Episode 40 - “The Hormone That Takes You Back in Time” — Part One

A warm day in early spring, as the cherry blossoms began to bloom.

Amid the hectic days of the fiscal year-end, Shota found himself deep in thought at work.

He recalled something Ryoko had said during one of her hormone lectures:

“Shota-kun, I can tell exactly what you’re thinking and feeling—everything♡”

…Which got him wondering—could he actually communicate with Ryoko without using his smartphone?

Time for an experiment.

In a nearby booth, Ryoko was confidently giving a presentation in fluent English to some foreign clients. Shota sat at his desk and tried thinking:

(Maybe I’ll hit up a hostess club tonight.)

…Nothing happened.

Hmm. It seemed Ryoko could sense “emotions” from hormone signals, but not read thoughts like a telepath.

What if he added emotion to it?

Shota recalled the time a hostess had flirtatiously touched his arm during a bachelor party and allowed a mischievous grin to creep across his face.

Suddenly—

His PC’s mouse started moving on its own. The computer opened Notepad, and the keys began slowly typing(in Japanese), one by one:

“kya ba ku ra, da me ze tt a i” (Hostess club—absolutely not.)

“Whoa!!”

Watching the letters appear one by one like some kind of virus-infected script sent chills down his spine.

He nervously glanced over at Ryoko, who was still locked in serious discussion with the clients.

Was she really doing this during a business negotiation…?

Shota couldn't help but be impressed by her multitasking skills.

Then—more text appeared:

“W T F, are you thinking about? Get back to work!”

“…Now it’s in English?!”

Apparently, it was easier for her to scold him in English.

Alright then—how about this: (I want to go cherry-blossom viewing with Ryoko-senpai!)

He tried imagining a scene under fully bloomed cherry trees.

“h e l l o, you are on mute?” (…Hello? Are you saying something? I can’t hear you~)

“No good…”

After more trial and error, Shota finally imagined a vivid scene:

Cuddling up to Ryoko under the cherry blossoms, linking it with last night’s memories of being spoiled—and gave a smug little grin.

Then Ryoko’s invisible hands typed—

“Challenge accepted.”

“Oh! She got the message!”

It seemed the key was to “grin.” Just thinking wasn’t enough. This was surprisingly tricky...

A moment later—

“leave early to prepare, see you at home, love xx”

The message was typed into Notepad at lightning speed.

Just then, Ryoko stepped out of the meeting booth, calm and poised.

“Shota-kun, I’m heading home early to get ready♡”

With a wink, she breezed out of the office.

Of course, this left the meeting booth in chaos, having suddenly lost its lead facilitator.

“Why!? Where has Ryoko gone!?”

(…So this is where my wife’s sense of professional priorities lies…)

Shota stood stunned at his desk.

And so—

To be continued in Part Two.