"..."
Sitting cross-legged on the floor with expressions like they were constipated, Kitahara Iori and Imamura Kohei stared at the message on the phone and the subsequent red "unread" notification.
Of course, they weren't confused about what "doing what we love" meant. They were adult men; some things didn't need to be spelled out.
"That's what he said, which means..."
Iori's eyes swept sharply toward Kohei, his hand on his chin in deep thought. The latter nodded with a look of realization and a smile: "Which means..."
"ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IS HAPPENING~ WE'RE SAFE!"
Reaching the final conclusion in unison, Iori and Kohei immediately let down their guard and let out a scoff. Yuu was definitely trying to trick them again!
Seriously, such a childish temperament. Just because they forced him to wear his underwear backward, he came up with such an absurd lie. So irrational!
Trust was a rare commodity in the Scumbag Duo. Yuu had already tricked them once at the water park, so they weren't falling for anything this time!
"Hahaha! 'Doing what we love,' as if! Auntie Sayaka is still here, you know~"
"Exactly! At least make the lie somewhat believable!"
As they laughed loudly to show off their "wisdom," the lounge door opened once again. Under their stunned gazes, Yoshiwara Aina charged in and slammed the door shut!
Huff! Bam!
After the two loud noises, she pressed her back against the door and tilted her head to listen for two seconds before collapsing into a "duck-sit" on the floor, gasping for air.
"Eh? Aina, why are you the only one back?"
Seeing her out of breath, Kohei walked over and gently patted her back. "Are you okay? Where's Chisa?"
"Eek! Chisa... she'll be here in a little bit..."
Aina had a massive reaction, especially to physical contact with Kohei after having made up her mind. Her heart, which had just calmed down, began racing again!
The guilt of abandoning Chisa mixed with her own bashfulness. She lowered her head, hiding her eyes under her bangs, and breathed through her nose for a long time before regaining the ability to speak.
"Also... Kohei, I have something I want to talk to you about privately. Can you come with me?"
"Iori can't know?"
"NO!!!"
Her pupils dilated instantly. If others found out about something this private, how would that be different from "social death"? Even as part of a "play," it was too much!
Shaking her head frantically with a beet-red face, Aina kept letting out tiny "Muri muri!" (Impossible!) sounds. Her short blue hair fluttered with the momentum, looking like blue mushrooms growing after a rain.
As everyone knows, the weirder the color of a mushroom, the faster it'll kill you. Unfortunately, Kohei didn't seem to understand this principle.
The reverse-logic he applied to Yuu's intel gave him too much confidence that nothing unexpected would happen!
"Let's go then. Are we heading back to the villa?"
"Um... maybe? Also, Kohei, did you bring your ID card?"
She was relieved that Kohei didn't pry for more details. Aina let out a sigh of relief and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him out. She waited until they were out of Iori's sight before asking in a small voice.
Doing this kind of thing together—even with a wall and a living room in between—was just too much to accept!
"I always carry that on me. You never know when you'll need it."
He rummaged in his pocket and honestly used two fingers to fish out his wallet, giving it a shake.
Being in a foreign country without an ID makes life impossible, and replacing it is a nightmare, so to avoid accidents, he kept it with his driver's license and cash at all times.
But did he need an ID to go home? Even for a taxi, he hadn't heard of Palau having such rules.
"That's good, that's good..."
She unconsciously patted her own pants, knowing her ID was right there.
But like a college student taking a train home alone for the first time, her nervousness made her double-check repeatedly, lest she be stopped at her destination!
"I say, Aina..."
After walking for a few more minutes, he finally felt something was wrong. Looking at the increasingly prosperous surroundings, even a fool like Kohei could see this was definitely not the way home.
He grabbed Aina's wrist and stood on the street corner, confidently promising: "If there's something wrong, you can tell me now, okay? It's fine, I won't get mad no matter what!"
"...Kohei, do you really want to hear it?"
"?"
Speechless for a moment, Kohei looked at Aina, who refused to turn around. He really wanted to say he was just trying to look cool in front of his girlfriend—please don't actually let there be something wrong!
But a word spoken is a debt to be paid. Swallowing hard, he nodded firmly to protect his dignity as a man.
