Ryoma keeps walking deeper into the gym while listening quietly to Matsuda's response over the phone.
Midway toward the hallway, he actually runs into Reika. She blinks slightly after seeing him up close.
"Ah, Ryoma…"
But Ryoma simply removes the sunglasses without slowing down, places them into her hands, and continues walking past her while still talking into the phone.
"No, seriously," he says. "I'm asking because I genuinely don't know how rich people hire bodyguards."
Reika remains standing there silently with the sunglasses in her hands while watching him disappear farther down the hallway.
At first, the familiar disappointment resurfaces quietly inside her chest. But the more she replays the scene inside her head, the more that feeling slowly mixes with uneasiness instead.
The pale face, the sweat, and the serious tone in his voice when speaking about bodyguards all feel deeply out of place.
"…Bodyguards?" she mutters softly.
