“—Jacket, skirt… Very well!” the cashier chirped with a rehearsed smile, fingers flying as she scanned and bagged your items. “That’ll be 58,000 yen, please!”

You blinked.

Fifty-eight thousand YEN?! For barely ten things?!

A quiet horror settled over you like fog. You huffed, diving into your purse and fishing out your wallet. It flopped open with all the dignity of a deflated balloon. You half-expected a cartoon fly to buzz out, violin strings whining in sympathy. Broke.

Why was city life so damn expensive? Why did a few threads cost more than your dignity?

You sighed through your nose, slapped a polite smile across your face like cheap concealer, and spoke sweetly. “I’m so sorry—could you give me just a few minutes?”

She nodded, unbothered, and you turned to your lovely best friends.

Megumi was glued to his phone, cool and detached as ever. Yuji leaned over his shoulder, just as bored, occasionally muttering something with half-lidded eyes.