1The two older boys were still searching for Kaito.

  Yuzuki watched them from the corner of her eye as they scanned the park, their expressions tight, frustrated. They weren’t looking for him out of concern. They weren’t searching for a friend.

  They were looking for him because someone else was looking for him.

  And in this part of the city, when someone went looking for you, it wasn’t always a good thing.

  Nasru’s response had been immediate when they asked him.

  "Nah, I don’t know where he’s at."

  The boys lingered for a second, staring at him as if trying to decide whether or not he was lying. Then, finally, one of them scoffed and muttered something under his breath before they both walked off, disappearing into the darkened streets.

  But even after they left, the weight of their presence stayed.

  Reina didn’t say anything, but Yuzuki noticed how her hands curled into her sleeves, how her shoulders tensed as if bracing for something unseen.

  Kaito was in trouble.

  And for whatever reason, Nasru had chosen to pretend he didn’t know anything.

  "You know where he is?" Yuzuki asked Naseru.

  "Yep."

  "Then why didn't you tell them?"

  "I don't owe them information that I have." Naseru gave Yuzuki a frown to end it.

  "They're being organic robots."

  Yuzuki wanted to ask more.

  But she never got the chance.

  Because that was when the businessman appeared.

  2He wasn’t alone.

  There was another man beside him—a tourist, judging by his demeanor, the way his eyes scanned the park with curiosity rather than familiarity.

  But the businessman?

  The businessman knew exactly where he was.

  Yuzuki felt his gaze settle on them before he even spoke.

  A slow, assessing look, taking in the sight of the girls near the vending machine, the ones lingering in the park, the ones who had nowhere else to go.

  And then his eyes nded on her.

  A smile stretched across his face.

  "Ah," he said, feigning surprise. "I thought I recognized you."

  Yuzuki stiffened.

  He took a step forward, his expensive leather shoes clicking against the pavement. "I saw you earlier today, didn’t I?"

  Her mind raced, flipping through the day’s events, trying to pce where she had seen him—

  And then she remembered.

  The agency.

  She had passed him when she was leaving, when she had been dismissed without a second thought.

  He had been there.

  Watching.

  Waiting.

  "Didn’t expect to see you here, though," the businessman continued, his tone light, conversational. "I had my suspicions. And it seems I was right."

  Yuzuki didn’t respond.

  She felt every muscle in her body tense, a silent arm ringing in the back of her head.

  The businessman smiled. "Tell me, are you still looking to become an idol?"

  Her breath caught.

  He knew.

  Of course, he knew.

  3Naseru shifted beside her.

  Reina, too.

  The whole park seemed to hold its breath.

  The businessman gestured slightly, gncing at the tourist beside him. "You know, connections are everything in this industry."

  His voice was smooth, too smooth, like a man who had rehearsed this conversation a thousand times before.

  "There are ways to get ahead, especially for girls like you." He paused, then added, as if it was an afterthought, "That is, if you’re willing. We can make a great atmosphere for you. I can make a custom role just for you."

  Yuzuki’s fingers twitched.

  She knew exactly what he meant.

  Compensated dating.

  The unspoken rule of the industry.

  It wasn’t always said outright, but it was always there, lingering beneath the surface like a trap waiting to spring.

  "If you want a real opportunity, I can introduce you to people who can help," the businessman continued. "Real people. A real network. But—" he smiled, voice dipping lower, "you have to show them you're serious."

  The tourist beside him gave her a once-over, barely concealing his interest.

  And then came the final words.

  "Would you like to come with us?"

  A simple question.

  A simple choice.

  4Yuzuki’s mind raced.

  This was it, wasn’t it?

  This was the moment.

  She had seen it happen before.

  Girls who wanted to be idols, actresses, models—they all faced this decision eventually. Some took it. Some walked away. Some convinced themselves it was just one time—and then realized too te that there was no way out once they stepped inside.

  Yuzuki could feel the eyes on her.

  Reina’s gaze was unreadable.

  Nasru’s posture remained rexed, but his eyes weren’t.

  And Yuzuki—

  Yuzuki didn’t move.

  The businessman’s smile didn’t falter. "What’s the matter? Isn’t this what you want?"

  Yuzuki’s lips parted slightly.

  And for a brief second—**just a second—**she considered it.

  She thought about Reina.

  She thought about how much easier things would be if she said yes.

  She thought about how every other door had already been smmed in her face.

  And then she thought about the fact that if she took this step, she would never be able to undo it.

  5Her stomach twisted.

  And she made her choice.

  "No."

  It wasn’t loud.

  It wasn’t defiant.

  It was just a word.

  "I'm okay."

  But it was final.

  The businessman exhaled through his nose, shaking his head slightly, as if he had expected this outcome but was still vaguely annoyed by it.

  "Pity."

  He gestured for the tourist to follow.

  Then he turned away.

  But before he left, he gnced at her one more time, and his expression changed.

  The polite, businesslike demeanor dropped for just a second, and in its pce, something colder, something emptier, something that reminded her exactly what kind of man he was.

  "You’ll come around eventually."

  Yuzuki’s hands clenched at her sides.

  She didn’t respond.

  The businessman left.

  The tension lingered.

  "Those types of locals... bringing foreigners like a swarm of ravens. Stay away from them." Naseru warned Yuzuki.

  6Yuzuki exhaled.

  Her hands were shaking.

  She didn’t know why.

  Maybe it was the hunger. Maybe it was the exhaustion. Maybe it was the fact that she had just refused something that could have changed her future.

  But all she could feel was relief.

  Even if it meant she was still stuck here.

  Still stuck in this cycle of waiting, hoping, failing.

  She turned slightly, her gaze nding on Reina.

  Reina, who had hesitated for just a second when the businessman spoke.

  And suddenly, Yuzuki understood.

  Reina had been here before.

  And one day, she had said yes.

  Yuzuki swallowed hard.

  Then, finally, she looked at Naseru.

  He wasn’t looking at her.

  Instead, he was looking at where the businessman had disappeared.

  And for the first time since she met him, his expression wasn’t empty.

  It was disgusted.

  Not at her.

  Not at Reina.

  Not even necessarily at the weak minded parasitic businessman that went around looking for destabilized people at the park.

  It was disgust at the culmination of multiple components misshaping the environment and the physical reality of the people.

  At the world that made these choices exist in the first pce.

  To be continued...