Chapter 23: Give Me Another of Yoshimi Uehara’s Weaknesses!
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"Mrs. Uehara, what are you doing?" Haruhi Harano asked with curiosity.
"Ah? N-nothing," Yasumi Uehara replied, reaching up to smooth the strands of hair stuck to her forehead. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was breathing a little heavily, as though she had just finished some strenuous activity.
Her hair, plaited in a braid, fell over her ample chest, making her white blouse strain tight across her curves, the fabric beaded with tiny drops of sweat. The perspiration, mingling with the shirt, clung to her skin, while below she wore black jeans that accentuated her peach-shaped hips in a most alluring way.
Yet, for some reason, there was also a faint sweat stain at the seam of her black jeans.
Unlike the healthy, toned beauty of Eri Momodani, Yasumi Uehara exuded a gentler, more passionate allure. There was a mature, bewitching air about her that seemed to stir the restless hearts of young men at any moment.
Haruhi found himself gulping as he looked at her, a surge of excitement running through his whole body.
"If you need any help, be sure to let me know," Haruhi said with a broad grin, flexing his thick arm to show off his not-so-defined biceps.
But his recent rise in charm was not for nothing; every morning he worked out and spent all his attribute points on increasing his charisma.
Now his charisma had reached 81 points!
If he succeeded in losing weight, Haruhi Harano would definitely become a top-tier heartthrob in Tokyo.
Even now, he was quite attractive. At school, Yukiko Ogata's gaze had grown stickier and more longing each day.
Seeing Haruhi's display, Yasumi Uehara's cheeks reddened even more, her breathing growing heavier.
"Y-yes, thank you," Yasumi stammered, then hurried away in a fluster.
He watched her mature figure disappear, and Haruhi shrugged.
He stepped into the staff break room, placed his bag in the locker, changed into his uniform, tied on an apron, and prepared to start his shift.
"Two kelp rolls, please... Ah, and a baumkuchen too..."
"Coming right up." Haruhi nodded, using tongs to place kelp rolls into a disposable box.
"How can you eat oden without daikon? Give me one—no, two pieces!"
"Of course."
He added two chunks of daikon, soaked through with savory broth, to the box.
"Thank you for your patronage," Haruhi said, handing over the box with a smile as he sent off another wave of customers.
Glancing at the oden counter, only a few battered pieces of fried tofu remained. He quickly fetched prepped mochi pouches and konjac from the cold storage, sorting them neatly into the machine, filling it with broth, and setting it to cook.
A trickle of customers came and went, and before he knew it, it was half past seven. Haruhi left the register for a moment to affix discount stickers to the unsold bento boxes.
When all was done, he noted Mrs. Uehara was nowhere in sight, so he pulled out his phone.
Rinmi Kiyosuzu had sent several messages.
"What are you doing?" 16:01
"Jerk! Why did you read my message but not reply? [Watermelon slashed, juice splattering]" 16:05
"Just wait till you get home tonight! How dare you ignore me! [Fury]" 16:15
LINE's design was rather simple; after sending a message, it showed whether the other person had read it. In Japan, being a serial dater was exhausting—if you saw a message, you were expected to reply.
"The convenience store has been busy all day, I only just finished up. What time will you be home tonight?" Haruhi replied after thinking for a moment.
In truth, the store hadn't been busy at all t