Chapter 146: Hesitation
Kita, who couldn’t find the three of them anywhere on the second floor, came downstairs after washing up.
After sitting up, she was startled when she didn’t see Hitori and Nijika, thinking they had gone to do something inappropriate with someone while she was asleep.
But after searching the entire second floor and finding no one, she relaxed.
No matter what, they wouldn’t do anything strange in the living room or public areas, right?
In the hallway, she vaguely heard voices from the living room.
The voices reached her ears before she was able to find them.
She quickened her pace and cheerfully greeted them.
“Everyone, good morning!”
And the response she received was Hitori’s uncontrollable cry.
“Ah~~~~~”
And Nijika’s disgruntled voice.
“Bocchi-chan! Don’t make such strange noises!”
“Relax a little,” Ishikawa Hayato said with effort.
“No, no, no, my voice just suddenly… Ah~~”
Kita was stunned.
Not only were all three of them there, but they were also in the living room!?
She emerged from the corridor, and what met her eyes was Ishikawa Hayato, half-revealed from behind the sofa chair, as if he was pressing down on something.
Nijika stood beside the sofa, watching with a flushed face, while Hitori was out of sight, clearly lying on the sofa.
After another strange cry.
Although Kita felt something was amiss, she couldn’t help but shout.
“What… what are you doing in Ryo-senpai’s villa!?!?”
Upstairs, Ryo heard someone vaguely calling her.
She lazily half-opened her eyes, saw three neatly arranged futons in front of her, blinked, and slowly woke up.
...
During breakfastー
Ryo looked at the white steam rising from Hitori’s head, then at Nijika’s flushed face, and Kita, who was eating intently with her head down.
She quickly identified the culprit who had caused such a situation.
It was Ishikawa Hayato, sitting beside her, awkwardly eating breakfast.
Her face was expressionless, but she silently sighed in her heart.
'When did they become like this? What methods did he use?'
She couldn’t figure it out.
But she also knew very well that his very existence was incredibly unique and possessed a strong appeal— and he was the peer of the opposite sex they interacted with most frequently.
Liking him wasn’t such a puzzling thing.
However, she was surprised at how he managed to create a situation where everyone liked him, yet no one competed or rejected each other.
After much thought, only one sentence remained in her mind.
He really is a scumbag.
She also didn’t know what to do, so she could only temporarily set aside her extraneous thoughts in her heart and continue pretending to be oblivious.
...
Miraculously, after being massaged by Ishikawa Hayato, Hitori’s body no longer hurt at all.
Instead, it was Nijika—who had been blushing earlier and didn’t want a massage—and Ryo, whom Nijika had stopped from getting a massage, who were both lying around listlessly, unwilling to move.
In the morning, they simply played games inside the villa.
From a five-person free-for-all, to Ishikawa Hayato and Hitori in a 2v3, until finally, the other three collapsed.
Ishikawa Hayato shed crocodile tears, mercilessly eliminated Hitori, and claimed victory under the disdainful gazes of the other three.
Afterward, it became a 1v4. Even so, Ishikawa Hayato barely maintained a balance of victory.
...
Afternoonー
They only left the villa after lunch.
Even after resting all morning, Nijika and Ryo still had little energy.
They sprawled on beach chairs to rest.
One was watching a movie with a tablet, while the other was scrolling through recent band activities on her phone while occasionally glancing at the tablet playing the movie.
As Ishikawa Hayato taught Hitori how to swim, Kita ran around, taking satisfying photos of the clean, empty beach, and even snapped several pictures of the two at the back lazily resting.
Ishikawa Hayato’s evaluation was that while Kita was inexperienced with taking photos, she was showing thorough enjoyment of photographyーso the quality of her photos would rely on the models’ good looks and some photo editing to improve it.
If he were to do it, with his professional photographing skills, he could definitely take photos several dimensions higher in quality.
He was not at all envious that Kita could take photos so freely without a worry.
Absolutely not.
Ishikawa Hayato merely glanced quickly at Kita’s side before retracting his gaze.
In front of him, Hitori looked up at him, her body barely floating on the water under Ishikawa Hayato’s guidance.
To learn swimming, one must first learn how to hold one’s breath and adapt to the feeling of the body in the water.
However, since they had already played for so long yesterday, Ishikawa Hayato skipped these two steps and directly taught her how to kick.
He found that as soon as he turned his attention back to Hitori, her movements started to lose precision.
Ishikawa Hayato didn’t mind and instead encouraged her.
“Bocchi, take it slow. Keep more air in your chest, lift your legs higher, and speed up.”
Hitori looked at Ishikawa Hayato and nodded, indicating she understood.
Having choked on water a few times already, she knew she didn’t have the ability to float on water and speak.
Hitori was very obedient.
Whatever Ishikawa Hayato said, she cooperated very meekly and diligently.
Soon, with his repeated reminders, her swimming movements gradually became more polished and proper.
Of course, don’t let her current state fool you.
Before, she couldn’t even float, and even when he pulled her, she would unconsciously step on the bottom or plunge her head directly into the water, exhaling a large stream of bubbles.
If it were anyone else, they would have been scared after nearly drowning a few times, but Hitori trusted Ishikawa Hayato completely.
Each time, she tried her best to improve based on his suggestions.
But it was only an effort.
Ishikawa Hayato was almost exhausted from teaching when she finally no longer needed him to pull her and could move forward by kicking alone.
But the results were gratifying.
Feeling herself gradually swimming, Hitori seemed to gain a lot more confidence.
She looked up, gazing at Ishikawa Hayato with joy in her eyes.
Seeing her so happy, Ishikawa Hayato felt a little shy.
