Haji’s reassuring gaze and soft-spoken manner were way too different from his casual deanor that gumi felt like her heart skipped a little. She turned around, hiding her expression by pulling down on her bangs but that was as ineffective as it was unnecessary.
For a brief mont, Keiichi saw gumi’s reaction and he was oddly confused. As far as he knows, Haji may very well be the poorest student in their class (as ntioned before, he did background checks on everyone), and judging from that fact, there was no way gumi would see or treat him as an equal. Nevertheless, expressions don’t lie and what he just saw made him inwardly ask questions.
His curiosity was leaning onto asking Haji what that was all about. He couldn’t ring himself to ask gumi since that would be weird. While this wasn’t the first ti they spent ti with each other, they weren’t close enough to be asking such personal questions. But after everything he said to Haji, even antagonizing him about his financial issues, he couldn’t bring himself to ask him the question as well so he was left wondering what to do next.
"So, where are we eating? Are we stopping by at a cafe?" Kaori asked out of nowhere since Keiichi didn’t add to the cliffhanger of an announcent he made a few monts ago. He just ntioned sothing about treating everyone to a al except for Haji... that’s it.
"I have a pretty nice plan set up." Keiichi glanced towards gumi, then glared at Haji with a slightly threatening look.
Had it not been for the crowd, Haji would’ve probably already grabbed Keiichi by the face and slamd him to the ground. That was just an over-exaggeration though. There was no way Haji would do sothing like that even if his classmates pissed him off.
The group walked through the city streets, eyeing every shop and making small talk with each other. While Keiichi set up a very tight fence around gumi, keeping her to himself in their conversation, Kaori and Shizuka decided to get to know Haji a little better. To them, Haji was more than just a delinquent since they’d heard quite a few good things about him. And after being aware that gumi actually gets along with Haji, their curiosities were piqued, and they just had to take Haji with a grain of salt.
’I an, gumi’s friends with him so he shouldn’t be all that bad, right?’ Kaori asked herself, totally forgetting that gumi had always looked down on Haji ever since the beginning of the school year.
As for Shizuka, she couldn’t care less about Haji’s reputation. She knows how rumors go. And she’d rather not partake in any of it.
"Hi, Haji!" Kaori asked, walking beside Haji as Shizuka also caught up and walked beside her.
"Hi?" Haji mumbled, unsure as to why Kaori was striking up a conversation out of the blue.
"Hehhe~" Kaori chuckled.
"..."
"..."
’What?! That’s it?!’ Haji exclaid in his mind, staring at Kaori who just said hi. Then there’s Shizuka who kept glancing at him without saying a word. It was pretty weird, but Haji didn’t know what to ask them.
A few monts later, the group arrived in front of a fancy restaurant. It was a sushi place, and Haji had a rough estimate of how expensive the place could be. Still, he didn’t have any problems with it since he had so money to spare— it wasn’t actually his money, but gumi’s dad’s money.
"Everyone get in!" Keiichi enthusiastically gestured, opening the door for everyone. "Don’t be shy," He continued.
"Ehh? Sushi for breakfast?" Kaori muttered, grabbing Haji by the hand. "Hey, Haji, why don’t we go over there? Let’s grab so burgers or sothing?"
"I’m fine either way," Shizuka casually called out, following Keiichi’s lead. As much as she wanted to go with Kaori’s suggestion, she could never say no to free sushi even if it was breakfast.
"I’m staying," Haji called out. He didn’t budge no matter how hard Kaori tugged at his arm. He couldn’t just stand down from Keiichi’s challenge. Even if it was expensive, his pride just wouldn’t allow him to lose right then and there. But then again, if he didn’t have the money, then he’d rightfully decline. He’s not an overly prideful man but a realist. There’s a way for him to eat with the group so why not?
"Fine then." Kaori pouted, following Shizuka and gumi to the sushi place.
"Are you sure about this? I’m not going to treat you with anything, you know," Keiichi whispered just as Haji was heading inside.
"I’ll be fine." Haji shrugged. "How about you? You’re going to pay for four people, right?" Haji asked, a smirk appearing on his face.
Because everyone was already inside, Keiichi didn’t bother opening the door for one more second. He then face Haji and crossed his arms on his chest. "Oh please, even if it’s everyone here, I can pay for their sushi, no sweat."
Haji snickered. ’You fell right into my trap.’ He said in his mind before he turned around to address everyone in the restaurant. "DID YOU HEAR THAT, EVERYONE?! SUSHI’S ON HIM! EAT ALL YOU WANT! IT’S A CELEBRATION!"
Everyone turned toward Haji with a blank stare before they realized that soone just offered to buy their food for free. They didn’t even need a guarantee, they just started cheering for Keiichi. anwhile, Keiichi was caught off guard and he almost took a step backward out of impulse.
"Don’t worry, I’ll be paying for myself," Haji said, patting Keiichi on the shoulder before he made his way to the counter. He didn’t speak another word for fear that Keiichi might sue him or sothing. But then again, it was worth the revenge after he embarrassed Haji in front of everyone.
"Are you sure about paying for everyone? It’s quite expensive, you know." Kaori asked after checking the nu and seating herself beside Haji.
Even if Keiichi admitted that it was really expensive, there was no way he could back down now. The people who were celebrating the offer had already ordered a couple more plates, putting Keiichi at the point of no return. If he were to tell everyone that it was just a prank, then he’d receive unwanted hate from them— That wouldn’t look great in the family’s company image.
"Yeah, of course, it’s not that expensive," Keiichi said, trying to convince himself as his animosity towards Haji grew.
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