Chapter 124: My Boyfriend Is Just Too Cool

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Translator: Soafp

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“Yo. Sorry to trouble you all.”

“Hey, Gin-chan, good luck in there!”

“Later, you have to tell me how you got a girlfriend… Actually, thinking about it, your dad was always popular too…”

“So you're in your first year of high school, huh? You'll be able to drink soon. Make sure to invite me to the wedding.”

“See ya, Gin-chan! Say hi to your girlfriend for us!”

After giving a round of farewells to the workers being shooed back to the factory floor, Ginji let out a long sigh and sat down on the office sofa. A tray of yokan had been set out on the table. Sora, now seeming small and unsure, turned to him anxiously.

“Should I greet them too…?”

“Better not. I can guarantee they're not bad people, but once they latch on to you, you'll be stuck forever. You can warm up to them gradually.”

“She's right! Sora-chan, you're way too cute—it'd be a disaster if all those men started swarming around you. Where's the boss anyway…? Oh! By the way, how did you two meet—?”

Just as one of the office ladies leaned in excitedly, the door burst open with a loud bang, and in strode a burly man in his fifties, his belly pushing up his work uniform.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Gin-chan! One of the machines was acting up!”

“Boss! Please, change after working! It's a nightmare to clean when you track metal shavings into the office! And you reek!”

“Ah, my bad. Oh—so this is the girlfriend? I heard you were bringing someone to work with, but I didn't know it was your girlfriend! Way to go, kid!”

The unique smell of metal and gas made Sora scrunch her nose. Ginji was used to it, but for someone unfamiliar, it had the sharp tang of a science lab ozone stench.

“Thanks for today. Sorry for the short notice.”

“Don't sweat it! Honestly, if it weren't for the Momoi family bringing in all those good jobs, this place would've gone under years ago. You ever need anything, just ask. So this is your girlfriend, huh?”

“Ah—yes! I'm Sora Takagi. Thank you for having me today.”

Sora stood up and gave a polite bow. She was clearly nervous—this man was close to Ginji, and her voice cracked slightly as she spoke.

“…Whoa. Gin-chan, she's a real beauty, huh? Her face is like, half the size of mine. Sora-chan, I'm Iwasaki—the factory manager here. Here, take my business card.”

“Oh, uh, thank you…”

Shrinking his large frame, Iwasaki handed over the card with both hands. Sora accepted it with awkward care.

“Alright, shall we? It's hot, so we'll take a break here first and then—”

He was immediately glared at by the office ladies.

“…Let's go to the workshop first. There's an open spot for you.”

“Sounds good.”

Ginji popped a piece of yokan into his mouth, and the three of them left the room. The factory floor was lined with painted safety paths, and they moved through several sections following those. Sora's eyes lit up at the sight of the large machines, eagerly asking questions about the equipment, while Iwasaki and Ginji answered them as they walked.

This factory mainly specialized in welding pipes—ranging from small components to large sections about a meter long. Eventually, Ginji and Sora were led to a partitioned-off section of the factory.

“Oh—it's a little cooler here.”

“There's regular ventilation, but trust me, once you start working it's gonna feel like hell. Wide spaces don't cool easily, so we section them off and blast the AC in break areas. Water stations are essential too.”

“Wow. You know a lot, Ginji. Did you work here outside of sales?”

“Yeah, I helped out on site sometimes in my third year of middle school. My dad used to be a craftsman.”

“Kinichi won awards in welding competitions. You know your way around here, right, Gin-chan? I'll go get my old man.”

Iwasaki left and soon returned with a short elderly man. Despite his age, he stood tall and walked with steady steps.

“Sorry, Gin-chan. I gotta go change and make some rounds. Just ask the old man here if you need anything.”

“Sure thing. Long time no see, Gen-san. Sora, this is Genjirou Iwasaki—he's the previous factory manager. He might look scary, but he's fine, really.”

After seeing Iwasaki off, Ginji introduced the small, gruff-looking elder. Genjirou squinted at Sora, who instinctively grabbed the hem of Ginji's shirt.

“I'm not gonna eat you, kid. …Though honestly, you're one to talk about scary faces, Ginji.”

Though his face was deeply lined and his eyebrows thick, his eyes held a softness born of age. Sora felt a little more at ease.

“N-nice to meet you. I'm Sora Takagi.”

“You Ginji's sweetheart? Heh, kids these days sure grow up fast.”

“Come on, Gen-san, cut it out. How's your back doing?”

“Good as ever. These days they slapped a fancy title on me—‘technical supervisor'—but all I really do is scare the rookies straight. I've got time today, so I'll help out. What are you making?”

“That's what we want to figure out. I want Sora to see what's realistically possible before we settle on the plan.”

“R-right. I do have some ideas…”

As Sora reached into her bag to pull out her sketchbook, Genjirou held up a hand to stop her.

“Let's crank the AC up a bit. And Ginji—your work uniform's the wrong size. That's dangerous. Go back to the office and get a proper one.”

“Jeez, I just got that one recently… Sora, I'll be back. Just wear it when we start working.”

“Okay.”

Ginji ran off, and Genjirou sat down.

“Alright, let's see what you've got.”

“Okay… but it's still really rough…”

“Then all the more reason to hurry up and show me.”

His tone was gruff, but something about his bluntness reminded Sora of Ginji. She opened her sketchbook. Inside were about 20 pages of designs for the upcoming art festival.

“You drew all this?”

“Y-yes.”

“…I've worked with student artists before, but I've never seen someone draw so three-dimensionally. This saves us several steps.”

Typically, artists would submit rough 2D sketches, which would then have to be converted into 3D plans. But Sora's illustrations already showed a strong sense of form and depth, eliminating that need.

“Pretty impressive, right?”

Ginji returned and said proudly, prompting Genjirou to look back at him.

“Yeah, kids these days are so damn clever, it makes us old guys look bad.”

“Don't say that. Actually, I haven't seen the drawings properly myself—mind if I take a look?”

Ginji sat beside her and began flipping through the pages. As he and Genjirou seriously analyzed the ideas—most involving welded metal plates—Sora watched them with nervous anticipation.

“Some of these will need a bit of creative work. What's your deadline and budget?”

“Um… I already submitted the piece application, so it's due in about 20 days. Budget-wise… whatever's needed. I have money.”

“The deadline's fine, but the budget? That won't do.”

Genjirou returned the sketchbook with a shake of his head. Ginji nodded in agreement.

“Setting a budget is a critical part of the process. If you really want to make something, you've gotta learn that too.”

“Exactly. Let's decide on something we can both afford. So, Gen-san, say we're welding some sheets of metal—what would that cost roughly?”

“Let's start with materials. Ginji, what welding types do you know?”

“From the part-time gigs: arc, TIG, and semi-automatic. I plan to do the welding myself.”

Each method served different purposes and had its own use cases.

“Then go with TIG—it gives clean finishes and works well for fine details. Judging from the designs, we could use mild steel or stainless.”

“Hmm, the final look would be pretty different depending on the choice…”

“Then decide quickly. If you're outsourcing the cutting, that's another factor.”

“I know someone who can handle that part quickly, no problem. Sora—based on the drawings, are you planning to add color later?”

“…You're so cool.”

Sora stared at Ginji in a daze.

“Sora?”

“Oh! Yeah—I'm planning to paint the patterns on by hand at the end.”

In his work uniform, discussing techniques seriously with Genjirou, Ginji looked more mature—different from his usual student self. Even though they were the same age, he always had a composed, grown-up vibe. Sora now realized it was this kind of environment that had shaped him.

And in that moment, she couldn't help but scream in her heart:

[My boyfriend is just too cool!!]