Tokyo: Becoming the Perfect Male God Starting with a Rented Boyfriend.

Their relationship was purely financial. Naomi had always known this.

All financial transactions are governed by the rules of the app.

Naomi paid, and then Miyazawa Itsuki devoted his time and effort.

The two were not in a truly intimate relationship.

"Is there any difference between what I drew and what Naomi drew?" Miyazawa Itsuki sighed.

“If Naomi hadn’t picked out the manga for me, I wouldn’t have been so lucky to win the prize,” he said. “Besides, we’re a couple, so it’s perfectly normal for a boyfriend to give his girlfriend a gift.”

"..."

Naomi Asahina was speechless.

Even the counter staff and junior high school students watching nearby looked at them with envy.

"It's so sparkly..."

"Does Takanashi's boyfriend say such powerful things on dates?"

"How could that be... and he's not even that handsome."

All the onlookers were eagerly awaiting Naomi's reaction.

Is it being moved to tears, being so excited that you rush over, or engaging in sweet flirting?

Couples showing affection is common, but high-quality displays of affection like this are rare.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Naomi suddenly looked up and took Miyazawa Itsuki's hand.

"plz follow me."

Miyazawa Itsuki was pulled out of the pop-up store by her, and they quickly left the mall.

Nearby pedestrians turned their heads in surprise.

The girl's long golden hair swayed.

She was pulling at a handsome guy who seemed to be out of the loop, who was carrying several bags.

"May I ask where Naomi wants to take me?"

"I will pay for the extra time properly."

“It’s not about the money… I mean, if Naomi wants to take me somewhere quiet to talk, I know a few places.”

Naomi Asahina stopped in her tracks.

She released her grip on Miyazawa Itsuki's wrist and took a step back.

"I'm sorry, I was a bit rude."

Miyazawa Itsuki: "It's alright, in fact I should be the one apologizing. I might have been a bit presumptuous, taking it upon myself to give Naomi something..."

"no!"

"...?"

"It's not because Miyazawa-kun is going to give me a gift that I'm doing this... no, that's part of it too... Anyway, I'm happy that Miyazawa-kun is going to give me a gift, but..."

Naomi Asahina's face did not display her signature sunny smile.

"But I feel like I've been seen through." She gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Miyazawa Itsuki did not speak.

"...There's something I didn't want to say. I regretted it after I made plans to meet up with Miyazawa-kun, so I just wanted to have a casual date with a friend."

"But after seeing the gift Miyazawa-kun gave me, I suddenly felt that maybe it would be possible if it were Miyazawa-kun. After all, I don't have the courage to do something like that anymore."

Naomi sighed in an empty voice.

"Miyazawa-kun, would you like to hear my reasons?"

"My reason for booking a boyfriend for rent."

Chapter 8 Multiple Relationships

……

Accompanied by soothing classical music, Miyazawa Itsuki and Asahina Naomi sat down in a corner of the café.

This was the location chosen by Miyazawa Itsuki, who had frequented it many times as a rented boyfriend.

"The pancakes here are delicious, and they're made with calorie-free sugar, so you don't have to worry too much about gaining weight even if you eat them. Naomi can try them without worry."

Miyazawa Itsuki handed her the menu.

"Um……"

Asahina casually ordered pancakes and coffee, looking distracted, as if she was still struggling to find the right words.

Miyazawa Itsuki didn't rush them. Only after their coffee and snacks had been served and he was sure no one would disturb them did he slowly speak:

"So, what is it that Naomi wants to tell me? Can you tell me?"

Naomi Asahina hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice:

"Miyazawa-kun, do you have any very close friends?"

"Huh?" Miyazawa Itsuki didn't expect her first words to be like this.

"It's friendship, a friendship I want to maintain for a lifetime, a friendship I don't want to waver," Naomi quickly added.

The idea of ​​maintaining something for a lifetime is too heavy a burden.

However, if it's just a hope for a stable and long-lasting relationship.

"It happened before... I think."

Miyazawa Itsuki pondered for a second.

"It seems Miyazawa-kun understands me." Asahina Omi felt relieved.

She paused for a moment to think it over: "...It all started because I have a very important friend."

"My friend introduced me to a friend of a friend. We formed a group and often acted together."

Miyazawa Itsuki listened quietly.

"There is a boy in the group who is very outstanding. Most importantly, he takes good care of everyone, so he is implicitly the core of the group."

