2025-09-12: Confidence

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<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.

    Myunghon's back! They've been hard to contact for... actually these two know exactly why, they know exactly what went on. But after staying at Shinobu's, Myunghon decided that they were feeling Fine, Actually and decided to go back to the Cardboard Dragon, because even missing a week's pretty devastating for the business. It's been a rush of getting everything back in order and getting chided by Remi that they're aggravating that dislocated shoulder of theirs by, you know, sneaking that arm out every time they have to actually do something for the store that requires both hands, but it's fine! They're making sales again! Things are back to normal!

    Today is no exception. There's a few customers quietly seated at their tables, older kinds who're probably between high school and college who can afford to be here on a Tuesday, and Myunghon is quietly tapping away at their laptop with one hand. They apparently are really good at one-handed typing, as if they expect to be injured a lot or something? It probably comes from a bad place. 

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.

Myunghon is back at the Cardboard Dragon, and Shinobu is concerned whether or not that's a good idea. They could probably still use some time to recover... but a week is a long time to miss for a business, especially one like the Dragon.

Shinobu wonders how much of this decision was because of her. She also wonders if it would be better to give them some space...

...but if she gets too much into the weeds of agonizing over 'how much' and 'how long', she might come around to an answer she doesn't like, so she's here anyway to help with some work.

In particular, she's helping move some things that need to be moved that she doesn't want them to try to deal with one-armed when they think no one's looking.

"Where do you want this?" Shinobu asks, hefting the last box through the door of the Cardboard Dragon. Both the box and the laptop are convenient obstacles against having to meet each other's eyes. 

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.

Myunghon is back, and that worries Shinjiro too. But he's had a hard yesterday as it is... will Umie leave him? Or will their promise keep, now that she knows he's not going to last forever?

Shinjiro steps into the Cardboard Dragon right after Shinobu, a set of keys in his hand. "Not distracting from anything, am I?" He asks Shinobu, waiting for an answer before he approaches Myunghon.

"Here, these are yours." It's the keys to the Hirasaka apartment they gave him. "Thank you for everything."

Is he going to explain himself? Not quite yet! He hasn't realized he probably should, with how clearly *emotionally worn* he is. He doesn't sound depressed right now, at least...

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.

    Myunghon partially looks up from where they're busying themself with the laptop. "Oh, at the empty space in the corner there, I'll sort them out later. Thank you very much, Shinobu-ssi," they answer politely. If it were any day, they'd just sound normal, but does it sound a little more papered over than normal? Or is it just her being extra aware to it now? One whole month...

    But while they can manage to hold the mask well enough for day to day business, Shinjiro steps in and they immediately notice how worn he looks. The jangle of keys is an ominous signifier already, but then he confirms it as he hands over the safehouse keys to them.

    "Ah--Shinji--" Myunghon tamps down a burst of panic spiralling into their tacyhonic mind already wanting to hypothesise in a thousand different scenarios. "... are you... moving out, Shinjiro-ssi?"

    There's a finality to 'thank you for everything' that someone with a death wish like them immediately latches onto.

    The smile is still on, though, like it's stuck there so hard like the burnt bits of something you put in the oven and then didn't clean up and now it's caked on. 

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.

"Right away." Shinobu replies with a nod. She can hear that papered-over tone, that politeness they're trying to hold onto... It still stings a little. But someone else comes through the door behind her, and she immediately shifts to get out of the way.

"Oh, sorry, Aragaki." Shinobu apologises and shakes her head. "...Nah, don't worry about it."

She's trying to sound normal, business as usual, too... but a part of her is actually thankful he's here, to hopefully disrupt the awkward atmosphere built up in the room.

...Except, it seems like he has serious business of his own going on, so maybe it's not a good thing. She moves to put the box in the corner as Myunghon said, then turns her attention to Shinjiro.

'Thank you for everything', huh...

"...Something up?" Shinobu asks, leaning against the counter. 

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.

As Shinjiro deposits the keys, he frowns at Myunghon's seeming slight change of mood. "Did I say something wrong...?" He's frowning at himself more than he is at Myunghon, as tired in his soul as he is.

"Yeah, sorry for the lack of notice. I... am going back to SEES, so I need to move into the dorms today. I don't want to hold the place hostage. I know you have others who need it more than I do."

