Mash-Up: Anything for Money

"I have considered cutting my hair short before. Senpai, do you remember my hairstyle back in the first year of middle school?"

"Oh? Sounds like there's a story. Tell me about it."

Hearing that, Hakuto was ready to share his story. After all, it wasn't something embarrassing.

"Back in my first year, I went through a brief non-mainstream phase. I had side-swept bangs that completely covered my left eye."

"But one day, a group of guys came looking for trouble on my way home from school. I was already used to this kind of thing, so I just tossed my bag aside and got ready to fight."

"Senpai, do you know how many people were there?"

"If they dared to mess with you, it must've been at least three."

"That's right. At first, I saw only three of them. But then I brushed my bangs aside for a second, and suddenly, there were seven more on the other side…"

"Pfft—"

Utaha couldn't help but laugh shamelessly.

"And then?"

"And then? You think ten people could beat me? They didn't even see my dust trail."

"So basically, you ran away."

"How is that running away? It was ten versus one! Someone could've died!"

Hakuto wasn't lying. Nine out of the ten guys had weapons in their hands. Even if he had won, he wouldn't have come out unscathed.

Hakuto wasn't an idiot. In a situation like that, there was no way he could win barehanded.

But if he had a crowbar at the time, he was confident he could've put all ten of them on the ground.

"But the version I heard was that you took down all ten of them. It caused quite a stir back then—the police even cordoned off the area."

Utaha remembered this incident clearly. It was actually the first time she had heard Hakuto's name.

"Senpai, you need to understand—having a weapon and not having one are two completely different things."

"The first time, they caught me unprepared, so fine. But if they dared to come a second time, who else but them would end up on the ground?"

"Then I guess my safety at school is in your hands, Hakuto."

Hearing this, Hakuto shook his head and smirked. "That's… a different price."

"You really are obsessed with money. Did my request just trigger some kind of hidden event for you?"

Hakuto: Actually, this event was unlocked ten years ago.

Of course, he wouldn't say that out loud. He just waved his hand nonchalantly.

"Who knows?"

He thought he had played it off perfectly—until Utaha suddenly pressed down harder while applying the iodine. 

If he hadn't known better, he would've believed his own lie.

"Ow, ow, ow! Senpai, have mercy!"

It wasn't clear how much time had passed, but eventually, Utaha finished treating his wounds and tossed the used cotton swab away.

At that moment, her gaze landed on the part of Hakuto's back that was usually covered by his hair.

After a moment of hesitation, she reached out and lifted his hair.

"Hakuto, you have a tattoo?"

Beneath his long hair, a row of strange black characters was inked onto his back.

Utaha couldn't understand what they meant. They looked a bit like the hieroglyphs she had seen in documentaries about Egyptian pharaohs.

"Is it so weird for me to have a tattoo?"

"Isn't it? You never mentioned it before."

"Do I seem like the kind of guy who would show off just because I have a tattoo?"

With one hand lifting his hair, Utaha traced her fingers over the markings on his back.

For a girl like Utaha, tattoos were quite rare.

She had seen them before on the shoulders of delinquents at school, but her feelings about it back then were completely different from what she felt now.

Maybe it was because the tattoo belonged to someone different. Utaha thought so as she found the ink on Hakuto's back quite cool.

"Alright, any more touching will cost extra. It's late, time to head home."

Hakuto pushed away Utaha's hand from his back and put his shirt back on.

"Hmm? Are you planning to take me home and do something unspeakable?"

"Not at all."

Hakuto stood up from the bench, clearly not playing along.

Utaha also got up, tossing the used cotton swab into the trash. Then, mimicking Hakuto's words, she said:

"That will cost extra…"

"Shouldn't you have answered me like this?"

Hakuto wouldn't dare. Because if he did, he feared Utaha might actually name a price.

As a bestselling novelist with over 500,000 copies sold, Utaha had accumulated a considerable fortune by the time she was in high school.

Hakuto had no idea how much money she had, but he was sure it was way more than he could earn in two lifetimes.

Still, no matter what, he refused to say those words. After all, he considered himself a devoted believer in pure love!

Pure love, my ass! 

Screw your so-called innocence!

Instead of answering, Hakuto simply walked to the roadside and hailed a taxi.

"Senpai, time to go home."

This time, Utaha didn't mess around and obediently got into the taxi.

But once inside, she scooted toward the middle, leaving an empty seat beside her.

"Hakuto, are you sure you're not tempted? If you get in now, I can have the driver change the destination."

As she spoke, she patted the seat next to her. Her expression made it clear she wasn't joking.

Hakuto didn't respond directly. Instead, he put on a professional smile and said to her through the open car window:

"Looking forward to your next request, Senpai. Don't forget to pay for today's job."

"Driver, you can go now."

With that, he shut the door firmly.

"Hakuto, you'll regret this."

"Who knows?"

He watched the taxi drive off with Utaha inside, then turned to unlock a shared bike by the roadside.

What? You say Hakuto swore he'd never ride one of these again?

Come on, how could that be taken seriously? Just like how so many people swear off bad habits but never really quit.

"Off work! Heading home!"

Meanwhile, inside the taxi, Utaha wasn't the least bit annoyed about being rejected. Instead, she had a satisfied smile as she scrolled through her photo album.

All the timestamps in the lower-left corners of the pictures were from today, and most of them featured Hakuto in some way.

But the one Utaha was most pleased with was the photo of Hakuto's back tattoo.

His well-defined upper body, paired with his long, jet-black hair and just the right amount of ink—it was perfect!

"How did I never notice that Hakuto had such a great body?"

"I wonder what would happen if I sent this to that blonde loser?"

With that thought in mind, Utaha instinctively opened Eriri Spencer Sawamura's contact.

Without hesitation, she sent the photo.

As soon as she saw the read receipt appear, Utaha swiftly retracted the message.

Utaha: "Oops, slipped."

Eriri: "What the hell are you up to now?"

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Check out the other translations too: [Mash-Up: I'm Not A Substitute]

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