A Game Of Fox And Raccoon Dog Wits!

(Toko): Succeeded in getting T to cancel the trip as planned.

(Yu): Understood. I’ll let you know if I get a reaction from K.

(Toko): It seems T contacted K to cancel the trip behind my back a little while ago. I expect K will contact you very soon.

(Yu): Will she really reach out that fast? She was planning to go on an affair trip with another man until a moment ago. If it were me, I’d hesitate.

(Toko): She’ll probably come. Trust my intuition on this. And let me remind you—do not be cold to K. I know you’re angry, but suppress it. Be gentle, empathize with her, and listen to what she has to say. Make sure to give her an ‘absolute sense of security.’

(Yu): Understood.

It was immediately after I sent that reply.

My phone started ringing.

Just as Toko-senpai predicted…

Thinking that, I answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Yu-kun?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Listen, it’s terrible! They’re saying tomorrow’s trip is suddenly canceled today!”

A terrible woman tries to do a terrible thing, and the fact that it got canceled is what’s “terrible”?

I listened, completely dumbfounded.

“Oh, really? You were looking forward to it so much; a sudden cancellation is pretty harsh.”

I said the words with absolutely zero emotion behind them.

“Right? It’s awful, isn’t it? I was so excited, and then a last-minute cancellation today…”

Perhaps because it was over the phone, Karen didn’t seem to notice my lack of sincerity. But I had my orders from Toko-senpai. I have to empathize with her feelings.

“I see. Poor you, Karen.”

Ah, crap. There was zero heart in that line.

“Thank you, Yu-kun. Karen got so sad, I actually started tearing up a little.”

For Karen, who was now in full “Tragic Heroine Mode,” my lip-service comfort seemed to be plenty.

“Don’t cry. If I were near you, I’d comfort you in person.”

Man, I’ve really become quite the actor.

“Yeah… Karen wants to see you, Yu-kun. You’d never do something this awful to Karen, would you?”

You moron, do you have any idea how much “awful” stuff you’re doing to me?

Still, it was incredible how everything was going exactly as Toko-senpai intended. I couldn’t help but let a smirk slip onto my face. However, I continued to play the part of the “Kind Boyfriend” with my voice.

“Of course not. You know I’m always on your side.”

I heard Karen’s sobs from the other end of the line. But compared to the sobs I heard from Toko-senpai at Kamokura’s apartment, these sounded incredibly cheap.

“Karen is so glad you’re her boyfriend, Yu-kun…”

Oh, I got her to say it. Does that mean her dependency on me has gone up? Too bad having you as a girlfriend is the absolute worst for me.

“Is the cancellation fee okay? Usually, they take the full amount the day before.”

Since I had nothing left to say, I tried to say something that sounded like I was worried about her. A silence followed. Karen seemed to be at a loss for words.

“The cancellation fee seems to be okay… since we were planning to go by car…”

Ah, did I accidentally poke a sore spot? Was Kamokura paying for the lodging, or were they just planning to stay at some random love hotel because they couldn’t book a place?

“I see. No, I just thought it would be a shame if you had to pay a fee, Karen.”

I followed up to cover my tracks. Karen seemed satisfied with that.

“Thank you, Yu-kun. For worrying about me.”

So easy. This girl is seriously simple.

“So, Yu-kun… can we meet tomorrow?”

“Huh?”

I blurted out a sound of genuine surprise.

Look, I can act with just my voice over the phone. But being kind to this cheating bitch face-to-face is impossible. If I had to see Karen playing the “innocent girl” act right in front of me, I’d seriously want to punch her.

I mean, until five minutes ago, you were planning to go on a secret getaway with another man, weren’t you? And with a guy I know, my own senior. I already thought you had some nerve just calling me, but wanting to see me because your trip flopped? How thick can your skin be? I believe the term for this is “brazen-faced.”

“Sorry. I want to see you too, Karen, but I already made plans for tomorrow.”

I told her that for now. I’m not about to be called in as a “substitute” for the time she was supposed to be spending screwing another guy just because he bailed.

“Oh…” Karen said, sounding dejected.

“Sorry, Karen. I’ll make time for you soon.”

I said that and hung up.

Immediately after, I placed a call to Toko-senpai. I wanted to discuss the details of how it went.

“It went exactly as you said, Toko-senpai! Karen called me immediately!”

But Toko-senpai remained perfectly calm.

“I thought so. She likely has a self-image of a ‘cute version of herself’ in her head. To her, she is always the ‘tragic heroine.’ That’s why she seeks out someone who will save her and empathize with her.”

“But isn’t it a bit too bold to seek that from me—the victim of her cheating?”

“In her mind, maybe she’s the victim for ‘being made to cheat’? Like, ‘My boyfriend doesn’t understand me,’ ‘My boyfriend leaves me alone,’ or ‘My boyfriend doesn’t give me what I want.’”

Hmm. That’s a logic I’ll never understand.

“By the way, Toko-senpai, how did you get Kamokura-senpai to cancel the trip?”

“It was simple. I just told him, ‘I want to go on a trip too.’”

“That’s it?”

I was stunned. I thought she would have used some high-level psychological technique.

“Yes. I told him, ‘There’s a place I absolutely want to go with you.’ I threw a bit of a tantrum, saying this is the only time we can have a relaxing trip just the two of us.”

Wow. Women really are strong. But for me, that wasn’t the issue.

“So… are you going on a trip with Kamokura-senpai, then?”

She shot that down instantly.

“I’m not going. I’m going to cancel at the last minute. Tomorrow, I’ll tell him I ‘don’t feel well.’ Who would ever go on a trip with a man who’s in the middle of a full-blown affair with another woman!”

Even the refined Toko-senpai spat those last words out with venom.

Thank god.

I felt a wave of relief wash over me.

“Karen asked me to meet tomorrow too. But I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I told her I had other plans and turned her down.”

Toko-senpai’s tone turned stern.

“That won’t do. You must go see Karen-san. You have to comfort her gently.”

Her words caught me off guard.
“What? But you don’t want to see Kamokura-senpai, right? I feel the same way.”

“The situation is different for you and me. Even now, I hold an effective card against Tetsuya, but you don’t have a strong trump card like that against Karen-san yet. You need to draw her feelings closer to you. That’s why you need to meet her tomorrow and firmly embrace her heart.”

…An effective card?

I was curious about what she meant by that. But before I could ask, she continued.

“Besides, if Tetsuya finds out he ‘can’t go on a trip with me,’ he might try to invite Karen-san out again. To prevent that, you have to secure Karen-san tomorrow!”

“Understood… if you say so, Toko-senpai…”

I answered, but deep down, I felt crushed.

Does Toko-senpai really feel nothing about me meeting Karen?