The Commercial District of the Neighboring City.
After walking one block, the two saw the architectural style begin to change.
Neon Signs became ambiguous and stylish, and the signs of various hotels began to come into view.
Imaizumi Keita stopped and glanced at a modern, minimalist Love Hotel beside them.
Yanami Anna followed his gaze, her body stiffening slightly before relaxing again as if resigned, burying her face deeper.
"This one?"
Imaizumi Keita asked in a low voice.
"...Mhm."
Yanami Anna's agreeing voice came from the vicinity of his shoulder.
The hotel Lobby was unmanned. They stood before a glowing Electronic Screen selecting a room.
The screen displayed photos of rooms in various styles, from ordinary modern ones to rooms catering to all sorts of tastes.
Yanami Anna's cheeks were already flushed crimson, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of Imaizumi Keita's clothes.
Even though she had been intimate with him countless times, the act of choosing a 'battlefield' still made her curl her toes in shame.
Even though it was a perfectly normal thing, thinking about what they intended to do next made Yanami Anna too shy to lift her head.
Imaizumi Keita, however, seemed quite composed. He quickly browsed the options, hesitating between a Room with a Large Bed and a Standard Room.
In the end, he chose a very normal Standard Room for the advantage of having a Separate Wet Area, then took out his phone to pay.
After payment, a Key Card was dispensed from the machine.
He picked up the Key Card, took Anna's hand, interlocking their fingers, and immediately noticed her palm was sweaty.
The elevator ascended smoothly, the small space filled only with their shallow breaths.
The metal doors reflected their figures in Yukata, unmistakably a young couple who had slipped away from the summer Festival.
The room Imaizumi Keita had chosen was on a higher floor, so they would be in the elevator a little longer.
Seeing Yanami Anna's anxious yet feigned calm expression, he couldn't help but turn, cup her face, and kiss her.
Yanami Anna's eyes widened, and she lightly tapped Imaizumi Keita's chest in reminder. "Wait... Keita..."
While enjoying the sensation of kissing Keita, she struggled in conflict. "Can't we wait until we're in the room... What if someone gets on the elevator..."
"It's fine, we'll just be a little careful. Everyone who comes here is here for sex anyway..."
Imaizumi Keita explained while holding Yanami Anna. "They might be into even wilder stuff..."
Fortunately, the elevator went directly to their floor, and they soon swiped into their room.
The lights in the room were off. Only the city nightscape filtering through the gap in the curtains cast a hazy glow over everything inside.
The emotions Yanami Anna had deliberately suppressed in the elevator instantly found an outlet.
In the pitch darkness, Imaizumi Keita only felt his tongue suddenly being entangled.
Keita, wanting to break free, tried a few times but ultimately gave up struggling, not wanting to hurt Yanami Anna.
Forget it.
The moment Keita gave up, Yanami Anna immediately wrapped her arms more intimately around his neck, pressing her body against his without reservation.
The smooth, delicate fabric of the Yukata and the slightly rough cloth of the Jinbei rubbed together, making faint sounds.
Imaizumi Keita obediently accepted this intimacy tinged with catharsis.
He reached out to hold her slender waist, his other hand gently stroking the back of her head in comfort.
A long time later...
Yanami Anna rested her forehead against his chest, breathing rapidly, her chest heaving.
"Keita..."
Her voice was thick with congestion and held a barely perceptible sob.
"I'm here."
Imaizumi Keita responded softly, his hand stroking her back in a steady rhythm.
"You won't suddenly disappear again, right?"
She looked up. In the dim light, her eyes were startlingly bright, filled with moisture and stubbornness.
"Mhm, I won't." He pressed his forehead against hers. "Sorry for making you worry."
"I... I don't want to hear that."
She simply tightened her arms again, expressing her desire through action.
"Just being here is enough..."
"As long as you still need me..."
"Mhm, I need you."
Imaizumi Keita answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Then tell me you want me..."
"Mhm, I want you."
The Yukata's obi had somehow fallen to the floor at some point. The deep blue fabric slipped down, revealing the girl's smooth shoulders.
Neon lights flickered outside the window, light and shadow flowing across her skin.
...
Shioyaki Lemon took out her phone from her pocket. The screen illuminated her somewhat forlorn face.
Subconsciously, she opened the photo album, her fingertip stopping on a photo.
It was the photo she had asked the Stall Owner to take for them earlier in front of the Goldfish Scooping Stall.
In the photo, she was holding up two bags of her Spoils, her face beaming with a sunflower-bright smile.
Imaizumi Keita's expression was very gentle, his eyes also filled with happiness and tenderness.
The warm light from the Lanterns behind them enveloped them, the atmosphere perfectly cozy. Even the Stall Owner had praised them as a Perfect Match.
Shioyaki Lemon's fingertip gently traced over Imaizumi Keita's smiling face for a moment.
Right now, Imaizumi Keita was with Anna.
What were they doing right now?
Once this thought surfaced, it uncontrollably spiraled towards the worst possible scenario...
They couldn't have already gotten a room at a Love Hotel and started having sex, could they...
I should be really angry about something like this happening...
In a situation like this, I should be completely disappointed in Kin-chan and cut off these feelings...
But whenever I think about the feelings Kin-chan brings me, I can't bring myself to throw away my feelings for him...
Shioyaki Lemon knew this wasn't normal.
But given Kin-chan's frank personality, Anna probably also knew that Kin-chan was a playboy who wanted to have his cake and eat it too...
So why hadn't Anna chosen to give up on Kin-chan, and how had their relationship progressed to that point...
Could it be that...
Kin-chan was so incredibly skilled that Anna alone couldn't satisfy him??????
Aside from that, there seemed to be no other reason why an Outgoing Person girl like Anna would choose to be with Kin-chan...
Although Shioyaki Lemon thought of many reasons why Yanami Anna still liked Imaizumi Keita, for her, liking Kin-chan had only one reason.
That was — Kin-chan was different.
Shioyaki Lemon gently touched her own face, flushed red from thinking about Kin-chan's abilities, and set their photo together as her Wallpaper.
She clutched the phone in her hand, turning her head to press her burning cheek against the cold window glass.
"I like you, Kin-chan..."
The whisper-thin voice mixed with the sound of the train's movement, scattered to nothing by the wind.
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