Many of the delinquent girls who followed Rika Kawasaki privately felt that their Leader had a deep-seated repulsion toward men.
Some even speculated that she might actually be more interested in women.
After all, in the years they had spent running with Rika, they had never seen a single man by her side, not even a flirtatious interest.
Occasionally, some delinquent boys—either ignorant of the risks or overconfident in their own looks—would attempt to approach the famous “Big Sister” with arrogant charm, essentially offering themselves up.
Without exception, they were all driven back by Rika Kawasaki’s cold, sharp gaze.
Over time, the label of “man-hater” became faintly linked to Rika’s image in their minds.
Perhaps even Rika herself had more or less agreed with this view.
After all, whether it was her dissolute father, who never knew who would be in his bed from one day to the next, or the street-dwelling delinquent boys she dealt with daily, they all seemed the same.
In her eyes, they were often consumed by crude desires, appearing both physically and spiritually filthy and nauseating.
The image of these men acted like muddy paint, layering over her perception of “men” as a group, forming an extremely negative stereotype.
That was until a man named Kaoru Hoshitani burst into her world like a beautiful, fragile accident.
His completely different purity, submissiveness, and beauty were like a blinding light, instantly tearing a hole in her solidified, gray perception.
He overturned her imagination of what a man could be, but only in the sense that her mind crudely and simply re-categorized the vast label of “men” into two groups: one was Kaoru Hoshitani, and the other was every other man in the world.
At this moment, Haruto Yuki—the delinquent boy half-kneeling by the living room sofa she sat on, holding a beer bottle with a fawning, desire-filled smile—clearly did not belong to the former.
He was a member of the “others” through and through.
Earlier that afternoon, Rika Kawasaki had fully experienced the exquisite, addictive touch and reactions of Kaoru Hoshitani.
Seeing this Haruto Yuki with his clouded eyes and sycophantic posture made the comparison immediate.
Kaoru’s clean, soft, and shy beauty shone in her mind like a polished gemstone, brilliant and dazzling.
This intense contrast did not improve her view of “other men.”
Instead, it deepened her irritation and impatience, as if she had just finished a top-tier delicacy only to be force-fed spoiled food.
Her face remained dark, devoid of warmth like a frozen lake.
She spared Haruto Yuki only a single glance before turning away in disgust, her cold voice squeezing through her teeth with unmistakable rejection.
“Get lost.”
Haruto Yuki had seen that tone of ultimate impatience before, as well as that look that treated him like roadside trash—or something even more loathsome than trash.
He had seen Rika use that same attitude and language to dismiss other men who were foolish enough to approach her.
Back then, he thought such a woman was cool and special, entirely unlike the delinquent girls who were easily seduced by or entangled with men.
That was one of the reasons he secretly admired her and felt she was different.
But he never imagined that on the day he finally gathered the courage to show his affection, he would be treated the same way.
That icy “Get lost” was like an invisible slap across the face, stinging with a burning heat.
The smile on his face froze. His hand, warm from the alcohol, stopped mid-air, caught in a deadlock.
A shameful flush spread rapidly from the base of his neck to the back of his ears.
“Hey! Didn’t you hear the Leader tell you to beat it?”
Several delinquent girls, who had been hiding far away for fear of incurring their Leader’s wrath, rushed over the moment they saw Rika was clearly angry.
They grabbed Haruto Yuki’s arms, dragging and pulling him away from the sofa while hurling insults.
“You piece of trash. Why don’t you go take a look in a mirror? Thinking you could catch our Leader’s eye? You’re just a toad lusting after swan meat—no self-awareness at all!”
Haruto Yuki was dragged away, stumbling backward.
His ears were filled with the girls’ mocking laughter, his face turning various shades of red and white before finally settling into a gray, defeated slump.
Originally, this group of delinquent girls had planned to find another place to stay the night to avoid disturbing their Leader, who was clearly in a foul mood and drinking alone.
They could tell that Rika Kawasaki’s energy had been incredibly low since she returned that afternoon.
She radiated an aura that warned everyone to stay away, sitting in a corner and draining one bottle after another, staring blankly at nothing.
But now, thanks to Haruto Yuki’s interruption, Rika seemed to lose even her last bit of interest in drinking.
She tossed the half-empty bottle onto the dirty carpet and rubbed her aching temples.
She scanned the room and beckoned to a junior member who hadn’t been drinking and looked relatively sober.
“You,” she said, her voice slightly raspy from the alcohol. “You can drive, right? Take me over to the villa.”
She gave an address for a villa located in another district.
“Yes, Leader!” the junior member replied, nodding quickly. Not daring to ask questions, she ran to get the car keys.
About 30 minutes later, the car stopped at a more secluded, high-end villa district with strict security.
Rika Kawasaki pushed the car door open, her steps slightly unsteady and staggering due to the alcohol.
The night wind blew against her heated face, bringing a hint of coolness, but it couldn’t blow away the irritation in her heart.
