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"So, Mr. Yoshida got dumped? How pitiful."
Sitting across from Yoshida, Sayu took a sip of the miso soup she had made and spoke softly, with an air of feigned indifference.
No, even if it really has nothing to do with her... first Hashimoto, and now this. Is this the normal reaction people have when they hear someone got their heart broken?
"You don't think I'm pitiful at all, do you?"
Yoshida felt a twinge of regret for being so honest about his experiences from yesterday to a high school girl so much younger than him.
"I do, I do! I get it—getting dumped hurts. Although, I've never been dumped myself."
"Is that so?"
So, this brat didn't run away because of a heartbreak then. Yoshida picked up his bowl and took another sip of the soup. This was already his third bowl; he had to admit, Sayu's cooking was genuinely excellent.
"Sigh..."
Yoshida let out an involuntary sigh. If he had a choice, he actually would have preferred to drink Ms. Goto's miso soup, even if her cooking was worse.
"Ah, you were thinking about Ms. Goto again just now, weren't you?"
"...No."
She saw right through me. Were his thoughts really that easy to read? Yoshida looked away, avoiding Sayu's smiling face, feeling an inexplicable sensation in his chest—somewhere between annoyance and an itch.
"Hey, Mr. Yoshida."
"Whoa, what?!"
Sayu suddenly whispered in his ear, making Yoshida jump. Before he knew it, the girl's pure, youthful face was inches away, slowly drawing closer.
"Let me comfort you~"
Sayu's faint, barely audible breaths were incredibly seductive. If he were to push her down, her moans would surely be even more intoxicating.
"I told you, stop saying things like that."
Nevertheless, Yoshida gently pushed Sayu back.
"Hmph, you're so dishonest."
Sayu pouted, her eyes drifting momentarily toward the obvious "tent" that had risen between Yoshida's legs.
"Idiot. I'm not so miserable that I need a petite JK like you to comfort me."
At those words, Sayu tilted her head and slowly unbuttoned her jacket, letting it hang halfway off her arms.
"My chest is actually pretty big, you know?"
As she said this, she used her hands to cup her breasts and thrust them forward. Even through her shirt, those massive curves asserted a powerful presence.
"Y-Yeah, for your age, they might be huge... but they're still nowhere near Ms. Goto's!"
Yoshida felt like if he admitted Sayu's were big, he'd lose—though what exactly he was losing, even he didn't know.
"I see. So, what cup size is she?"
Sayu chuckled and relaxed her posture, asking with an innocent face.
"I'm not sure, probably an F..."
Using his peripheral vision, Yoshida compared Sayu to his memory of Ms. Goto. While Ms. Goto was definitely larger, eye-balling cup sizes was a skill far beyond his capability. In any case, an F was surely considered big.
"I'm an F too."
"What?! You're an F-cup!"
"Mm-hm. If she looks a lot bigger than me, she's at least an H."
An H-cup... an H-cup, huh...
The terminology usually reserved for AV covers left Yoshida a bit frazzled. Damn it, just once, I want to be sandwiched by an H-cup... I won't say where.
"However," Sayu spoke up.
"An F-cup right in front of you that you can touch is better than an H-cup you can't reach, right?"
Sayu once again cupped her chest and thrust it forward as if marketing her own body, though the tilt of her head added a touch of cuteness.
"Sigh, I'm telling you... aren't you afraid I'll actually push you down?"
Yoshida let out a long, helpless sigh.
"Eh, not really. You're actually a handsome guy, Mr. Yoshida. I don't dislike you."
Perhaps tired of holding her chest, Sayu lowered her hands and toyed with her long, slender fingers.
"On the other hand, Mr. Yoshida..." Sayu frowned. "There's a girl right in front of you telling you that you can have her. Why don't you do it?"
"...Huh?"
Yoshida let out a sound from his throat that was half-sigh, half-question.
"What's with that face? You're the one who isn't normal, Mr. Yoshida. Among all the people who have taken me in until now, there hasn't been a single one who didn't ask for anything in return."
