After the walk, we found ourselves in the dining hall, which the school had booked out.
And for once, just once, I was actually blessed with space. A real chair. A real table. And best of all? No lingering smell of someone else's shampoo.
I sat down like a man who had survived a war and earned his meal, ready to enjoy a peaceful dinner...
But of course not.
I'm Souta. I work as a maid for four disasters disguised as idols. Peace is not an option.
Instead of eating in silence, I had to listen to the girls go off, talking about random things that had nothing to do with me. I swear they treat me like I'm the sound guy on a reality show.
Yuki, surprisingly, was chatty tonight. Like... too chatty.
"I heard Misaki's dating that guy from class 3-B now," she said casually. "Apparently, he wears glasses and reads books for fun. Which makes me think she's lost her damn mind."
I stared at her, blinking.
Her face was soft, her tone chill. Her guard was actually down for once.
"She must've been hangry," I muttered under my breath, chewing slowly. "Food really is the one true equalizer."
But just as I was appreciating this once-in-a-lifetime glimpse of Yuki being something other than emotionally hostile, my eyes drifted.
And I saw... him.
Far off. Not at our table. Sitting alone.
It was that guy. The one from the lobby earlier. The tall one with the sharp haircut and librarian-core glasses, like he'd stepped off a manga cover.
He wasn't eating.
He wasn't scrolling.
He was staring.
Right past us. Maybe at Yuki. Maybe not. I couldn't tell from here.
But man, he was locked in.
And suddenly, I couldn't stop myself.
What the hell am I doing?
Why do I care?
If this were the me from a few weeks ago, I'd say, "Whatever, not my business." I'd have gone back to eating and praying. Arisa didn't sit on my lap again by accident.
But now... I dunno.
I felt something.
Was it jealousy? Nah... couldn't be.
Protective? Maybe.
Possessive? No way... Right?
My legs moved on their own. I stood up.
"I'll be back," I said, voice flat, keeping it casual.
Yuki blinked. Reina tilted her head. Nao gave me a confused pout.
"Wonder where Souta's going?" she asked.
"Hmm, suspicious~" Arisa muttered like she was the detective in a soap opera.
I walked around the perimeter of the hall, pretending to stretch.
But truthfully, I was stalking a stranger like a schoolyard vigilante.
What am I even doing?
Am I their dad now?
Each step closer made my brain spiral harder.
This is dumb. I don't even know this guy. So what if he's staring? Maybe he's thinking about curry.
Maybe he's in love with the rice cooker.
But my gut said otherwise.
I got behind him slowly. Not too close. Still keeping it cool.
Dropped down to one knee, pretending to tie my laces, even though I was wearing slip-ons.
Fake it 'til you find the truth.
I followed his eyes.
And then...
They weren't looking at food.
They weren't even looking at me.
He was looking at...
"Where did they go?" I whispered.
The girls were gone.
Gone.
No Yuki, no Nao, no Arisa, no Reina.
Gone.
And in my confusion.
BAM.
Something collided into my side like a damn linebacker and sent me crashing to the floor, arms flailing like I'd just stepped on a soap bar in a cartoon.
I groaned.
A voice rang out above me.
"Ooohps~ Sooo sorry there!"
Oh no.
No, no, no.
Not that voice.
Please not.
"Arisa…" I muttered, face down on the floor.
"Wow~ Look at you~ Down on your knees already?" she grinned, offering her hand. "Didn't think you'd beg me to cook this soon."
I grabbed her hand and stood up, brushing myself off like I hadn't just been body-slammed by fate.
"You pushed me."
She smiled sweetly. "Accident~"
"You're like a walking lawsuit."
She ignored that. "By the way, the girls were wondering where you went. You kinda just walked off like a sad puppy."
I blinked. "Wait, seriously?"
"Yeah. Reina stood up first, actually. Nao thought you were going to throw up from stress. Yuki said she didn't care but stood up anyway. Suspicious, no?"
That hit me harder than her tackle.
They actually looked for me?
I didn't realize I was... noticeable like that.
Arisa gave me a small smile, softer this time.
Then she poked my forehead. "Dummy. Next time, just say you're jealous and wanted attention."
"I'm not jealous."
She tilted her head. "And I totally don't do lingerie apron entrances."
"..."
"Exactly."
As we made our way back toward the table, my mind still reeled from what I'd seen.
That guy... who was he watching?
What did he want?
And why did it suddenly matter so much?
I didn't have answers yet.
But one thing was for sure.
I was invested in finding out what this guy wanted...
Eventually, the rest of the girls came back with sour expressions.
"If you're gonna run off like that, at least tell us first, doofus," Yuki scolded, arms crossed, eyebrows tighter than usual.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Heheh…" I scratched the back of my head like the walking apology I've become.
