— — — — — —
At the restaurant, their dynamic shifted. Oikawa and Utaha were like different people.
Gone was the teasing tone they had on LINE. In person, their conversation turned calmer, cleaner.
They talked mostly about light novels.
Koisuru Metronome was scheduled for release at the end of September, and despite how composed Utaha acted, she was clearly nervous.
Which was normal.
Even Oikawa, who was fairly confident Your Lie in April would succeed, had still gone to bookstores in person to observe readers' reactions before he could truly relax.
"Don't worry. It would be fine."
Oikawa flipped through the revised manuscript of Koisuru Metronome and nodded.
Just as he'd expected.
Her writing itself was solid. The only issue was that the pacing dragged a bit.
And that was something he'd already pointed out multiple times in their chats, along with suggestions on how to fix it.
"At the very least, it'll sell over 100,000 copies," he said. "And that's a conservative estimate."
The transitions between scenes were still a bit rough.
But overall, it was a good light novel.
"One hundred thousand? You really think that highly of me, Senpai?"
Utaha parted her lips slightly, revealing neat white teeth, a faint smile forming at the corners.
She didn't quite believe it.
But…
It made her happy.
Oikawa didn't say anything more. Time would prove he wasn't joking.
After the meal, Oikawa went to pay, only to find that Utaha had already taken care of it.
She was, after all, a bit of a rich girl.
Her family was well-off, and she'd also won a 500,000 yen prize for Koisuru Metronome.
Oikawa looked at her shamelessly. "Rich girl, I don't want to work anymore. I think I'd make a pretty good kept man."
"Well, that depends on how you perform next. Come on, let's head to the next stop."
Utaha casually hooked her arm around his and started walking toward the nearby station.
Honestly…
This was a kind of blissful torture.
Feeling the soft, rounded pressure against his arm, Oikawa found it very hard not to let his imagination run wild.
At this rate, he felt like his "gentleman" act was about to crack, and something far less refined would take over.
'Miss… you really have no sense of personal boundaries.'
Their next destination was a haunted house, Utaha's idea.
On the bus, she still hadn't let go of Oikawa's arm. As he looked at her shoulder-length hair, a faint fragrance drifted into his nose.
It smelled like flowers… but not just flowers.
There was something sweet mixed in.
Sweet enough that Oikawa found himself thinking—
If he actually tasted Utaha… she'd probably taste sweet too.
"Senpai… are you thinking something inappropriate right now?"
"I'm not. I didn't. Don't make things up."
Oikawa answered a bit too quickly, especially with how close she was leaning against him.
Then, the next moment—
The bus jolted.
His hand slipped and brushed against something soft and full.
Utaha froze.
Her face flushed bright red in an instant, like a startled rabbit caught in place.
She looked completely at a loss.
She wasn't nearly as composed as she seemed.
From the beginning until now, she'd just been putting on a brave front.
The moment things got real, she completely lost her footing. The kind of person people would describe as "all talk, no skill."
"Y-You… aren't you going to let go?!"
Her voice was barely louder than a whisper, lips pressed tight in embarrassment and frustration.
Oikawa looked just as awkward.
He swore to heaven, he hadn't meant to take advantage. At most, he'd only thought about it.
This really was an accident.
"Sorry."
Even so, the lingering warmth on his hand left his thoughts drifting.
Honestly… One time really wasn't enough.
"..."
The rest of the ride passed in silence.
Neither of them said another word.
...
Probably because Obon was approaching, the haunted house was surprisingly busy. A long line stretched outside.
By the time they got there, the awkwardness between them had eased a little.
Still, Utaha didn't dare meet his eyes anymore. Before, she could at least pretend to be calm. Now, she had no such luxury.
"Are you the type to get scared? If something jumps out inside, are you going to scream?"
Oikawa tried to break the silence.
People in Japan seemed to have a strange fondness for haunted houses. There were all kinds of them.
The most famous and terrifying one was Fuji-Q's Super Scary Labyrinth, which had even been turned into a horror movie.
Oikawa had always wanted to try it but never had the chance. It was still on his mental checklist.
"You should worry about yourself, Senpai."
"Once we're inside, don't scream your head off. I'd lose all respect for you."
Talking about haunted houses seemed to restore Utaha's confidence.
It was her first time visiting one, but she'd loved horror movies since she was little. She didn't think she'd be scared at all.
If she were, she wouldn't have suggested it in the first place.
"Well, that's reassuring."
Oikawa smiled and left it at that.
They paid 3,000 yen for tickets. After confirming neither of them had heart conditions, a staff member led them inside.
They were taken into a dim, eerie waiting room.
"Please wait here. When it's your turn, someone will come guide you."
With that, the staff member shut the door and left.
The room was nearly empty.
Just a television and a remote.
The moment they were alone, Utaha picked up the remote and turned the TV on.
A documentary started playing.
It showed a man and a woman meeting, falling in love…
Utaha watched with interest.
But Oikawa frowned.
Something about this felt off.
It was like the haunted house had already begun without them noticing.
Sure enough—
After a few minutes, the tone of the footage shifted.
On a rainy night, the man gave the woman a white powder laced with moth scales. Her once-beautiful skin began to rot, her face becoming grotesque.
Then came a brutal murder scene.
The man killed the woman, dismembered her, and buried the pieces beneath the floor.
From that point on, strange incidents plagued the house.
Anyone who lived there died in bizarre and horrifying ways.
Soon, blood-red words filled the screen—
"THE NEXT TO DIE… IS YOU."
.
.
.