"Um..."
Fujiwara's face was red, and she didn't dare meet Rinji's eyes.
"I... I'm weak to that kind of thing..."
"Wait, seriously? I just recreated a manga scene. You're telling me your romance-obsessed brain can't handle that?"
Rinji looked like he'd seen a ghost.
He held up the manga and pointed at the handsome male character drawn on the page. "Do girls really like this kind of guy? Treating girls like property? In America, that'd be called 'objectifying women,' and you'd be dragged into a cancel war by Twitter activists in no time."
"It's not like no one likes that..."
Fujiwara mumbled with a red face.
"That whole 'wanting to belong to someone' kind of feeling... it's not entirely unheard of..."
"I'm shook."
Unlike the blushing Fujiwara, Rinji's face had turned pale from shock.
He quickly turned to Shinomiya Kaguya, hoping for confirmation that not all girls were like this.
Kaguya immediately shook her head to distance herself.
"Looks like Secretary Fujiwara's the only abnormal one here."
Rinji flipped through the manga again, stopping at a page where a shirtless guy was pinning a shy girl to the wall, saying "I'm going to eat you."
"Can you really accept this kind of thing? A guy forcibly kissing you? He'd totally end up in jail."
"Well… forcing might be a little much..."
Fujiwara fidgeted.
"But if it's just a little assertive... I wouldn't mind being 'eaten'..."
Rinji: "..."
He slumped back onto the sofa, rubbing his nose bridge with his fingers in deep contemplation.
This was a first for him.
And not just for him—Kaguya had also been struck speechless by Fujiwara's outlandish statement.
Neither of them had any prior experience with these kinds of unorthodox preferences. They found it disturbing and utterly incomprehensible.
Deciding this place wasn't safe to linger, Rinji prepared to leave.
"Um... Takamine-kun?"
"What?"
He turned his head, confused by Fujiwara's call.
"Could we try out other scenes from the manga too?"
"...With who?"
"Me."
"...Can I say no?"
"Eh!? But you acted so well earlier!"
"I was doing my best to be as unlikeable as possible! What part of that seemed good!? And why do I have to be the jerk male lead!?"
Rinji stomped over, opened the manga, and pointed to the last page, which showed the male and female lead sharing a pair of earphones in a sweet, romantic scene.
"Wouldn't it be better if I played a normal guy like this one?"
"Feels like that role doesn't suit you."
"You're the one miscast, not me!"
"I've always been totally normal~"
Then, seeing the image Rinji pointed at, Fujiwara suddenly smiled—a smug, slightly condescending smile.
"Hmm… So Takamine-kun actually likes those kinds of scenes. Not bad~"
"You sound like you're teasing me."
"Nothing at all~" She shrugged. "There are some guys who like 'kid-friendly' types of romance. It's kind of cute."
"..."
Veins bulged on Rinji's forehead.
"Hey. Don't lump me in with toddlers. I haven't even roasted your bizarre kinks yet."
"Aww, I just think Takamine-kun is adorable~"
"Tch."
Clicking his tongue with disdain, Rinji suddenly snatched the manga from her hands and flipped through it rapidly, his eyes scanning every panel, pose, and line of dialogue.
In less than a minute, he tossed the book aside and slowly approached Fujiwara.
"Eh..."
She backed away instinctively—only to find herself cornered.
Thud!
Rinji slammed his palm against the wall next to her again, making her jump.
When she looked up at him, her face started blushing all over again.
"Eh? Takamine-kun, you're not thinking..."
"I want to run more experiments."
"I see, but... the same move won't work twice..."
Before she could finish, Rinji gave a slight smirk.
He gently lifted her chin with a finger and whispered, "Don't move. If you do... I can't promise what'll happen."
He was quoting again.
"EEEEHHH!!?"
Fujiwara's face turned bright red, from her neck all the way to her ears. That line, combined with Rinji's performance, hit her hard.
Of course, what Rinji was thinking was:
'Huh. That line actually sounded kind of normal. I think the cops in Manhattan told me that once when they had a gun to my head. Didn't expect a shoujo manga to have lines that realistic.'
He looked at Fujiwara, who had closed her eyes and was blushing deeply, her expression full of dreamy satisfaction.
"..."
He realized again—he really couldn't understand this woman. So he upped the ante.
He bent lower and whispered in a deep voice into her ear, "I want your body to be soaked in my scent. You'll never escape. You'll be mine for life—my wo—holy sh*t! Who the hell wrote this line!? Does the author have farts for brains!?"
The line was so cringe that even Rinji couldn't finish reading it.
"Eh~? Takamine-kun, what are you doing~?"
Fujiwara opened her eyes and pouted.
"I was really enjoying that. And then you just stopped. You were being so cool, and now it's ruined."
"You seriously thought that was cool!? A guy with a punchable face saying punch-worthy lines is attractive!?"
"It really is."
Fujiwara had genuinely been enjoying it. When Rinji acted out the manga's scenes and quoted the lines, she felt like she was the heroine of the story.
Unfortunately, some lines were too much even for Rinji, and he had to cut them off midway.
"I think Takamine-kun has real talent. You're very trainable."
"Please stop. I've got a really bad feeling about this."
Rinji had absolutely no idea how to deal with Fujiwara's preferences.
"Come to think of it, Takamine-kun doesn't seem to have much romantic experience, right? That makes you super moldable. With just a little training, you could totally become the perfect boyfriend. Hehe~"
"Don't come any closer! I'm warning you, stay back!"