Paper-Thin Disguise

Chapter 4: Denial Doesn't Suit You

Eisuke barely got a wink of sleep that night.

He couldn't stop his mind from imagining the worst-case scenarios. She was sick, possibly writhing in pure agony all alone, and he was nowhere near her. Despite his esteemed position, he wasn't free to do whatever he wanted. Damn social protocols.

At the very least, Kenzaki had given her the goods. He was able to help her, if only a little bit—

For a moment, he laughed at his own unexpected concern for her. He already knew there was something brewing within him, but he didn't think he was already this far gone. Strangely enough, what bothered him the most about the whole thing was the fact that he wasn't bothered at all.

Looks like medicine won't cure whatever the hell's going on with me...

"Huh, that's strange. I don't see Koro here today," Ota curiously piped up, expecting his usual penthouse accommodation from her.

He made sure she didn't show up at the penthouse today. He specifically ordered Kenzaki to let her stay home on sick leave. Even if he was going to have to settle for third-rate coffee the whole day, at least she'd get better, Eisuke thought. God knows what would happen if the other guys ordered her around in that state.

"She's on sick leave, so don't bother looking for her," Eisuke pointed out. There was an unspoken 'don't even think about calling her up here' masked in his flat tone.

"I guess even the kid can get sick. She should just sleep the whole day," Mamoru commented while yawning.

"Poor thing. She's probably all by herself, too." Baba shook his head sympathetically. "Oh, maybe I can visit her later!"

Eisuke had to control his rapidly rising homicidal urges. These days, he felt like Baba had a personal vendetta against him. Otherwise, he wouldn't feel unusually annoyed at the thief every time her name was brought up.

"No, you won't visit her," Eisuke warned. "All she has is a fever. She'll be fine after resting for a day. This is a hotel, not a hospital." Says me when I'm the one who wants to see her the most.

"I'm not going to cause her any trouble or anything." Baba raised his arms in surrender. "I just feel bad for overworking her all the time. I was going to give her some food and other things."

"Or you might just make a move on her while she's clearly incapacitated," Soryu added.

"Hey! Don't tell me that's the kind of guy you think I am, Sor!" The thief exaggeratedly held his hat to his chest, as if in actual pain. Soryu only shrugged in return.

As precarious as Baba's reputation was, Eisuke knew that Baba wouldn't actually do anything dangerous to her. He didn't want to admit it out loud, but Baba was an honorable person, despite his playful antics. He was, perhaps, the most decent guy in the group.

That was probably why Eisuke didn't want Baba to see her.

"Anyway, Boss. I'll go check on her later. Unless... you want to come, too?" There was a teasing edge in his voice that only Eisuke could hear.

The thief's sharpness came up at the worst possible time. How the hell did he—

"Of course not. There's no reason for me to personally check on her. She's my employee and I'm her superior. It'd be downright weird." In truth, he knew that if he actually visited her, she'd most likely be unsettled by his presence. While it was true that she was warming up to 'Keisuke', the same couldn't be said for himself—his actualself.