________________
"So... this is the room you picked?"
Hanabi stood before the soft, cozy king-sized bed. Though her expression was calm, there was a hint of unease.
Wasn't this progressing a little too fast?
Damn it! This damned pigeon definitely had ulterior motives!
"Yep! Feels warm and romantic, right?"
Kamishiro looked around the room with satisfaction—even a massage tub! Nice!
"...You really think there's nothing wrong with that bed?"
"The bed?"
Kamishiro paused, then walked over and plopped down on it.
Feeling the plush comfort beneath him, he nodded seriously:
"No problem at all! Not a single one!"
Smack!
Hanabi slapped her forehead. She should've known better than to expect this damn pigeon to behave.
"Isn't it usually supposed to be two twin beds?"
"What are you talking about? That kind of room doesn't exist!"
Kamishiro's voice was firm and confident. He said with absolute certainty: in his twenty years in Japan, he'd never once stayed in a room with twin beds!
"Japan doesn't have twin-bed rooms! Absolutely not!"
"..."
Hanabi sighed.
Of course.
Why bother asking this guy when she could just ask the front desk?
Watching the pigeon slowly sink into the bed, Hanabi turned and walked toward the door.
"EHH!? Hanabi, where are you going?"
"Oh, I am going to ask the front desk if they have twin-bed rooms."
She didn't even look back.
Kamishiro quickly scrambled up, chuckling awkwardly:
"No need to trouble yourself—I'll go ask instead!"
Seeing his flustered face, Hanabi's lips curled into a smirk.
"Didn't you say twin-bed rooms don't exist? Why are you so nervous then?"
"N-Nervous? Haha, no no, just thought you must be tired from the day. You should go take a bath. I'll handle this!"
Hanabi rolled her eyes at the pigeon and walked past him.
"You go wash first. I'll go buy a bottle of water. I'm scared that if I bathe first, some beast will suddenly barge in and say, 'Let's bathe together.'"
"Beast" Kamishiro: …
Why did it feel like he was being targeted?
And the worst part was—he had proof.
That line made it sound like he couldn't just take a second bath!
Powerless before the big-sister energy, Kamishiro could only silently watch her leave.
Now, he could only pray...
That the front desk clerk would do the right thing.
________________
...
Hanabi walked down the stairs and paused as she passed by the manager. Then she turned and headed outside.
King bed or twin beds?
Was that really such a big deal?
No, it wasn't important at all!
Hanabi tilted her head slightly upward. As a seasoned professional already part of society's elite, things like this were obviously something she should take the lead on!
Hmph~
That damn pigeon has no idea who the real hunter is!
A few minutes later...
Hanabi walked back into the inn carrying a plastic bag.
Inside the bag were not only the drinks she had mentioned earlier, but also—barely concealed—a small box with "Okam…" written on it.
Hanabi was dying of embarrassment. Why were the plastic bags here all white and see-through?! Shouldn't these kinds of things be a little more discreet?
And why did the cashier just hand it to her like that? And that look the lady gave her... absolutely terrifying!
Her eyes were so intense that Hanabi couldn't even make eye contact!
(////)
The weak, pitiful, and helpless workplace elite Hanabi was completely overwhelmed by that look!
Now all she could hope for was that damn pigeon was actually in the shower. If he saw her like this, she'd die of embarrassment for sure!
Even though he'd end up seeing it sooner or later, at least wait until after she's had her shower!
Hanabi had already planned it all out. Once she finished her shower, she'd stride out like a domineering CEO—
Then push that damn pigeon onto the bed with a wicked smirk.
"Tonight you're mine!"
She bet the pigeon's reaction would be priceless!
She'd make sure he knew exactly who was on top!
If Crabman could do it, then so could she!
With that thought, Hanabi's fighting spirit ignited. She couldn't wait to get back upstairs.
Just then, a familiar voice called out to her.
"Hanabi-san?"
Huh?!
Hanabi turned her head in confusion—there were people here who knew her?
A familiar airheaded girl and a guy who looked dumb appeared in her field of vision.
