"Oh? A new face~?"Hayasaka Ai covered her mouth in mock surprise, her expression dramatically exaggerated."He's super handsome—Eri, is this your boyfriend?"
She looked directly at Sakurai.What on earth is he doing here?How did he end up with a gyaru?
"Hello, I'm Yuto, Eri's boyfriend. Nice to meet you."Sakurai smiled politely."This is our first time meeting, right?"
"Yes, first time." Hayasaka Ai untied the jacket from her waist and shrugged it on.It was a little warm inside.
Scanning the room, she spotted the only empty seat—right next to Ryota.Ugh. Annoying.Maybe she should just shoot this guy one of these days.He'd been pestering her for days.
Clatter.Something hard hit the floor.
"Oops. Something fell. Sorry," she said, crouching down.
The gyaru on the far edge of the couch froze.That thing—Was that...A handgun?!!
"Don't worry. I'm really into firearms, so I collect realistic replicas." Hayasaka casually picked up the weapon.
Still, that thud was too loud for a toy.
"See? All fake."She cocked the gun.Click.
Then, aiming directly at Ryota, Hayasaka smoothly ejected the bullet with practiced ease.
The room tensed.
"The models these days are so realistic," she added with a smile, "almost like the real thing."
Eri laughed nervously, trying to ease the tension.Because it was the real thing, Hayasaka thought to herself.As Kaguya-sama's personal maid, carrying a gun was nothing unusual—it was for self-defense.Not that she was actually allowed to kill people. Usually.
The other girls quickly got the hint—Hayasaka didn't want to sit next to Ryota.One of them stood up, clearing a seat beside Sakurai.
Mission accomplished.
Hayasaka settled beside him."Hello~" Sakurai greeted her with a smile so awkward it almost physically hurt.
He wanted to evaporate on the spot.
He had braced himself for running into people he knew while working, but he hadn't expected this.
He felt like he could dig a whole three-bedroom apartment out of the floor with just his toes.
Hayasaka smiled too, but they didn't talk much.
Sakurai refocused on Eri—his client.As a rental boyfriend, he had responsibilities.Neglecting her would hurt his ratings.And income.
The rest of the evening was mostly filler: some drinks, a few songs.Sakurai sang too, swept along by the group vibe.
After the gathering, in a corner of Shibuya, Sakurai and Eri parted ways.
As he walked away, Eri stared at his back, a sudden emptiness swelling inside her.Just minutes ago, he'd been so gentle. Now, his cold professionalism hit her like a wall.She understood—that's how good he was at his job.Still, she wished he would care about her. Even just a little.Was it too much to hope for?
Maybe she could rent him again tomorrow.
Thinking that, she took out her pink, rhinestone-studded smartphone and opened the rental boyfriend app.
Booked out for the next month.Of course.
Sakurai stood at the station entrance, adjusting his collar.In front of a vending machine, he fed in coins and waited for his drink to drop.Coffee. He needed it. Without caffeine, he'd probably collapse.
A can dropped. He went for a second one.
Clang!Just as the coffee landed, a pale, slender hand snatched it from the machine.
Hayasaka Ai cracked it open and took a sip."Black coffee? So bitter."
"Then don't drink it," Sakurai snapped.She always complained but never turned it down.
"I don't even like coffee, and yet you always give it to me," Hayasaka said, slipping her jacket back on.It was after 8 PM—the air had cooled.
"Don't tell Fujiwara about this," Sakurai muttered after a moment.
If Fujiwara found out about his side job, she'd probably book him for the next two years out of sheer curiosity.
"You're a rental boyfriend now?" Hayasaka raised a brow.
"You knew?"
Instead of answering, she pulled out her phone and started tapping through an encyclopedia app.
"Really? Using an encyclopedia to look this up? That's low, Ai-chan."
"Were you born in the Showa era? You're so slow to catch on." She rolled her eyes.
"I'm gonna kill you, Ai-chan." Sakurai downed some coffee.The bitterness was soothing in its own way.
Hayasaka watched him quietly.
"This kind of pandering work… You really don't have to do it," she said softly.
She wondered—had he found host work too degrading?So he'd chosen this instead, a middle ground?
Honestly, the two weren't all that different.
Perhaps being a rental boyfriend was a bit more respectable than being a host?
"8,000 yen an hour—you're not gonna find a gig like that anywhere else," Sakurai Saki muttered, feeling the chilly wind sweep through Shibuya's neon-lit streets.
Around him, beautifully dressed young women passed by, their heels clicking against the pavement. In the distance, a nightclub pulsed with music and swirling lights.
"I'll be your sugar mama!" Hayasaka Ai suddenly declared.
Sakurai turned to look at her, trying to read her expression—he never could.
"Really?"
Her gaze flicked away."Fake. Just kidding," she mumbled, backing down as quickly as she'd leaped forward.
For a moment, silence fell between them.
"…I didn't expect to have a weakness fall into your hands," Sakurai said.
Hayasaka casually tossed the empty coffee can, and with a metallic clang, it landed cleanly in the trash.
"Sakura-chan, you wouldn't want your little secret to leak all over school, right? So…"
Sakurai gave a wry smile.
"Let's go to a love hotel!" he declared dramatically to himself. "Since you've uncovered my shame, it seems I have no choice but to offer you my precious body!"
"…"
Hayasaka's fleeting curiosity immediately died.
"…I just meant, tonight you play support—I'll get the kills."
"Game talk is fine and all," Hayasaka said dryly, "but can't we move on to more adult topics?"
Sakurai grinned.He knew her weakness—she was terrible at handling direct hits.High offense, paper-thin defense.
"You know, tomorrow I might just let everyone at school find out what you're doing," Hayasaka threatened.
Sakurai's smile froze."Okay, okay, games it is," he surrendered without hesitation.
If that got out, he'd probably have to… eliminate every witness.Just kidding.
Anyway, his powers would change tomorrow—without the Death Note ability, killing would be way too inconvenient.
Might as well think of smarter ways to earn money instead.
"Didn't you say you landed a tutoring job? The family has five kids?" Hayasaka asked, tugging Sakurai's jacket off him and putting it on herself in one smooth motion.
Left jacketless in the cool air, Sakurai replied, "Only Mondays to Wednesdays. Right now, only one of them actually wants tutoring—Nakano Miku, from Class C. Her dad's one of the school's shareholders. A teacher recommended me."
"Alone with a beautiful girl… how lucky," Hayasaka said, narrowing her eyes at him. "Sakurachan"
"Ai-chan, you really are the jealous type."
"Don't flatter yourself. We're just friends," she shot back. "The person who'd fall for you hasn't even been born yet."
Ah, a textbook tsundere, Sakurai thought, watching her pull his jacket tighter around her shoulders.
So cute.