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Hearing this, Yui Yuigahama didn't harbor the slightest suspicion. Instead, she said with a look of pure innocence, "So you were just faking it! You're amazing, Yumiko. I couldn't tell at all."
"..."
If it had been anyone other than Yui Yuigahama saying that, Yumiko Miura would have genuinely thought they were mocking her to her face.
"Ahem!"
Clearing her throat, Yumiko decisively changed the subject. "Enough about me. Let's talk about you."
"Me?" Yui looked bewildered. What was there to talk about regarding her?
Yumiko first glanced back at Kai, who was trailing behind them with a relaxed, carefree expression. Then, she leaned in close to Yui and whispered, "How are things between you and Kai lately?"
"W-What do you mean, 'how are things'?"
Not expecting Yumiko to ask something so direct, Yui lowered her head in embarrassment, stammering as she struggled to find an answer.
"I mean, is he bullying you? Is he treating you poorly or anything? Let me tell you, when you're dating someone, you absolutely cannot spoil your boyfriend too much, got it?"
Yumiko pressed on, looking incredibly anxious.
'If your relationship is too perfect, doesn't that mean I've completely lost my chance?'
"No, no!"
With Yui's gentle personality, there was no way she would say anything bad about him. She frantically shook her head.
"Don't misunderstand, Yumiko. Kai-kun treats me very well. We're getting along great."
She genuinely believed Yumiko was just being a fiercely protective best friend, ready to stand up for her.
Furthermore...
Yui truly did think Kai was wonderful. It was just that whenever they were alone together, he would always intentionally or unintentionally take advantage of the situation to cop a feel.
Even though it made her incredibly shy and flustered every single time... deep down, Yui actually really loved that feeling.
"Is that so."
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"You're heading back already?"
After shopping for nearly two hours, Kai prepared to head home first so he could make it to his scheduled meetup with Sonoko Machida.
However.
Hearing Kai say he was leaving, Yumiko couldn't help but speak up. "The sun hasn't even set yet. I really don't know what you're in such a rush to get back for. Aren't you done with your part-time jobs?"
'I was actually hoping we could all grab dinner together later.' But Yumiko was far too proud and embarrassed to say that out loud.
Yui didn't say a word, but the gaze she directed at Kai clearly harbored a deep reluctance to see him go.
Smiling, Kai reached out and affectionately rubbed Yui's head. He spoke in a casual tone.
"I'm not working part-time anymore, but that doesn't mean I don't need to make money. Do you think I'm a wealthy heiress like you?"
Even though Yumiko didn't hail from some elite aristocratic family, her parents held excellent corporate jobs and pulled in high salaries. Calling her a wealthy young lady wasn't entirely inaccurate.
"Make money? You're going back at this hour to make money?"
Who knows what wild, illicit scenario suddenly popped into her head, but Yumiko's eyes blew wide open, staring at Kai in disbelief.
"What are you imagining now?"
Kai reached out in exasperation and flicked Yumiko lightly on the forehead.
"I didn't tell you guys before because I was worried there might be some complications, but there's no harm in telling you now. I recently wrote a light novel, and the sales are actually doing pretty well. At the very least, my current living expenses are completely covered."
What an absolutely perfect excuse.
"A light novel?"
In Japan's societal climate, light novels were heavily associated with otaku culture. Simply reading them often slapped you with a negative "Otaku" label, automatically equating you with stereotypes like being a NEET or a slob.
However, writing a successful light novel was a vastly different story—that garnered a significant amount of respect.
"Has it been published?"
"Of course. How else would I be making money off it?"
"That's good, then."
Yumiko couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Regardless of whether it was a light novel or not, being a published author with good sales officially made him a literary professional. His social standing would instantly skyrocket.
"Honestly, keeping something like that a secret from us... you're such a terrible friend."
"Who knew if it was actually going to turn out well back then?" He shrugged.
In reality, he had purely forgotten to mention it, and when he remembered later, he was simply too lazy to bring it up. It just happened to serve as the perfect excuse right now.
"Alright, fine. So what's the title of your book? I'll go buy a copy later and check it out!"
Since he had already spilled the beans, there was no point in hiding a simple book title. After giving them a brief rundown of the name, Kai said his goodbyes and left.
————————————————————
This time, Yumiko and Yui didn't press the issue any further. After all, Kai was heading back to take care of highly important business.
As for Yumiko...
Since it was still early, she dragged Yui straight to the nearest bookstore.
"I want to see exactly what kind of novel this guy can write."
'If the sales aren't doing that well, maybe I can buy a bunch of extra copies so that idiot can make a little more money.'
Compared to Yumiko, Yui's family background was much more ordinary. Still, she wanted to buy a few copies to wholeheartedly support her boyfriend.
"Huh? They're sold out?"
The very first bookstore they checked was cleared out.
"That's right! This book is incredibly popular right now. We just got a new shipment in this morning, and it sold out before noon. We're going to have to order another massive batch tonight."
"Is that so!"
Is it really that insanely popular? Refusing to believe it, Yumiko aggressively dragged Yui to several other stores. Finally, in a slightly more remote, quiet bookstore, they managed to track down a few remaining copies.
"This is all we have left."
Looking at the direction the clerk was pointing, there were only three or four copies sitting on the shelf. With a grand, sweeping wave of her hand, Yumiko declared, "I'll take them all."
"Yumiko, I..."
Yui, desperately wanting to buy one for herself, immediately tried to interject. But Yumiko bluntly cut her off.
"Don't worry about it. It's just a book. Consider it a gift from me, since I dragged you all over town for so long."
"..."
For some inexplicable reason, Yumiko's words felt completely wrong. If someone else heard that interaction, they would honestly assume Kai was Yumiko's boyfriend.
"Alright."
By the time Yui snapped out of her racing thoughts, Yumiko had already finished paying at the register. Left with no other choice, Yui simply nodded, forcefully suppressing the bizarre, uneasy emotion bubbling in her chest and convincing herself she was just overthinking things.
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