And more than he ever did, if he thinks about it.

"I really appreciate letting me crash, though. Kitchen should be fairly well-scrubbed." Wait, did he *clean* the place?

Though, Shinobu asks if something's up too, and he realizes she probably doesn't mean just about the keys. "...it's been a rough few days, is all. Don't worry about it, it's fine."

The usual diversion words.

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.

    It's still awkward. They can't be natural around her... will they ever be able to again? This is why it's not worth trying things, sometimes. You'll ruin it all. If only they didn't have the courage. If only they'd bottled it all in. Emotions are a mistake.

    That thought's starting to get them on the fun slip 'n slide down into an emotional vortex, though, so they grab hold of the proverbial handle to crawl back out of it. "No. Nothing's wrong," Myunghon blurts out, a little too intently, to Shinjiro. The shine in your eye is gone, Myunghon. They palm the keys and takes a look down at it... before Shinjiro explains why it is he's moving on.

    He's going back to SEES.

    "Back to... Port Island?" Myunghon sounds like they're trying to grapple this. They went all the way out here because of something traumatic there. They know the circumstance with Kirijo and what happened. So why now, all of a sudden...? Did something positive happen for a change, or something even more miserable? Given Shinjiro's tone and insistence it's been a rough few days, it's the opposite. They just can't catch a break.

    "I'll have to tell Auntie Taeyun you moved out, unless you said goodbye too. She said she enjoyed having a neighbour so much," Myunghon remarks, which they realise sounds a bit like guilt-tripping, but they don't mean it. They already think that, though, given how everything feels like it has intent right now.

    Shinobu's come to the counter, though, and something else jumps up in their heart as she gets closer, so they quietly slip away from their laptop under the auspices of checking that box. It's like they traded places. "I'll have to make the effort to say hello over there. It's a long trip, so I don't make it often... but there are things worth investigating over there too." 

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.

Myunghon insists that nothing's wrong a little quickly. Shinobu frowns inwardly. ...This must feel like a double-whammy to them, huh. First her, now Shinjiro. She looks away, wincing briefly.

"Oh yeah?" Shinobu comments as Shinjiro says he's going back to SEES. "...That's that group Takeba's with, right?"

Back to Port Island... Shinobu glances toward Myunghon briefly, then back to Shinjiro.

"...Well, you're still welcome back 'round here, of course, if you ever find the time." Shinobu says.

She leans on the counter - and suddenly, Myunghon moves to busy themselves with the box. It takes her a second to realise - oh. Of course, she should've -

...Well, too late now. Instead, she looks at Shinjiro.

"...Yeah, don't think anyone's ever said 'don't worry, it's fine' 'bout something that didn't actually need to be worried about." Shinobu says - and then a second later she realises that might've been a bit too harsh. She massages the back of her neck awkwardly. "...If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine too. Just - you know." 

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.

Myunghon is too fast, too shineless. Shinjiro realizes he miscommunicated, and... remembers what he said to Umie. "I'm not going anywhere, you two. Don't worry about that. We're a team, right?"

He has no idea what happened between them.

"Oh, I left her a gift and a card outside her door. I hope she likes it," Shinjiro sheepishly rubs the back of his head. Embarrassing...

"But there's something I need to do. I..."

SHINOBU CALLS HIM OUT

He looks down to his feet, taking a shaky breath. Even as she corrects, he's feeling bad.

How can he tell Myunghon without telling Shinobu? They'll need to talk more later, but for now...

"There was this elementary schoolboy whose mom died two years ago. He... has the same potential SEES does. He's moving into the dorm over the summer." It might make sense for Myunghon. No, it should. But for Shinobu? Probably not

"I can't let someone like *him* live this life."

A pause, as he tries to be a little bit less... tragic, for once.

"If you ever come down, there's some places I can show you. The mall's pretty cool."

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.

    Myunghon hits something of a mental wall because they excused themself to be in front of the box and then forgot that they actually had nothing to do with the box right now. They don't even have a box cutter. Shinjiro gives them an out, though. "... are you certain? It would be a pain to keep commuting between Sumaru and Tatsumi. And, SEES would have obligations for you, wouldn't they?"

