"Master, two large beers for us!"
"Okay!"
As Nifuji and Narumi entered the izakaya, the two sat side by side on the counter table, as she quickly made an order, which was a large, cold glass of beer, which was the elixir for every exhausted salaryman, who was tortured by the daily pressure from the torment of living.
Unlike the two, who seemed happy and content with their lives in their surroundings, most of the salarymen appeared tired as they talked, complaining about clients, superiors, wives, children, and many others.
Still, Nifuji knew that those around him were on the lucky side, as there were still many who worked till dawn, or probably kept working even during the weekend.
'So, I am lucky.'
As he thought so, he gulped the cold, slightly bitter, yet refreshing beer from the large mug, which made his body comfortable, as if all of his exhaustion from the work was washed away.
The plan that he had made before had already been accepted, no, it was accepted directly, as it came from him, but he had to say, to do this proposal was tough, as his job wasn't just to draw, but also to manage the aftermath such as the marketing, budgeting, and all others, which worked quite well, especially when the toy department had a surplus of money after he had increased the "efficiency," (cutting off all of the unnecessary) directly when he became the president.
"Drink more. I can see that you are tired."
Narumi, who sat on his side, had been observing Nifuji, who appeared to be exhausted, and even patted his shoulder lightly, telling him that it was okay to drink more and relax, as the job was over.
"Can I smoke?"
"Go ahead."
"Thanks."
Nifuji took his cigarette and lighter, as usual, then lit up the fire before he started to smoke.
"Your lighter is so chic." Narumi looked at Nifuji's lighter curiously. "Can I see it?"
"Be careful. The lighter is hot on the tip."
"....." Narumi.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
As Nifuji lent his lighter to Narumi, he saw her expression change slightly.
"N-Nothing!"
Was she so sexually frustrated that every one of Nifuji's words seemed so suggestive?
Yet, despite the smell of the smoke, she had to say, his scent was nice!
No, she had noticed that his scent was so nice that she wanted to press her face against his body to sniff him deeply!
"...what are you doing, you pervert?"
Nifuji was speechless when Narumi pressed her face against his arm, near his armpit, as she even took a deep breath on that area.
"Let me smell you for a bit! You smell so nice!"
"You..."
Nifuji didn't care about Narumi's plea and moved his body slightly to the side. "It's itchy. Don't do that."
"...." Narumi.
He had a slightly bashful expression as if he felt uncomfortable with her actions.
Narumi had to say, he was hot, or rather, she could see that many were looking at him with such sexual eyes; they all looked at her enviously, making her all proud somehow despite not having a further relationship with him.
"...." Nifuji.
He felt strange somehow, after all, the original Nifuji was so desperate and loved this woman so much that when he had a broken heart, he even did a piercing on his ear like the previous boyfriend of Narumi during the high school, mimicking the type of a man that she loved, yet then, stopped, realizing that what he did was so stupid.
However, despite that, the longing and love for the original Nifuji hadn't vanished, since, despite Narumi's imperfection, the original Nifuji loved her so much, and frankly, he also wasn't perfect either.
While there might be someone better than Narumi, in some cases by what the others might think such as due of a "virginity," which most people felt bothered the most, the hearts, and all other factors, in the end, what the original Nifuji sought the most, was Narumi, and wasn't someone else, and he would be happy if he could get her, so wasn't that enough?
The rest of the factors weren't important, and as long as they could treasure each other in the end, Nifuji felt that it was the best.
Unfortunately, the current Nifuji wasn't the previous Nifuji, so even if he felt a skip a beat at Narumi, his feeling wasn't so intense, especially since he had many experiences, and many women, who loved him so dearly, and frankly, those women were several times better than Narumi based on his subjective and even objective.
The subjective aside, as it was related to the feelings, the objective was clear that Narumi wasn't the best, especially when her tits were small, she was also quite short, and she wasn't that bright on the head. Moreover, she also loved BL, which was the downside of everything.
After all, how could men feel like they had become a source of fantasy for a BL work, right?
Lastly, Narumi also often prayed for the handsome characters of anime, like those men who chose their waifu, and slept with them with a pillow of that character that they loved.
While Nifuji didn't care about those silly things, he knew that for so many, it was an incredible con to date Narumi.
Still, the pros of dating her were clear: Narumi was kind, gentle, and loyal, since, despite having many flaws, she would love one man only, and never thought to cheat. Moreover, she was cute and beautiful, and for others who loved the petite woman, her small size was a plus point.
Lastly, she should be able to accept many fetishes, including cosplay, due to her otaku hobby and all, like Eri and Mayuri, Nifuji thought.
Still, Eri and Mayuri were better, as there were the two of them.
Yet sometimes men were just crazy, pursuing vixens or sluts despite having a good woman who would be loyal and obedient to them.
Then again, that was an emotion that had always been irrational.
"W-What? Why are you looking at me like that?!" Narumi felt shy when she felt Nifuji's gaze on her. She wasn't sure why, but his eyes were so hot!
"...you don't change much."
Nifuji sighed helplessly.
"...." Narumi.
"Well, that's true, compared to you, I don't change much, Hirotaka."
Yup, Narumi felt like Hirotaka had changed a lot, as if he were a different man.
"..." Nifuji.
"And..."
All of a sudden, Narumi lifted Hirotaka's glasses with her small hand, staring at his clear eyes that were defenseless, as he looked at her, startled, making her stare at him in a daze for a while as her heart beat so fast before she put his glasses back, and she said, "Yup, you are not my type at all!"
"....." Nifuji.
As Nifuji let out a helpless sigh because of her antic, Narumi looked away for a moment, trying to calm herself, but when she tried to calm down, trying to talk with him as usual, like how a childhood friend would, yet it was quite hard, as they hadn't met each other for so long, Nifuji's smartphone vibrated, but unexpectedly, it came from Hina.
"Hmm?"
Yet, Narumi tilted her head with confusion as a question emerged in her head, 'He has a girlfriend?'