Chapter 42
I walked down the hallway slowly, painfully slowly.
"......"
Each step was half my usual stride, taking twice as long. One foot forward. Then the next, just as deliberate. And the next.
At this rate, it’d take me four times longer than normal.
Other guests and staff passed me like it was nothing.
"......"
Why am I even doing this?
It’s pointless.
No matter how much I stall, I’ll still end up back in that room.
This inn’s bigger than most in the area, but it’s not like the walk from the baths takes an hour.
Even crawling like this, I’ll reach our room in under ten minutes.
…I know it’s stupid.
But I needed time. Just a little more.
Enough to untangle the mess in my head.
"…Haaah."
I exhaled sharply, like I could push out the heat simmering under my skin.
It didn’t help.
…I couldn’t shake what I’d overheard in the baths.
Two women—maybe a few years older than me—had been chatting nearby.
From the fragments I caught, they were here on a double date with their boyfriends.
They’d even booked the same room as us: private open-air bath included.
And their words clung to me like steam.
"…………We’re here."
I stood frozen outside our door.
My time was up.
I hesitated.
But I had to go in.
Gritting my teeth, I slid the door open.
"…Shin?"
"Yuu, out here."
His voice drifted from the balcony.
Of course he was out there.
…That balcony. The one those women had talked about.
"…What’re you doing?"
"Killing time. Dinner’s not for a while."
Same as always. No hesitation. No weird tension.
It threw me off.
"…Oh. Mind if I join you?"
I couldn’t read him. I needed to see his face.
I stepped onto the balcony and sat beside him.
Then I saw it in my periphery.
"…Nice view, huh?"
"Yeah."
I forced the words out, desperate to break the silence.
Shin’s tone was infuriatingly normal.
It wasn’t fair.
How could he be so calm?
Meanwhile, it—the open-air bath—dominated my thoughts.
Those women’s voices hissed in my skull:
"No way a guy and girl book this room and don’t bathe together."
"Bet he’s totally thinking about it."
…That’s what they’d said.
So why was I the only one losing it?
…Unless Shin wasn’t thinking that?
Were they just wrong?
"…Hey. That’s the open-air bath, right?"
"Yep."
I studied his face. What’s going on in that head?
"…You planning to use it?"
"Yup."
So he had noticed.
"After dinner. Should be nice."
"R-right."
…But he didn’t sound nervous. Maybe I’d imagined it all.
Relief flooded me—mixed with something I couldn’t name.
"You should try it too, Yuu. Feels amazing."
—And my brain flatlined.
Me too? So he was suggesting—?!
"M-Me too?!"
"…? …Yeah?"
He blinked at me like I’d asked if water was wet.
"What’s wrong?"
"What’s— How are you so—!"
I nearly shrieked. How was this no big deal to him?!
Was mixed bathing that casual for him?!
My face burned, but his was cool as always—if anything, confused by my panic.
What was happening? What was I supposed to—
…Wait. Did this mean I had to go in with him?!
But that’s…!
My thoughts spiraled into chaos.
Then, as my brain short-circuited, Shin dropped the bomb:
"Wanna flip for who goes first? You want early or late?"
………………What.
"…………First?"
"Mm-hmm."
He nodded, utterly sincere.
"Your call."
"……"
Oh.
Oh no.
Had I… completely misread this?
"……"
My face went nuclear. I wanted to vault over the railing.
Instead, I grabbed Shin’s cheek and twisted.
"…Yuu?"
Even with his face squished, he looked as clueless as a golden retriever.
…Normally, that’d calm me. Right now, it was maddening.
"Ow, whaff waf dat for?"
"…Dunno."
I choked back a scream.
The embarrassment was lethal.
I couldn’t look at him for the rest of the night.
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