    There's a certain tone to Myunghon's words, like they don't quite trust SEES. So much of it has been bad news. Shinjiro did say farewell to Auntie, though, so that's good... but... as he looks down, they glance to Shinobu in turn, perhaps realising that it's not just them that's on edge -- Shinobu's not usually *quite* this brusque. There's that hand to her neck again. They're noticing it so much now, the nervous tic.

    They place their hand to their neckline, as Shinjiro explains, and everything falls into place -- but not in a way that's remotely pleasant. The mom that died two years ago. The schoolboy with the potential.

    "... is SEES so desperate they're making a grade schooler fight Shadows?" Myunghon looks somewhat upset. No. That's their first, instinctual reaction, but they know. There's something else between it. It probably has to do with Shinjiro's past. It probably has something to do with why he left. It's probably why he has to go back -- because his past's caught up with him.

    Their past might catch up to them someday too.

    They exhale, trying to stay calmer. They look around and find the box cutter. click. click click click click. Oh no, it's wonderfully stimming. Of course, them getting distracted by making a knife protrude in and out probably looks worrying for OTHER reasons. 

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.

Shinjiro insists he's not going anywhere. Myunghon has a good points, that's a long way to travel. But...

"...Yeah. Long as it's no trouble for you, I'd be glad to keep working with you, Aragaki." Shinobu replies with a nod. She smirks, just a little, as he comments on the gift he left behind. ...Still. There's something he needs to do, huh...

...A slow frown crosses her face as he explains.

"...Shit. High schoolers are bad enough, but a grade schooler too? The hell's goin' on over there...?" She comments, shaking her head. She looks toward Myunghon, then back to Shinjiro. "They aren't making him fight, right?"

Was it a choice between the two of them? Shinjiro, or this boy?

Her foot taps in frustation... and then she glances toward the box, at the repeated clicks of Myunghon's box cutter.

...Should she be worried about the way they seem focused on that...?

"Uh... Do you need some help with that?" Shinobu asks awkwardly. 

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.

"...tch. You really expect me to give up on helping out over a commute? What do you take me for?" Shinjiro's lightly teasing at the end, as he realizes he shouldn't be rude about it.

"He's awakened to the Dark Hour, but not the Persona," Shinjiro explains. There might be customers, but they might think they're just discussing a tabletop campaign. "I don't know if they'll make him fight." He doesn't think Mitsuru would be okay with it, but who knows.

A hand reaches to the back of his neck. "We haven't really talked since I got bailed out, huh? Kirijo got me out of there. She's... a good person." Even if she can be very frustrating at times. But so can he, can't he?

But with the knife, Shinjiro notices something. Little things he noticed subconsciously today pick up in his mind, and his expression just darts between the two of them.

Subtly, he just asks something that can be perceived in any way. "Everything okay?"

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.

    Myunghon definitely forgot about the customers. They're being kind of absentminded lately, which is incredibly not them, given their paranoid opsec brain. Shinobu asks if she can help with the box cutter, though, and Myunghon jolts to say-- "Oh! No, it was merely... satisfying to click..." A pause, as they kneel gently, awkwardly, with their sling, and unravels the tape around the box and gets to actual work.

    "Everything's okay," Myunghon answers, again a little too fast. They've got a handful of booster boxes advertising the NEW SET involving the Sourdough Princess, Carbilla vs. the Army of the Dough-eyed Queen, Elizabeth Bunnery that they're awkwardly and teeteringly carrying back to the counter. They make it, just barely. A sigh. You should ask for help, Myunghon. They normally would. Why aren't they.

    Their lips purse as Shinjiro brings up bail, and their head is swimming again. "... I see..." They don't voice the usual laments -- they should've been more careful, they should've known it was coming, et cetera et cetera et cetera. Shinobu voices her own concerns, though, and they do admit: "There are a number of factors that make me distrust what's happening there in Tatsumi Port Island, but..."

    A quiet frown. They look to Shinjiro again as his best is that he doesn't know if they'll make him fight. "Let me guess. It was the boy's own choice."

    A shallow, somewhat nervous breath. Everything about SEES is just turning up shady. They really need to step up their investigation. They haven't found the proverbial rent in the armour yet. Now Shinjiro's turning up there... are they going to have a conflict of interest one day? 

