The day of the departure finally arrived. When they all gathered at the meeting point, Asakura was given a big shock. From the publishing company, instead of just Keita and Rintarou, there was also someone else accompanying them.
“Why is it like this?” Asakura groaned, brushing a hand across his face. “I can somehow, reluctantly, understand why Kurosawa came. But why are you here… Subaru?” He asked, turning to glare at Kota who was standing next to him with a very pleased expression on his face.
“What, so you mean my Editor can be here but I can’t?” Kota inquired indignantly, raising a thin eyebrow. “I’m here to protect my most favorite writer.”
“From whom and what exactly are you trying to protect him?”
“From you. Who knows what you might do at night when you feel lonely? This way, I’ll share a room with you and make sure you behave.” Kota replied, displaying one of his usual teasing smiles.
“Shouldn’t you be more worried about that idiot over there?” Asakura asked with a blank face, pointing at Rintarou who, just at that moment, was very busy hugging Keita.
“Yes, well… I guess that can’t be helped.” Kota coughed, trying to hide his amusement.
Asakura let out a deep, tired sigh. There was no way he could make this person go away, so he could only grit his teeth and put up with Kota’s teasing. In the end, it might be even better to have him there. That way, it won’t be too awkward between him, Keita and Kurosawa.
With this thought in mind, Asakura reluctantly allowed Kota to join them. But no sooner had they arrived at their destination, that another problem arose.
Initially, when he reserved the rooms at the inn, Asakura made sure to book one with a single bed for himself. Now, with Kota’s arrival, they had to find an alternative, otherwise they would have to bunk together. Two grown men, sleeping together in a bed that wasn’t even king-size, there was no way that could be acceptable. Consequently, Asakura went to the front desk the moment he arrived and tried to resolve the situation.
“I apologize, sir. Unfortunately, there are no other rooms available.” The clerk told him apologetically.
“Isn’t there something that can be done in this case?” Asakura demanded impatiently, causing the clerk to become flustered.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Uhm, well… Maybe we could… I mean…” The young man stuttered.
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“Great. Let’s go with that! Contact them immediately and settle this as quickly as possible.” Asakura spoke in a commanding tone.
After finishing at the front desk, he walked outside and joined the others in the courtyard.
“So, are we going to share the same pillow tonight?” Kota asked the moment he saw him walking towards them.
“You might be disappointed. I asked them to change the room with another one.”
“Ah, that’s too bad. And here I was, looking forward to our first night together.” Kota feigned regret, sighing deeply.
“Yes, well… We all have to live with disappointment.” Asakura retorted without the slightest emotion showing on his face.
While this exchange went on, Keita and Rintarou were discussing their travelling plans. They, of course, had no qualms about sharing a bed or even a pillow for that matter. They were too busy paying attention only to each other to see the stares filled with jealousy and envy that some people around them had while looking in their direction.
Asakura was, of course, one of those people, but there was someone else who had the same intense longing while gazing at the oblivious couple.
A bit farther away from them was a group of six people. All male, around twenty-something and looking as if they came to celebrate and have fun. They were loud, making a huge racket until one of them, who seemed to be their leader, finally calmed them down.
Amongst these men, only one was standing still, staring unblinkingly at Keita and Rintarou with an unfathomable look in his eyes. From that distance there was nothing out of the ordinary about this person, apart from the strange expression he wore. It was something between pain and nostalgia, as if just looking at those two brought about painful memories.
Asakura could recognize each and every one of those emotions as if they were written on the young man’s face with capital letters. Why? Because it was the same way he was feeling while looking at Keita. But while he was regretting the person in front of him, that young man seemed to think about someone who was far away.
Even from that distance Asakura could see the lost look in his eyes and the way his body refused to move even when he was urged by his peers. Eventually, another young man threw an arm around his shoulder, dragging him towards the inn. The movement forced the young man to pull his eyes away from the scene that was causing him so much suffering.
Without realizing what he was doing, Asakura followed the young man with his eyes until he disappeared behind the large front doors. For some strange reason, he felt compelled to look at that person, taking in every small change in his expression and gestures. From the way his eyes seemed to be glued on Keita and Rintarou, to the tired manner in which he brushed his hair right before he entered the inn; Asakura saw everything and felt something that made him pause.
