Chapter 10 - The Second Phase of Escaping the ‘Mob Heroine’ Status
It had been about three weeks since summer vacation began. By this point, both of us had completely gotten used to our early morning exercise routine.
Mogami-san had also stopped wearing her tracksuit entirely, making t-shirts her default attire. During our runs, her ample chest bounced lightly up and down with each step. It seemed she had finally overcome most of her resistance to wearing lighter clothing.
"That was another good exercise. Here, a drink for you."
“For me? Thanks.”
"Don't mention it. It's just my way of saying thanks for... you know, always keeping me company like this."
What's with that? Isn’t she just the cutest?
Feeling my heart warm at Mogami-san’s thoughtfulness, I accepted the sports drink. It was ice-cold, probably chilled with a cold pack. Perfect for cooling my body after our morning run.
After finishing our run, we rested under a large bridge, chatting casually as we cooled down. Normally, once this little conversation ended, we'd each head our separate ways home, but... these days, with Mogami-san's mindset becoming so much more positive, I've been thinking it's time we should move on to the next phase.
She was growing, little by little. And honestly, I could feel like the returns we're getting from just running were starting to diminish.
To truly escape from her ‘mob heroine’ status, there were other things she needed to do. And so, as preparation for that... there was one more thing I wanted to take care of today.
“Mogami-san. Are you free this afternoon?”
“This afternoon…? Of course. Why?”
“I want to go to a hair salon.”
“Hehh? I didn’t expect that, Sato-kun. You’re actually kind of stylish, huh? You get your hair done at a salon?”
"Huh? What are you talking about? You're the one getting your hair done, Mogami-san."
“—Eh.”
She froze, mouth slightly open. She looked like I'd just told her that pigs came from apples. I really didn't think it was that shocking of a suggestion.
"That's why I asked if you were free, right? I'm talking about you, not me."
"N-N-N-No way! That's impossible! I've... I've never been to a salon before!"
“Really? Then how do you usually take care of your hair?”
“Well, um… I just… do it myself.”
Yeah, I pretty much figured. I mean, for one thing, Mogami-san’s hair was quite thick. Her bangs were cut perfectly straight across, sure, but the rest of it... were just kind of a bushy mess. It was so long that taking care of it must have been a nightmare. There were split ends here and there, and some strands stuck out in odd directions.
Don’t get me wrong though, I still liked her hair as it was. The long bangs that almost hid her eyes and the slightly messy texture gave her a natural, unpolished charm. Kind of like the delicate beauty of a bonsai tree… though that was probably just my weird personal taste.
“Since we’re at it, wouldn’t it be nice to get it trimmed properly? It must be hot when we exercise, right?”
“Well… yeah, it is hot, so I have been thinking about cutting it shorter, but…”
So one way or another, it seemed Mogami-san had been feeling the inconvenience, too. In fact, I'd seen her fussing with her hair like it was in the way several times while we were running. That was part of the reason I suggested it.
But, her reason for not going to a salon... It was... exactly what you'd expect.
“I can’t make appointments through the phone, you know! Plus, the small talk they do while they're cutting your hair... Just thinking about it makes me so nervous I feel like I'm going to throw up."
Yeah, that made sense. Mogami-san was, without a doubt, shy around strangers. Thanks to her getting used to me, she's actually pretty talkative, but... having to deal with someone she's never met before, and on top of that, a person with a stylish job like a hairdresser? That must be an incredibly difficult ordeal for her.
Of course, I'd already anticipated that problem.
“It’s fine. I already made the appointment.”
“Y-you did that for me?”
“Yeah. And don’t worry about small talk either since I’ll be there with you. I’m great at surviving awkward conversations full of polite small talk. Just leave it to me. I can stretch out five hours on weather, politics, and baseball if I have to.”
For the record, I'm not shy with strangers at all. Well, okay, back when I was actually Mogami-san's age, I wasn't great at talking to people. But... once I became an adult and got assigned to the sales department, I was thrown into an environment where "being shy" was not an option. My rookie days were hell, but thanks to that, my communication skills got real polished.
The backlash, of course, was that I didn't want to talk to anyone in my private time, so I just escaped into games and manga... but that's not relevant right now.
Anyway! A simple conversation with a hairdresser we've never met? Just leave it to me, man, it's a piece of cake.
"Just leave it all to me. I have a proven track record of surviving a five-hour work drinking party on nothing but empty chatter."
“Drinking party? Sato-kun, we’re supposed to be the same age, right???”
Physically, yeah. But mentally? Not quite.
So she could just leave this to the adult in the room—me.
And with that, our next mission was set. Today, we were going to get Mogami-san’s hair done.