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.

Shinobu smirks just a little at Shinjiro's teasing. Myunghon responds to her question, and - oh, it's just...

"Cool." Shinobu replies with a nod. That's fine then. There's nothing wrong with that. Myunghon insists, again, that everything's okay too quickly.

Shinobu nods with a frown as Shinjiro explains further. He's awakened to the Dark Hour, but not his Persona yet... and he doesn't know if they'll make him fight.

"...I see. How much does he know?" Shinobu asks. Was it his choice...? ...Even if he is, he's a grade-schooler so he's, what, ten?

It's irresponsible to just accept that.

"...Glad someone's got your back. I was worried about you." Shinobu replies, as Shinjiro explains that Kirijo bailed him out. What is happening on Port Island, though...?

And Shinjiro asks a pointed question.

"Don't w-" Shinobu starts - and stops herself almost immediately before she can finish saying 'don't worry about it' and reveal herself as a hypocrite. She massages the back of her neck.

"...Some... things happened, and we need a little time to settle. That's all." Shinobu says, with a glance at Myunghon. ...She hopes that's good enough of an evasion without seeming like she's just trying to make light of what happened, or downplay their feelings. 

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.

Myunghon is also being awkward... especially with that everything okay. They're also not being as normally self-flagellant... what the hell happened?

But the distrust of Tatsumi Port Island... another tch. "I'm not some corporate stooge, don't worry. If I learn anything bad, I'll get help... from you, okay?" He means it.

But about it being the boy's own choice, Shinjiro tilts his head. "He doesn't know what we do. He thinks it's so that he's not alone in the dorms by himself during the summer."

But Shinobu starts and then reveals. Oh. OH. Myunghon must have...

He just raises both hands as if in surrender. "Don't worry, I'll let you settle."

But, a hand to the back of his neck. "I feel like I'm not doing enough for you, the crew, even the shop, honestly. If there's anything I can do to help out, lemme know." 

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.

    "... no, I know. I trust you," Myunghon does, at the very least, sound sincere as Shinjiro says that if he finds out anything bad, he'll come to help. Because they can't help but feel the mounting dread at a lot of teenagers in life or death situations that don't feel like they can tell anyone about the situation they're in, over there.

    But Shinobu realises she's about to be a hypocrite, and there's that nervous tic again -- Myunghon is unconsciously raising their hand to the front of their neckline in turn. She's being very evasive, but they guess Shinjiro can read between the lines -- there it is.

    "... Shinobu-ssi. I was thinking what you said last time," Myunghon quietly and gently says, while stacking Sourdough Princess booster packs on a little plastic display shelf right beside the point of sales counter. "While it is true you cannot know where it will stop... I was urged by more than one person that if you never try, you'll never know whether it will lead to something different."

    One person who's HERE, even.

    "My taking that chance was what led to this outcome." Myunghon is summoning so much effort to keep it together with that genteel smile of theirs. "I hope you'll consider it too if it arises again, no matter what the outcome might be."

    Even though inside they're like 'taking the shot and missing SUCKS actually never take the shot'. But if they're all being hypocrites to some degree right now, they're allowed to. 

<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.

    Exactly as Myunghon is making her forthright case, there's a sudden bang from the back door and a cheery 'Hello~!' as it's flung open by someone with all the force and subtlety of a swift kick to the head. So-young has already gotten three steps inside before her mind and the situation both catch up to her. You can see her respool in her mind what was just said, take in the way in which the pair are facing each other, the way in which Shinjiro is standing just a little apart with his hands up...

    ... you can see the slow smirk forming on her face, and the relish with which she just waits for the reactions to her presence. 

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.

She's glad that Shinjiro plans to look go for help if he needs it. She listens, then, as he explains. So he doesn't know...

"...I see. Hopefully it stays that way, then, I guess." Shinobu mutters. She's not sure if there's any good answer for that... especially if he's out of his coffin in the Dark Hour. She nods, though, as he says he'll let them settle. She frowns, though.

"...Hey, you already do more than enough as it is. Don't worry about it, alright? We're the adults here - we should be helping you out." Shinobu insists.

