— — — — — —
Without a doubt, this morning had been an incredibly satisfying one for Oikawa Toru.
Sometimes, if you want to know whether a melon is ripe, knocking on it won't tell you much. The only real way is to cut it open.
Well... Oikawa could say they were definitely good melons as he tasted them.
But that was as far as things had gone.
Oikawa had hoped to take things a little further, but Utaha had resisted surprisingly fiercely this time, leaving him with no choice but to back off.
It wasn't like he was trying to push all the way. He'd only wanted her to make use of her cute, helpful little mouth. Was that really so much to ask?
Well... Progress was still progress. At this rate, Oikawa figured that after meeting two or three more times, he'd be able to break through the last of Utaha's emotional defenses.
If you wanted to undo a girl's clothes, you had to win her heart first.
...
When Oikawa stepped out of the bathroom, he found Utaha sitting quietly on the sofa with her head lowered.
She couldn't quite bring herself to look at him. Her lips were lightly bitten together, making her look both embarrassed and pitiful.
"Come on," Oikawa said after getting dressed. "Let's go have breakfast."
He took her hand and led her out of the hotel.
For quite a while, she simply walked beside him with her head lowered, obediently letting him guide her through the streets.
Only after some time did the color slowly return to her face, giving her the courage to look up at him.
With a guilty, almost pleading expression, she whispered, "Oikawa-senpai... it's not that I don't want... that... with you. I just... need a little more time, okay?"
Oikawa blinked in surprise.
He'd thought she'd stayed quiet because he'd pushed her too far and upset her. Turns out, she'd been worrying about this the whole time.
"It's okay." He intertwined their fingers. "I don't mind waiting a little longer."
Today had been planned for ages, and he intended to enjoy every minute of it with her.
"Mhm." Utaha smiled again.
Hand in hand, they wandered through the streets of Tokyo like a couple straight out of a romance novel, drawing envious glances from passersby.
They called it breakfast, but by the time they left the hotel, it was already close to noon.
After taking the subway, they arrived at the ramen shop where they'd first met.
Back then, Oikawa had no idea that the girl sitting across from him was the infamous online troll Utako Kasumi, who had been making his life miserable online.
Fate really was impossible to explain.
And just as before, Oikawa ordered tonkotsu ramen, while Utaha chose chashu ramen.
The place was just as delicious as they remembered.
Before leaving, they even took a photo together and asked the owner to hang it on the restaurant's photo wall.
A playboy really shouldn't leave evidence behind. But after remembering how much he'd teased Utaha that morning, Oikawa couldn't bring himself to refuse her request.
Sometimes he genuinely felt he wasn't cut out to be a proper heartbreaker.
...
When it came time to pay, Oikawa naturally reached for his wallet. But Utaha immediately stopped him.
"No." She refused no matter what he said, puffing out her chest proudly. "I'm a rich girl now. Once we're married, you'll stay home and take care of me every day. I'll be the one supporting you."
Oikawa couldn't help laughing.
"So how much was it?" he asked.
"2,600 yen."
Oikawa looked disappointed. "That's cheap. I thought it'd be over four thousand."
"No way." She rolled her eyes. "Unless you're secretly a pig."
As they strolled through Chiyoda, Utaha suddenly stopped and turned to face him. "Oikawa-senpai."
She looked unusually serious. "When you get married someday... will you hand all your money over to your wife?"
"Of course." He answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Liar." She shot him a suspicious look. "You answered way too fast. You're obviously just saying what I want to hear."
"Then ask me again." Oikawa looked at her seriously this time.
She folded her arms. "Fine. After you're married, would you, Oikawa Toru, secretly keep a private stash of money behind your wife's back?"
Oikawa squeezed her hand and smiled, "Why would I? Mrs. Oikawa is far too smart for that. I'll hand all my money over to her."
"Don't you dare take it back later." Utaha suddenly held up her phone. The recording app was still running.
With a sly grin, she declared, "Mrs. Oikawa recorded every word you just said. If you ever go back on it, I'll use it against you."
"Mrs. Oikawa is pretty devious." Oikawa pretended to think deeply before sighing dramatically. "In that case, I'd better create a few secret identities in the future. Otherwise, no matter how much I earn, Mrs. Oikawa will confiscate everything."
"Nope!" Utaha immediately objected.
"Well..." Oikawa flashed her a teasing grin. "That depends on whether Mrs. Oikawa can keep hold of my heart."
With that, he took off running.
Utaha puffed out her cheeks and chased after him.
...
..
Tokyo was beautiful that day.
A little cold, sure, but Oikawa couldn't have been happier. The sky was a brilliant blue, dotted with white clouds. And unlike Chiba, the wind was gentle. Hand in hand, the two wandered through Tokyo's streets and back alleys at an unhurried pace.
