ãIroha, done with the call?ã
ãYeah, sorry for the wait.ã
I ended the call with my mom and turned to answer Angu Ogu. She handed over the neatly packed luggage sheâd prepared.
ãThanks.ã
ãBut⦠why are you leaving so early? I thought your flight wasnât for a while?ã
ãAh, sorry. Thereâs a place I need to stop by on the way.ã
ãHuh? Where? I want to see you off, so Iâll come with you.ã
ãU-uh, that might be a bit of a problemâ¦!ã
After all, I was going to pick up a finished ring. If I waited until after I came back, itâd be too lateâtoday was the only chance.
ãBesides, didnât we agree there wouldnât be a send-off? They said access would be restricted, right?ã
ãMuuu~! Mamaâs so mean!ã
Angu Ogu pouted and clung to me tightly, almost as if she were throwing a tantrum.
ãHyaa!? W-wait, donât tell me⦠youâre planning to suck again!?ã
ãNo, Iâm not!? Not this early in the morning!ã
ãSo you would do it if it wasnât morning!?ã
ãN-no! Thatâs not what I meant!?ã
After what happened last time, Iâd kicked her out of my room. She seemed to have reflected on it since then.
So, something like that shouldnât happen again.
Probably. Hopefully.
At least not unless I say itâs okay or invite it myselfâ¦
ãâ¦Sigh.ã
Honestly, if she pounced on me again, I wouldnât exactly mindâ¦
Wait, no! What am I even thinking!?
It didnât feel that good! And Iâm not hoping for it or anything!
Nope, definitely not!
ãI need to recharge for when youâll be gone for a while, Iroha.ã
ãUh, âa whileâ? Iâm basically coming back the same day, you know.ã
ãSee? Weâll be apart for almost a whole day!ã
ãY-yeah⦠By the way, you didnât leave any marks, right? No hickeys or anything?ã
ãI-I think itâs fine. Probably.ã
ãâProbablyâ isnât good enough! If Ogu-Mama sees itâ¦!?ã
ãI-I know! Thatâs why I held back yesterday!ã
ãYeah, but stillâ¦ã
Even if she held back, I was still worried.
Maybe thatâs why she seemed even more clingy than usual today.
ãSigh⦠Do what you want, then.ã
ãOkay! Iâll take you up on that! Huggg~~~~!ã
I quietly returned her embrace, squeezing her back.
She whispered softly.
ãâ¦Donât cheat on me with Mama, okay?ã
ãI wonât!ã
ãBut being alone with Mama⦠knowing youâ¦ã
ãWeâre not alone at all!? What kind of unfaithful person do you think I am!?ã
ãHmm? Should I start counting? One, two, three, fourâ¦ã
ãN-no thanks!ã
Even as I was getting ready to leave, Angu Ogu kept muttering complaints like, âItâs not fair if itâs just Mama,â and âThatâs an abuse of power!â
Before I knew it, it was time to go.
ãWell, Iâm off.ã
I tried to pull away from Angu Ogu and turn around, but she grabbed me from behind and yanked me back.
ãUh, Ogu? If you donât let go, I canât leave.ã
ãHuh? Oh⦠I didnât even realizeâ¦ã
She tilted her head, looking genuinely puzzled at her own actions, but her hand remained clenched around the hem of my shirt.
ãUm, weâre running out of timeâ¦ã
ãY-yeah⦠but, I dunno⦠I canât explain it.ã
ã?ã
ãN-no, never mind.ã
Her hand finally slid away from my shirt.
If I didnât hurry, Iâd miss the chance to pick up the ring.
ãOkay, this time for realâI'm off.ã
ãIroha! Be careful! Make sure you come back, okay!?ã
ãHaha, silly Ogu. Of course, Iâll come backâthis is my home, after all.ã
I left the room, her gaze lingering on me longer than usual⦠but I quickly shook off the uneasy feeling.
After all, I had my mind full of things like the ring and my duties as a goodwill ambassador.
But in hindsight, I would regret not trusting her intuitionâor my own.
***
After picking up the ring from the jewelry shop, I sat in the car as it sped along.
The ring⦠yeah. I was thrilled with how it turned out.
ãIroha, youâve got quite the grin on your face, huh?ã
ãS-shut up! Keep your eyes on the road!ã
ãYeah, yeah.ã
The female agent from the Secret Service chuckled, ignoring my protest as she glanced at me through the rearview mirror.
Still, I was glad everything had gone smoothly with the ring.
ãHehe, the person receiving that ring will be so happy.ã
ãYou think so?ã
ãOf course. You chose it so carefully, after all.ã
Will she really like it?
I hope she does⦠That would make me happy.
ãJust confirmingâyou want me to head straight to the airport, right?ã
ãYes, please. We donât have time to go back home, right?ã
ãProbably not. Even though itâs a private jet, we canât be too laxâitâs still work. Besides, keeping that person waiting would be bad.ã
ãYikes! Letâs hurry!ã
The thought of wasting even a second of the presidentâs time was terrifyingâon so many levels.
I had no choice but to stash the ring in my bag and take it with me. At least this way, I didnât have to worry about accidentally leaving it at home for Angu Ogu to find.
Weirdly, maybe this was for the best.
A few hours later, the agent spoke up.
ãIroha, weâre almost there.ã
Through the windshield, the airport finally came into viewâour destination at last.