"..."
Yoshida was momentarily struck dumb by her words. He had assumed this was just a brief runaway phase common to many high schoolers, but the way she spoke made it sound like she had been drifting for a long time.
"Are you an idiot? Show me your student ID!"
Yoshida moved his chair to sit directly in front of Sayu, speaking in a stern tone. Sayu's expression stiffened, but she pulled a folding wallet from her skirt pocket, took out her ID, and handed it over.
"Asa—Asahikawa?!"
Yoshida was stunned. The card read: Asahikawa Sixth High School, 2nd Year – Sayu Ogiwara.
"You came all the way from Hokkaido? By yourself?"
"Yeah..."
"When did you leave Hokkaido?"
"About... six months ago."
She hasn't been home for six months? Yoshida lived and worked in the heart of Tokyo. For a high schooler to make it here from Hokkaido alone was an incredible distance.
"Did you tell your parents?"
"No."
"You idiot, then you should hurry up and—"
Yoshida stopped mid-sentence. In front of him, the usually smiling Sayu was staring out the window with hollow, empty eyes.
"They'd be happier if I weren't around anyway. It's fine."
"...Since you don't plan on going home and you have no money, what do you plan to do from now on?"
It seemed Sayu's runaway wasn't just a minor spat with her parents. Yoshida decided he would look into missing person reports later; she might think he was being underhanded, but that was the "correct" way for an adult to handle this.
"Find a place to stay, and then..."
Sayu frowned, looking distressed. Up until now, she had used all her energy just finding a place to sleep; she had no capacity to think about the future.
"If I kicked you out, what would you do next?"
Looking at her lost and helpless state, Yoshida felt a mix of anger and pity.
"I'd... I'd find a way to get the next place to stay."
"Find a way? Specifically how?"
"...By sleeping with someone."
"You idiot!"
"Why do you keep calling me an idiot?"
"Because you are an idiot! You're a kid who doesn't even know her own worth!"
Sayu couldn't help but shoot a secret glare at Yoshida. To him, the girl's "bristling kitten" look was much better than her half-dead expression from a moment ago. She was doing something no different from compensated dating, yet she was in such a dire state. If she were just a typical delinquent, Yoshida wouldn't be this angry.
"Listen, find a way to get a job," Yoshida said bluntly.
"A job?"
"That's right. Even a brat who quit school can support themselves by working."
"But, part-time money isn't enough for rent..." Sayu said in a weak voice, her previous composure completely gone.
She was right. The cost of living in Tokyo was incredibly high. Someone who lacked parental support and couldn't even return to their hometown would eventually just vanish into the shadows of society.
"You can just stay here."
"Eh?"
"I said, you can stay here."
Hearing those words, Sayu's eyes widened in disbelief.
"But I can't give you anything, Mr. Yoshida."
"You'll be able to earn money through honest work eventually, right? Then just consider it a debt. For now, I'm leaving all the housework to you. Get yourself together, find a job, and once your life is back on track, find a way to pay me back slowly."
Yoshida tried his best to imitate a harsh supervisor at his office. Sayu looked at him as if she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.
"The way you say that... it sounds like I can stay here forever," she finally said after a pause.
"It would be very inconvenient for me if you stayed forever. Leave as soon as you can support yourself."
"I-I understand..."
For some reason, Sayu avoided his gaze.
Yoshida let out a long breath. He wasn't some moral saint; if a casual fling presented itself, he wouldn't refuse. But deceiving a naive girl in exchange for a place to stay crossed his line. He really hated the bastards who did that.
He picked up the miso soup and took another sip. Even though it had cooled down, it was still delicious. Honestly, this cooking skill alone was worth the rent—at least, that's what Yoshida thought.
"Ah, right." Yoshida suddenly looked straight at Sayu.
"W-what?" Sayu, who had been peeking at him, looked away like a startled fawn.
"If you try to seduce me again like that, I'll kick you out immediately!"
"I won't do it again..."
And so, the strange cohabitation of a 26-year-old salaryman and a runaway high school girl began.