The café buzzed with light chatter and soft jazz, but Yuuki only heard his own heartbeat.It thudded louder with every second he sat across from Arisa.
"So," she said, folding her hands with the kind of grace that felt like a movie scene. "Why'd you rent me?"
Yuuki blinked. "Isn't that, like… private?"
Arisa tilted her head, smiling. "It is. But if you want your full hour to actually feel meaningful, we need to skip the surface-level stuff."
She was way too good at this.
"I guess…" he mumbled, swirling his untouched iced latte. "I got ghosted by someone I really liked."
"Ah. Senpai?"Yuuki froze.She read him like a damn book.
"I can smell unresolved feelings," she winked.
He didn't respond. Couldn't.Because the ghost of Minami-senpai's smile was already creeping into his head again.
"That's the thing about people," Arisa leaned forward, lowering her voice. "They make promises they never intend to keep. But me?"She tapped the table."I'm part of a contract. I show up. I listen. I care—for a price."
"And what if…" Yuuki whispered, "I want more than that?"
Silence.
Then—
"That," she said, "was not part of the package deal."
But she didn't leave.She just stared at him longer than she needed to.