Posting on behalf of Januva whilst he’s on his j.a.pan trip~
Chapter 6 – Fumi thinks that part-time jobs are a necessity in society
TL: Januva
Editors: Puissansa & Momielxai
Kasha-kasha…
The soft sound of a camera"s shutter could be heard in town.
Miroku put on the clothes prepared for the model, and was currently posing as instructed, since he was still an amateur at modelling. He somehow managed to do it, despite his nervousness.
The short Fumi was behind the photographer, and she jumped around excitedly, gesturing [Do your best!], which helped soothe Miroku"s anxiety.
When they arrived at the location, the publishers initially disapproved of having an amateur here, but seeing his gentle demeanor, they became interested in having him model. They ended up saying [There won"t be a next time] and allowed him to do it.
Yoichi-san told the publishers that Miroku was actually [helping him who was troubled, by forcing himself to come]. He had an unusually gentle atmosphere, and even greeted the cameraman, which the publishers found to be touching. .
「Amazing. All the clothes look good on you!」
「Although I usually dress appropriately, I got to learn other ways of dressing myself today. I"m glad I came.」
Miroku got embarra.s.sed by Fumi"s compliments, but was actually happy to try on the various outfits.
(I was only able to help act as the subst.i.tute because I was tall….but I"m glad that I could help Yoichi-san anyway.)
As Miroku watched Fumi walk towards Yoichi, who had just ended his business meeting with the publishers, he unconsciously leaked out a smile that captivated everyone present.
The professional cameraman was the only one who moved.
The photo he captured at this moment later alleviated him to fame, and he was quoted saying [This photo brought me to where I am today.]
The photo itself would cause a huge commotion in the future.
「Thanks for your help today, Miroku-kun! You saved me!」
「I"m happy I was able to help. However, because this isn"t a place for amateurs, the next time around…」
「Of course. Sorry for making you do this.」
「It"s fine, I had fun. Although that probably isn"t good. It feels like I"m taking this too lightly.」
「You"re a really serious person huh, Osaki-san」
That’s right, he is a perfectionist. While doing his best as a model, he ended up treating it like it was his profession.
「But, I had fun, so if you have an emergency like that again, just call me. If it"s just to help display the clothes… no, that"s not it. It was fun only because Fumi-chan was there.」
「Eeeh!?」
「Because of Fumi-chan"s cheering, I didn"t feel too nervous. Sorry for not saying this earlier but thanks, Fumi-chan.」
「Heh? Eeeeh? Som-someone like me…」
「Hahaha, Fumi played a huge role! Alright! Let"s go eat something nice today!」
「Oji-san, if you overeat…」
「I know, yakiniku without rice is fine, right?」
「As expected of Yoichi-san.」
The two men, whose weight used to be above 100kg, made wry smiles as they headed towards the yakiniku store, with the shorter Fumi trailing behind….
Almost immediately, Fumi collided into a pair of salarymen and fell on her b.u.t.t, rebounding due to their difference in size.
「Ouch… sorry!」
「That hurt, nn? What"s this kid… isn"t she cute?」
The two salarymen smirked as they watched Fumi stand up and pat down her b.u.t.t. Although they had fairly well-featured faces, their vulgar expressions ruined it.
Fumi bowed and apologised, and was about to leave, when one of the salaryman grabbed her wrist.
「Kya- What are you doing!?」
「You"re cute. If you want to apologise for knocking into me, why don"t you join us for a drink.」
「That hurts…please let go.」
Perhaps because he was drunk, the man did not let her go, but continued pulling on her hand instead. The other man just stood by and smirked.
「Come on, let"s go.」
「Stop….Oji-san!!」
As Fumi was not able to stand it anymore, she cried out. Yoichi and Miroku, who noticed she didn"t follow along, returned in a panic.
「What"s wrong, Fumi? Who are these guys?」
「Oji-san….help….」
Yoichi saw Fumi tearing up and naturally moved towards her, while Miroku spoke in a carefree voice.
「Hm? Isn"t this Gesuta-san* and Ahoya-san*? How many years has it been? Long time no see.」
(TLN: He makes fun of their names here; Gesu means lowlife, and Aho means idiot.)
「Ha? Who"re you?」
「Who the h.e.l.l are you?」
「Your ex-colleague*, Osaki. Oh right, I should take this off…」
(TLN: the word used here refers to a colleague who entered the same company at the same time.)
Miroku removed his spectacles and hat, and showed his face to the two of them.
「I"m Osaki.」
「「Like I said, who?!」」
Miroku tilted his head at their tsukkomi, but saw that Fumi"s wrist was still being held. He abruptly put on a serious face, and moved towards the man. He applied pressure at a point between the man"s elbow and muscle.
This is a pressure point that causes numbness and pain in one"s arm.
「Ow!!」
The pain caused the man to reflexively release Fumi"s hand.
「Are you alright, Fumi? Let"s go, Yoichi-san」
Miroku"s principle is that, those who lacked the 5 Confucian virtues, are not worth his time. Though this is a view he developed after he was retrenched and had delved back into old animes, he hoped it wasn"t wrong when dealing with people.
「Hold on a moment. By Osaki, you mean that fatty, Osaki?」
「Ah? Seriously? You"re kidding, right?」
「The guy who was only in the company for about 3 years? The guy who left the company in an unsightly manner because of restructuring?」
「What"s with this image change? Or rather, are you even working now?」
Miroku remained silent.
It was true that back then, he left the company without resistance. While it might be because he was already feeling down due to the exhausting work, but it might also be because the company never recognised his efforts and merits which made him depressed.
Although he did think that the way these two peers of his managed to avoid retrenchment was unfair, he now felt that his retrenchment was a good thing.
(TLN: Same as previously mentioned.)
Because of the retrenchment, his family ties deepened, and he made friends like Yoichi and Fumi.
However, he felt that there is no need to mention it here, so he remained silent.
「Are the two of you an acquaintance of my agency"s model?」
「「Ha?」」
「He"s a model from my agency.」
「Osaki-san is our poster boy!! He"s really popular!!」
Fumi"s shout attracted the attention of the pedestrians nearby. At this moment, Miroku’s face was not covered.
His handsome face was also made more prominent in contrast with the two salarymen nearby.
「That guy is so cool…」
「Eh? A model? An Idol?」
「Are they shooting a movie? Where"s the camera?」
A crowd quickly gathered, causing Gesu and Aho to panic.
They muttered [Model? What the h.e.l.l?] and [Are you stupid?] and ran away.
People continued to gather around and requested for photos.
「See what you did, Fumi?」
「So-sorry!」
「Let"s run away!」
Sorr~y! The three of them shouted while making their escape from the crowd that enclosed them.