For Some Reason, My Ex-girlfriend, Who Lost Interest in Me, and My Current Girlfriend, Whom I’ve Kno

☆ Shota Komori ☆

“What do you think it takes for a person with mediocre looks to become sophisticated?”

Izumi-san asked while looking through men’s wear.

What does it take for a normal man to be cool?

Hmm, I wonder. I really have no idea.

But I’m glad to see that she’s choosing clothes that suit me.

“Is it fashion sense?”

“Boo~hoo. Wrong.”

“What? That’s not it?”

“The correct answer is–“

Izumi-san stopped looking for things and turned around.

She closed the distance between us with a white shirt and black pants in her hand.

EH, EH, WHAT!? SHE’S TOO CLOSE!!!

Don’t tell me the correct answer is to get used to women!?

S-She can’t! No matter how much she wants to thank me, a girl can’t be this casual about–

Izumi-san’s face came closer and closer. The next moment, I closed my eyes.

“–A handsome plastic surgery♡.”

“Damn it! I figured that’s what you were going to say anyway!”

I-It’s not like I expected anything!

I’m an ugly duckling anyway.

“Eh, what, what? Your cheeks are getting red. You didn’t think ‘getting used to women’ was the right answer, did you?”

“I have no idea what you’re getting at!”

“Hmm, if you want, I can teach you how to do it. Boy~”

Izumi-san relaxed her mouth with a grin and traced my chest with her index finger.

Something bad is running up my spine.

S-She’s not an angel! She’s a demon! (T/N: Tenshi means angel. It’s a play on her name.)

“Fufu. I might be a little demon.”

“Don’t get inside my head!”

“Is there a brain in there?”

“Whoa. Your tongue is as sharp as ever.”

“Oh, well, the joke’s only on Shota-san’s face.”

“No, I’d like my face to be taken seriously if possible.”

“Actually, I wouldn’t say your fashion sense is wrong.”

“If so, why the mean comments…”

“I just want to emphasize that you don’t need good sense in fashion. That much I can assure you. Okay, it looks like the size is fine. For now, I’ll just give you ‘the fish’ for today. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other for a while anyway, and I’ll give you a lecture on ‘how to fish’ in due course.”

“Um…”

I was unable to follow the story and got left behind.

Izumi-san placed a white shirt and black pants over my body, took my measurements, and handed them to me.

“Then let’s go to the cash register. Ah, please go to the fitting room and change your clothes properly. After that, we’ll go straight to the beauty salon. Fufu. I can’t wait.”

☆

“Ohh~, you look so different!”

When I left the beauty salon after getting a cut, Izumi-san greeted me with a round of applause.

Wearing a white shirt and black pants (which apparently are called slacks), I looked unbelievably mature.

Although I was honestly happy that my appearance had improved dramatically, I felt a bit frustrated.

I felt like I wasn’t myself… Something like the feeling of ‘”Have I gotten taller?’

There was not a trace of the childishness of T-shirts and shorts left.

“Um… Izumi-san. To be honest, I think I’ve become more fashionable, but… Does this suit me?”

“It’s perfect! Girls are attracted to boys who are dependable. We are passive creatures. What is important is to be ‘mature’ and ‘clean’. The slacks you are wearing is mature, and the white shirt is clean. And above all, your hair looks so much better. It was nice to have your eyebrows trimmed as well, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, well…”

“Girls have the magic of makeup, but boys basically can’t use it. So, inevitably, the only things they can control are their hair and eyebrows. As for the hair, Shota-san’s hair was trimmed on the sides, which is called a two-block, and it was made neat and tidy. Be careful with hairstyles with bulging sides. You can also have your eyebrows professionally trimmed to give a crisp, masculine impression. Shota-san is a thin man, and this makes him look all the more handsome!”

I-Izumi-san somehow became suddenly more talkative. And her eyes seem to be sparkling…

Like a mother who is excited to see her adorable son set sail?

Motherhood was overflowing from that Izumi-san, not the usual venom. It felt like snow had come down…

“Now you can start your plans for the afternoon. It’s an outfit you wouldn’t be embarrassed to wear anywhere.”

“Um… Thank you very much. But were you really happy? Thanks to Izumi-san, I do feel much better, but it’s already time…”

“…Please don’t worry about it. This is what I wanted to do. Ah, this would have been more interesting if Shota-san had a girlfriend. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see the fun reactions. That’s my only regret.”

Kuhhuu~, Izumi-san regretted.

Have I changed that drastically?

I can’t really feel it.

“That said, thank you very much for your time with me today. It was a great distraction.”

“No, I really didn’t–“

“Well then, I’m going to look around the outlet mall some more, so we’ll split up here.”

“Ah, yes!”