Chapter 10: Chocolates and more

"Nishino-san! This girl... What should I do?"

I held the phone up to my ear as I paced back and forth in front of the table. The early morning sun shone through the window behind me, casting a bright light on my dark blue shirt as I spoke to Nishino-san, one of the managers of the Love Stop.

"Calm down first, Hirano-san." Nishino-san replied with a faint chuckle, her joyful voice carrying across the phone lines. "You're just being dramatic. You don't have to worry about her at all—she's a regular customer."

"No, but..." I paused midway through my sentence as I tried to keep calm.

"I'm sure she was just teasing you. She probably didn't mean it seriously," Nishino-san said with another laugh. "Rich people like her usually play these kinds of games when trying to charm someone they find interesting. It's nothing serious."

I slowly exhaled as I let out a deep sigh. Nishino-san's words did seem to calm me down somewhat, but I couldn't help but feel uneasy about this whole situation.

"I bet she has already forgotten all about you—probably won't even remember your name soon enough." Nishino-san continued with a snort of laughter in her tone. "You don't need to be so worked up over something like this. Just forget about it and move on."

"...Are you sure about that?" I asked hesitantly.

"Of course!" Nishino-san replied cheerfully. "You'll get used to all sorts of things if you stick around in the world of the wealthy—you'll learn to deal with all kinds of women. You can always come to me whenever you want to vent any problems you might encounter."

"...Thank you very much," I said gratefully.

"Don't mention it." Nishino-san laughed again. "Anyway, I'm glad you decided to not leave us after such a promising start."

I looked down at the floor as I listened to Nishino-san's cheerful voice. My heart still felt heavy, however.

"I understand why you'd be worried—but there's nothing to worry about. She's just a rich girl who likes to play around; she doesn't mean anything by it." Nishino-san continued.

"If you say so..." I mumbled quietly.

I had just called Nishino-san because I was anxious about what Kureha might be thinking of me. I was also concerned about how my future prospects were going to turn out, given that I was now working for an escort service. If there are more people like Kureha—who would try to take advantage of me in some way... I thought nervously to myself.

Nishino-san's advice was reassuring, though. After hanging up the phone, I sat on the couch, staring blankly at the wall opposite me.

With a sigh, I got up from the couch and began preparing for classes. Today, I had lectures at 8 am and 11 am, then another lecture at 2 pm—so I needed to get ready for them all right away. It would be another long Monday.

---

When I knocked on the door of the staff room after finishing my evening classes, Mayumi-sensei was sitting alone on a small couch with a newspaper open in front of her. The lights were dim. She motioned me into the room once I'd entered, her eyes still glued to the newspaper.

Like always, Mayumi-sensei's tall figure was cloaked in a well-fitting black suit. Its silver buttons shone faintly under the overhead light as she lowered her newspaper. As I shut the door behind me, Mayumi-sensei folded her newspaper and set it neatly down next to her on the coffee table. Then she glanced at her watch with an annoyed frown before turning her attention toward me—her eyes languidly swept from head to toe.

"Well, Hirano-kun, you arrived on time," she said coolly, seemingly unimpressed by my punctuality.

Just after her class in ancient history had ended, Sensei told me to come and meet her in the staff room after my final lecture of the day.

"I've been rather busy lately—but as I promised you a while ago, I'm going to help you with your writing," Mayumi-sensei continued. "I understand you're having trouble putting pen to paper since you can't express yourself as elegantly as you'd like."

"Yes," I nodded quietly, fidgeting with my hands.

"Let us go to my private office today then—it's noisy out here, anyway." Mayumi-sensei stood up from her seat, picking up her newspaper again before leading me out of the staff room.

With a serene grace, she walked ahead of me, her long legs silently carrying her across the college corridor. Her heels clicked against the hard ground. There weren't many people in the hallway—most had gone home for the day. It was already almost six in the evening.

The private office where Sensei does her work is in the next building over from ours, a five minutes walk away. The wooden door was marked with an elaborate nameplate that read 'Shizuka Mayumi, Ph.D., Ancient History' in elegant calligraphy.

I stepped into the private office after Mayumi-sensei, who closed the door behind me. The walls were lined with bookshelves—some filled to bursting with countless volumes and thick manuscripts. Three bookcases sat at right angles to each other near one wall, their shelves heaped with textbooks and texts of various sizes. A table surrounded by four leather chairs sat between two bookcases, supporting the most stunning tea set I'd ever seen in my life.

Mayumi-sensei immediately began heating a kettle with the plug from the nearby wall outlet, setting up for tea. She placed a tea ball in one cup of the set's matching teapot while the water was boiling.

"Take a seat." She gestured towards one of the chairs—this particular room had leather furniture instead of regular wooden ones.

"Thank you, sensei," I replied.

Mayumi-sensei looked down at her watch before placing the tea ball into a porcelain teacup with a confident movement. Then she poured hot water over it, stirring it with a small spoon.

"T-This is a nice office..." I tried to make small talk as I sat on one of the seats by the table, trying hard not to stare at the striking room's interior. It's more than a little luxurious—perhaps even lavish—and very expensive-looking.

"Customized and furnished entirely by me," Mayumi-sensei said, nodding. "The bookcases were made especially for me by an acquaintance of mine who is a carpenter by trade. The teapot and its matching cups are antique. I acquired the table and chairs myself too."

