The streets of Shinjuku were lined with towering buildings on both sides, giving off a distinctly modern feel.
But on this street filled with high-rises, there was one store that stood out like a sore thumb.
A two-story video rental shop.
It looked noticeably shabby, and with two buildings several tens of ters tall rising on either side, the entire scene felt surreal and oddly unbalanced.
It was easy to imagine people having strange thoughts about why this small shop still existed in such a location.
Despite how out of place it looked, this was still a bustling city. So, surprisingly, the video shop still had so business.
But the videotape and disc rental business was undeniably outdated. With how fast technology was evolving these days, this kind of store was inevitably headed downhill.
Ren stood outside, holding Sanzenin Nagi’s hand.
"Yeah, this store doesn’t look like it has much value. And to still be running a video and disc rental business in this era... As technology progresses, businesses like this are bound to be phased out."
Nagi shared the sa thoughts.
"I’ve said the sa thing, but that guy doesn’t seem to care at all. He still wants to rely on this store to turn things around. Honestly, he has zero business sense."
"Instead of trying to revive this outdated store, he’d be better off selling the land at a high price and investing that capital into a growing industry. Once foreign tech starts flooding the market, businesses like this will be crushed."
"Exactly."
Ren completely agreed.
With smartphones rapidly evolving, the technological wave was about to crash into the island nation. Once that happened, local industries would struggle to keep up.
"The future belongs to the internet. Life will beco even more simplified."
"Phones, tablets, and laptops will beco mainstream. As tech advances, rare and limited physical items will start spreading online, and their exclusivity will quickly vanish."
"If he had the drive, he should pivot toward mobile and internet-related ventures. Getting in early could let him take the first bite of the pie and maybe turn things around."
"Ah, but it’s pointless."
Nagi waved her hand dismissively. The idea was nice in theory, but unrealistic in practice.
"That guy doesn’t have the vision, courage, or even the spare funds to pull it off."
"Unless he has the guts to sell this plot of land and raise so real capital, he’s just going to be stuck with this dead-end video rental business."
"Tsk. He’s still young, but his mindset is completely outdated. Seriously hopeless."
With that complaint, Nagi took Ren’s hand and walked into the store.
Inside were rows of rare videotapes and discs, but there were only a few custors browsing. It was clear the business was barely hanging on.
Considering that the full brunt of the digital age hadn’t hit the country yet, this store might survive a few more years—but not much longer.
"Miss Nagi!"
From the direction of the cashier on the left, a maid in a traditional black-and-white uniform suddenly stood up like she’d been shocked.
It wasn’t a flashy or sexy outfit, but rather a formal maid uniform like the kind Maria wore. However, the maid’s frantic deanor lacked Maria’s calmness and gave her a slightly unreliable vibe.
"Long ti no see, Saki."
"Long ti no see, Miss Nagi."
"Has that loser, Wataru, been holed up in his room for the past month?"
Nagi got straight to the point, no hesitation.
Kijima Saki looked extrely uncomfortable but nodded.
"Yes. Recently, the young master has barely left his room except to go to school. He seems pretty shaken up."
"I’ve asked him about it, but aside from hiding in his room, he hasn’t said a word."
Nagi didn’t even flinch.
"That idiot’s reaction is exactly what I expected."
Kijima Saki looked worried and asked,
"Miss Nagi, what exactly happened to the young master?"
"He had a secret crush, and she transferred to another school. Now he’s depressed and acting like the world’s ended. A normal person would’ve moved on by now, found a new crush or sothing. But him? He’s like a soulless puppet."
"Secret crush... Ah!"
Saki gasped and covered her mouth, suddenly realizing why Wataru had been in such a slump lately.
"I see. So this whole month, he’s been heartbroken over Miss Isumi..."
"But isn’t Miss Isumi still attending Hakuo Academy with him? Did sothing happen?"
"Nothing major."
Nagi shut down Saki’s speculation.
"Transferring schools is just a change of scenery. No one said you had to stay at Hakuo forever."
"That loser knows where Isumi lives, but he doesn’t even have the guts to go ask her what happened. Is he expecting soone to just show up at his door and explain it all to him?"
From any angle, Nagi couldn’t see Wataru and Isumi ever working out. Isumi didn’t see any redeeming qualities in him, and their personalities were totally different. The idea of them being a couple was just ridiculous.
It wasn’t hard to tell that Isumi and Wataru were on completely different levels. That’s why Nagi often ignored him.
If he had even a sliver of courage, he would’ve visited Isumi’s house to get answers himself.
But he didn’t. And that’s the core of it—without courage, a secret crush stays a secret. With courage, it becos real love.
Nagi believed that if Tachibana Wataru had the guts to pursue Isumi directly, she might at least acknowledge him.
Unfortunately, now it was probably too late.
Thinking back on all this had led her here today. She was ready to step on Wataru’s ego hard enough to wake him up. If he kept going like this, he’d spiral into total depression.
"Saki, is that loser still upstairs in his room?"
"Yes."
"Alright! I’m going to talk to him myself. Maybe that’ll snap him out of it. And it’ll save you the trouble of taking care of him."
(To be continued.)
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