Friday Evening – Kiyosato-Yama Inn
Dinner was a blur of clinking bowls, grilled fish, chatter, and accidental thigh brushes under low tables.
The dining hall buzzed with laughter and stolen glances.
But the real show?
Was still to come.
10:18 PM – Boys' Room
"TRUTH OR DARE!"
Tyler shouted it like a war cry, tossing a pillow into the air.
Noah: "This is how we die."
Chirs: "This is why I didn't unpack."
Miles: "I'm not doing anything that involves me losing clothes or pride."
Tyler: "Too late. You lost pride the second Luna posted that hot spring sketch of you."
"Which sketch?" I asked.
Tyler blinked.
"…Oh god."
10:24 PM – Girls' Room
Four futons. A tray of leftover mochi. The soft scent of hot spring soap lingering in the air.
Sofia lay sprawled on her side, legs swinging over the edge of her blanket.
"So," she said casually, "who kissed Jay?"
Emma choked on her tea.
Amaya's eyes widened like she just got caught stealing sweets.
Silence.
Then—
Sofia pointed. "It was Amaya."
"What?! N-no!" Amaya sat up, cheeks flushed. "I-I never… I wouldn't—"
"You totally would," Sofia said. "You follow him around like he's your favourite comfort drink."
Emma cut in fast, "Let's not turn this into a witch trial."
Sofia turned. "Ohhh? Defensive, are we?"
Emma: "Maybe because it's a dumb question."
Luna, still calm: "It sounds like deflection."
Sofia gasped. "Emma kissed him?"
Emma: "Absolutely not."
Lie.
Flawless delivery.
Still a lie.
I had kissed him. On the cheek. A day before the festival start —I wasn't thinking. When emotions ran too hot to cage.
Emma rolled over in her futon and faced the wall.
"Let's talk about the hike tomorrow."
Sofia laughed into her pillow. "Suspicious. So suspicious."
Amaya exhaled like she'd just dodged a bullet.
But suspecting Emma
Luna just kept sketching something in the corner.
I sat cross-legged by the window, sipping warm tea, looking out at the faint mountain silhouettes under a star-sprinkled sky.
Soft breeze. Dim lamp. Wooden walls breathing warmth.
Knock knock.
I opened the door.
It was Tyler.
In yukata.
Holding a card deck.
"Dude. We're doing spa-themed poker. Loser has to get dunked in the cold spring."
"…Why?"
He grinned. "Because we're stupid."
Fair.
11:24 PM – Hot Spring Sneak Mission
"You ever think," Noah whispered as we crept toward the private onsen, "that we're going to get expelled for this?"
"Every day," I muttered.
We weren't naked. Just towels and nerves.
Still.
I felt like a ninja in a spa.
Steam rose high into the night air.
And just as I dipped a foot into the water—
"Don't turn around."
Tyler froze beside me.
"Is that a girl's voice?!"
Behind the bamboo screen?
Giggles.
Definitely Sofia's.
Emma: "You weren't supposed to be in here tonight."
Iris: "Oops."
Sofia: "You picked the other time slot!"
Tyler scrambled out of the water like a cat.
Noah flopped onto a rock like a dying seal.
I yanked my towel tighter and whispered, "Retreat. Now."
But as we fled, a single voice called out:
"Nice shoulders, Jay~"
Sofia.
Midnight – Jay's Room
I lay back on the futon, heart still beating from the surprise cross-path.
Sizzling water. Moonlight steam. The brief scent of someone's perfume carried by the wind.
And a voice I couldn't forget.
I thought about Amaya's reaction earlier.
Emma's tension.
Sofia's relentless poking.
Luna's sketches.
And now, Iris—an absolute whirlwind wrapped in drama.
I wasn't sure what was boiling faster—my brain or the onsen.
All I knew?
Tomorrow was going to be more than just scenic walks and souvenir shops.