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ONE NEW MESSAGE FROM: M'LADY
"WHENEVER YOU SEE THIS,
DON'T ASK ME WHY IT'S DOUBTED.
JUST TAKE IT WITH THAT SMILE.
PAYMENT: + ¥ 80,000
Again, Toji's stuck grimacing at his phone screen. It comes with a heavy sigh as he rests his throbbing temple along the tinted glass of the car window.
It's his typical trend to gasp, gawk, and mindlessly swipe at the screen whenever a payment from you enters his account but in a month's time, he's learned a valuable lesson.
Numbers don't lie and neither have you.
He's been under your care for a month, and not once have you failed to honor the haphazard agreement. In truth, Toji's managed to accumulate 250,000 yen in the short month with you. He's been thinking about it; He's saved himself from financial ruin with more money than he could've hoped for, so why not leave?
Yet, there's something worth more than all the money, all the wealth, and all the thoughts he's had recently.
And that could be found right next to him— you squinting into the small hand mirror carefully swiping on lipstick he knows he'll be dressed in once the night comes to its sinful close.
Would Toji say he's fallen for you?
No, he knew this wasn't love, not when he's being paid 80,000 yen to do something he would've done for free—should you have asked him with that smile he loves so much. It wasn't love but lately, Toji's had his hands full of acquainting himself with every curve, every etching, and every nerve found across your body. It wasn't love but Toji's been finding solace in waking up in your bed with you snuggled up in his arms.
It wasn't love, but right now Toji can't help but allow himself to get lost in your artistry.
Beautiful, that's the only word Toji can use when he's at a loss like this. His azure irises hinge on your precocious care for detail, watching as you softly trace the curves of your lips in red.
So slowly does that shade of rouge melt upon your lips, as if nothing else outside the backseat of this car speeding down the Tokyo interstate matters. So mindful not to miss the thinning corners of your mouth too, ensuring that your grace permeates every inch of your being.
Toji's thinking about what you'd possibly do once you drop the brush from the canvas, would you turn and grin at him out of that childish sense of accomplishment? Would you mark him with a kiss or two like you always do? Every artist signed their painting, and it's due to you that Toji can break into the world he's never known—or the world he barely escaped from.
Right now, he wouldn't mind donning an extra accessory for the night. Just to walk into the room with your lipstick as a badge of honor that shows everyone in that room who he belongs—
