In the private room to the right of theirs, separated by a shoji door,
Sasaki sat upright on a cushion, sipping warm tea, and murmured softly. "Katase must have heard their conversation by now."
"Huh? What?"
Lying diagonally on the cushion to his right, propping her head up with her right hand, was a strikingly beautiful woman.
However, her beauty was clearly the result of "technology and hard work"—a surgically enhanced look.
She frowned, her expression impatient, and asked:
"What are you talking about?"
Ignoring her tone, Sasaki shook his head and didn't answer her. Instead, he asked. "You two remember what to do later, right?"
Similarly not answering his question, the woman sat up straight, took a sip of sake from the table, and frowned.
"Can you really change us back?"
"..."
Pausing his chopsticks mid-air, Sasaki turned to look at her.
The woman in front of him, dressed in a black business suit, appeared to be in her late twenties.
Her features were delicate, with light makeup enhancing her beauty.
But her beauty was just that—beauty.
It was hard to pinpoint what exactly made her beautiful.
She was the kind of pretty that, after you looked away, you'd forget what she looked like.
In short, she lacked distinctiveness, like a mass-produced product, a "beautiful" template churned out by a factory.
And indeed, that was the case.
Having no interest in artificially created individuals, Sasaki studied the woman's face and smiled.
"Kitou, you know how much people hate what you've done. Do you really think you can change back just by helping out this once? Are you dreaming?"
"You!"
Changing genders didn't change one's temper.
Hearing Sasaki's words, which sounded like he was planning to take advantage of them without giving anything in return, Kitou Masami frowned and wanted to curse at him.
But the sheer force Sasaki had displayed earlier left her too intimidated to actually do it.
As long as there was hope of changing back, it was worth it.
Life only came once.
It wasn't worth risking her life just to vent her anger.
Afraid that Sasaki might kick her, Kitou Masami subconsciously moved a bit further away and asked.
"Then at least give me a specific number. You can't expect me to keep entertaining men forever."
"Tch~"
Sasaki's laugh carried a hint of mockery as he reached out, grabbed her hair, and yanked her closer.
Ignoring her cry of pain, he forced her to look him in the eye and said.
"When you were planning to harm Serizawa, did you ever think about giving her a specific number of chances?"
"Probably not, huh~?"
I let you sit here and gave you a chance to change back because your face is decent enough to be useful to me several times. But you're not indispensable."
"If you annoy me, I might just strip you naked and throw you outside... Hmm~ What do you think you'd look like tomorrow?"
"That... you probably know better than I do."
"No, no, please, I beg you, I know I was wrong. Please, I'll listen to you, I'll do whatever you say. Please, don't do that, I'm begging you."
Only scum truly understand the methods of other scum.
Knowing full well what would happen if she were thrown outside in her current state,
Kitou Masami's voluptuous, well-proportioned body trembled uncontrollably.
Her delicate, pretty face was streaked with tears as she pleaded in a shaky voice.
Seeing her pitiful, undignified begging, Sasaki's expression remained cold as he released her hair. "You'll need to go over there later. It wouldn't be good if your makeup is ruined. There's still some time, so go to the restroom and fix it."
"Yes!"
Obediently smoothing her disheveled hair, Kitou Masami quickly wiped the tear stains from her face and cautiously left the room.
On the other side of the long table, a fit, blonde, sharp-featured woman watched his pathetic display and let out a disdainful snort.
Then, the woman put down the now-empty bottle of sake, swayed with the strong smell of alcohol, and sat down next to Sasaki. "Hey, buddy, I've never done anything to you. We've got no beef, and we're even classmates. Since you've got connections at the hospital, help me out and change me back."
"If you can make it happen, just say the word, and I'll move heaven and earth for you. Deal?"
Everyone he sent to Fujitsuki had some kind of grudge against him.
None of them were innocent.
So, yearing Oga Masaru claim they had no beef, Sasaki turned his gaze to her and smiled. *You took photos of me and used them to mess with Shionomiya and her boyfriend's relationship, making me the bad guy. That's no beef?"
Hearing his words, her pupils shrank, completely caught off guard that he knew about this.
However, Masaru laughed awkwardly for a moment.
"Well, isn't that because you're so handsome, buddy?"
"If you're feeling upset about it, I can help you win Shionomiya over. How about it? With my skills—"
"No need."
Slapping away her hand as she tried to put it on his shoulder, Sasaki's smile gradually faded, and his eyes turned cold and indifferent. "Just do what I've told you to do. As for when I'll change you back... I'll decide when I'm tired of playing with you."
"!"
Hearing his unyielding words, treating her like a toy, Masaru's eyebrows shot up, and her breathing quickened.
She was clearly extremely dissatisfied with his answer.
Fueled by the alcohol and the delinquent mentality of resorting to fists when words failed, her eyes turned red as she clenched her slender fists.
Watching her reaction, Sasaki tilted his head, his toy-like gaze carrying a hint of amusement. "What? Want to throw hands?"
"Why do you think Kitou didn't even dare to curse at me earlier? Was she afraid I wouldn't change her back? Or was she afraid of being mistreated at the hospital?"
"..."
Oga Masaru didn't know, but she did know that Kitou had been at the hospital longer than she had... The fact that he hadn't even resisted Sasaki's rough treatment earlier suggested there was more to it...
After calming down for a moment and weighing the pros and cons, her rapid breathing gradually slowed, and her clenched fists slowly relaxed.
"At least you've got some brains."
The cold, emotionless praise, delivered with a smile, sounded like he was complimenting the craftsmanship of a toy.
His tone of praise was like nails on a chalkboard to Oga Masaru, but there was nothing she could do about it...
This feeling of frustration and helplessness made her seethe with anger.
Thinking about how she'd have to go next door later and fawn over the guy he'd assigned her to, she felt even more furious.
Picking up another bottle of sake from the tray in front of her,
Sasaki placed it on the table in front of Oga Masaru: "I don't care how you feel about me or the tone you use when talking to me. But don't you dare mess up what I've told you to do...
"I know you might be thinking, 'I've only got one life left. If you push me too far, I'll just take you down with me.'"
"Whether you can actually do that is another matter... If the hospital can perfectly alter you, their medical standards can't be low. If you die on the spot, fine. But if you don't..."
"You'll have to choose between being a toy or reusable trash."
Looking down at the sake bottle on the table, the girl gritted her teeth and asked. "You... once you're tired of me, you'll let me go, right?"
"That depends on your performance."
Hearing his casual tone, the girl wanted to clench her fists again, but the echo of his words still lingered in her mind.
So, after taking a deep breath, Masaru relaxed her hands, picked up the sake, and took a big swig.
Seeing that she seemed to actually believe his words, Sasaki's lips curved slightly, almost imperceptibly.
Once you're tired of a toy... isn't it just trash?
The choice he gave her was always the same.