“…Um — could you both not press up against me?”
We’d been in the karaoke room about an hour and Kano and Kamishiraishi-san were welded to me — I couldn’t move. They kept it up even mid-song.
“Yuito’s uncomfortable — back off, Kamishiraishi-senpai.”
“How about you back off Yuito-kun first?”
“Either of you, please.”
I’m a virgin, this is too much stimulus. The Engineering senpai had gone to the smoking area on another floor, so it was just us three.
He was very obviously targeting Kano and had been trying to get her attention. Kano’s frigid responses had broken his will.
Apparently very fragile under the surface, despite the appearance. Not what I’d have predicted. Don’t judge by appearances indeed.
He was pitiful. I’d at least be nice to him when he got back.
I finished a song, was thirsty, and grabbed the cup of oolong on the table and chugged it.
The instant I did, heat hit, vision distorted. I couldn’t stand. I went down onto the couch.
“Wait — did you just drink my oolong-hai?!”
“Yuito, your face is bright red — are you okay?!”
Kano and Kamishiraishi-san were both panicking now. I’d thought I was drinking my own oolong tea from the drink bar — apparently I’d grabbed her oolong-hai sitting next to it.
So this was my alcohol debut — not how I’d predicted. Mom holds her liquor; Dad’s the opposite. Which I’d taken after had been an open question — apparently I take after Dad.
Could I get home from here? That was my last thought.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
“An unfamiliar ceiling.”
I quoted that famous-anime-protagonist line out loud as I sat up.
I was in a bed I didn’t recognize. I held my pounding head and tried to piece things together.
”…Right, the goukon after-party — accidentally drank Kamishiraishi-san’s oolong-hai.”
What had happened after? Where was I? I went for my pocket and realized I wasn’t wearing pants.
Or a T-shirt. I was in nothing but boxers. Had I undressed myself while drunk or asleep?
I checked the time on my phone — just before midnight. Significant time had passed since I’d blacked out.
I opened the map app to check location — and made a sound.
“What?!”
I was in a love hotel — the kind couples or married couples use for that.
Had I, drunk, done something I couldn’t take back? I was spiraling when the door opened.
“Oh, you’re up.”
Kano in a bathrobe. Steam coming off her — she’d just showered or bathed.
“Yuito went so wild that stuff got everywhere — it was a mess to clean up.”
She said it with a satisfied face. So I had done something irretrievable. I went to the floor in my boxers and dogeza’d.
“I’m deeply sorry for hurting you, Kano-san. In the worst case I will go straight to work after graduating high school —”
“What are you talking about?”
She looked totally confused.
“I mean — drunk, I made a move on you and we ended up —”
She went silent for a second, then went bright red and shouted.
“T-that is not what happened!”
She was scarlet head-to-toe. So… I’d jumped to conclusions wildly.
(Neither of us could continue a coherent conversation for a while.)