She refused the junior member’s help and swayed into the villa alone. The heavy solid wood door closed behind her with a dull thud.
She didn’t turn on many lights, relying instead on memory and her familiarity with the space.
Grabbing the cold stairwell railing, she climbed to the second floor step by step.
Her footsteps echoed in the empty villa, making the silence feel even more lonely.
Pushing open the heavy door to the master bedroom, she reached out and flicked on the overhead light.
The piercing light instantly illuminated the mess of the room—the tossed-aside bedding, the clothes discarded randomly on the expensive carpet.
The air seemed to hold a faint, lingering scent of something sweet and intimate that hadn’t fully dissipated, mixed with the cool notes of high-end bath products.
Every scene from that afternoon—the intense entanglement, the hot breaths, the feeling of skin against skin, and the man’s final broken gaze and that weak slap—rushed back into her mind like a tide, terrifyingly clear because of the familiar environment.
Yet, it all felt like a brief, illusory dream.
The man who had made her experience an indescribable flutter and satisfaction for the first time—the one who made her feel the world might have different “colors”—was no longer in this room.
All that remained was a post-revelry emptiness and a cold silence, mocking her.
A deeper sense of irritation and a strange feeling of void gripped her. Rika Kawasaki haphazardly pulled off her T-shirt and pants, kicking them aside without a care.
Carrying the scent of alcohol, she lay down directly on the wide bed, which was still in total disarray and might even have remnants of moisture.
The high-end mattress felt cold to the touch, but when she buried her face in the pillow, a very faint, clean, and soft fragrance belonging to Kaoru Hoshitani lingered at the tip of her nose.
This tiny hint of scent was like a feather, gently scratching at her chaotic emotions. She closed her eyes as the alcohol and exhaustion washed over her, dragging her into a dim, blurry dream.
At the edge of that dream, a thin, blurry figure seemed to linger, refusing to leave.
And at this very moment, the little man who was disturbing her mind—who had made her experience frustration and resentment for the first time in her life—was being held tightly in the arms of his gentle girlfriend.
In that small but warm apartment, he was sinking into a sleep that might not be stable, but at least offered something to lean on…
——
“Kaoru, did you have fun today?”
Aina Saiten turned her head, her eyes curving into crescents as she looked at her boyfriend sitting by the glass window of the Ferris wheel cabin.
Her voice was full of tenderness and anticipation.
The glow of the setting sun filtered through the clean glass, framing the exquisite profile of his face with a warm golden light, making even the tiny hairs on his skin clearly visible.
Today, she had taken advantage of a hard-won day off.
She had carefully planned everything and brought Kaoru to Disneyland, a place she had long looked forward to visiting.
Honestly, this was the first time the two of them had come here since they started their relationship.
When she was a child, Aina hadn’t actually watched many Disney movies, so she didn’t have a special obsession with the “Fairytale Kingdom” itself.
But she knew that deep down, Kaoru held onto soft, romantic fantasies, and she thought this would be a place he would love.
Sure enough, Kaoru’s eyes had lit up the moment they entered the park.
He wore a cute Mickey Mouse headband they had bought, holding the Polaroid camera she had prepared in advance.
Excited as a child, he took photo after photo in front of the castle and beside the lifelike character statues.
His smile was bright and pure, temporarily dispelling the unease that had been lingering in Aina’s heart lately.
Even though Aina stayed by his side the entire time, holding his hand tightly, Kaoru’s exceptionally striking—even dreamlike—beauty still attracted the attention of many passersby.
Many people mistook him for a carefully costumed NPC or an idol filming a photo shoot, approaching them cautiously to ask for a picture.
Whenever that happened, Aina would immediately step forward, politely but firmly declining.
After playing until evening, Aina followed her pre-made plan and led Kaoru by the hand onto the giant Ferris wheel.
The cabin rose slowly, and the lights of the park below flickered on one by one, intertwining with the brilliant sunset in the sky to create a dreamlike landscape.
Aina slowly, and with a bit of shyness, leaned closer to her boyfriend who was looking at the scenery through the window.
“Mhm, I was very happy today, Aina.”
Hearing her, Kaoru turned around to meet his girlfriend’s gaze. The golden light of the sunset fell into his clear eyes, creating gentle ripples.
A bright, cloudless smile bloomed on his face as he nodded vigorously. His voice was light. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
The two of them were no longer the shy, green couple they had been at the start of their relationship, when even holding hands required gathering courage.
Seeing his girlfriend slightly pursing her lips, her gaze landing on his mouth, and seeing her nervously swallowing, Kaoru understood her intent and curved his lips.
His body trembled slightly, and then he proactively closed his eyes. He tilted his chin up a bit, offering his beautifully shaped lips with total trust and tenderness.
Just as their cabin reached the highest point of the Ferris wheel, the sky outside burned with the most magnificent shades of orange-red and purple-pink.
The couple, who had known each other for over ten years and been in love for five, shared a soft, lingering kiss amidst the glowing sunset that felt close enough to touch.