“Oh! The sequel is coming out this time!”

    Minoru, lying in front of the monitor, was sitting and stuffing potato chips into his mouth. His eyes sparkled at the news of the release of the long-awaited sequel to the game series while watching the game company’s new release announcement video.

    Scouring through developers’ Twitter feeds and information boards, sustaining himself with occasional teaser videos and trailers of the new game, the announcement was like a refreshing rain in a drought for him.

    “But I’m broke…”

    His joy was short-lived as he realized he was barely managing meals now, waiting for next month’s living expenses to arrive. The trash bag in the corner of the room was filled with crumpled cup ramen containers, and the fridge contained only ketchup, mayonnaise, and two eggs. With about ten days left until the next month’s expenses arrived, all he had in his wallet were a couple of 1,000 yen bills and a few small coins.

    “I can’t ask for money just to buy a game… And I don’t want to work part-time either…”

    Turning his chair around and pondering, he knew that despite the excuses, he had already used them up, and they wouldn’t fly with his parents. He had been caught last month, so pushing it further would be risky.

    “Ugh, I don’t know…”

    He picked up his phone from the desk corner and opened the social media app. His timeline was filled with friends boasting about going out, great drawings, complaints, and more. Scrolling absentmindedly, a post seeking part-time work caught his eye.

    “Looking for someone to hang out, eat, and have fun together on weekends (Sat, Sun). Will pay well. DM for inquiries.”

    A single sentence made him hesitate. Getting paid to hang out and eat? Despite thinking it was still work in the end, in the face of his desire to play the game on release day, it was a meaningless dilemma.

    He tapped on the profile of the post and wrote a brief greeting, sending a message.

    “But what if it’s a scam or something? Ugh, maybe I should just forget it…”

    As he was about to type out a quitting message, his phone rang.

    “Ah…”

    Just as he was about to decline, a reply came. It included a date, time, and location. The date was two days later on Saturday, and the location was a shopping mall not far by subway.

    “I don’t know… But I need to play the game!”

    Finally deciding to go, he sent a reply and buried his face in the pillow. Unless one was foolish, no one would agree to meet someone without knowing who they were, especially for a game.

    “Let’s sneak a peek and run if things seem weird.”

    With that conclusion, he covered himself with the blanket and closed his eyes.

    The next day, he woke up with worry. Pushing aside thoughts of being kidnapped or sold for organs, he prepared to go out, trying to push those worries to the back of his mind.

    Even while waiting for the bus at the bus stop, all sorts of worst-case scenarios ran through his mind. Shaking one leg, he even started biting his nails, which he hadn’t done in ages. The bus arrived soon, and he sat down, taking out his phone and earphones from his pocket.

    Plugging the earphones into his left ear, he played some music. Band music filled his ears, and he closed his eyes. Although it didn’t matter much since my stop was coming soon, his body seemed to be trying to calm his mind in this way.

    “Sigh… I actually came…”

    I still can’t believe I’m here. Once I received the invitation to meet, I headed towards the shopping mall. The bars were preparing for the night’s business, and cafes and restaurants had a few people inside. As I walked aimlessly, a message came to her.

    “I’m standing in front of the main entrance of the building right now. I’m the one wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeans, and carrying a bag.”

    After reading the message, I quickened my pace. Soon, I spotted the shopping mall and found the person who matched the description in the message. Thankfully, he didn’t look menacing. She was quite tall, with a proportional figure.

    “Are you the person I messaged about yesterday?”

    “You really showed up! It was quite challenging since not many people showed up. They either said they couldn’t make it due to various reasons or didn’t reply.”

    She smiled widely and hugged me. I was taken aback and speechless. Being embraced like this was quite rare for me. She let go, and I felt dizzy.

    “S-so, what would you like to do?”

    Still somewhat flustered, I asked her. I hadn’t spent much time socializing with women, so I wasn’t sure what to do. I usually stayed home playing games and rarely went out.

    “Well… how about grabbing lunch first? I haven’t eaten yet.”

    Since I hadn’t eaten either, I agreed to her suggestion. The shopping mall was bustling with people on a weekend afternoon. We navigated through the crowd, took the escalator down to the food court, which was moderately empty due to avoiding the lunch rush. We walked around, chose our menu, and decided on tonkatsu.

    The waiter welcomed us and led us to a table. After skimming through the menu, I ordered the pork cutlet, while she chose the chicken cutlet. The waiter confirmed our order and disappeared into the restaurant.

    “I wanted to try this place. It has quite a few good reviews.”

    She filled a glass with water and handed it to me.

    “Oh, really? It’s my first time here too.”

    I smiled and took a sip of water, feeling its coolness in my throat. As we chatted, she asked for my name.

    “By the way, we don’t even know each other’s names. What’s your name?”

    “Oh, my name? It’s Minoru Tsunohara. And yours?”

    “I’m Mitsuki Shirasaka.”

    She replied with a slight smile. We gradually shared more about ourselves as we conversed. While engrossed in conversation, our food arrived.

    “Wow, looks delicious!”

    She took a picture of the tonkatsu with her phone. It’s a common action nowadays. Perhaps she’ll post this photo on social media.

    After finishing our meal, we visited a bookstore and a café. As we chatted in the café, the sun began to set. Glancing at my phone, I noticed it was just past 7 p.m.

    “It’s already 7 o’clock. Time flies.”

    I checked my messenger app on my phone. I started thinking about heading back; staying out late was getting tiring.

    “Yeah, time does fly. Do you have any plans after this?”

    She also checked her phone, moving her fingers around, perhaps checking something.

    “Oh, not really. Honestly, I don’t go out like this often, so I’m starting to feel a bit tired. Shall we call it a day?”

    I subtly expressed my desire to go home to her. I missed the gaming console at home. Although my time was occupied, she probably wouldn’t have liked being dragged around by me.

    “Oh… then how about taking a short break somewhere else? There are people in cafes…”

    She didn’t let me go. I wanted to quickly get paid and buy a new game to play at home. She and I got up from our seats and headed to the cafe.

    “But where do you mean by taking a break? This place is bustling with people…”

    “If we’re taking a break, where else would it be? A love hotel. It’s cheap, and there’s no one around.”

    She showed a peculiar smile different from before. Then, she grabbed my wrist firmly and tugged my arm slightly as if urging me to hurry.

    “Oh… that…”

    I tried to shake off her hand, but instead, I felt overwhelmed, and she was leading me towards the love hotel. As I was being pulled along, I couldn’t help but feel that my premonition was indeed correct.

    “Since I’m the one who bought you today, listen to me.”

    There was no sense of respect in her tone, not even a feeling of respect from the informal language used earlier. She forcibly brought me to the entrance of the love hotel, and I just cowered in the brightly lit lobby.

    “I’ve checked us in. Let’s go.”

    Looking at the key ring, she headed for the elevator. I followed her into the elevator, not even considering what might happen in the room.

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