After eating and wrapping up, we all made our way back to the hotel lobby. But before we could escape to our futon battlefield, the teacher called for a headcount.
Normal, right?
Not when someone's burning holes into the back of your neck.
It wasn't even subtle anymore. That guy, the same one from the lobby, he was back. I could feel his stare. And this time, I didn't care if it made me look crazy, I spun around, ready to stare back like an old west showdown.
But...
Nothing.
He wasn't looking at me. Hell, he wasn't even there anymore.
"Strange…" I muttered under my breath. My stomach twisted, not from the food, but from something deeper.
A gut instinct.
Then.
SLAP.
"HEY Souta!" Nao shouted as she nearly dislocated my shoulder. "You ready to go back to the room?"
"Yeah, SURE, just maybe don't slap me into another dimension next time!"
She smiled, oblivious, but then blinked over my shoulder.
"Wait... who's that guy?"
"Huh?" My eyes darted around. Just for a moment, I caught a glimpse of a tall frame, black jacket, glasses, and then he melted into the crowd like fog vanishing under sunlight.
"What did he look like!?" I asked sharply, turning to her.
Nao flinched at my tone, her smile dropping. "Umm… I dunno. Just tall. Black hair. I think he was staring over here."
That was all I needed to hear.
Something was off. I could feel it in my ribs.
Who the hell was this guy?
Was it paranoia? Or...
Was I just acting like their dad now?
I sighed, about to bolt after the guy, but Nao caught my sleeve gently.
"Hey, Souta… relax, okay? You're kinda freaking me out." Her voice was soft, surprisingly grounding. "I'm sure whoever he is, it's nothing."
I took a breath. She was probably right. Probably.
"Okay. Sorry. Let's go back."
When we got back to the room, Reina was the only one there, cross-legged on her futon, typing rapidly on her phone like she was live-tweeting the apocalypse.
Nao immediately checked the bathroom, under the futons, and, don't ask me why, even inside the wardrobe.
"Reina, where's Arisa and Yuki?" she asked mid-squat.
"They told me to head back first," Reina said, still glued to her screen. "Arisa mentioned something about a guy watching or something?"
My heart stopped.
There it was.
That word again, guy.
Nope. Not waiting. I turned and bolted out the door.
I stormed through the hallway like a man on a mission, or a very sweaty pigeon in a suit of panic.
"What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I doing this? If this were me from the past, I would've shrugged it off, laughed, maybe even hoped the creep stole one of them so I'd get peace and quiet for once."
But now?
Now I was sprinting through a lobby like a damn idiot because of the thought of something actually happening to them.
No.
No way.
I spotted Shinji hanging by the vending machine with his buddy. The guy waved like we were in some cheesy high school anime.
"Yo Souta, girls been crawling all over you yet?"
"Shinji, have you seen Arisa, the redhead, and Yuki, with black hair?"
He blinked. "Uh, yeah, dude. Saw them like five minutes ago heading down the west corridor with someone… couldn't see the guy's face. Pretty tall though."
My heart plunged into my socks.
"Shit."
I took off sprinting again, lungs burning.
That knot in my gut was back.
It wasn't logical.
It wasn't reasonable.
It was that same instinct that told you to run when you see a shadow move at midnight. I turned corner after corner, footsteps echoing down the hall until.
I spotted a random student stepping out of Room 104.
Perfect.
"Hey!" I called out. "Did you see two girls? Red hair, black hair, Arisa and Yuki?"
The girl blinked, then tilted her head. "Yeah… they went in that room just now with someone else, I think? I didn't really see who, sorry…"
Room 106.
The door was just slightly ajar.
My breath caught.
"Please, please don't let it be something dumb."
I lunged and swung the door wide open.
"YUKI! ARISA!"
"Hmm?" Yuki blinked at me.
Arisa turned her head, holding one side of the table with the teacher.
"Soutaa! It took you long enough. You're stronger than the teacher, right? Come help. This table's a menace."
I stood there, frozen.
It was... just furniture?
Nothing shady?
No masked cultists?
No stalker dude from the shadows?
Just two girls helping their teacher set up the room.
My hands slowly dropped from the panic pose.
I let out the most painful exhale known to mankind.
"…I'm gonna die of a heart attack before the end of this trip."
Arisa raised an eyebrow. "What's with you? You look like you just ran from the cops."
Yuki smirked. "He probably thought we got kidnapped."
I mumbled under my breath, dragging myself into the room. "You guys are gonna be the death of me…"
Arisa flashed a grin. "Awwww, were you worried?"
"No," I lied. "I just didn't want to lose the people who owe me back massage coupons."
"Sure," Yuki said, rolling her eyes. "Idiot."