He unnaturally averted his gaze for a moment, but quickly, before Hitori could worry, their eyes met again.
He awkwardly looked away, but before Bochi could worry, he met her gaze again.
Looking at Ishikawa Hayato’s slightly bashful smile and his earlier reaction, Hitori sensed his change in mood.
She smiled reassuringly, and for a moment, she felt as if she wasn’t swimming in the sea, but in clouds.
But with someone swimming over, bringing a cheerful encouraging voice,
“Gotou-san, you can do it!”
Hitori’s body trembled, and she immediately forgot how to kick and how to control her body to float on the water.
She was dragged down by the seawater without any resistance, and amidst gurgling sounds, she exhaled a large stream of bubbles and began to struggle.
Ishikawa Hayato quickly pulled her to the surface.
After looking at Hitori, who was covered in water and still shaken, he then looked at the guilty Kita and said.
“I say, Kita, don’t startle Bocchi like that out of the blue...”
Kita lowered her head and said apologetically.
“I’m sorry… I just wanted to cheer on Gotou-san…”
She had been playing on the shore earlier and didn’t want to disturb the two of them.
She knew that Hitori and she weren’t very compatible, but seeing Ishikawa Hayato looking at Hitori so gently, she couldn’t help but walk over.
She didn’t expect to make Hitori sink into the water immediately.
The simplest difference between Hitori and Kita is that one, upon hearing encouragement, will immediately have sparkling eyes and go full speed ahead, while the other will first flinch, then forget how much effort she needs to use, and fall into a slump.
These two could be described as polar opposites.
“It’s… it’s okay, Kita-chan, thank you very much for cheering me on…”
Hitori didn’t mind at all, only regretting that she couldn’t be alone with Ishikawa Hayato.
“Gotou-san!~”
Kita looked at Hitori with teary-eyed gratitude.
Then she turned to Ishikawa Hayato and said to him.
“Ishikawa-kun, let me teach Gotou-san how to swim!”
“Eh!?”
Hitori’s eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at Kita.
Her clear blue eyes were filled with confusion and hurt.
She also looked at Ishikawa Hayato, pleading incessantly in her heart.
'Refuse her, Hayato, refuse her.'
To be honest, Ishikawa Hayato originally wanted to let such an innocent Kita experience how terrifying it was to teach Hitori.
However, this would also be a disaster for Hitori.
He even worried that Hitori would simply not lift her head and just hide in the water without a word.
Ishikawa Hayato had no doubt that Hitori was capable of drowning herself.
He naturally wouldn’t joke about such an important matter.
He sighed.
“Kita, you should just cheer Bocchi on.”
Just as Kita was about to convey that continuing to cheer might cause another incident with Hitori, she noticed that Hitori hadn’t immediately sunk herself from Hayato's request to her.
She also noticed that Hitori was nodding repeatedly along, as if to say, 'This is how it should be.'
She showed a confused, blank expression.
“Alright…”
Then, Hitori began to reset her skills and re-learn, with added weighted training.
Hitori looked up, kicked her legs, and swam.
“Gotou-san, you can do it!”
Hitori sank, trying hard to lift her head.
“You can do it!”
Hitori sank, then lifted her head.
Like this, a few minutes passed, and Hitori miraculously taught herself how to breathe and began to accept encouragement without being shaken.
However, after getting out of the water, she would unconsciously avoid Kita’s voice, which left Kita very puzzled.
“Let’s stop here for today.”
Pulled out of the water, Hitori looked at Ishikawa Hayato questioningly.
“Hayato, I can still…”
Ishikawa Hayato looked down at Hitori’s legs.
Her overly pale legs were already trembling unconsciously.
Hitori noticed his gaze and instinctively pulled back her feet, but she couldn’t feel her legs at all.
Suddenly unable to support her own weight, her legs gave out, and she fell forward.
Ishikawa Hayato immediately supported her.
He explained.
“You’re almost at your limit. If you exercise any more, your legs will be sore not just tomorrow, but for several more days.”
The morning massage only relieved the pain, the muscles are yet to fully recover.
For Hitori, who rarely exercised, even a low-impact activity like swimming could only be done in moderation.
Hitori, leaning in his arms, responded softly.
“Mhm.”
Her heart was fluttering with joy.
Although Hayato was also paying attention to others, he was still so considerate toward her.
Hitori knew very well that she had long boarded a one-way train named 'love,' and the train was still accelerating.
Even she, the one controlling the train, had no intention of braking.
At this moment, leaning against Ishikawa Hayato's embrace, she felt immensely happy, even wishing she could press her entire body against him.
However, she still had some rationality.
She couldn't possibly do that in front of the other three.
Moreover, she also sensed that if they weren't a couple, Ishikawa Hayato definitely wouldn't agree to more intimate contact with her.
Seeing that even these two weren't playing in the water anymore, Kita also left the water.
The three of them returned to the villa to take a shower.
In the bathroom, Kita finished showering early and looked at Hitori, somewhat worried about whether Hitori could manage on her own.
After all, when Hitori returned earlier, she was practically floating as she walked.
However, her good intentions were refused by Hitori.
"Kita-chan, no need to wait for me. You can go out first."
"Are you really okay, Gotou-san?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Seeing that Hitori didn't need help, Kita didn't linger and turned to leave the bathroom.
Watching Kita leave, Hitori finally let out a long sigh of relief.
After the outermost door opened and closed, Hitori took out the summoning ticket, completely wrapped in a sealed bag, from her towel and placed it on the nearby shelf.
She hesitated, staring at it for a long time, but in the end, she averted her gaze and continued showering.
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.