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"It looks very expensive..." I said quietly.

She waved her hand dismissively; while she poured the tea into two cups before returning to where I was sitting. Her towering figure filled my field of vision as she placed one cup of steaming black tea in front of me. Then she took her own seat across from me.

Despite being seated, I still had to look up to my counselor—she's far taller than any person I know. Her back is straight as a rod, making her seem more intimidating. Her long legs sat idly beneath the table.

"We'll start your lessons soon; let us first have some tea before we get started," she said quietly. "It was a tiring day for me today—I imagine you're eager to relax after your classes."

I nodded in agreement, "Yes, sensei, I had 4 lectures today." I exaggerated as I glanced down at my black canvas sneakers and a bag slung over my shoulder; as I stirred the hot tea around in its porcelain teacup with a spoon.

We both silently drank our tea in silence. Mayumi-sensei slowly sipped hers, and I did mine. The scents of jasmine, honey, and green tea left traces of fragrance in the air as I drank. It was bitter—perhaps because it wasn't sweetened?

Soon, Mayumi-sensei began setting up for lessons by gathering some reference material from her bookshelves and setting them on top of the desk beside her. My hands weren't idle either as I retrieved a pen and paper from my bag and placed them beside my empty cup.

"Let's start by talking about the basic elements of your writing style..."

For the next hour or so, she continued to teach me the proper use of adjectives—how to match their number and length with nouns and verbs; while also choosing ones that suited the readers' interests the best. She advised against using too many unnecessary adjectives that made the narrative look flat and dull, giving examples from a variety of literature and classic works. I was thoroughly absorbed in the lesson, taking notes on everything she told me.

"Should be enough to work on for now," sensei sighed, leaning back into her seat and stretching her legs out beneath the table. "I'm sure you'll improve with practice—I suppose you would anyway. For now, just be aware of when you're overusing adjectives."

I nodded again as I organized my notes, "Yes, sensei!"

"Thank you for today's tutoring session." I bowed to my tutor before putting all the written materials in my bag. "This was very helpful!"

Just as I was leaving her office, she opened the drawer to her desk, "Just wait a moment—have some reward for your effort." She pulled out a boxed-chocolate biscuit. "It was a gift I received from an acquaintance of mine. As a token of thanks for working hard on a project that was both urgent and important...But I'm not really fond of chocolates. It should still be safe to eat."

My eyes lit up unconsciously at the sight of the boxed chocolates. I dropped my bag and sat back down on the chair across from Mayumi-sensei as I watched her open the box with a careful hand—and offer me one.

"I do like chocolate..." I took the bar from her hands. The surface was decorated with a black and red flower pattern, the chocolate itself pale white. I bit into it, letting the melt-in-my-mouth flavor spread to my taste buds. After trying a few more pieces, I then looked up at her. "It's delicious, sensei."

Mayumi-sensei simply nodded curtly in return. "You're welcome." Her brow furrowed as she frowned, briefly staring at my face. "...You've got some of that stuff on your mouth."

I hurriedly tried to wipe away the chocolate on my lips with my fingertips—unsuccessfully, as I realized that sensei's frown deepened further. "Bottom of your lip, at the corner of your mouth," she clarified.

I tried again to get rid of it using my tongue instead of my fingers, but still, I couldn't wipe the chocolate away entirely.

Mayumi-sensei just sighed and stood up from her seat. I looked up at her tall form as she walked around the table to stand in front of me, right in my personal space. The next moment—she reached out, cupping my chin in her hand and lifting my face towards her. I tried instinctively to pull away from her as the rough callousness of her palms scraped against the side of my cheek.

Her stern expression didn't change; as one of her thumbs traced lightly over my bottom lip with a thin layer of chocolate clinging to its surface. "You lack discipline when it comes to eating sweets..."

"I—I'm sorry—" I stuttered, feeling a little uneasy as I felt her thumb retracing its course along my lips, searching for the chocolate between them. My skin crawled under her touch—feeling her warm hand stroking across it...

My hands curled into fists, yet I didn't find myself doing anything in reaction to her touch. Her reprimand contrasted sharply with the strangely intimate gesture, and all I could do was stare into those dark brown eyes of hers, waiting for her to end the unwanted contact.

Right before I was about to make my move to shake off her hand, she retracted it—leaving a faint flush of red against my cheek.

"There," she breathed, never once breaking eye contact with me. "It is not proper for a boy your age to have such unsightly stains on their mouth."

She turned away from me without another word and grabbed a nearby wipe from her desk drawer, cleaning up the chocolate stain from her hands with precision and care.

"Prior to our next session—I want you to do some research on different literary styles and how they affect one's writing," she said in an unusually brusque voice, returning to her seat.

My bewildered stare remained fixed upon her as I tried to wrap my head around what had just happened. Did she not realize what she had just done? Or...was it not intimate enough for me to get embarrassed by?

Deciding to not make things awkward, I simply nodded and said, "Yes, sensei—I'll look into it."

"You are dismissed then. Please close the door behind you when leaving." Her gaze stayed firmly on the table as she spoke, expression deadpan. "If there's anything else that you need help with, don't hesitate to contact me."

With a hasty bow and a nod, I made my way out of Shizuka Mayumi's office, my mind, yet again a complete mess over something that was not supposed to have happened.

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