n

n

n

n“Odaiba…”

nShishio might have heard of this place before, especially after receiving a “Business Mastery” in the past since this island was lucrative, but it was his first time coming to this artificial island.

nOdaiba was initially built in this area for defensive purposes in the 1850s. However, it was dramatically expanded during the late 20th century as a seaport district and had developed since the 1990s as a major commercial, residential, and leisure area.

nIt could be said that Odaiba was one of the most popular tourist attractions and date spots with a wide selection of shopping, dining, and leisure options.

nHowever, out of all the things that could be done in Odaiba, Shishio didn’t expect Mai to bring him to this place.

n“So onsen?” Shishio asked with a deadpan expression.

n“Yes.” Mai nodded while smiling, ignoring his deadpan expression, and said, “It’s good, right?”

n“I’m not saying it’s bad, but isn’t it a bit too lukewarm?” Shishio sighed while looking at his bare feet that dipped into the warm footbath before looking at Mai’s white and smooth bare feet.

nHer feet wrapped in the black stocking were divine, but her bare feet weren’t bad either.

nShishio thought inside his heart but never said it out loud.

n‘Still…’

n“What?” Mai noticed Shishio, who was staring at her legs, which somehow made her shy and blush, but at the same time, she was also proud that she could make this guy charmed.

n“That yukata suits you well,” Shishio praised as he stared at Mai, whose nape was shown when she tied her hair back since she wore a yukata on this hot spring theme park. Still, even if he stared at her, his eyes were gentlemanly, showing the appearance of an old scholar who researched an important text.

n“Right?” Mai nodded, showing a smug expression, but inwardly, she stared at Shishio since his appearance with a yukata was so handsome. However, she was too shy to say it. Still, she was glad that she came to this hot spring theme park on Monday since if they went during a weekend, without a doubt, there would be a lot of people who stared at him.

nWell, they would also stare at her.

nShishio rolled his eyes and then said, “Still, you can be seen by a lot of people before.”

nYes.

nMai wasn’t unnoticeable, but she was noticed when she walked despite wearing a cap. Luckily, no one seemed to recognize her since if so, then they might enter a gossip tabloid.

n“It’d be great if everyone could see me from now on,” Mai also said in relief since she was glad to be seen and not be invisible by the people around.

nShishio knew that Mai was contradictory. She wanted to go unnoticed since it tired her when a lot of people kept staring, pointing, taking a sneak picture, asking her, and a lot of more, considering her fame as an actress and all, but at the same time, she didn’t want to become unnoticed like her condition now.

nHowever, it was normal since whether it went unnoticed or noticed if it was too much, then it would cause trouble.

n“So we will play around till night?” Shishio asked.

n“You don’t want to?” Mai asked.

n“Well, my girlfriends might scold me later,” Shishio said since he was sure that they would be jealous of him who played in Odaiba, especially when he played with someone other than them.

nMai stared at Shishio as if she had found a scumbag and said, “To say, you have a girlfriend, even though you’re in the middle of a date with another girl… What a scumbag.”

n“…” Shishio’s lips twitched, and he asked, “So we’re having a date now?”

nMai blushed, but then she asked while staring at Shishio, “You don’t want to?”

n“I can have a date with Sakurajima Mai. If I say I hate it, then I might be cursed by all the male population in the entire country now,” Shishio said helplessly.

nMai’s mouth turned upturn before she looked at her feet, raising them up and down, causing the water to splash around. “Then you should make me happy now!”

n“I can give you a good date, but can you stop moving your feet around? You’re going to make my clothes wet. Also, if possible, why should we dip our feet in the footbath? We’re in the hot spring theme park, you know?” Shishio felt that there was something unfinished if they just spent their time in the footbath when they were in the hot spring theme park.

nIf he had to describe his feelings right now, it would be like when someone ate an instant noodle without the flavor packet. He could eat it without a problem, but it wasn’t delicious.

nMai squinted her eyes, then asked, “So what do you want to do?”

nShishio ignored her gaze and stared to hurt him and said, “Why don’t we dip into the bath?”

n“No.” Mai rejected without hesitation.

n“Why? I didn’t ask you to enter with me, you know?” Shishio said helplessly.

nMai’s cheeks were slightly red, but she kept rejecting Shishio’s plea. “No.” She shook her head and told Shishio her feat. “What happens if my problem relapses?” This was what she feared the most, and it was the reason why she just dipped her feet on the footbath instead of entering the hot spring bath when they were in the hot spring theme park. She might be seen by someone now, but what if she couldn’t be seen again when they parted ways to enter the bath?

nMai might be embarrassed to say it from her mouth, but she felt secure beside Shishio, and she didn’t want to part from him since right now, she believed that he was the only person who could see her.

nShishio also knew what Mai was worried about at that moment, so he would make a compromise. He sighed and said, “Then why don’t we enter together in the private bath? That way, you don’t need to worry that your condition might relapse since I can be with you all the time.”

n“In your dream!” Mai snorted and wanted to smack Shishio, who could say such an absurd thing with such an upright face.

n“Then I’ll sleep now so I can have a dream to take a bath with you.” Shishio wanted to close his eyes, but Mai pulled his ear, and at that moment, he knew that he couldn’t have such a nice dream. However, it didn’t matter since they might enter a bath together in the future.

nProbably.

n—

nAfter spending a few hours together at the hot spring theme park, Shishio and Mai walked around Odaiba, enjoying their time together. Still, he needed to tell his girlfriends what he was doing, considering he was going out with another girl right now.

