"I think this jacket would look really good on you."
One hand still holding Megumi's, Mio used her free hand to pull a jacket off the rack.
She wasn't just making things up, either. Tired of always needing someone else's opinion whenever she bought clothes, Mio had picked up a bunch of fashion magazines to study. She probably still couldn't compete with someone like Yui or Yumiko when it came to styling, but she was leagues better than the clueless disaster she used to be.
Megumi took the jacket and gave it a once-over. It actually did look pretty nice, and the price was within her budget.
She slipped off her current jacket and started trying on the one Mio had picked for her.
Mio took the opportunity to fuss over the jacket—straightening the collar here, smoothing a crease there—all to maintain physical contact. Breaking contact even once meant she'd need to hold on for another five straight minutes before she could let go again. Way too painful.
Unless absolutely necessary, her hands were staying on Megumi.
Why did this feel like she'd turned into some kind of perverted stalker-girl?
Megumi examined herself in the mirror while asking: "Shirai-san, may I ask why your hand is still on me while I'm trying on clothes?"
"Force of habit, maybe?" Mio blinked, once again choosing to play dumb and hope cuteness would bail her out.
"Most people need twenty-one days to form a habit. You managed it in a few dozen minutes, Shirai-san? That's truly impressive."
If it had been any guy pulling this, Megumi wouldn't have hesitated to assume he was trying to cop a feel.
But this was Mio. If Mio had actually wanted to take advantage of her, she would've been way more forward about it. Instead, her hands stayed firmly in safe territory—either holding Megumi's hand or resting on her shoulder. Not a single boundary crossed. She'd just relocate and keep her hand there.
Was there some special meaning behind this?
Megumi couldn't figure it out.
This was just trying on jackets. If she needed to try on something that required a fitting room, was Mio going to follow her in there too?
Whatever she was imagining made a subtle, unreadable look flash across Megumi's eyes.
As it turned out, Mio felt she'd actually gotten lucky today. Because of the weekend crowds plus the mall's sale event, the fitting rooms were perpetually occupied, with a line of people waiting outside each one.
So Megumi was limited to trying on outerwear—things that didn't require a fitting room.
Otherwise, Mio genuinely wouldn't have known what to do.
The jacket Mio had picked was pretty nice, but Megumi didn't buy it right away. Instead, she kept pulling Mio from store to store.
She was the type to browse through all her regular shops before making any decisions.
After hitting several stores, Megumi noticed something. So far, it had been entirely one-sided—she'd been the only one looking at clothes. At most, Mio would help pick things out for her, but Mio hadn't once picked anything out for herself.
It was like the entire purpose of this shopping trip was simply to spend time together.
After a moment's hesitation, Megumi asked with genuine curiosity: "Aren't you going to try any of the new arrivals, Shirai-san? I'm sure a lot of them would suit you."
Mio's first instinct was to say she didn't need to, but then she realized—if she said that, what excuse would she have for being at the mall at all?
"I'm not in a rush. It's way too crowded right now—you can't even get into a fitting room. Most clothes you really need to try on to know if they fit, so I figured I'd wait until the afternoon when it thins out."
The physical contact task only lasted until noon. Once that was done, she'd have way more freedom to move around.
While the two of them were chatting, on the other side of the same floor, Yumiko was browsing a different clothing store with Hayama.
Standing in front of a rack of clothes, a thought drifted unbidden into Yumiko's mind: Would Mio look good in this?
The second that thought formed, she instinctively covered her eyes.
She was supposed to be on a one-on-one outing with Hayama right now. What she should be doing was asking Hayama whether this outfit looked good on her—not daydreaming about how it would look on Mio.
Before leaving the house today, she'd resolved to take this date seriously and stop letting her mind wander.
And she had gotten herself into the right headspace—right up until she'd run into Mio while waiting for Hayama.
That single encounter had completely torpedoed all her mental prep.
Earlier, Mio and Megumi had been heading toward the shopping center too. Would she run into Mio here?
Noticing Yumiko's odd behavior, Hayama asked with concern: "Yumiko, are you okay?"
"I—I'm fine. Maybe I just didn't sleep well last night. My eyes are a little sore." Yumiko forced a laugh, then pulled a random outfit off the rack. "Anyway, let me go try this on real quick."
And with that, she bolted for the fitting room line.
Safely hidden among the queue, Yumiko finally let out a quiet breath of relief. That's when she realized she'd completely forgotten to ask Hayama for his opinion.
In the past, a slip-up like that would've left her absolutely kicking herself. But now? She just sighed softly. No particular emotional turbulence whatsoever.
She hadn't even noticed the change in herself.
While waiting in line, Yumiko tried once again to reset her thoughts and seal away the name "Shirai Mio."
And that's when she faintly caught the sound of Mio's familiar voice. She turned—and there was Mio, walking into the store with Megumi, chatting and laughing.
Her eyes immediately zeroed in on Mio's arm linked with Megumi's.
That gesture was anything but unfamiliar to Yumiko. Just yesterday, Mio had walked around like that with her all day long.
But that was only because Mio had been playing the role of her girlfriend. So what about now? Was Mio playing Katou's girlfriend too?
No, no, no. She was overthinking it. Maybe they were just close friends. You could see plenty of girls walking arm-in-arm on the street.
For reasons she couldn't quite name, Yumiko suddenly felt a surge of panic.
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