author's note: a scene here is heavily inspired by revy and rock's rela- tionship from black lagoon
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"I can get a girlfriend on my own," Keishin emphasizes.
"I told you, I don't need you to-" he complains over the phone, pressing down his cigarette on the ashtray.
"Yes, I'm sure!" he exclaims before hanging up. It's another old classmate offering to set him up on a date, which Keishin swore to never agree on. He doesn't think he needed any help finding a spouse, let alone a girlfriend.
The blonde lets out a sigh and lifts the invitation on the left side of the counter, deliberating if he should even go to his batch reunion tomorrow. Almost all his classmates were either married or already expecting kids. Not that he even cares but it's them who do.
He notices his phone buzz again on the table, and lazily raised it to check the notification. It's Takeda-sensei again and his usual invitation to make him coach. Keishin has plenty of time on his hands, but remains reluctant.
He unlocks his phone, only to delete the message. He switches apps and browses the internet, knowing there aren't customers in his convenience store right now anyway. And that's when he read an ad, as an idea comes to him like a sudden lightbulb. Rent a girlfriend.
It's silly, Keishin knows that well, but the thought of his classmates teasing him about his love life, and his parents nagging him about marriage, makes him have second thoughts about rejecting this idea. It might not be so bad after all, and he could give it a shot with the lady wearing a cute summer dress in the ad.
Keishin, still with an ounce of reluctance, taps on the ad and waits for the site to completely load.
Girlfriend Rental! it says right in the middle of his screen. He scrolls down, trying to look for the doe-eyed miss. After a few scrolls and taps, he finally finds the one who caught his eye. Good marketing there, Keishin thought.
Naoko Hitomi, the blonde reads before tapping on her picture. Her doe-eyes harmonized well with her nicely shaped lips, and Keishin was a little struck by it, even. But it was to be expected, it was a business that ran on looks, afterall.
He jots down the number of the company, as well as her name and age. She was 24, just two years younger than him. No creepy age gap, check.
The very next day, Keishin rethinks about his decision for the last time before pressing the call button, the number typed on the screen. "Ah, fuck it," he remarks before thoughtlessly tapping on it.
He presses the phone against his left ear, waiting for the company to answer. "Hello, thank you for calling Girlfriend Rental!" a woman speaks.
"Ah, um, Girlfriend Rental?" Keishin says, "I'd like to avail your rental services?" he continues, a little unsure of how to say it.