Utaha held a tiny red flower in her hand, smiling from ear to ear.
Oikawa had picked it from the roadside and given it to her just a few minutes earlier.
"Oikawa-senpai, what kind of flower is this?" She lifted it to her nose and took a sniff.
It wasn't particularly beautiful, but because it was the first flower Oikawa had ever given her, it instantly became priceless in her eyes.
"I think... maybe it's a peony?"
"It's pretty." She tucked the little flower into her hair, then looked at him with sparkling eyes. "Do I look pretty?"
"You've always been pretty." He meant every word. In his eyes, Utaha had always been beautiful.
"Mhm." She curved her lips into a satisfied smile. "I think so too."
Her smile was lovelier than the flower itself.
Tokyo's scenery was certainly beautiful. But what captivated her even more was simply being here with Oikawa.
Whenever she thought back on the time they'd spent together, every worry in her heart seemed to melt away. The exhaustion that came from endlessly wrestling with story ideas disappeared without a trace.
She wanted to tell the whole world. 'Oikawa Toru belongs to me.'
If she could, she'd put a tag on him so every other girl would know to stay away.
Her love was selfish.
Utaha closed her eyes and continued walking while holding Oikawa's hand.
She could feel him carefully guiding her every step, shielding her from obstacles as though he were an umbrella keeping every storm at bay.
'If only moments like this could last forever...'
The thought quietly bloomed inside her.
Opening her eyes again, she looked at him expectantly. "Oikawa-senpai... will you go to university in Tokyo?"
"Do you want me to?" he asked instead.
"Mhm." Utaha gently nodded.
"Then I will." He gently patted her head. "I promise. When the time comes, we'll see each other every single day."
"Mhm." A soft smile spread across her face. "Every single day."
On that chilly winter afternoon, beneath the shade of a large tree, the two of them made a promise.
Then, without caring about the curious glances from people passing by, they wrapped each other in a tight embrace, sealing that promise.
...
..
After lunch, Oikawa and Utaha returned to the same haunted house where they'd shared their first kiss.
Only this time, the attraction's theme had changed.
Instead of "Vengeful Spirits," it was now "The Undead Samurai."
It was similar to the haunted house Oikawa had visited during the Kyoto school trip, though nowhere near as frightening.
Even so... Utaha still kept her eyes tightly shut almost the entire way through.
Her courage hadn't improved nearly as much as she'd hoped. And by the time they came out, she'd run around so much that her long hair was a complete mess.
Oikawa ducked into a nearby shop and bought a decorative hairpin. Standing behind her, he gently ran his fingers through her hair before gathering it together and carefully tying it back.
The intimacy of the gesture made Utaha's neck gradually flush pink.
"Were you always this good at tying girls' hair?" she asked suspiciously. "You've done this before, haven't you?"
"This is my first time." Oikawa smiled. "I just watched a bunch of tutorials online because I wanted to be the one to tie your hair."
"Yeah, right..." Utaha's cheeks burned crimson.
She stood there stiffly, unsure what to do as his fingers brushed gently through her hair.
She couldn't help feeling like she'd become an awfully shameless girl.
People were walking by, watching them. Yet she hadn't stopped him from doing something so intimate.
Just like earlier beneath the tree, she'd never once wanted to push him away when he'd kissed her.
"Why would I lie to you?" He finished securing her hair before smiling softly. "You really are the first girl whose hair I've ever tied."
Utaha's face grew even redder.
After a long silence, she finally whispered, "I'm happy."
Then she looked at him with unusual seriousness. "From now on... Every one of your firsts has to be saved for me. Got it?"
"...Okay." Oikawa agreed with a smile.
Inside, though, all he could do was laugh bitterly. 'Makoto... looks like I'll be joining you soon, mate.'
Utaha, of course, had no idea.
She was overjoyed. Looking at her newly tied hair in the mirror, her eyes curved into happy crescents.
Her first kiss. Her first time holding hands. The first time a boy had tied her hair. And so many other firsts...
Every one of them had been with Oikawa.
"Oikawa-senpai..." She turned to meet his gaze. "I love you."
Oikawa looked back at her, "...I love you too."
For just a moment, he felt a pang of guilt toward the girl standing before him.
But that was simply the kind of man he was. A hopeless playboy.
He had seriously considered changing, focusing only on Kawasaki. But he just couldn't do it. He couldn't bear to break Utaha's heart, and he couldn't deny that he wanted them both. In the end, he accepted that part of himself and decided to make it work.
He already had a plan.
.
.
.
AN: No need to worry, everyone. This story has a happy ending... technically.