"Kin-chan!"
She took two quick steps, circled in front of him, and pointed at the photo booth.
"Hey, Kin-chan."
"Hmm?"
"Let's go take some photos!"
Shioyaki Lemon's eyes were sparkling, her tone full of anticipation. "Look, we both caught these, it feels like they're a matching set! It would be such a waste if we didn't take a photo together to commemorate it, right?"
After saying that, she deliberately held up the Shiba Inu plushie in her arms and placed it side-by-side with the one in Imaizumi Keita's hand.
The two Shiba Inus, slightly different in color, had their heads leaning together, looking somewhat like a "couples' set."
However, Shioyaki Lemon's thought was probably just that they were lucky to catch two matching plushies...
Imaizumi Keita's gaze lingered on the two plushies for a moment before falling back onto Shioyaki Lemon's face.
To be honest, he didn't have much interest in an activity as girly as taking photo booth stickers.
Whether in his past life or the current one, this wasn't an entertainment project he would actively choose.
However, looking at Shioyaki Lemon's eager expression of "it's a rare opportunity, it'd be a waste not to go," he couldn't bring himself to refuse for a moment.
Forget it.
Since they were free anyway, he'd just treat it as accompanying Yakishio to change her mood.
Besides, he was the one who had proactively asked Yakishio out to the Arcade...
Since it was a date he initiated, no matter how difficult the request, he had to do his best to fulfill it...
This was one of the qualities Imaizumi had to possess to become a Scumbag...
"Let's go."
Imaizumi Keita nodded, accepting the proposal.
"Oh yeah!"
Receiving an affirmative answer, Shioyaki Lemon immediately let out a cheer, grabbed Imaizumi Keita's wrist, and ran toward the shop.
The space inside the shop wasn't large; the pink walls were covered with various cute decorations and sample photos.
Several different models of photo booths were lined up, and the air was filled with a faint, ambiguous fragrance.
Shioyaki Lemon walked to a machine and inserted coins, then was the first to duck into the small space partitioned by curtains.
Imaizumi Keita, holding a plushie, stood outside waiting like a supporting tool.
Inside the curtain, a series of "click-click" shutter sounds soon rang out, along with Shioyaki Lemon's energetic self-talk.
"Okay! First one, imitate the Shiba Inu's expression! Woof!"
"Second one, a cooler feeling..."
"Next one, let's use the plushie to cover half my face!"
Imaizumi Keita leaned against the machine's casing, listening to the sounds coming from inside, the corners of his mouth uncontrollably curling upward.
Yakishio really is full of energy no matter what she does.
He felt that just by seeing her like that, his own spirit would unconsciously become more vibrant...
After taking photos for a while, the curtain was pulled open with a "swish."
Shioyaki Lemon poked half her head out, saw Imaizumi Keita standing outside looking at the ceiling, and grabbed his arm to pull him in.
"Kin-chan! Why didn't you come in with me! It's too boring to take them alone!"
"I..."
"Stop talking!"
Shioyaki Lemon didn't give him a chance to refuse; she pushed Imaizumi Keita onto the stool in front of the lens, then pressed close to him to help adjust the plushie's position.
"Here, Kin-chan, you have to hold it like this."
Yakishio demonstrated how to hold the plushie for Imaizumi, then leaned close to him and looked at the camera with a smile.
In the narrow space, the distance between the two was instantly pulled into a dangerous range.
Imaizumi Keita could clearly smell the refreshing scent of a summer athletic girl on her, and he could also feel the warm touch from her shoulder.
Shioyaki Lemon is a completely different type of girl from Yanami Anna...
This thought flashed through Imaizumi Keita's mind.
"Alright! Are you ready? The countdown is about to start!"
Shioyaki Lemon's voice pulled his thoughts back.
He turned his head and saw that a countdown had already appeared on the electronic screen.
"Three, two, one!"
Accompanied by a "click," the screen froze on their first photo together.
In the photo, Shioyaki Lemon was making a peace sign at the camera with a brilliant smile on her face.
Beside her, Imaizumi Keita had a dazed expression, clearly not having come to his senses yet.
"No, no! Kin-chan, you're being way too uncooperative!"
Shioyaki Lemon immediately complained dissatisfiedly, nudging Imaizumi's arm with her elbow.
"Move a bit closer to my side! Yes, just like that!"
As she directed him, she adjusted their poses, her body unconsciously leaning toward him.
"Next one, let's copy this movement!"
She pointed to a recommended couple's pose on the screen and then naturally brought her cheek close to Imaizumi Keita's side profile.
"Click."
The photo froze.
Imaizumi Keita looked at the overly intimate photo on the screen, and a strange feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.
This... no matter how you look at it, it looks like they're taking couples' photos, right?
They struck several poses in a row, from initially standing side-by-side making funny faces to cheeks being close together, and finally, Shioyaki Lemon even gently rested her chin on his shoulder, giving a mischievous smirk to the camera as if a prank had succeeded.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Rexlent
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"