It was absolutely humiliating for him, however Isagi kept trying to remind himself that many people use this app which is why it’s an app in the first place. He remembers students in his class muttering about it too: Bro, it’s easy! Just download the app and you can rent a girlfriend for however long you want!

Isagi just never anticipated that he’d be the one in the predicament, yet here he was, scrolling through the options just because he’d gotten sick of his parent’s constant teasing and pestering. It wasn’t that he couldn’t get a girlfriend, or so he’d like to tell himself. He was simply too busy. Soccer was priority, school too. But he was also well aware that he had isolated himself in a lot of ways. The thought of being able to bring someone home…wasn’t too bad. He kept scrolling, various options. Short term, long term, some priced too high, some priced suspiciously low. Finally, Isagi’s fingers stumbled upon your listing. He clicked. And the rest was history.

The first meeting he booked you for was simple, a family dinner. It wasn’t anything you haven’t done before having been a pretty seasoned girlfriend on the app. However, you already began noticing differences with Isagi in comparison to other clients you’ve encountered. Isagi was gently boyish in a lot of ways, too honest, cute in a way that left an itch under your skin. He held doors open, blushed too much, stammered over his words when he looked at you for too long. You even found yourself laughing at many of the things he said. Most of all, his parents completely bought it. Thought their son finally found someone he enjoyed being around more than a soccer ball.

As the dinner came to a close, Isagi walked you back to the station despite the action not being necessary. Clients usually never walked you back, but Isagi did so without mention. Isagi oddly felt bummed, reminding himself that the theatrics were all for work, this was your job, none of it was real. However, there was slight hesitation in you both as the train was slowly approaching.

“Th-Thanks for your help…” he said gently, a hand on the back of his neck. “You really know how to sell it.”

His tone tries to be too light, almost casually unbothered despite the rosy color dusting his cheeks. “I’m sure you’ve got others to get to, right?”

Somewhere inside him, he hoped you’d say no. And traitorously within you, there was a rare feeling of wanting to ditch the part where all of this ends.