'

What?

' Junpei splutters, and he proceeds to stare at you, aghast, as if you 're completely unhinged. Which, to be fair, you kind of

are

.

It 's far too late to back down now, though. You refuse to waste the opportunity that 's been ever-so graciously placed in your lap. If you get close to Junpei, you might be able to prevent him from meeting Mahito altogether. Both him and his mother will be spared.

Coming across as a bit of a creep is a small price to pay, in the grand scheme of things.

'Your number, ' you repeat, and Junpei jolts in place, like he just got electrocuted. He seems to be having a hard time believing this is real, and you can 't really blame him, given his history with bullying. The world hasn 't exactly been kind to him. He probably can 't imagine a reality in which someone would actually

want

to get close to him.