Mash-Up: Anything for Money

That movie ticket had been tucked right in the middle of the sketchbook by Hakuto.

And coincidentally, the illustration on that page was a fan art of the movie Your Name, with the ticket taped precisely between the two protagonists.

The date on the ticket was from July of that year, but Sayuri clearly remembered that this sketchbook had been gifted to Eriri by Hakuto around June.

"Which means... for over a month, Eriri didn't even make it halfway through this sketchbook..."

"No, wait—it's been over a year..."

The ticket was still taped in place, meaning Eriri hadn't even flipped halfway through the book for an entire year.

At this realization, Sayuri couldn't help but feel her daughter had gone too far. 

With a forced smile, she took the ticket, glanced at the candies and figurine beside it, hesitated for a moment, then threw the candies into the trash while keeping the figurine.

After all, while it was a heartfelt gift, the candies had expired long ago—there was no reason to keep them.

She also noticed that most of these gifts with hidden surprises were from the first year when Hakuto was giving presents to Eriri.

By the second year, they were gone—perhaps because he realized that, no matter how much effort he put into hiding surprises, Eriri wouldn't notice them anyway. 

So why even bother?

Thinking about this, Sayuri felt a deep pang of guilt. Without hesitation, she pulled out her phone and transferred a large sum of money to Hakuto.

"What am I doing? Paying off my daughter's debts as her mother?"

Afraid of being misunderstood, she quickly sent a message to clarify:

Sawamura Sayuri: Consider it compensation for the two years of your wasted youth.

Shiratori Hakuto: Thanks, Boss! (ღ♡‿♡ღ) Grovel, grovel!

Seeing that Hakuto had accepted the money, Sayuri nodded in satisfaction, then placed the washed plush bear on the balcony to dry.

As for the other items, she carefully wiped them down with a towel to remove any remaining moisture.

Once everything was done, she felt relieved that she had taken on this task herself—who knew what kind of mess might've unfolded otherwise?

…

Meanwhile, on Hakuto's side, he stared at his suddenly inflated bank balance, feeling an immense sense of joy.

"kmj~ kmj~" (money money~)

Just as he was savoring the sweet pleasure of newfound wealth, his phone suddenly rang.

"Yo, Shiratori, I need a favor."

"Hanging up."

"Wait, wait! There's payment involved."

"Helping a teacher in need is my duty. Please, Miss Shizuka, elaborate."

"Do you remember Nakano Nino from my class?"

"Of course. She even asked for my contact information once, but I refused."

Back then, Hakuto had just survived a rather explosive bathroom incident, and before he had even fully recovered, Nakano Nino had approached him.

But at the time, Hakuto had a contract to honor. As a professional and highly responsible individual, he righteously declined any such interactions.

On the other end of the line, Hiratsuka felt a drop of cold sweat roll down her forehead. Only Hakuto could say something like that in such a casual tone.

"Nino's father contacted me. He wants the school to arrange for a teacher or student tutor to help his daughters with their studies."

"Nothing fancy—just getting them past the passing line."

Upon hearing this, Hakuto immediately jumped up from his bed. Talk about perfect timing! He had just been wondering where to find work, and here it was, delivered right to his doorstep.

"Easy. I'll take the job. When do I start?"

"Easy? It's not as simple as you think. And you're not just tutoring Nakano Nino alone."

"Five sisters. Five people combined barely reaching 100 points. Yeah, I know."

As a transmigrator, Hakuto was naturally well aware of their situation. But even knowing this, he was still confident he could get them all past the passing mark.

"Already did your research, huh? What's wrong? Regretting not giving Nakano Nino your contact info back then?"

Hearing the teasing tone in Hiratsuka's voice, Hakuto chuckled, then replied with a deliberately serious tone—

"I regret not being born a few years earlier so I could have met you first, Sensei."

The moment Hakuto said those words, all he heard in response was the beeping tone of the call being hung up.

"Trying to mess with me, huh?"

On the other end, Hiratsuka's temple throbbed with a vein bulging in irritation. 

Her grip on her phone tightened slightly—it was hard to imagine the suffering her poor phone had just endured.

Phone: "Aaaahh! Mercy, mercy!"

"That little brat Shiratori Hakuto!"

Hiratsuka was both embarrassed and furious. 

She could hardly believe that, despite being a woman who had been out in society for years, her emotions had been stirred up by a high school kid.

After a long while, she finally calmed herself down and immediately sent a message to Hakuto.

Hiratsuka Shizuka: Come to my office on Monday. [Iron Fist of Love.jpg]

Shiratori Hakuto: Understood. [Dancing Crayon Shin-chan.gif]

Seeing Hakuto's carefree response, the anger Hiratsuka had just suppressed came rushing back.

Phone: "I need medicine... (┯_┯)"

And so, the conversation ended with Hiratsuka's phone barely clinging to life.

…

The Next Day

Hakuto was completely unaffected by his biological clock, sleeping soundly in bed.

After all, it was Saturday—the perfect day for catching up on all the sleep he missed during school. What else was a weekend for?

Perhaps because of his contract being lifted, his internal clock had also changed.

However, just then, the familiar click of a camera shutter echoed in his ears.

Hearing that sound, Hakuto reacted almost instinctively. In the next second, he snapped awake from his sleep.

As he sat up in bed, his eyes shot open wide as if he had just realized something.

Standing there was Sora Ginko, dressed in her usual sailor uniform, holding up her phone and taking pictures of his current state.

Luckily, Hakuto wasn't in the habit of sleeping naked—otherwise, this would have been an instant blackmail-worthy moment.

"Wait! Wait!"

"Ginko, what are you doing here?!"

Hearing his question, Ginko slowly lowered her phone.

"It's Saturday. We had an agreement, remember?"

"Wait... no, that's not what I meant. I mean, how did you even get into my room?"

"I have a spare key to your place."

Ginko pulled a keychain out of her pocket and spun it around her index finger. Hanging from it was none other than the key to Hakuto's apartment.

"You... why do you have that?!"

"I took it from your room a long time ago. Hm? You didn't know?"

Seeing Ginko's innocent expression, Hakuto nearly laughed in exasperation.

No wonder one of his keys had mysteriously gone missing. He had assumed he had misplaced it, but no—it had been stolen by a certain someone.

"Ginko, can you give me that key back?"

Hakuto slowly scooted closer to her, reaching out casually as if nothing was wrong, aiming to snatch the key from her hand.

However, just as he was about to succeed, Ginko subtly stepped back.

But Hakuto had anticipated this—his body lunged forward at the same time, and he successfully grabbed the key. Unfortunately, in doing so, he lost his balance and tumbled off the bed.

Ginko watched as the key was snatched away, but she showed no reaction—nor did she even attempt to take it back.

After all, she had plenty more at home.

"Hurry up and get dressed."

Getting up from the floor, Hakuto tossed the key back into the drawer. He hadn't expected one of his rare lazy mornings to end like this.

But if not for today's incident, he wouldn't have realized that Ginko had been hoarding a spare key to his place for who knows how long.

___

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