It was only after Akira and Sajuna finished shopping at the mall that Sajuna seemed genuinely intent on buying art supplies.
Sajuna pulled Akira along for about several hundred meters before they spotted an art supply store. The two walked in, and a store clerk immediately came over to guide them.
Sajuna took out a list of required supplies from her bag and handed it to the clerk.
The clerk took the list, glanced at it, and then asked, "It seems you're buying quite a lot of things. Would you like us to deliver them to your home?"
Sajuna looked at Akira, who showed no reaction, pouted unhappily, and then tugged on Akira's clothes.
Akira looked down at Sajuna, then smiled at the clerk and took over the conversation, saying, "Yes, please. My address is…"
The clerk nodded, then took a form and handed it to Akira for him to sign.
The clipboard holding the form was propped against his body with one hand, while the other held a pen to write. It was clearly not something that could be done with one hand.
So, Akira let go of Sajuna's hand and carefully filled in his address on the form, then quickly scanned the content of the form.
They were purchasing drawing boards, paints, and brushes for painting—a wide variety of items.
In Akira's opinion, if he had to give a review, it would be that they were dead expensive.
He hadn't realized that choosing to paint in Japan was also a costly endeavor, though it did feel quite reasonable when he thought about it.
After all, with these kinds of artistic pursuits, the initial investment is usually quite high. Training and such are indispensable, and most of it involves private lessons in small groups…
Sajuna secretly watched Akira filling out the form diligently, feeling that Aki-Kun was incredibly handsome when he was serious about his work.
Akira handed the completed form to the clerk, who bowed to Akira and then temporarily left to submit the purchase order.
Akira looked at the store's setup; the decor was like a typical stationery store. On the right, a wall divided the space into two floors, selling everything imaginable, all beautifully arranged.
There was kraft paper, watercolor paper, white cardstock, and various specialty papers, all seemingly easy to choose from. There was even permission for self-cutting, or you could ask the shop owner to cut them for you.
On the shelves on the other side, various brands of markers were arranged in rows, with color swatches displayed next to them. Next to the color swatches were all sorts of colored pencils, markers, and fineliner pens, all available for individual purchase.
Akira looked around the store for a while, feeling his eyes blur, the whole world a dazzling array of colors, as if he couldn't distinguish some of the color boundaries anymore.
Sajuna watched Akira looking left and right, finding even his furrowed brows so interesting. She couldn't help but tug on Aki-Kun's clothes and placed her small hand into his palm.
Sajuna felt the warmth of Akira's palm, as if his warmth was flowing into her heart. The warmth passing through her palm was damp and warm, as if grass might grow from within it.
Akira gently squeezed Sajuna's hand, turned to look at her blushing earlobes, and without speaking, gently stroked her hair.
Seeing Akira's action, Sajuna also reached out to touch her own hair, then asked Akira with a smile, "Aki-Kun, you really like to touch my hair, don't you?"
"Yes, because Sajuna's hair gives me a sense of security."
"Every time I touch Sajuna's hair, I feel like Sajuna will always be by my side."
Akira nodded affirmatively, and as he spoke, he couldn't resist touching Sajuna's hair again.
Sajuna pouted and tapped Akira's chest, saying with a hint of reproach, "Sajuna will definitely always be with Aki-Kun."
"Aki-Kun, don't say such bad things."
Thinking this, Sajuna took out her phone, took a picture of herself holding Akira's hand, and then set it as her wallpaper right in front of Akira.
"Aki-Kun, it's set as the wallpaper now," Sajuna said, shaking her phone to show Akira.
Even though she and Aki-Kun were so happy, and Aki-Kun was so proactive in their daily lives, she hadn't expected that Aki-Kun would occasionally feel a lack of security.
Was this something that often happened in a relationship?
Sajuna thought this; she had indeed experienced such feelings before, but with Aki-Kun's companionship and comfort, those feelings had disappeared.
Aki-Kun's situation must be different from hers.
The two stood hand-in-hand in the store, as if they could continue like that until dark, but not long after, the clerk returned with a POS machine and a receipt.
Sajuna walked over and handed over a bank card. The POS machine slowly printed out the payment success slip.
Then the clerk began to ask about the delivery time. The two discussed it and decided it would be better to have the delivery closer to evening.
After all, Sajuna still wanted to go on a date and didn't want to go home too early.
Although a date at home was just as enjoyable, Sajuna always felt she lacked some initiative.
Aki-Kun was usually more proactive, but with summer vacation, she also needed to start taking the initiative!
Recalling how sweet it felt inside when Aki-Kun was proactive with her, as if some emotion had melted, Sajuna couldn't help but want Akira to experience that same feeling of happiness.
Aki-Kun would surely like it, right?
Because I like Aki-Kun so much!
The two left the art supply store and were strolling along the shopping street when they ran into Fujiwara Kako, who seemed to be unsure of what to do.
"Sajuna! Sajuna!"
Fujiwara Kako waved at Sajuna, then jogged over, only seemingly noticing Akira when she reached them, and greeted him, "Hello, Akira-kun."
"Good morning, Fujiwara-kun," Akira nodded in response.
Seeing Sajuna still holding Akira's hand and showing no intention of coming over, Fujiwara Kako seemed curious and asked, "What are you two planning to do?"
Fujiwara Kako looked at the paper bags they were carrying. "Are those clothes you bought?"
Sajuna nodded shyly and calmly explained to Fujiwara Kako, "Yes, I just went to the art supply store with Aki-Kun to buy some things."
"Oh, I see. I thought you two were just on a simple date."
"This also counts as a date. As long as two people are together, whatever they do counts as a date," Akira replied.
Fujiwara Kako had an "Ehh?" expression on her face, as if she was scoffing at his corny romantic words, but she didn't say much more.
"But I'm going to the bookstore today to buy some newly published manga, so I won't chat with you two anymore."
"Kako-chan, goodbye."
Sajuna waved goodbye to Fujiwara Kako, and watching Fujiwara Kako's retreating figure, Sajuna turned to look at Akira beside her.
She thought of places couples often went on dates, and those places seemed quite appealing…
At least, she was a little tempted