Myunghon has something to say, though. Shinobu turns to face them.

"...Oh yeah?" She asks - and then listens, as they continues. ...If you never try, you'll never know whether it will lead to something different, huh...

They encourage her to consider taking the chance, too, if it arises again, no matter what the outcome might be.

...

...It's not lost on Shinobu how much effort it's probably taking them to be able to say that with a straight face, after what they admitted to her.

She's not sure she'd be able to, in their shoes. She studies them for a moment - and then she nods.

"...Yeah. Okay. ...I'm sorry. I-" Shinobu replies, for a moment unsure what to say next -

- and then the door bursts open with a cheery 'Hello~!' as So-young explodes onto the scene.

Shinobu stares, a dumbfounded expression on her face.

"Uh," She says, and that's as much wisdom as she's able to muster at this point.

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.

Myunghon can trust Shinjiro, and he nods once, before turning to Shinobu. "Tch, don't treat me as some kid. If I'm not pulling my weight, what good am I?"

But as Myunghon moves to talk to Shinobu, he listens, stone-faced. He doesn't know what happened... but this must have taken Myunghon a lot of bravery.

And then, as Shinobu goes to respond-

The door is flung open, a voice calls out,and Shinjiro is walking over to it, arm up instinctively as he tries to figure out what to say to keep the mood good.

"Sorry, we're currently banning older sisters from the establishment. You'll have to come back later."

It's half a joke. He knows So-young won't take that. But it's also a *hint* that if they're going to get involved to try and tread carefully. 


<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.

    Myunghon wasn't really ready for how it was going to go, once they explained what was on their chest to Shinobu. They did greatly fear it was going to come off like a distant, cold lecture. Or a rebuke or a dismissal of some kind. The way Shinobu reacts, the way she stammers and apologies, it did feel like it landed like that. ... and just like that, there's more distance between them. They maybe shouldn't have said 'if it next arises,' like they've preemptively sealed the bulkhead doors shut behind them.

    But then--

    Hello~!

    "Ah. Nuna," Myunghon doesn't seem to miss a beat. Their smile is on extra hard. "How was the train ride this time? Did you take the Shinkansen, or did you do that exchange loop you mentioned you wanted to do?"

    This is Extrovert 101 for Myunghon: seize the advantage and immediately turn the tables to another topic before she can get started. Control the pace of the battlefield to your own ends.

    Shinjiro cracks a joke, and the smile just seems to doubly exert itself, like it's taken on a new life of its own.

    "Speaking of, nuna, it seems like mother finally wants to speak with both of us. She arranged us to be picked up at 4:30 at a place of our choosing." 

<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.

    Simultaneously looking like the cat that got the cream and the most angelic creature that ever lived, So-young smoothly and confidently navigates around Shinjiro's arm. "Oh, don't mind me. I'll just be over here, putting my finely tuned musician ears to work," she hums brightly - though she does seem to radiate some sort of pride underneath her mild teasing that's kind of hard to pick out.

    "It was wonderful!" So-young beams towards her sibling. "Shinkansen, because I was hungry and wanted to stuff my face with cheesy chicken croquettes from the station. First proper thing I'd eaten since breakfast. Anyway, don't let me distract you," she sniggers under her breath.

    Astonishingly, she seems to have enough tact to start walking over to the living area rather than immediately barrel right into everyone else's personal space, though she does throw a grin over her shoulder towards Shinobu. "I might be biased, but the philosophy Myung-hon's mentioned has been my guiding principle for a long time now. If it works out, great. If not, you do something else," she grins with an absolutely bulletproof confidence.

    Confidence that suddenly, immediately dribbles away. She stops dead halfway towards seating herself, fixing Myunghon with an astonished look and an expression that's nearly a grimace. "... damn it. It's going to be on her terms," she mutters, as if that's her biggest concern. (It truly is. Whenever she's mentioned wanting to confront their mother, there was an implicit 'without her being able to prepare' attached to it.) 

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.

Shinobu smirks at Shinjiro's comment.

"It's not like that. Just... there's a fine line between 'pulling your weight' and carrying too much." Shinobu replies.

But, Myunghon... Shinobu finds herself wondering if she should've said or done something more. She's just going to make them worry again, or drive them further away...

