Chapter 2: Ants, Gyarus, and a Dangerous Cleaning Gig

I was awoken by the Japanese horse racing Cup anthem blaring from my phone. Ugh, time to wake up.

A knock at the door interrupted my groggy thoughts. That’s weird. I never get visitors this early. Could it be the landlord?

I walked to the door and opened it. To my surprise—

“Ah, good morning! Oh, you haven’t told me your name yet.”

“I’m Satoshi Nakayama. You can just call me Satoshi. Nakayama is my family name.”

“Ah, Satoshi-san. That’s such a cute name.”

“Eh? Cute? You mean… cool, right?”

“Hehe, nope! Totally cute. Anyway, here—I made you breakfast.”

I stood frozen for a second, trying to process what just happened. I got breakfast and got called cute. Well, she said my name was cute, but that still counts, right?

“Ehh, Satoshi-san? Are you okay?”

“Oh! Yeah, thank you, Yui-san,” I stammered, taking the plate from her hands.

“Be sure to clean it before returning it, okay? That way, I can make you something even more delicious. Or maybe something spicier~” She touched her lipstick-covered lips teasingly.

“Ehh… yeah. Anyway, see you, Yui-san.”

I closed the door and quickly ate the breakfast she gave me. The taste was... how do I put it... kind of bland and sweet? Wait, isn’t this supposed to be yakimeshi (Japanese fried rice)?

Well, I can’t complain. I’m no expert in cooking either.

After breakfast, I cleaned the plate and went through my usual morning routine—bath, get dressed, pack my books.

As I headed outside, the warm sun greeted my skin. I saw Yui downstairs and decided to thank her.

“Hey, Yui-san. Thanks for the breakfast.”

“Oh? Did you like it, Satoshi-san?”

Oh no. Should I lie? Or tell her the truth?

“Ehh… honestly, Yui-san, maybe it’s just me, but it tasted kind of… sweet?”

“Oh, you flirt~ Of course it’s sweet! It was made by yours truly.”

“No, I mean literally sweet. Did you put sugar instead of salt?”

“Eh? Oh! Yeah, I mislabeled my salt and sugar to fool the ants.”

“Wait… what? You put different labels on your sugar and salt?”

“Yeah! That way the ants get confused.”

I tried to process that.

“Uhh, Yui-san, I don’t think that’s going to work.”

“Why not?”

“Well… ants can tell the difference by smell. They can’t read labels.”

“Eh? Really? Oh well… I guess I better fix it. Thanks for the tip, Satoshi-san!”

“No problem. Anyway, see you later, Yui-san.”

I continued on to school.

Before class, I stopped by the teachers' office to return the spare apartment key to Ichinose-sensei.

I knocked. “Excuse me, is Ichinose-sensei here?”

Every teacher in the room turned to look at me. Yikes.

“Ah, yes~ Come here, Satoshi-san,” Ichinose-sensei said with a smirk.

“Hehe, did you have fun yesterday? And hey, did you steal one of my panties as a souvenir? I think I’m missing one.”

“What?! No! I swear I didn’t steal anything, Sensei!” I blurted out.

All the teachers stared at me.

“Ah—I mean, I didn’t stall on my assignment! I’ll turn it in at lunch!”

Everyone slowly returned to their work.

“Hehe, sorry~ I’ll keep my promise too, you know.”

“Eh? About helping my business?”

“Yeah. I got a job for you, but the condition is… a little unusual.”

“What do you mean, Sensei?”

“He wants you to dress as a girl while cleaning his place. Not a big deal, right? Hehe~”

“Wait, what?! Totally a big deal!”

“Come on, Satoshi-san. The pay’s really good.”

She knows how desperate I am. Dang it.

“Fine. Can I get his contact?”

“Knew you’d agree~ Here you go. I sent it to your phone.”

The name read: Adachi Nakamura. I’ll contact him during lunch.

“Anyway, I need to get to class. See you later, Sensei.”

“And I might recommend you for more jobs like this~ That’s okay, right?”

“Eh… sure.”

I made my way to class.

First period: Math. I paid attention for about 3 minutes before zoning out and reading a news article. Inflation’s rising again. Maybe I should invest in gold?

As if I can even afford 1 gram.

Then I got a message.

Unknown Number: “Hello, is this Nakamura Satoshi?”

Startled, I quickly replied. Customer service mode ON.

Me: “Yes, this is Nakamura Satoshi. How can I help you, sir?”

Adachi: “Just confirming that you’ll be available after school. You can come right away. I’ll be waiting.”

He sounds a bit… eager. But I need the money.

Me: “Yes sir. I’ll come straight after school once I get my cleaning tools.”

Adachi: “No need. I have cleaning equipment here.”

Me: “Ah, alright. I’ll head there directly.”

Kinda scary how excited this guy sounds. But oh well.

At lunch, I grabbed the usual: special combo with no main dish or side—just rice and miso soup. A delicacy.

“Hey dude, you getting the usual?” Gotou asked.

“Yeah. You?”

“Nah, I’m getting the deluxe combo with cola. My dad sent me more money, and the Princess Majyuna figure preorder got delayed.”

“Oh. Lucky you.”

“Hey, real talk—if someone paid you to crossdress, would you do it?”

“What? Where is this coming from? Of course not!”

“Even for a limited edition Princess Majyuna figure?”

“Eh… maybe.”

“Knew it. Good to know, bro.”

We sat down. I noticed Yui-san sitting across the room with her gyaru friends.

“Hey dude, who are you looking at?” Gotou turned to follow my gaze.

“Oh, checking out the gyaru, huh?”

Yui noticed me and smiled.

“Wait… you know her? Bro, introduce me!”

“Yeah, her name's Yui. And no. Hell no.”

“Fair. She’s probably way out of our league anyway.”

“Really? Who’s in her league then?”

“You know. Jocks, old dudes, rich university boys.”

“Those last two are just your weird fantasies. You read too much doujin and JAV.”

“Hey, I’m telling you—those types exist.”

“Sure. Now eat. Or I’m taking your tempura.”

I snatched it before he could react.

“Hey! No fair!”

Still, Gotou’s words lingered in my mind. I hope Yui isn't that type of girl.

Bell rings.

“Let’s head back,” Gotou sighed.

We returned to class.

I spent the next period half-asleep, wondering how weird this job was going to be. Crossdressing, huh? Guess there’s a first for everything.

Final bell rings.

Oh boy. Can’t wait to see what I just signed up for.