"How long have you two known each other?" Vodka was genuinely curious.
Despite being a burly, fierce-looking man, his hidden "inner gossip" was no less active than that of a high school girl.
"That... not long, really. Only about ten years or so~ Unlike you, Vodka, who got so close to Gin-chan in just one year."
Satoru Gojo counted on his fingers with a nonchalant air.
Beside him, Gin couldn't help but interject: "Does six years count as 'about ten'?"
"Hey, hey, ever heard of rounding up?"
Vodka: "..."
Why does it feel like someone is flexing? I can smell the 'green tea' vibes from here.
"By the way, Vodka, how old are you?" Gojo asked.
"Haha, I'm thirty. Just an old guy," Vodka gave a simple, honest laugh. He didn't feel it was at all inappropriate to call the much younger Gin "Big Brother," and added a compliment: "You and Big Brother are truly young and promising."
Gojo suddenly thought of a fascinating question. In his past life watching Conan, he had never seen what Vodka looked like under his sunglasses... what did he actually look like?
Driven by intense curiosity, he pestered Vodka to take them off.
"Uh, my looks... honestly, there's nothing special about them," Vodka said, scratching his head.
"That's exactly why you should let me see~"
The more he resisted, the more Gojo wanted to look. He even turned to Gin: "Aren't you even a little bit curious?"
Gin: ...I wasn't until you mentioned it, but now I kind of am.
Under Gojo's relentless pressure and Big Brother's silent permission, Vodka didn't dare resist. He obediently and slowly removed his sunglasses.
He revealed... an utterly average "middle-aged man" face that would disappear in a crowd.
Gojo: ...Well, the fantasy is shattered. He had half-expected some shoujo-manga-style sparkly eyes or something.
Realizing that forcing someone to take off their glasses was a bit mean, he waved a hand. "Sorry for putting you on the spot, Vodka."
"To make it up to you, I'll treat you to dinner when we have time." And farm some impression points while eating, he added mentally.
Hearing this, Vodka immediately became alert. Who knows what kind of "poisoned meal" soap opera plot he was imagining, but he quickly spoke up: "No need, Mr. Kaiser!"
Perhaps because his tone was too strong, both of the others looked at him strangely.
"I mean, it would be embarrassing to let you spend money over such a small thing," Vodka corrected himself, his mind racing until he hit upon an idea: "If you really want to compensate me... then please let me see what you look like too."
This way, not only would he become one of the few in the Organization to know Kaiser's true face, but he'd also escape the terrifying prospect of a private dinner. Vodka was secretly delighted with himself.
"Oh, sure then~" Gojo naturally took off his sunglasses, revealing a face handsome enough to turn the world upside down.
"Kyaaa—!"
A group of girls waiting for a bus nearby let out a collective gasp.
Vodka: S-super Ikemen! I'm being blinded!!
He expected a handsome guy, but this face was cheating! They both wore sunglasses, yet the art style was completely different once they came off. I planned to look like that when I was born, too!
Average-uncle Vodka wept tears of silence in his heart.
> [Ding! Impression points from story character Vodka increased by 2000! Analysis: Envy.]
>
"Ehehe~" Gojo struck a few poses, asking Gin vanity-centrically: "Well? Have I gotten even more handsome over the past three years?"
"Ugly as hell."
"Huh?!"
Gojo wasn't having it. He leaned in, his face inches from Gin's, staring intently into his eyes: "Come on, look me in the eye and say that again."
"..."
Faced with those impossibly beautiful blue eyes, even Gin, who loved to go against Gojo, found it difficult to tell a lie.
"...You're just average."
He stubbornly forced out those words. If he told the truth, this guy's ego would fly straight to the heavens.
However, Gojo immediately pulled out his phone, opened his photo album, and thrust it in front of Gin's face with a mischievous grin: "How about now?"
On the screen was a photo of the two of them in drag from years ago.
"If you don't tell the truth, everyone in the Organization will receive this in three seconds~"
He's using that move?!
"Aren't you afraid of being seen too?"
"Whatever. That's Hailey Grace. What does she have to do with me, Kaiser?"
Gin gritted his teeth. "I truly think you're..." a bastard.
"Don't worry, I have backups." Gojo waved the phone, counting down: "Three, two..."
"...I truly think you're exceptionally good-looking."
Gin: I'm tired. Just let the world end.