Hanabi's mouth twitched. She had completely forgotten—there were people she knew around here.
So... how the hell did they end up in the same place, even getting a room, at the exact same time?!
Thinking back on the day, their paths had been exactly the same.
"..."
This is terrifying. Is Okinawa just... small or something?
Seeing her familiar cold and elegant face, Chisa perked up a little. "It is Hanabi-san! I thought I might've mistaken someone else just now."
"Uh… hello, you two…" Hanabi forced a smile, feeling awkward as hell.
Seriously—who the hell just casually greets someone when they're here to get a room?
Aren't you worried about how awkward that is?!
Maybe it was because Chisa and Iori were completely oblivious to their current environment, but their smiles were so innocent.
"What a coincidence! By the way, Hanabi-san, weren't you supervising Kamishiro-kun with his writing?"
A flicker of panic crossed Hanabi's face—like someone caught red-handed doing something bad.
She couldn't let them find out she and that damn pigeon were here together—much less sharing the same room!
Otherwise, she'd lose all face as his editor!
"Ah, I locked him in the 'black room'. Don't worry, someone will bring him food. I'm just out relaxing by myself for a bit."
"I see."
"That guy totally deserves it!"
Neither of them seemed suspicious.
One was just too pure, and the other just genuinely believed Kamishiro the bastard totally had it coming.
Hanabi gave a polite smile. Just as she thought she had bluffed her way through and was about to say goodbye—
Her plastic bag decided to surprise her.
Whether it was that cashier lady's curse or something else, the bag just… split apart.
Plop!
The sound of the drinks hitting the floor drew everyone's attention.
All three looked down at once—and immediately saw the box marked "Okamoto 001."
"..."
The two who had been about to help her pick up the bag froze mid-action.
The scene fell into a deathly silence.
Hanabi smiled—but there was a twitch of emotional collapse behind that smile.
Just now… she had just said she was alone!
So tell her, is it normal for someone who's alone to need that kind of thing?
AAAAAHHHH!!!!
This was too socially fatal!
"Hehehe…"
Hanabi calmly picked up the items as if nothing had happened, but the light had gone out in her eyes.
With a dark expression, she looked at Iori and Chisa. "You two just now…"
"We saw absolutely nothing!" ×2
They said in unison.
At least when dealing with people they didn't know well, Iori could display a shred of emotional intelligence.
(…Alcohol being the exception.)
Hearing that, Hanabi's expression softened a little—but make no mistake, she was someone who held grudges!
She'd been just about to head back to her room!
She knew it wasn't the right thing to do—but!
This vengeance had to be taken, or she'd never feel at ease!
(｀皿´)
She wouldn't let herself be the only one to suffer social death!
From Chisa and Iori's perspective, Hanabi suddenly showed a strange, ominous smile.
She flicked her hair.
"What a surprise, running into you two here. Are you two a couple? Out on a little getaway, getting a room?"
!!!
As soon as she said that, Chisa's face turned bright red. She quickly stammered a reply. "Uh, we're just hanging out, that's all!"
Hanabi's smile turned even darker.
"Oh, really? Are you two sharing a room? I heard this inn only has single king beds, right?"
Damn pigeon!
You'd better have been right about that!
And you, manager—you'd better only have king beds!
(っ╥╯﹏╰╥c)
Chisa's expression grew awkward. She could already feel Hanabi's overwhelming resentment.
"Uh, no, we just booked the wrong room earlier. We're here to change it now. The inn does have twin-bed rooms."
This wasn't a love hotel—it was a regular inn! Of course they had twin-bed rooms!
"..."
Staaaare~~
Hanabi didn't say anything. She just silently stared at them all the way to the front desk.
"Yo, welcome!"
{{(°△°; "}}!
Seeing that familiar face, Hanabi froze.
Wasn't this the same guy from the car rental earlier?!
Boss, is your career path maybe... too diverse?
Not just Hanabi—even Iori and Chisa were stunned.
There's no way they could forget that face—
That unreliable car rental manager!
For some reason, seeing him again filled them with a sense of doom.
