Mash-Up: I'm Not A Substitute

Being around Takashi made Masamune's whole body tense.

It reminded him of the first time he met Caesar, Nono's fiancé.

Takashi had never targeted him, never humiliated him, never even taken advantage of him.

But sometimes, just standing beside someone too dazzling makes ordinary people want to flee back to their comfort zone.

Most importantly, Makabe Masamune wasn't like Takashi, who had been good-looking since birth.

He used to be a chubby kid—mocked as a "fat pig," "tubby," and worse. Deep down, he was full of insecurity.

He wasn't nearly as strong inside as he appeared. You could say his heart was actually very fragile.

He didn't have the same resilience as Takashi.

"Leaving already? Something at home?"

Takashi asked kindly.

"Yeah, something like that."

Masamune just wanted to get away quickly.

He couldn't stand another second here.

"Well, since you've got things to do, I won't keep you."

Takashi didn't try to make him stay or mock him.

Truthfully, Takashi never saw Makabe as a real rival.

Too low level.

Not worth his time.

"It was nice talking with you, Makabe-kun. Mind if we exchange contacts?"

"…Sure."

They added each other on LINE, and Makabe Masamune left.

"How did you do that?"

Adagaki Aki asked, astonished as she looked at Takashi.

She had seen the entire thing.

At first, she'd thought Takashi would act like the villain in a novel—bullying, ridiculing, or sabotaging Makabe Masamune. 

But he hadn't done any of that.

He never even said one bad thing about Masamune.

Yet the guy still left.

Takashi had effortlessly driven away the person who'd been pestering her.

"Ojou-sama, if a guy who's average in looks and background competes with a guy who's tall, handsome, and rich for the same girl, how do you think the average guy can win?"

Takashi stuffed his phone into his pocket and posed the question with a smile.

Adagaki Aki furrowed her brows and thought for a full minute.

"Unless the girl really likes the average guy?"

That was the only answer she could think of.

Takashi grinned. "You really thought about how to win? Been watching too much motivational fluff?"

Hilarious.

You can't win.

People think rich heirs are all ugly, indulgent brats who only party.

But in reality, they're often attractive, eloquent, and extremely talented.

If their skin isn't good, they pay for skincare. 

Crooked teeth? Braces. 

Bad at school? Personal tutors. 

Their parents spend money to nurture every aspect of them.

So how do you beat that?

"I thought you'd say something different."

Adagaki Aki chuckled, arms crossed.

"You talk like someone who's been through it. So? Got crushed before?"

"Yeah."

Even he had.

Take Jiangnan for example—Beijing University grad, studied abroad in the US. Impressive, right?

Yet even he wrote countless stories of fragile youth.

Even he had felt insecure.

So what hope did Takashi have?

He wasn't even as good as Jiangnan, and he'd been insecure too.

Back then, that rich kid crushed him just like Takashi crushed Masamune today—not by humiliating or belittling him, just through a casual exchange that made Takashi feel utterly inferior.

Jealousy isn't scary.

What's scary is when you look up at a towering peak and realize… you don't even have the courage to climb.

Takashi had once been that kind of coward.

Because he'd been soaked in rain before, Takashi now planned to rip up Masamune's umbrella—

So that he could experience that same storm.

What did he go through?

Adagaki Aki had only meant it as a throwaway comment, but when Takashi replied with, "Yeah," she froze.

Because the Takashi she remembered—was rebellious, confident, and composed.

The kind of guy who'd point a baseball bat at Shuwa Academy and yell:

"Bark one more time and see what happens!"

He even dared to step up and pitch at the team's most desperate moment, walking onto the field as if it were a casual stroll.

Faced with hecklers hurling things at him, he could sit calmly on the team bus, watching them like they were circus monkeys.

Adagaki Aki couldn't imagine—just what kind of person could make even Takashi feel so ashamed that he didn't even have the courage to face them?

Her curiosity toward Takashi only deepened.

She found that there were just too many contradictions—both logical and illogical—about him.

Not far away from them, Tsubame, who was pretending to browse souvenirs but was actually eavesdropping, had the same thoughts.

She felt that beneath Takashi's youthful exterior hid a soul that didn't belong to his age.

It was as if someone from another world had borrowed his body.

Could there really be some otherworldly soul inside him? Tsubame thought, then chuckled at her own idea.

What nonsense.

..

Makabe Masamune left, and Adagaki Aki also saw no more reason to stay, so she left too.

She had originally come to meet Makabe Masamune.

Bringing Takashi along had just been to deal with the hassle.

"Need me to give you a ride back?"

Sitting in the car, Adagaki Aki looked at Takashi through the lowered window.

"No need. I've got another date with a girl tonight."

Takashi replied straightforwardly, not bothering to hide anything.

"Will you die if you stay away from women for one day?"

For some reason, Adagaki Aki suddenly felt a twinge of annoyance.

It was a feeling she never thought she'd have toward Takashi.

"Of course. Don't tell me the ojou-sama is falling for me?"

He grinned.

"Like you? Even if I liked a dog, I wouldn't like you."

Adagaki Aki snapped, then rolled up the window and ordered the driver: "Drive."

Just as the window was almost closed, something slipped through the gap and fell onto the backseat.

Adagaki Aki turned and saw it was a dolphin-shaped keychain.

She froze for a moment.

He actually noticed?

She had seen it in the gift shop and liked it, but because Makabe Masamune was with her, she was afraid he'd laugh at her, so she didn't buy it. 

She thought she could just get it later.

But she had completely forgotten.

She hadn't expected Takashi to notice.

As she turned to look at him again, the car had already started moving, and she could only see the boy standing under the setting sun, smiling and waving goodbye.

Bathed in golden light, the sunset seemed to serve as his perfect backdrop.

She didn't look away until he had completely disappeared from view.

"So annoying!"

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Usually it all starts from curiosity, be careful Aki-ojou..

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