Knock knock—
A small tapping on the window rang out inside the car. Ren looked curiously outside at the bob-cut girl tapping on his window and lowered the glass.
"Hello, I am very sorry to disturb you."
Seeing the window of the luxury car lower, the girl bowed directly and apologized politely before stating her purpose.
"Handsome, I was wondering if you could let my boyfriend take a photo next to your sports car?"
"He really loves sports cars and has been staring at this one the whole time. But he's too shy to ask, so I sent him away to buy milk tea so I could ask myself."
"I can pay! Is 7,426 yen okay?"
After saying this, the girl pointed to her boyfriend, whose back was turned as he stood at a milk tea shop buying drinks. Ren remained silent at her request, as did Yukino in the passenger seat.
"I'm sorry for disturbing you."
Seeing that Ren didn't speak, the girl, thinking she had been rejected, bowed again and prepared to leave.
"You didn't disturb me. What I meant was... do you both want to come inside and take photos?" Ren said, coming back to his senses.
"C... can we?"
Mid-bow, the girl snapped her head up, a look of utter disbelief on her face. Even if she didn't know the exact price of the car, she knew from its appearance that it was worth a fortune. She had expected that with the money she offered, she'd be lucky to even get a cold look while taking a photo from the outside.
"Of course. Please step back a bit; I'm going to open the door."
The girl was standing too close; Ren had to remind her.
"Oh, oh!" Head spinning with happiness, the girl dazedly took a step back.
"Yukinoshita, I'll have to trouble you to step out of the car for a moment then."
"Alright."
Yukino didn't refuse; on the contrary, she was full of curiosity toward the bob-cut girl.
While Ren was still chatting with the girl, the milk tea shop employee finished the drinks and handed the two cups to the boyfriend, Haruto.
"Thank you."
Taking the tea, Haruto turned to look for his girlfriend. But what he saw... his girlfriend was chatting with the owner of the luxury car he had been staring at. He wasn't blinded by anger; just as he was about to go over and ask what was happening, his girlfriend turned and waved at him, shouting loudly.
"Haruto-kun, come over here! This handsome guy agreed to let us take photos! Come and try it!"
Ren also stepped out of the car, standing by the roadside and waving a greeting to Haruto.
"Haruto-kun, like this, yes! That's the pose! So cool!"
"Change poses, do it again!"
"Momoka-chan, you too! Look at the camera!"
With Ren's permission, the young couple sat in the car happily taking photos, occasionally critiquing each other's poses. Ren stood to the side, drinking the lemon tea Haruto had bought for him, a "doting elder" smile on his face. Yukino held a cup of milk tea, taking small sips from the one already opened, also watching everything happening in the car.
The photo session ended quickly. The girl, Momoka, tried to transfer money to Ren after coming out, but Ren smiled and pushed her phone away. He sat back into the car, opened the glove compartment, took out two red strings, and tied them around the wrists of the couple.
"In my hometown, wearing a red string is a prayer for the gods to protect oneself and one's family with peace and health. It's also a sincere blessing for couples, wishing them a hundred years of harmony."
Seeing the couple's confused looks, Ren smiled and explained the tradition.
"I see! Thank you, handsome!" Momoka looked at the red string on her wrist, stars in her eyes. Seeing her dull boyfriend staring blankly at the identical string on his wrist, Momoka gave him a light kick.
"brother, thank you," Haruto said, snapped awake by the kick. He hurriedly thanked Ren. Everything that happened tonight felt like a dream. Even if his girlfriend couldn't recognize Ren's car, how could he not? It was precisely because he recognized it that he knew just how lucky he was.
"Don't mention it. Go have fun, but remember to go home early." Ren offered a teasing reminder.
The dull Haruto didn't react much, but the sharp-minded Momoka understood Ren's metaphor and her face turned bright red.
"Momoka, for you." Yukino walked up to the girl and handed her the milk tea with extra toppings that Haruto had originally bought for her.
"Eh, I can't take this." Momoka stepped back, waving her hands frantically in refusal. She and her boyfriend had already taken a huge advantage of Ren and Yukino today; there was no way she could keep accepting their kindness.
"I already have a cup. If I have any more, I'll get fat." Yukino shook her other cup of milk tea, offering a convenient excuse.
"Thank you!" Only then did Momoka take the milk tea and start drinking it happily, occasionally giving her boyfriend a sip.
Later—
"Thank you, thank you."
"You're welcome. I wish you both happiness."
"Mhm, we definitely will be!"
The black-haired girl with a bob cut pulled her boyfriend along, bowing repeatedly to Ren and thanking him. Whenever Ren tried to stop one of them, as soon as he let go of the other's arm, they would immediately start bowing again. There was simply no stopping them.
"If you keep this up, I'm actually going to get angry."
Ren was clearly the benefactor in this situation, yet he used a threatening tone to "threaten" the young couple. It was only because of this threat that the couple finally stopped their endless bowing. Their hands—with the red strings Ren had tied around their wrists—were clasped together as they bid him farewell.
"We wish you and your girlfriend a long and happy life together too!"
Once they had put some distance between them, the boy—who had been somewhat dull and wooden throughout—turned back to offer a final blessing to Ren and Yukino before immediately pulling his girlfriend away at a gallop. The bob-cut girl smiled somewhat helplessly at Ren and then trotted away with her boyfriend.
"Quite cute, actually."
Watching their retreating figures about to vanish, Ren didn't even bother to correct them.
Yukino Yukinoshita watched the happy couple leave, feeling something stir deep within her. The opportunity was fleeting; in the end, Yukino still failed to grasp that elusive feeling. Shifting her gaze to Ren, she became increasingly curious about what kind of contradictory entity he truly was.
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