Convenience Store Manager: Ran entered at the Start

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"Akira, Store Manager."

"Are you still hiring at your convenience store?"

Suzuki Sonoko flashed a bright, toothy grin, her lips curling up in a playful smirk.

"No problem."

"If you want, you can come work at my convenience store anytime."

Sonoko, who had been joking just a moment ago, suddenly became serious.

She was only half-joking…

Of course!

Deep down, she was hoping Akira would actually let her stay.

"If you're interested, you can come help out on weekends."

"But I can only pay you 3,000 yen per day, Ojou-sama."

Sonoko nodded without hesitation.

The money didn't matter to her!

What she truly wanted was this simple, unpretentious life.

More importantly…

She wanted to fall in love!

"You know, my best friend, Ran, is pretty great too…"

If she was the only one working at CLOVER Convenience Store, there would definitely be some

awkward moments.

"I was already thinking about having both of you work here."

Akira had his reasons!

This was the perfect excuse to keep Ran around at the store.

In the future… things would be much more convenient.

After 8 PM, foot traffic at CLOVER Convenience Store started to slow down, giving them more time

to chat.

At that moment…

Ran, who had been looking for an opportunity to talk to Akira alone, finally saw her chance.

She followed him when he stepped away to use the restroom.

The moment she turned into the alleyway—

Akira suddenly spun around and trapped her against the wall with his arm.

"Huff… Huff…"

A different location, but the same familiar scene.

Last night's moment flashed through Ran's mind once again.

"Don't mess around."

Here?!

No way!

If Akira tried anything in a place like this, they'd both end up on the front page of The Tokyo

Daily tomorrow morning.

"Am I the one messing around?"

"You're the one sneaking after me with bad intentions."

As he spoke, the distance between them shrank. Their noses almost brushed against each other.

Akira could clearly feel Ran's warm breath and hear her heart beating faster.

"You're overthinking it."

"I came to ask for something."

"Second shelf, third row, middle section…"

Akira thought for a moment before using his convenience store's system to pinpoint what Ran

wanted.

"Are you… pregnant?"

That's right!

The thing Ran was looking for was a pregnancy test from the adult section.

"Don't jump to conclusions."

"I just… I just want to make sure."

Could she really be blamed for this?

If this guy hadn't been so reckless, she wouldn't be feeling so anxious now!

She had considered going somewhere else to buy a test…

But—

She didn't even have the courage to pay for it in public!

"Alright… fine."

"I'll get it for you when we go back."

"And if you really are pregnant, I'll take you to the hospital for a check-up, okay?"

Akira lifted Ran's chin with his fingers, his tone teasing.

"Quit joking."

Pregnant? No way.

Come on!

She was still a high school student! If she ended up pregnant, it would be the biggest scandal in

Teitan High School's history.

The Tokyo Daily probably wouldn't even have enough space to cover it all!

"Hey—"

"What exactly are we now?"

Ran's mind was a mess.

Honestly…

She couldn't get Akira out of her head anymore.

She dreamed about him. She thought about him the moment she woke up.

"Of course, you're my woman."

"What else?"

"Or… would you rather be my lover? Or just a fling?"

Ran's scalp tingled, and a chill ran down her spine.

No!

She had never thought about that!

If she really had to choose, she would rather be the first one.

"If you don't want to follow me to the restroom, go wait inside."

"I'll bring you the test later."

As soon as he said that—

Ran's eyes filled with resistance.

"No!"

"Make sure you give it to me quietly."

Suzuki Sonoko was the queen of gossip.

If that girl found out she took a pregnancy test from CLOVER Convenience Store…

Ran didn't even want to imagine what would happen next.

"Weren't you just saying you wanted to be my woman?"

Ran frowned slightly.

That's different!

Right now, she didn't want anyone to know about her relationship with Akira.

"I don't want anyone to find out about this."

"Do you understand?"

"If you say anything, I won't forgive you."

Akira watched her walk away, a playful smirk appearing on his lips.

Feelings grow over time?

Yeah.

This was exactly what they meant by feelings growing over time.

Ran had already been completely conquered by his dominance and strength.

….