Chapter 142: The Reincarnation of the Walnut-Hammer Monster

After enough playful teasing, Shesun reluctantly let go of Yukie Nakama. Looking at her disheveled hair and the soft, rosy flush dusting her cheeks, he smiled proudly and with a deep sense of satisfaction, much like an artist who had just completed a masterpiece.

When romping and playing around with Yukie Nakama like this, he could feel a vibrant, youthful energy radiating from her. It was a completely different sensation from being with Ayako Fuji.

Ayako Fuji brought him a precious sense of deep peace, yet when he was with her, Shesun often found himself overcome by a feeling of having no desires left to fulfill. For two people whose bond was initially forged by desire, such a sentiment might sound rather strange, but it was precisely the truth.

When he was with Yukie Nakama, however, it felt as though the girl's vitality was being infused directly into his own body, making his heartbeat grow noticeably stronger and more vigorous. Although what connected the two of them was not raw desire, Shesun nonetheless found himself yearning for a multitude of things, brimming with curiosity about the unknown.

He felt just like a genuine twenty-year-old youth.

...

However, compared to him, who was smiling so happily, his "masterpiece" was not feeling happy at all.

Having finally broken free from his clutches, Yukie Nakama raised both hands to smooth down her ruffled hair, caught in that delicate state between shyness and lingering anger. Glancing up, she happened to catch the deeply irritating smile plastered across Shesun’s face.

"Hmph..." The girl's emotional gauge began to skyrocket. At the exact moment it reached its limit, she lunged at Shesun like an eager little cat baring its claws to leap over an obstacle, and with a soft yet solid thud, her forehead bumped squarely against his.

"..."

Clutching his forehead, Shesun wore a conflicted expression. "Hey, Yukie, are you perhaps the reincarnation of a walnut-cracking mallet turned spirit?" How else could she pack such an impressive wallop when bonking someone on the head?

Hearing this, Yukie Nakama broke into a bright smile. It was hard to tell whether the smile was sparked by Shesun’s nonsensical remark or by the small victory of successfully "disciplining" him.

The two of them, having been entirely absorbed in their playful antics, finally remembered that the actual purpose of the evening was to eat dinner. Returning to the table, Shesun took a bite of a fried prawn tempura and suddenly let out a light laugh.

"Is something the matter?" Yukie Nakama tasted a piece of tempura herself. "The texture seems fine to me."

Shesun gently shook his head. "It's not about that. I was just thinking that, rather than holding onto a tiny bit of jealousy, you should probably be thanking Ms. Takeuchi and this single."

"Huh?" Yukie Nakama lowered her chopsticks and looked at him in puzzlement.

"Think about it," Shesun raised his right index finger, wearing an earnest expression. "If not for that tiny flicker of jealousy you felt toward Ms. Takeuchi, none of the subsequent events would have happened. And if not for that, the two of us wouldn't be sitting here eating dinner alone together right now, would we?"

"I suppose that's true..."

"So, you really don't need to feel unhappy about it." Out of habit, Shesun reached out to stroke her hair. Yukie Nakama instinctively shrank back, but she couldn't evade him entirely. With his fingertips gently brushing through her smooth locks, Shesun continued softly, "Because, although Ms. Takeuchi was the one holding the apple, you were actually the one who took a bite out of it."

Had she not lived through these events, she would never have recognized her own feelings, nor would her heart have awakened to love for the very first time. In that sense, this single was just like the forbidden apple that awakened the consciousness of Adam and Eve. If they hadn't gone through all of this, perhaps their relationship would have simply continued along its steady course until that unspoken affection slowly faded away.

And now, everything was vastly different, all because of this seemingly trivial matter.

...

After finishing dinner, the two of them—having snuck out on a secret date behind their respective managers' backs—stepped out of the Japanese restaurant in Shinbashi together. From there, they headed to Shinbashi Station and boarded the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line bound for Shibuya.

Since they missed the rush hour of the white-collar workers, the train car was only about a third full. Shesun had made a slight disguise: besides covering the lower half of his face with a disposable medical mask, he also wore a pair of bulky, thick-framed black non-prescription glasses, the exact style Takuya Kimura wore in *Asunaro Hakusho*.

Japanese people in daily life seemed somewhat averse to wearing glasses; consequently, nearsighted individuals mostly switched to contact lenses once they left the office or school and headed out for a night on the town. Perhaps due to this psychological blind spot, the moment Shesun put on those glasses, his presence dropped to absolute zero. Not a single person bothered to glance twice at his face.

Yukie Nakama didn't need to go to such lengths; she merely wore a disposable mask.

If she hadn't wanted to match Shesun's outfit, she probably wouldn't have bothered with a mask at all. Yet, if two people walked side by side—one completely concealed while the other went entirely bare-faced—it would look far too uncoordinated.

Even though Shesun always found it hard to resist teasing her like a small animal whenever they were completely alone, inside the train car, the two of them maintained a very polite and respectful distance from each other.

He had heard others mention before that Japanese society was exceptionally sensitive to relationships between opposite sexes.

The most direct manifestation of this was among entertainers: if a male and female celebrity dated or married, unless they were an established duo or belonged to the same talent agency, management companies would almost invariably issue an unspoken ban on them appearing in the same projects together. This was out of fear that audiences would read too much into their joint appearances, thereby negatively impacting their careers and public perception.

Although Yukie Nakama was still a complete unknown at this point, it was precisely for that reason that Shesun felt compelled to protect her by every means possible, keeping their relationship far away from the glare of the cameras. For a singer like Shesun, who carried almost no idol baggage, as long as he wasn't hit with scandals like cheating or dallying with married women, virtually no one cared about his personal life.

For Yukie Nakama, however, who had just stepped foot into the industry, a scandal involving him would undoubtedly skyrocket her fame, instantly making her name known across all of Japan.

Yet the consequence would likely be being indefinitely shelved by her talent agency, cutting short her newly budding acting career. For a newcomer, especially a female newcomer, scandals were fatal. In the eyes of talent agencies, a scandal was synonymous with major trouble.

He had plucked a flower a little too early; therefore, to prevent it from withering and fading, he had no choice but to devote all his strength to cherishing and protecting her.

...

Alighting at Shibuya Station, Shesun—who lived in Setagaya—and Yukie Nakama—who lived in Meguro—bade each other farewell.

Yukie Nakama’s eyes held a hint of lingering reluctance. "How should I put it... time really flew by so fast."

"It truly did," Shesun agreed.

"So, the night will pass by quickly too, and we'll be able to see each other again right away, right?"

Shesun nodded. "Yes. Well then... good night."

"Good night, Big Brother Shesun." Yukie Nakama gestured toward the childish cross-body bag she was wearing, inside of which rested the single Shesun had given her. "I'm going to listen to it over and over again."

"Let's get this straight, don't you dare call me on the phone just to make me listen along with you," Shesun said with a smile, gently teasing her about the habit she had formed of calling him on the broadcast days whenever she knew he was scheduled to appear on a show.

Yukie Nakama stuck out her tip of her tongue at him in a playful little grimace.