turned into "take my girlfriends to the café."
About a few hundred meters after leaving the Gotoh house, Jhin shamelessly took hold of Ikuyo Kita's hand, saying under her coquettish gaze, "Kita, did you miss me?"
She pursed her lips and answered without hesitation, "Of course I did."
"Kita... is amazing." Hitori Gotoh's eyes went wide as she witnessed this. She didn't think she herself could answer her boyfriend so calmly in front of other people, and it only strengthened her resolve that her own shortcomings could be made up for by her bandmates.
That simple question made Ikuyo Kita realize once again that she no longer needed to hide her feelings. She had a naturally cheerful personality to begin with, and after accepting her personal terminal, she activated cognitive interference without hesitation and looped her arm around Jhin's without a second thought.
Hitori Gotoh immediately filed this smooth little combo away in her memory, ready to put it to use later.
____
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