What was this strange feeling? Could it be a sense of camaraderie towards that person, since both their pains seemed to have the same root cause? Or maybe it was something else entirely, something that had to do with that person’s appearance?
Either way, Asakura found himself thinking about the sad young man for quite a while, before finally pulling himself together.
But, as fate would have it, that wouldn’t be his last encounter with that person. Half an hour later, when they went back inside, Asakura received news from the front desk that they had managed to change his room.
“Great! I hope there weren’t any problems in convincing the other party. If so, I can pay for the inconvenience.” Asakura said in a businesslike tone.
“No, we were able to discuss amiably and the owner of the room agreed to change the rooms without requesting anything in return. They even left the key card here and asked me to give it to you, sir. They hadn’t moved any of their luggage yet, so the room is still empty.
“Then, here is my key card as well. I didn’t bring my luggage inside either so that works perfectly. Let them know they can move anytime.”
“Will do so, sir.” The clerk smiled and bowed his head, obviously very pleased that he had managed to solve things so smoothly.
Asakura nodded his head and was just about to leave when a thought crossed his mind. He turned towards the clerk and leaned against the counter.
“Is there any chance that I might know who was so kind as to accept this change? Ah, I don’t mean anything by it.” He added hastily seeing the worried expression the clerk was making. He smiled charmingly. “I just thought I should thank them. It’s the least I could do since they have been so accommodating.”
“Oh, yes, of course.” The clerk replied, sighing in relief. For a moment he was really worried that this imposing person would seek trouble with other customers. He smiled politely and pointed somewhere behind Asakura. “It’s actually that person over there.”
When Asakura turned around, he was so surprised that for a moment he couldn’t even form a proper word. The person he saw was the young man from before. How can a coincidence like this happen? In order to make sure he wasn’t misunderstanding anything, he looked back at the clerk and inquired in a low voice.
“Are you referring to that young man over there?”
“Ah, yes, sir. That’s him.” The clerk nodded confirming everything. “That young man is with a group of actors. Apparently, they came here to celebrate one of their juniors receiving a big role. They were very open-minded and willing to change the rooms almost immediately after I explained the situation.”
Asakura nodded his head distractedly, missing most of what the clerk was saying. He was staring again at that young man, who now had his back to him. But the moment he turned around and glanced in his direction, Asakura felt a jolt coursing through his body.
They were now closer than before, so Asakura could see the young man’s face more clearly. His face had fine features, appearing more delicate than handsome, but holding an undeniable charm. Bellow thin eyebrows were a pair of surprisingly bright eyes. Like two pools of clear water, they lacked the cloudy sadness from before. At that moment, his entire personality seemed completely different from what Asakura saw outside. Instead of a melancholic, sad young man, he could now see a very lively and rather attractive person.
The moment their eyes locked, the young man’s lips curved into a smile and he gave a subtle nod as greeting. It was a rather casual and seemingly natural greeting between absolute strangers. There was nothing too shocking or special about it.
However, the young man’s image swept across Asakura’s brain like a wave of electricity, causing all his processes to stop working for a while. He watched him in a trance for what it felt like hours. As if possessed, Asakura took a step forward wanting to say something, but just as his lips parted, the young man received a nudge from one of his peers. The other man threw an arm over his shoulder, causing his attention to shift from Asakura’s person.
The moment those eyes were pulled away from his gaze Asakura felt an odd sense of loss. That smile, too, had left a lasting impression on him. It felt somewhat timid but also honest.
Without a shadow of a doubt, this had been the most impactful and lasting nonverbal greeting in Asakura’s entire life.
A/N: That’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed the first 3 chapters. I’ll see you on tomorrow’s update 
Thanks for the chapters. 3 chapters in a day almost made me believe it’s Christmas 🥰
🤭 Yes, I wanted to spoil my readers. And since it was the first update I thought you all deserved a bonus 😁
I might give unexpected surprises like this if time is on my side
😄
awww cant wait for more!
thanks for the chapter <3
I’m happy to know that 🤭
<333
Looking forward to read more! (≧▽≦)
Thank you for the chapter 💜
Yaay! I am very happy that you are enjoying this ^.^
💜💜💜
Thank you for the chapter 💛💛💛
🧡🧡🧡