“That boy is very popular at school and often receives confessions of love. But he rejects them all.” Naomi gave a wry smile. “He told us it was because he already had someone he liked.”

"I originally thought that the person he liked was my best friend. After all, they had known each other for a long time. In other words, they were childhood sweethearts."

Miyazawa Itsuki paused slightly as he tapped the coffee cup with his fingertips.

"...and my good friend also had feelings for him."

After saying this, Asahina fell into a brief silence.

“Ah…I think I understand now.” Miyazawa Itsuki said carefully, “It turns out that Naomi discovered that the boy’s crush wasn’t your friend, but someone else.”

"In a worse scenario, the target is Naomi."

Naomi Asahina gave a helpless smile, which could be considered an admission.

Miyazawa Itsuki pressed his brow with a melancholy expression.

What a classic love triangle.

He loves her, she loves him, and she cares about her.

"May I ask a question?"

"Of course, since I was the one who asked Miyazawa-kun to listen to my troubles first."

"Does Naomi have feelings for that boy?"

Naomi Asahina shook her head decisively without giving it much thought.

"No."

It seems the arrow broke off at Naomi's point.

Miyazawa Itsuki took a sip of coffee and concluded:

"So, Naomi couldn't reciprocate the boy's feelings, and she didn't want to cause a breakup in the group because of her love life, so she thought of finding a rental boyfriend."

"I hope to use the fact that I have a boyfriend to make that guy back down."

“All correct.” Naomi smiled. “It’s really easy talking to the smart Miyazawa-kun.”

“But Naomi said before that you weren’t planning to tell me about this.”

"Because this plan was come up on the spur of the moment," Naomi said somewhat embarrassedly. "Thinking about it later, it's true that it's a bit too frivolous to have a stranger pretend to be your boyfriend just to reject someone you know."

Miyazawa looked at her but didn't say anything.

The girl looked displeased and said, "Don't let my appearance fool you, I've never actually been in a relationship before."

"She's never been in a relationship, so why would she need this kind of service? Naomi doesn't seem like the type who can't find a boyfriend."

Naomi Asahina said confidently:

"That's because... I've already paid the money, and 'renting a boyfriend' sounds pretty interesting, doesn't it? Since I've already paid the deposit, I might as well go for it and have some fun. I'll never have this experience again in my life."

She gathered the toy gift box in her arms and said with a smile, "And it was good that I kept my appointment, so I could meet Miyazawa-kun."

No, you just want to find a limited edition magic wand.

“So, the problem now is that Naomi wants to restart this plan,” Miyazawa Itsuki said, “which is to have me play the role of her boyfriend so that she can give up on the idea.”

"Yes!"

"...No need to be so imposing."

Naomi Asahina feigned ignorance.

Miyazawa Itsuki: "Do I need to ask one more question... Did that boy confess?"

"Not yet." Asahina hesitated for a moment. "The new semester starts after spring break. I was thinking that if we were separated into different classes, the problems might resolve themselves, but on the class list, we're all in the same class..."

With the new semester starting and classes being divided, it seems Naomi and he are actually the same age.

Miyazawa Itsuki suddenly remembered that he would also be facing a new class. The class assignment list had been posted before spring break, but he was too busy with his part-time job to check it.

But it doesn't matter, I don't know any friends at school anyway, so it's the same wherever I go.

"...And that boy's birthday is coming up soon. I have a feeling he might confess his feelings around that time. So, I hope Miyazawa-kun can come and help me on his birthday."

Naomi looked at him with pitiful eyes.

What is the date of your birthday?

"Next Thursday."

Miyazawa Itsuki frowned almost imperceptibly.

Thursday.

During his school years, he usually had other part-time jobs and did not work as a boyfriend rental agent.

"In principle, I only take orders on weekends..."

"Please, Miyazawa-kun!" Asahina hugged his hand tightly. "Please be lenient. Just come over for a little while after school, and I'll pay double!"

He had to admit that the offer of paying double did tempt him for a second.

Unfortunately, the firm has rules against negotiating prices privately.

"Let's waive the double fee," Miyazawa Itsuki considered for a moment. "I can try to free up some time, if it's not too long."

"Thank you so much! I knew Miyazawa-kun was a good person!"

Naomi Asahina was almost moved to tears.

……

The two discussed some details about playing boyfriend, then finished their coffee and snacks and left the cafe, thus ending their date.

Miyazawa Itsuki saw Naomi off at the station, and only after seeing the message from Naomi on LINE confirming that she had arrived home safely did he officially turn off his work phone.