Managing a hotel... should be fine... right?
But the next second—
They realized they were dead wrong. Completely, utterly wrong.
When they asked to change their room booking, the uncle gave them a confused look.
"We don't have that kind of room here."
!!!
The three were stunned—this inn really didn't have any twin rooms.
Was this how rich people ran businesses these days? So eccentric!
What sort of twisted taste were they trying to fulfill?!
Iori and Chisa could feel a malicious gaze behind them.
"..."
Someone's cool, icy image had just completely crumbled.
In an attempt to avoid misunderstandings, Iori asked again, "Then do you have any cheaper rooms? We'll just book another one."
Upon hearing that, the owner gave them a teasing smile.
"Oh, young man, don't worry about the price."
Iori: ???
He suddenly had a bad feeling. Could this shop owner actually be a scammer?
"You're not suddenly going to raise the price, are you…?"
"How could I? I pride myself on honesty. I haven't gotten a single bad review so far!"
Honesty…
Iori didn't even know what to say to that.
If this guy were really honest, he wouldn't have given them that light-duty truck last time!
As for the lack of negative reviews…
Iori figured it probably had something to do with cash-powered influence.
Chisa: "So, boss, about the price…"
"Ah, I just wanted to remind you two that you don't need to worry about the price—because we don't have any more rooms available."
Iori and Chisa: (っ °Д °っ)
Why the hell is this run-down place so damn popular?!
Unlike their shocked reactions, Hanabi looked excited.
Right now, she looked just like Azusa, with that gleam of gossip sparkling in her eyes.
She had previously asked about the relationship between this "pigeon" (Iori) and the rest of the club, only to be told, "Nothing much, just normal friends."
However…
Now a guy and girl were about to share a room, and you're calling that "just normal friends"?!
Not to mention the other pair!
From Hanabi's observations throughout the day, those two were definitely not simple either!
At that moment, perhaps sensing the heavy atmosphere, the boss jokingly said, "If you're a couple, it's fine to share one bed, right?"
After all, nearly 60% of Japanese high school students have already crossed into adulthood.
If you're already traveling together, of course you're hoping for something to happen.
No way a guy and a girl go on a trip together and it's really just for sightseeing, right?
This assist—I'm serving it up for free!
Realizing the owner misunderstood, Chisa quickly clarified, "N-no, it's not like that! We're not in that kind of relationship…"
If Iori were a guy who secretly liked Chisa, he might've been heartbroken hearing her deny it so fast.
But clearly, he wasn't that kind of guy.
He and Chisa… really were just traveling together for the sake of traveling!
Under Chisa's threatening gaze, Iori also waved a hand and added, "Really, we're not like that."
Hearing this…
The owner seemed to realize something.
A guy and girl both denying it, yet they came here together, booked a single room, and didn't bother saying they were siblings, so we can rule out any family relation.
In that case… there's only one explanation left!
With a knowing smile, the owner said, "Ah, friends-with-benefits, huh? In that case, no need to change rooms. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."
"..."
That one line left both Iori and Chisa completely speechless.
This guy… seriously keeping up with modern slang?! He even knows that term?!
At the same time, they could feel the scorching gaze intensifying from behind them.
Their reputation… with Hanabi-san… was now officially destroyed.
They needed a way to stop her from blabbing to that damn Kamishiro!
In that moment…
The two of them exchanged a glance and silently nodded.
In the next second, they turned toward Hanabi.
{{(°△°; ")}}!
The sudden movement startled Hanabi, but what terrified her even more—
"Hanabi-san, you don't want Kamishiro finding out that you went on a trip with your boyfriend, do you?"
Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
OH CRAP OH CRAP
These two were definitely threatening her, right?! This was totally a threat!!
Why did this scene feel like it came straight out of that damn pigeon's novel?!
Using that damn pigeon's terms… were these two… villains?!
So now what was she supposed to do?!
________________
Meanwhile…
In a corner out of their sight…
Aina and Kohei watched the standoff between the trio with confused expressions.
"What… the hell is going on right now?"