Chapter 22: Gradually Realizing Everything

Startled, Ryuichi Sugawara hurried to lift Yamabuki Tsuki’s legs onto the bed and tucked her in, eager to avoid any further complications. With that task completed, the matter of settling her in was finally brought to a close.

"Thank goodness she’s asleep. Otherwise, this would be so awkward."

Turning his back to her, Ryuichi sat on the other bed, his heart still hammering against his ribs as he muttered to himself. He was a man who appreciated beauty, but he also harbored a slight foot fetish. There was no point in lying to himself; no matter how many excuses he made, he couldn't hide the truth. Still, his fixation wasn’t deep; it was mostly limited to distant admiration. Even in two lifetimes, he had never experienced anything more, let alone anything else. Most importantly, he wasn't thick-skinned enough to be discovered with such a preference and remain cool-headed and unbothered. If she had caught him staring at her feet, he would have been so embarrassed he might have just imploded on the spot.

"But honestly, aren't her feet just too beautiful?"

Once the risk of exposure had passed, he couldn't help but recall the moment he had been so helplessly transfixed. If Tsuki hadn’t made a sound and startled him out of his trance, he didn’t know what he might have done in that mesmerized state. In truth, he hadn’t expected her feet to have such a profound effect on him. Was it simply because it was the first time he’d seen them? He was used to seeing her calves when she wore long skirts, but he had never seen the feet hidden away inside her shoes.

"I should take a shower to cool down."

The scene was too seductive to be easily forgotten. After sinking into an immersive recollection, he looked down at himself, realized his state, and made a decision.

***

A light drink can be pleasant and conducive to sleep, but overindulgence leads to the misery of a hangover.

"Ugh, I feel terrible..."

Tsuki sat up, clutching her forehead. She felt awful from head to toe—headache, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, drowsiness, thirst; all these sensations converged at once. As someone who usually only enjoyed a light, tipsy buzz, she was completely unaccustomed to such a hangover. Driven by biological instinct, she turned to get out of bed and head to the bathroom.

She pulled herself from the covers and stepped onto the floor with bare feet. The cold tiles made her toes curl, and after feeling around, she found her shoes and slipped them on. Dazed, she followed the sliver of dim light filtering through the curtains, turned on the bathroom light, and stepped inside.

"Ah..."

After finally reaching the toilet, she felt significantly better.

"Where am I?"

Once she was fully relaxed, her bleary eyes wandered around, and her half-closed eyelids suddenly snapped open.

The surroundings were completely unfamiliar—this wasn't her bathroom, nor was it the bathroom of any of her friends. Just then, two flashes of memory darted into her mind.

"Tsuki-nee... Tsuki-nee..."

The first memory was of Ryuichi calling her name repeatedly.

"I’m so thirsty... I need water."

The second was a memory from when she was half-awake. Because she was so parched, she seemed to have woken up once, searching for water in the pitch black.

"Here’s some water for you."

Just as she was at a loss, the light had turned on, and Ryuichi, with a warm and reliable tone, handed her a bottle of water with the cap already twisted off. After she gulped down half the bottle, she had passed right back out.

"Goodnight."

As she drifted off, she seemed to hear a doting whisper. Recalling this, the image of Ryuichi handing her the water became clearer. The background wasn't the karaoke bar, but a large room that looked like a hotel suite.

"Eh?"

As the memories solidified and the situation dawned on her, Tsuki was stunned. If she understood correctly, she was in a hotel? And Ryuichi was here with her? Her head turned stiffly toward the wide-open bathroom door. She had been in such a rush earlier that she hadn't even closed it!

Heart pounding, she quickly finished her business and stood up.

"Phew..."

She let out a long sigh of relief. If Ryuichi had suddenly walked in while she was sitting on the toilet, she wouldn't have known how to face him. Relieved of that awkward predicament, she stepped in front of the mirror and inspected herself. Her hair and clothes were a bit disheveled, but her undergarments were perfectly intact.

"Nothing happened, right?"

She placed a hand over her chest, checked her body, and shifted her legs, finally reaching a conclusion. Calming herself down, she moved on tiptoe to the bathroom door and peeked out. Although the room was dark, the light from the bathroom and the gaps in the curtains allowed her to see everything. Just as she had guessed, she was in a hotel. Fortunately, she saw two beds, and she could see the silhouette of someone lying on the bed further from the bathroom, ruling out the possibility of them having shared one.

"Is he this much of a gentleman? He actually booked a twin room."

Gratitude welled up in her heart. She was so thankful it wasn't a double bed; otherwise, she would have died of regret. Although she had started drinking after coming of age, she was always very restrained. Even when drinking with her closest friends, she avoided getting drunk. Especially after seeing a friend lose consciousness and make a fool of herself the first time she drank, she had sworn never to let that happen to her. However, the impulsive kiss from last night had left her so ashamed and awkward that she couldn't face Ryuichi, so she had downed drink after drink until she lost control. Perhaps she had only kissed his cheek, not his lips, but while others might not know the truth, she certainly did. A cheek kiss wasn't much, but she had been so hurried and had pressed so hard!

"Wait, is that really Ryuichi? Could it be one of the girls, Risa or the others?"

As she pondered, a thought struck her. Even though Ryuichi had given her water when she woke up thirsty, and the setting was indeed a hotel, that didn't necessarily mean it was the final arrangement. It was possible that Ryuichi had found a way to have her friends take care of her, and out of caution, he had simply escorted them to the hotel before leaving.

Driven by curiosity, Tsuki turned off the bathroom light, kicked off her shoes, and crept over on tiptoe. Guided by the faint light from the curtains, she reached the other side of the bed. Even without the lights on, her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she saw his handsome face.

"It really is him."

Standing there with her hands behind her back, Tsuki looked at his face, her heart a complex mix of joy and guilt. She was smart, so she could roughly piece together what had happened. If she wasn't mistaken, Risa and the others must have handed the drunken her over to her boyfriend. Since Ryuichi didn't know where she lived and couldn't wake her up, he had no choice but to bring her to a hotel for the night.

"He really is so handsome... Even while sleeping, it’s not fair."

Realizing the situation, she tilted her head, adjusting her angle to gaze at his sleeping face, finding it all very novel. Her eyes swept over his hair, eyebrows, and nose, finally resting on his lips. Recalling the teasing from last night, she couldn't help but swallow hard.

[Tsuki Yamabuki’s heart rate increases. Heartbeat value +1]

"What is she doing?"

Ryuichi, who had been awake since she got up to use the bathroom, had been pretending to sleep to avoid making things awkward for her. He was quite surprised to see the system notification pop up even while she had her eyes closed.