"Please break up with Hina-nee!"
"..."
When those words came out from the lips of Natsuo, all the noises disappeared, and all the eyes were on their figures, seemingly curious about what would happen.
Nifuji didn't really pay attention to this little brother. Instead, his focus was on another high school student, who he knew was Hina's little sister.
How could he tell?
It was because he felt a resemblance between them, and even though their appearances weren't that similar, he sensed their familial connection.
Naturally, Tachibana Rui also quickly took notice of Nifuji, whose face was like a bright full moon in the darkest night sky. Even though she tried to ignore him, it was impossible, especially when he held Hina's hand tightly.
Frankly, she wondered why she even came out and had a conversation with Natsuo about Hina's boyfriend, especially when she knew well that no matter what they said, it wouldn't change anything.
Yes, she could tell that Hina had fallen so deeply for this man, and even if she didn't want to admit it, considering how wrong it was, her heart swayed despite how much she struggled.
This feeling was impure and also extremely dirty, considering how she knew how bad this guy was.
When she looked at Nifuji, it was like her instinct as a woman kicked in, and it almost overwhelmed her, especially when he was so attractive.
As he stepped in, it was like he had eclipsed everything, and she felt a shift in the atmosphere.
When he walked in, the café didn't get louder; it got quieter. It was a physical shift in air pressure. The low hum of conversation cut off abruptly, like a needle lifted from a record. The blonde wood and warm lighting of the room, which previously felt cozy, suddenly felt like a stage set designed solely to frame him.
It was a face that ruined you for other faces. The symmetry was mathematical, almost unnerving. His jawline was sharp enough to cut the heavy air, and his eyes were dark—not just brown, but the color of obsidian, absorbing the light rather than reflecting it. He looked like a high-definition image superimposed onto a grainy reality.
While the rest of the patrons were dressed in loose linens and casual knits, he was encased in a three-piece suit of midnight blue. It was clearly bespoke—cut so precisely that it didn't fold or wrinkle, but moved with him like a second skin. The fabric was a matte wool that seemed to absorb the café's warm lighting, making his silhouette look etched in ink against the blonde wood walls.
The glasses.
That was also the item that took her eyes away.
He wore a pair of thin, silver-rimmed spectacles. Instead of softening his face, the glasses acted as a lens, intensifying the focus of his gaze. They caught the reflection of the overhead pendant lights, turning his eyes into unreadable pools of white light for a split second before he tilted his head, revealing the dark, calculating intelligence underneath.
As she saw him, she was afraid that her love life was ruined, as she knew that it was impossible to be satisfied easily in the future.
Then again...
'If it's him...'
When she thought of her "little problem," especially when she was about to graduate from high school, if there was someone who could help her, then... she wished that person would be Nifuji, yet as her mind was preoccupied with his visage, all of the stage was torn away by Natsuo's voice.
"PLEASE BREAK UP WITH HINA-NEE!"
Natsuo wasn't satisfied with just one sentence, so he repeated it.
Yes, after his emotions took over him, the jealousy, rage, envy, and all of the negative emotions quickly overwhelmed him, wondering why Nifuji could get someone that he dearly loved so much?!
Was it because Nifuji was so handsome?
Just because Nifuji was so handsome that he could take the woman that Natsuo loved so much?!
Hina Tachiba...
Natsuo loved this woman so much!
He loved her so dearly that he would do anything, even thinking of using various perverted accidents, or even doing a beast-like action to Hina when she was at her most defenseless moment.
Unfortunately, his chance was all broken by his family, whether it was Rui, his father, or her stepmother.
It was impossible for him to do anything to Hina when she slept, too, as she locked the door of her room.
He could do nothing to change everything, so he had to do this, especially when he knew that this guy was a bastard.
"Natsuo!"
Yet, Hina was so angry when she listened to Natsuo's words.
After a moment of stunned silence, her emotions quickly took over her, feeling enraged, ashamed, annoyed, and everything, as she didn't want to trouble Nifuji!
Nifuji had come to her despite how busy he was, yet Natsuo was about to ruin everything. How could Hina allow that?!
However, her anger quickly flared up, and Natsuo's emotions further. "You have a wife, right? If so, then you should leave Hina-nee alone! Don't get close to her! You scum—"
All of his emotions were released, exposing the secrets within him, yet even so, he didn't forget to put all the focus on Hina, since he loved her, and he wished her to be happy.
Naturally, that happiness could only be given by him, and not someone else!
Natsuo would definitely make Hina happy, and because of that, Nifuji had to disappear!
Yet, as he was about to say everything within his mind—
SLAP!
The loud sound of a slap echoed in the café, causing everyone to be stunned.
However, Natsuo was the one who was shocked the most as the burning pain on his cheek quickly made him go into a daze, and he was extremely hurt as he looked at Hina with disbelief.
"Hina-nee...?"
WHY?
Why did she slap him?
"Natsuo-kun, please shut up. You don't know anything. Don't you dare to sprout those words. You are just my—"
"Hina!"
When Hina was about to say the forbidden words, Nifuji quickly interrupted. "I will wait outside. You go talk to your family and decide on this."
In many cases, he knew that as Hina's partner, he should be staying by her side, helping her to talk this over, but he wasn't Hina's partner, okay?
They were just sex friends, if he had to describe their relationship.
Nifuji's emotion toward Hina wasn't so high, but even so, he still cared about her, and it was impossible to let her have a complete breakdown with her family?
If that happened, wasn't he like that man in the NTR manga, who had destroyed the families of others to get the woman?
It might be funny sometimes to make such a comparison, but in reality, it wasn't at all, so Nifuji had to stop Hina, even though he knew that Natsuo held a feeling more than a sibling for Hina.
So, at this moment, he gave Hina a chance to fix everything and left him, since if that was the case, he could—
"Huh?"
Just as Nifuji thought that he had done something good and cool, his arm was tightly wrapped by Hina, with her boobs sandwiched tightly around his, making him almost lose his composure, but her next words made him even more speechless.
"I am sorry, Natsuo. I know that you are worried about me, but I can't live without him, so—"
"....."
Warm and sweet.
Hina kissed his lips as she lightly inserted her tongue inside his mouth.
"...." Nifuji.
"....." Everyone.
"Thank you for worrying about me, but goodbye."
Nifuji was speechless, but he could only look at Natsuo with an apologetic gaze as he let himself be pulled by Hina, leaving the café, as the sound of the chime echoed once again.
Natsuo was there, watching everything in silence as he crumbled, watching the woman he loved leave so decisively for someone so bad.