Hikaru on page 4, Shiori on 7, Sakurai twins on 8, Raku on 9, Miyu on 10, Satoru on 11, Shu on 12, Rena and Nazuna on 13, Hiroyuki on 14, Reika on 16, Miharu on 17, Toru on 18, Usagi on 19

Leaving the dormitory, I catch sight of a man dressed in a fine white suit, lounging on a bench beneath the wisteria trellis, with his long legs elegantly crossed. His white hair and violet eyes merge into the pale blossoms, giving him an air so mysterious and fragile that he looks less a living being but a subject on the canvas. I only gaze on him in awe.

Hikaru: Looks kinda grown-up, but that dude should be our age. Let’s go!

Yui: w-Wait, I mean, should we? What would I even say...?

Hikaru: What? What’s wrong?

Yui: Come on, don’t you feel it? That aura…! He has to be some kinda celebrity. How do I just...walk up to someone like him?

I grab Hikaru’s sleeve to stop him from charging ahead. His beauty, so mystical and mysterious, makes me hesitate to speak to him as if words alone may profane him.
Then a smooth, charming voice slides in.

???: Wouldn’t a simple ‘Good day’ suffice?

I startle. That man has approached during an unnoticed time, and now he leans down to peer at me with a playful smile.

Yui: Eek!

I get tense.

???: Well, well, do compose yourself, darling. There’s no need for such nerves.

He reaches out a hand. Believing it is for a handshake, I extend my hand...only for him to kneel and cradle my hand gently in his fingers with courteous grace as if I were a princess and he were a knight paying homage.

Toru: Allow me to introduce myself. My name’s Toru Hisagiya, honored to have been the number one in the nocturnal town or the Ultimate Rental Boyfriend. Hope you’ll remember me.

Looking up at me, he seals his words with a playful wink. Heat floods my cheeks---

Hikaru: STOP THAT!!!! What the hell are you doing?!

Hikaru yanks him away.

Hikaru: Get your hands off!! You friggin’ creep!!!

Toru: Ow! Gentle, please! It hurts me!

As the two quarrel, I put a hand on my chest, trying to calm my racing heart. Never before had anyone address me in such a way.

Yui: t-Toru...right? You’re a...rental boyfriend?

Toru replies with well-practiced elegance, three meters away from me under Hikaru’s wary eyes.

Toru: Yes. It’s my profession to raise a glass, to weave words, and to delight my lovely persons.

Hikaru: But you’re in high school! You should be under twenty, ain’t ya? And raising a glass of what? Coke??

Toru’s lips curves in amused disdain.

Toru: Ahaha...Coke, you say? Please, I never take such a trifle. It’s far too cheap. Now, do indulge yourselves in gazing upon this handsome visage of mine. A veritable masterpiece, don’t you agree? For someone of high caliber like me, only the priciest, most exquisite liquor could suit.

Then, a hint of sadness appears in his violet eyes, and he looks only at me.

Toru: ...I’m in need of money.

Yui: w-Why...? Are you in trouble?

When I begin to worry, Toru puts his finger to his lips and smiles in a way both lonely and mischievous.

Toru: That’s a secret. It’s our very first meeting, after all...I can’t bare my heart so quickly. But if you wish to know me deeper, then kindly choose me, and me alone. It’ll cost you, of course...♡

Toru: Until we meet again,

He leaves with a theatrical bow.