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viii

"One more rep, Ai, you got this!"

Airi bent down once more to grab the loaded barbell in her hands, before slowly straightening up, her form perfect before she let the bar drop to the ground. "That's three hundred pounds for you," she said triumphantly, grabbing her towel from nearby and using it to wipe the sweat off of her forehead.

"Only three hundred, I'm not impressed. I do four hundred in my sleep, you sure you're actually fit?" Kaito shot back playfully, before letting out a chuckle when Airi slapped his arm, glaring up at him playfully.

"You're almost eighty pounds heavier than me, I would be worried if you weren't deadlifting that much," Airi replied, shaking her head at him disapprovingly before she took a sip from her water bottle. Kaito had already been working out when she had arrived, so it was to be expected that somehow their workouts would sync up.

Kaito rolled his eyes playfully as he started unloading the barbell for her, something that may have been a surprising gesture to anyone else, but was normal for them. They always did things like that for each other, it was just their dynamic.

"Well, you have fun here, but I have to go get changed for a Video interview. They want to talk to one of the sexiest bachelors in the world," he said cheekily, ignoring the playful swat that Airi gave him.

"If only those people knew you the way I do. After seeing you vomit and shit yourself at three in the morning, getting out of your Lamborghini, I am forever scarred," Airi shot back with a snicker. She had seen him at the worst points of his life, but it was only fair that he had seen her at the worst points of her own as well.

"It was food poisoning! You can't blame me for getting food poisoning. You're such a bully," he huffed, straightening up and flicking her forehead before he grabbed his own things. "See you later, Ai," he called over his shoulder, glancing back at her with a small smile before he made his way out of their gym.

Airi smiled as she watched him leave, before she put her earbuds in to get back to her workout. She had just about finished when she heard the door to the gym close, and she glanced up to see who was here. A smile immediately formed on her lips when she saw who it was, and she walked over to him happily.

"Jurou! I haven't seen you here before at this time, what are you doing here?" She questioned, her smile never fading as she gazed up at the handsome man.

"Well, I figured that I should get in an early workout since we're going out tonight. Your dad told me that you had a gym just for higher ups, so I figured that was worth checking out too. You guys have a nice setup here," he said appreciatively, glancing around at the state of the art equipment that surrounded them.

"As my father himself says, nothing but the best for the best," Airi said with a light laugh, silently thankful that she had wiped the majority of the sweat off of her face.

Jurou smiled down at her before his facial expression became a bit more somber, and he cleared his throat lightly. "Listen, Airi...I saw Kaito a bit earlier and said hello, so we talked a bit. I know you and him are best friends, but he really had some not so nice things to say about you," he said, his tone somewhat gentler as he spoke.

Airi's eyes widened when she heard him, her smile slowly disappearing as she listened to Jurou. What would Kaito say that was bad about her? No, that didn't sound like him at all, right? Her best friend would never do that to her. Right?

"What did he say?"

"He basically told me to be careful because you have a reputation as...Well, a reputation for sleeping around with different guys. Said that you like to string them along and toy with their emotions, and that's why you can never keep a committed relationship," he said with a frown, a rather concerned look on his face as he watched her.