So-young chimes in, and Shinobu stares at her briefly. That philosophy, huh... Shinobu exhales.

"...Wish I had your confidence." She mutters, shaking her head. If only it was that easy for her. Myunghon mentions their mother wanting to meet with the both of them, though... and Shinobu winces. She doesn't know what their mother is like. But the way they both speak of her...

She thinks of her own mother.

"...My condolences, you two." Shinobu says. 

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.

Myunghon puts the mask back on, but as they do, they share some bad news as So-young forces their way around him. He lets it, because Myunghon seems fine enough with the diversion. Mother... So-young had described her. A famous actress...

"If it goes bad, we're here, alright?" Shinjiro defaults to, trying to support he can support both of them.

Though, glancing to Shinobu, he considers. "That goes to you too. Sometimes we need to share our burdens, so if anything gets too heavy..."

It really IS the night of hypocrisy. Though, he's doing a little better! He shared with Umie last night!!! 

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.

    "Surely the local stations have some nice treats you can't find at the boutique stores, though," Myunghon does ask gently, not that they know anything because the whole food section of all the large train stations are largely just noise and nothing to them. They might've once enjoyed a fruit or korokke sando, but those days of fun are over. But So-young says she lives by that principle, and there's a faint little chuckle.

    "Yes, I am quite certain you do," Myunghon does answer, which feels a little faint and distant, but they don't really mean it. Besides, the topic of mother does sink So-young's confidence, and there's a faint smile as they say, "I have scarce had any meeting with her on my terms. I'm not certain about you. But yes, be ready. The message says we'll be headed to Misen, a traditional Japanese restaurant, for dinner."

    A pause.

    "Be sure you eat something beforehand."

    ... ... how do those two sentences make sense together??

    Myunghon hears Shinobu wish she had So-young's confidence. ... indeed, they probably could lead slightly better lives if they had more self-esteem, in some fashion. They're not sure what else to say, though, so they keep stacking those boosters and returning to the box for more. Shinjiro offers to loan Shinobu an ear if she needs it. That's... probably for the best, right?

    "I will, Shinjiro-ssi. Anyway. Mother time is later, and not to sully the time now." 

<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.

    So-young doesn't replay back to Shinobu in words, but her grin says it all - she's used to hearing people go 'I wish I had your confidence', but all she can do is try to carry people forwards with her. Whatever does happen, it seems like she's going to leave it up to the two of them, though given the way she just told Myunghon not to get distracted, she does at least seem like she's not going to let it be forgotten any time soon.

    Besides, talk of Myunghon's love life can be set briefly aside in favour of bitching about her mother. "It won't be the sort of bad that having people around can fix," So-young finally seats herself as she grouses in Shinjiro's direction, extracting several sheets of staff paper from her bag along with a pencil that she spins between her fingers. "When your mother is an overachiever, no force on earth can stop her from skewering your self-esteem with a couple of words."

    "I was hungry! There's sightseeing days and there's 'I would like to put something in my mouth and get on a train quickly' days," she adds towards Myunghon with a sigh, shaking her head. "I haven't either, but I live in hope regardless. Misen, Misen..." she fishes in her memory, but it's coming up blank and she shakes her head. "I'll have to dress nice, I suppose."

    ... the stuff she usually wears doesn't count?? 

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.

"...Guess I should take my own advice sometime. Sure. I'll keep that in mind." Shinobu replies with a nod toward Shinjiro.

Myunghon and So-young speak. ...She does catch that grin of hers, though. She wonders if So-young practices the art of projecting an ominous aura, or if it just kind of comes naturally to her in her line of work. What she says about her mother, though...

"Don't I know it." Shinobu mutters, shaking her head. It seems like they have that much in common. 

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.

Myunghon agrees, and Shinjiro nods. So-young says that it's not something having people around can fix, and he nods again, this time with a frown. "Still, offer's open."

Shinobu gets a grin and another nod, before Shinjiro starts towards the door. "I should get back to Tatsumi. I'll catch you this week, Myunghon, let you know what happens."

Even if it might be a conflict of interest... his newfound friends are still his friends. He's not going to cut them off now that he's realizing he can be around people, even if he has to hold them at arms length more often than not.

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