After that, Tsubasa ran a few steps toward the door without saying a word, then rushed back again to pick up her small leather shoes.
She tried to put them on, but after several failed attempts, she ended up hopping on one foot in a flustered mess.
After struggling for a while, she only managed to put on one shoe, and she even snagged her sock, tearing a small line that exposed a tiny patch of fair skin at her calf.
"Should I help you put it on?" Kaoru asked carefully.
Tsubasa glared at him.
Then she simply gave up, grabbed the remaining shoe, quickly brushed past Kaho, and ran away without looking back.
"Will Nanase-san come back?"
"Probably."
"If I were seen like that, it would become a lifelong black history."
"..."
Kaoru felt somewhat awkward.
Fortunately, he had been through many trials already, so he was not too shaken by Kaho's faintly resentful gaze.
"Did Shiina come here with you?"
"Yes. She wanted to discuss the writing contest with Producer-san, but then Producer-san was too much of a pervert and scared her away."
"...People might hear you."
"Oh, so Producer-san does care what other people think."
Kaoru had nothing to say. Kaho's gaze was far too resentful.
So he kept his distance from her, but played weird roleplay games with another underclassman?
Thankfully, Kaho did not keep clinging to that topic. She closed the office door, then turned around and walked toward Kaoru step by step.
She was also wearing her school uniform today, though she had not put on the blazer. Instead, she wore a vest with a short-sleeved shirt, revealing a stretch of smooth, fair arms.
Her skirt swayed lightly as she moved, and her white socks gave her whole appearance a clean, cheerful look that was pleasant to the eye.
"Kaho, nothing strange has happened recently, right?"
Kaoru tried to redirect her attention. "As an idol, you always need to pay attention to your safety."
Kaho was the youngest idol at 283 Production.
Although she worked very hard, her presence could not quite compare to her seniors at the agency.
On top of that, her unit was not the strongest group under 283 Production either.
At best, it could be considered a second- or third-line idol unit.
Even so, her popularity was not something to underestimate. After all, she belonged to an agency that had held major stages before.
Her value had also risen with that, and she would naturally receive more resources.
The fact that her identity had only been exposed now was probably a matter of luck.
Kaoru could not expect every student to be interested in idols. Most likely, only a few happened to recognize Kaho.
As for everyone else, they were probably just watching the fun.
"With Producer-san here, I'm definitely safe."
Kaho walked up to Kaoru. "Aside from a few small troubles, like people asking me for autographs sometimes, I haven't met any haters."
Then Kaho very naturally moved close to Kaoru and leaned against him.
She sniffed lightly for a moment, and after not noticing anything strange, she smiled.
"Producer-san really does like feet. You haven't changed at all."
Although Kaho had never personally experienced anything like that, she had been at the agency long enough to know plenty about Producer-san's preferences.
"Was Nanase-san just now Producer-san's next girlfriend?"
"She isn't."
Kaoru himself was not sure what exactly he was denying.
"And yet Producer-san would rather go after my classmate than the girl already right in front of him?"
Kaho looked up at Kaoru with a pitiful expression. Clearly, there was an extremely cute younger idol standing right here.
"What kind of person recommends herself like that?"
To be honest, in Kaoru's impression, Kaho had once been a much younger girl.
Even though that was no longer the case, the impression was still difficult to erase.
"If I don't recommend myself, Producer-san is going to run off with someone else."
Kaho slowly puffed up her cheeks. "Who told you to be so amazing? In the blink of an eye, even Nanase-san ended up playing weird games with you."
In truth, she had faintly heard the repeated "loser" insults from outside.
The voice had sounded especially exaggerated, so she had deliberately called out to warn Kaoru.
As for what happened afterward, that had nothing to do with her.
"There are special circumstances with her. Because I care about Kaho, I'm trying to treasure Kaho properly."
Kaoru gently held the girl in his arms and spoke warmly.
However, just as she had said before, Kaho had grown up more than he remembered. H
olding her made Kaoru unable to stay completely calm.
"Producer-san always tricks people like this. The same move won't work on a Saint twice."
Despite saying that, Kaho still buried her face in his chest with some embarrassment.
It was full of the scent she liked.
The scent of her Producer.
Kaoru gently patted her back, originally intending to comfort her.
But the soft figure in his arms already had a clear, grown-up shape to it, and he had to use a great deal of willpower to suppress the impulse to tease her.
Kaho shifted slightly in his arms, pressing close to him with complete trust.
"Producer-san?"
She began to smile mischievously. "You're reacting to me again. That's strange. You never used to react to me like this."
Kaoru's face darkened. He said irritably, "You said it yourself. That was before. What kind of grown girl still sits this close to a man? Didn't they tell you to keep some distance from men?"
"Ehehe. Of course I keep my distance from other people. But Producer-san is different."
Kaho smiled so brightly that her eyes curved like crescent moons. "What should I do? Thinking that Producer-san sees me differently now suddenly feels a little dangerous."
"I should send you back."
Kaoru's face went expressionless.
Kaho immediately puffed up her cheeks and hummed, "So stingy. It's not Producer-san's fault for liking cute girls. Producer-san should like cute girls!"
Preferably, someone cute like her.
Not only was she adorable, but she had also worked hard to grow more mature.
She could not think of any girl in the world who fit Producer-san's preferences more perfectly than she did.
After all, Producer-san had noticed her back when she was still much younger.
That meant Producer-san definitely liked girls with a cute, youthful charm.
So, no matter how much Hiori and Tōru-senpai kept scoring points like crazy, they were still...
Still...
Losers.
Quietly, of course.
Ahem.
Anyway, that was how it was!