nShishio knew that he had become a full-fledge scumbag, and frankly, being a scumbag was nice.

nMai didn’t bother Shishio when he talked with his girlfriends as she sat on the bench while staring at the sea, but her eyes kept darting toward Shishio, who seemed to coax his girlfriends. As she stared at him, she knew that she didn’t have a right to be unhappy since she was a third party. She disturbed Shishio’s relationship with his girlfriends, but she just felt unhappy right now and also felt sad and regretful at why she couldn’t meet him sooner. As she was in the middle of her thought, a sudden voice woke her up.

n“Sorry, should we go now?”

nMai looked at Shishio’s handsome features, and frankly, if he confessed to her right here and now, she might agree directly. However, he didn’t, so there was no need to have such an expectation.

n“Well, let’s go.” Mai nodded and asked, “Where do you want to go?”

n“I want to go to the Museum Maritime Science,” Shishio said.

n“You want to become a sailor?” Mai asked curiously.

n“Of course not.” Shishio shook his head without hesitation.

n“Then what do you want to be?” Mai asked.

n“Hmm… a driver.”

n“Driver? Like an F1 racer?” Mai asked curiously.

nShishio looked at Mai and felt that he shouldn’t say anything at this moment since what he wanted to drive wasn’t a vehicle. Instead, it was a human being and a female one at that. “We can talk about that slowly later. How about we go now since it is a bit hot.”

n“Agree.” Mai nodded without hesitation and continued their dates.

n—

nAs the sun glowed in orange color, Mai had a great time with her date with Shishio. Still, out of all the conversations that they had during their dates, she never asked him about his relationship with other girls since she didn’t like it, but at the same time, she also understood why there were many girls who could fall for him so helplessly.

nShishio had never complained about how troublesome Mai was and showed that he had a great time having a date with such a troublesome girl like Mai.

nAs they sat on the stairs while staring at the orange-colored sea, Mai asked, “Say.”

n“Hmm?”

n“Why do you help me? I’m such a troublesome girl, right?” Mai asked. She knew that she was troublesome when she asked this question, but she asked anyway.

n“Well, yeah, you’re a troublesome girl,” Shishio said flatly.

n“…..” Mai.

nMai looked at Shishio in disbelief, opened her mouth before she closed it again, and she did it several times, but then, she saw him turn toward her, showed his gentle smile, and said, “But I don’t hate such a troublesome girl.”

n“…”

nMai was glad that the sky was orange-colored now since this way, she could hide the blush on her face. She quickly looked away and hummed. “Is – is that so?”

n“Yes.” Shishio chuckled since Mai was so cute.

n“What do you chuckle for?” Mai was annoyed, trying to hide her embarrassment.

n“Nothing.” Shishio shook his head and said, “But you’re not falling for me, right?”

n“….”

nMai stared at Shishio and wanted to smack him at that moment.

n“I was joking. I was joking.” Shishio quickly said when he noticed Mai’s cold gaze on him, and said, “But who are we waiting for here?”

nMai knew that Shishio was trying to change the subject of their conversation, but she didn’t mind and said, “Well, my mother.” But then, she asked, “But you have realized that we’re waiting for someone?”

n“Well, it’s kind of obvious.” Shishio shrugged his shoulders and asked, “You want to tell your mother that you’re going to return to the show-biz?”

n“Yeah.” Mai nodded with a smile then turned toward Shishio. “After I come back to the show biz, we might not have much time to meet each other. Still, I have fun with you, Shishio.”

n“No problem, I also had a fun time with you.”

nAfter those words fell, they looked at each other since they knew that their chance to meet again might decrease after Mai returned to the show biz again, but even so, they wouldn’t forget this moment.

nAs the sound of the waves and the rustling sand were mixed, there was an ambiguous atmosphere between the two which made Mai’s slightly redden face become even redder, but she didn’t hate it, and at the same time, there was this anticipation that she felt inside her heart.

n“Mai.”

n“Ah, yes!” Mai wanted to curse herself when she answered Shishio with a slightly high voice. Her heart was beating so fast, and she was wondering whether it was too much if she directly accepted his confession, but then she felt that she might be too easy, so should she tell him to wait?

nMai’s brain was running so fast to the speed that she had never imagined in the past, but then, she might be overthinking since the sentence that came out from his mouth was…

n“Is that your mother?”

nHowever, Shishio didn’t confess to Mai but looked at the beautiful mature woman in a business suit that walked toward them. With his “Enhanced Vision,” he could tell the resemblance between Mai and this woman, and frankly, Mai’s mother was his type, but then he felt someone step on his foot.

nShishio looked at Mai helplessly and asked, “Why did you step on my foot?”

nMai only snorted and said, “Wait here, I’ll talk with my mother first.”

n“Then I’ll wait here.” Shishio also stood up and didn’t walk toward Mai’s mother since he was afraid that he might seduce Mai’s mother.

nMai also didn’t really want her mother to talk with Shishio, so she walked toward her mother and was about to say something when their distance was just a meter away, but then…

n“……….”

nShishio and Mai were in shock, and their eyes were wide open when Mai’s mother walked, passing Mai directly.

nMai’s mother then stopped in front of Shishio, looking at him from up and down, nodding in satisfaction, and slight blush on her cheeks. “Are you the one who called me out? Do you want to enter my agency?”

n“……….”

n

n

n“………”

n