That evening, the buzz from their presentation success still fresh, Yui and Adam sat across from each other at a beachside restaurant. The ambiance was a blend of tropical relaxation and upscale elegance. Overhead, palm fronds danced in the gentle breeze, silhouetted against the warm glow of the setting sun.

As they settled into their beach-view table, Yui couldn't help but sneak glances at Adam. His presentation attire, combined with the laid-back setting, gave him an air of effortless charm. A gust of wind tousled his hair, as he caught her gaze. "Enjoying the view, miss Ishida?" he asked, that playful smile complimenting his features so well.

She felt her face burn, but she didn’t allow that to show past her straight back and graceful way in which she arranged her napkin.

When their seafood dishes arrived, fresh and tantalizing, Yui was thankful for the distraction. "This is incredible. I've been surviving on hotel take-out until now."

Raising an eyebrow in mock shock, Adam teased, "The respectable Yuiko Ishida, living on takeout? What will you reveal next? Binge-watching Netflix?"

Yui found it surprisingly easy to laugh at his light humor. The evening was turning out to be delightful: the success, the vibrant setting, and unexpectedly, the company of Adam. His easygoing charm, the light-hearted banter, and his undeniable brilliance – all made him incredibly appealing. Something had changed as she watched him on that stage, a deeper understanding of who he was perhaps. And, most importantly, a deeper understanding of why he scared her. Adam was himself, what she read as carelessness was actually confidence. That, Yui discovered, was more attractive to her than anything else, and she didn’t know how to navigate such a revelation about herself quite yet. It had been far easier to be annoyed with him.

Sipping on her wine, she turned to the ocean, letting the waves wash over her thoughts. This moment was simply perfect, just like their ROACH presentation.

“You can call me Yui,” she found herself whispering before her rational, calculated mind could stop her with a million improper what ifs.

Adam just smiled.

“Well, Yui, I fucking hate what you named my robot.”

Yui looked at him, mid-bite into her fish taco, an eyebrow quirked in surprise. "It’s just a name. And it got great feedback during the presentation!" she countered, but for once her tone was not prickly. Instead, she found herself enjoying his candid honesty. “Why hate it so much?”

Adam sighed, rolling his beer bottle back and forth between his hands. "I have an irrational fear of cockroaches," he finally confessed.

Yui's eyes widened and she put her fish taco down. This type of revelation required full and undivided attention.

“You have an irrational fear… of a tiny bug?”

Adam leaned back like he was about to share a lengthy story. "Oh, it's not just any bug, it’s my worst nightmare. This phobia is a lifetime award courtesy of my dear sister, Ana."

With the stage set, Adam launched into his tale. He painted a comical picture of a young and unsuspecting him stumbling upon a jar of live cockroaches. Ana, in her adolescent fascination with insects, had left her latest 'project' in the most inconvenient place – their shared bathroom.

His recount of being half-asleep, reaching for his toothbrush only to topple and break a jar of wriggling cockroaches, was too much for Yui. She collapsed into a fit of giggles, barely able to breathe.

"And there I was," Adam continued, his voice steady despite Yui's laughter, "An innocent eight-year-old, now scarred for life, sprinting stark naked around the house with cockroaches in hot pursuit."

Giggling to the point of tears, Yui was struck by a short attack of hiccups that made it impossible to finish her fish tacos.