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But to say she was genuinely frustrated? Not really.
After all, the second Kai crossed her mind, the vivid memories of what happened in that dark movie theater violently resurfaced. His girlfriend had literally been sitting right next to him, and yet he still had the audacity to do that to her.
"Phew."
Just thinking about it made Utaha feel a sudden, undeniable rush of heat. She instinctively took a deep breath to steady herself.
Her eyes even misted over slightly. Even without looking in a mirror, Utaha knew she probably looked like an absolute, shameless pervert right now.
"Scumbag."
He clearly lusted after her, yet after they parted ways that day, he hadn't reached out to her a single time.
This only solidified Utaha's certainty: Kai was an unapologetic playboy.
And yet...
Against a scumbag like him, Utaha found herself with zero resistance.
"I refuse to believe you can hold back forever."
She might lose in other areas, but when it came to her undeniable physical charm, Utaha Kasumigaoka had never feared anyone.
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Meanwhile, on Kai's end.
When he finally arrived back at his apartment, he spotted Sonoko Machida standing outside his door, smoking a cigarette as she waited.
She was dressed in a sharp, professional office outfit that perfectly accentuated her excellent figure. She wore sheer black tights—nearly identical to Utaha Kasumigaoka's—and her short hair gave her a crisp, clean, and mature look.
Seeing Kai approach, she hurriedly stubbed out her cigarette.
"Kai-sensei!"
Pushing thirty, much like Shizuka Hiratsuka, Sonoko Machida was highly proficient in both chain-smoking and heavy drinking. Perhaps that was the exact reason she still couldn't find a boyfriend.
Her smile was noticeably stiff.
Being caught smoking by an underage high schooler was more than a little awkward.
"Just call me Kai."
Kai waved a hand dismissively, not bothered by it in the slightest.
After a brief greeting, he unlocked the door and stepped inside, gesturing for Machida to follow.
The apartment was currently empty. Sakiko Togawa wasn't around—after all, she had her part-time job to get to after school.
"Excuse the intrusion!"
"Do you live here all by yourself, Kai?" Following him inside, Machida curiously scanned the apartment. It was a small space, so she could basically take in the entire layout at a single glance.
However, compared to her own messy apartment, Kai's place was impeccably clean and organized—so much so that it actually made Machida feel a bit ashamed of herself.
"Yeah. My parents are out in the countryside. I moved to Tokyo by myself for high school."
"That's impressive!"
The image of a struggling, independent student working his way through school instantly formed in Machida's mind.
When she was his age, just keeping herself fed was a massive struggle. Comparing herself to him... well, comparison truly was the thief of joy.
"Take a seat, Machida-san. Can I get you anything to drink? Bottled water, soda, or beer?"
"I'll take a beer."
Sitting down on the sofa, Machida felt herself relaxing and answered reflexively.
But a second later, she realized the glaring issue.
"Wait, you actually have beer here?"
In Japan, the legal drinking age was twenty. Convenience stores absolutely wouldn't sell alcohol to a minor.
"Of course not. I was just joking. I didn't expect you to secretly be such a heavy drinker, Machida-san."
Kai shrugged. As he spoke, he set a can of soda down on the coffee table in front of her.
"..."
She was nearly a full decade older than him, yet somehow, she felt like he was the one completely controlling the pace and rhythm of their interaction.
"Ahem!"
Not only had he caught her smoking, but now he had completely exposed her private drinking habits too. Feeling like her professional image was entirely shattered, Machida honestly just wanted to throw in the towel.
"Let's just look at the manuscript first."
She hadn't forgotten her primary mission for coming here.
"Hold on a second."
Kai casually grabbed his laptop from the desk and handed it over.
"You can go ahead and read it."
Given how fast she had read the first volume, it was probably going to take her quite a while to get through this one.
"I'm going to start prepping dinner!"
"Mhm, mhm!"
Machida replied without even looking up. Her eyes were already glued to the screen. She was so entirely hyper-focused on the manuscript that she probably hadn't even registered a single word he just said.
————————————————————
Just as expected.
By the time Machida finally finished reading, the sky outside had already grown dark.
"Haa~"
She stood up and stretched her stiff joints.
"This is absolutely incredible!"
She had genuinely been terrified that a sequel written this fast would be a sloppy, rushed mess. But after reading it, those fears had completely evaporated into thin air. If anything, Machida was genuinely starting to question her own reality. Were all teenagers nowadays this absurdly talented?
It was completely unreasonable.
"How is it?" Kai asked casually as he walked over.
"It's phenomenal," Machida praised without a single ounce of hesitation. "The story flows perfectly, the pacing is incredible, and there isn't a single thing that needs to be altered. This is undeniably a masterpiece."
Completely unsurprised by her glowing review, Kai simply said:
"In that case, let's eat. It's getting pretty late."
"Wow, it really is late!"
Prompted by his words, Machida finally glanced at the time, shocked to realize she had been glued to the screen for hours.
"Um, I think I should probably..."
Staying for dinner at a young man's apartment made her feel slightly awkward.
However...
The moment she saw the mouth-watering spread laid out on the dining table, Machida had to admit: she was practically starving.
"D-Did you cook all of this?"
She didn't know how it tasted yet, but it looked absolutely restaurant-quality.
"Well, when you live alone, you have to pick up a few culinary skills."
In reality, Kai's original cooking skills had only been aggressively average. The only reason he could whip up a feast like this was because he had recently acquired a master culinary skill from one of the System's quest rewards.
"I already made plenty, so you might as well join me, Machida-san. Otherwise, it's just going to go to waste."
"W-Well, alright then!"
After all, wasting good food was practically a sin.
————————————————————
"Sigh! I'm so jealous of young people like you."
The atmosphere at the dinner table gradually warmed up and grew lively.
Sonoko Machida wasn't a dull or boring person—in fact, she was incredibly talkative. The conversation naturally flowed from the novel into their daily lives.
Perhaps she figured her professional image was already completely ruined in his eyes anyway, so she had nothing left to lose. The more she drank her soda and ate, the more her filter completely dropped.
"Just look at me. I've been out of college for years, and I'm still just a junior editor. A promotion feels like a total pipe dream, and I don't even have a boyfriend. Honestly, I feel like I'm going to end up a spinster for the rest of my life."
'Why is life so unfair? It's not like I'm ugly or anything. Why can't I find a decent guy?'
"I actually think you're incredibly charming, Machida-san."
Resting his chin on one hand, Kai looked across the table at Sonoko Machida and suddenly dropped a highly suggestive, meaningful line.
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