"Yeah. As long as it's not a breakup..."
"We're not breaking up! Pei pei pei! Don't say such unlucky things!"
She hurriedly rushed up to cover Kohei's big mouth. Aina was from the countryside and had a deeper belief in folklore and superstitions; she firmly believed in the power of spoken words!
His tense expression relaxed instantly. Aina's silence earlier had genuinely made Kohei think she regretted accepting his confession.
As long as it wasn't a breakup, anything was fine~ But since she needed his ID, could it be...
"Could it be..."
"Eek!"
"Could it be that you want to go to a net cafe and play games with me? You could've just told me! You didn't have to hide it from Iori!"
A light of "wisdom" flashed in his eyes. A place that needs an ID is definitely a net cafe, right!
Thinking he had found the truth, Kohei pointed a triumphant finger at Aina, only to be met with a gaze of disdain and disgust.
"Eh? Not it? Then a movie theater?"
"Well~ it's similar, but the place we're going isn't for games. It's to explore the 'miracles of life'..."
Smiling sheepishly as she leaned against him, Aina gave this explanation while her small hands moved in the shadows.
With a sharp click, Kohei felt a bit of weight and a cold sensation on his wrists. He lifted them to see a pair of very sturdy silver "bracelets"!
His innocent gaze followed the chain on the side of the cuffs; the other end was firmly attached to Aina's fair, slender arm...
"What is this?"
"A little bit of 'spice' between a boyfriend and girlfriend? Also, we're here!"
"..."
Following Aina's pointing finger, Kohei looked up in confusion. There, on the facade of a building over ten stories high, neon lights were flashing the words: [2h 4100 Yen]!
And further up... surely no net cafe would be called something weird like [One Night of Passion Hotel]... right?
"Ai-Aina? This isn't right, is it?"
"It is. No need to explain, Kohei. It's been hard on you, holding it in because your 'adult materials' were confiscated by customs, right? Good boy!"
"The maternal aura is overflowing! And what's with that pitying look!"
No pleasant surprise, only horror! Faced with Aina's motherly gaze, Kohei—a virgin for over twenty years—instantly wore a look of utter despair.
While he certainly looked forward to this kind of thing, wasn't this progress a bit too fast! And he wasn't prepared yet!
Were there taboos for doing this? Would the girl wrap herself in the blanket afterward with a look of disgust, spit, and then look down on his lack of skill?
No way! I have to run!
Having made up his mind, Kohei turned around, tears streaming as his legs began to pump furiously, but with the twin bracelets of fate already on, his resistance was just running in place!
"Be good, Kohei! this is for your own good!"
"Liar! Help! As I thought, even boys have to protect themselves when they're out!"
From the perspective of a bystander, a blue-haired girl was suppressing her embarrassment, dragging her blushing sweetheart toward a love hotel.
However, that blonde guy seemed utterly lacking in romance, screaming and resisting like a reluctant sage—his act was simply pathetic!
"Tch!"
"I really want to kill that guy..."
"Can blonde guys just do whatever they want?!"
Despite being a tourist destination, Palau was not short on "single dogs," or poor lonely guys who could only hang out with their bros!
The thing Kohei was desperately refusing right now was the glory they dreamed of!
The dark muscles on their arms bulged. The malice from the single guys made Kohei's "chrysanthemum" tighten as he broke into a cold sweat.
A trail of tears fell as he gave up his struggle and let Aina drag him away, because he suspected that if he didn't go with dignity, there would be an ambiguity about whether he was the "1" or the "0"!
"Stop it, Kohei! I can cosplay a voice actress! If my hair were a bit longer, I'd be just like Yukari-san, right?!"
Inside the hotel, after showing her ID to the front desk, Aina's face burned under the receptionist's gaze. She had to kick the half-dead Kohei and use her final trump card.
Even though it felt a bit odd, as long as Kohei was willing...
"There's no need for that! Actually, the 'original skin' is better!"
Instantly rising from his half-dead state, Kohei's eyes were firm as he made an 'X' with his hands! If he had to do it, he wanted it to be Aina!
"Honestly, you actually want to, don't you!"
"I have no rebuttal for that..."