"Hide, we can share the room."
Did I hear that right? To summarize the situation, Ai just suggested we stay in the same room. The more I tried to process it, the more my mind went blank.
"...?"
Judging by her reaction, it was clear that Ai didn't understand the other implications of sharing a room. Her proposal was literally just about 'sleeping' in the same space.
Maybe... it would be okay? That thought flickered through my mind. Honestly, for two people who are as close as we are, just sleeping in the same room shouldn't be a problem as long as we keep our distance.
"Sure, let's share."
I managed to force the words out, swallowing hard against a dry throat.
"Excuse me."
Just then, the grandmother knocked on the sliding door and opened it, likely having finished the meal preparations.
As the door slid open, she and a grandfather of a similar age began setting the table in the room with the food they had brought. Usually, hotel lunches are light, but they laid out a spread of over twenty different dishes, filling the table to the brim.
'But why is there alcohol...? And is that... Yaguanmun-ju? Wait, why is there Baccharis liquor in Japan?'
As I stared intently at the bottle of Yaguanmun-ju, the grandfather, who was helping set the table, leaned in and whispered softly in my ear.
"It's good stuff, young man. It's infused with all sorts of powerful medicinal herbs from Korea."
Beside him, the grandmother explained each dish as she set it down, but my mental state was too frayed to take any of it in.
[We source some ingredients from outside, but we harvest many of them ourselves. This is a place reserved for those who have been properly vetted, after all. This is yellowtail sashimi caught just today, and the accompanying vegetables are organic, grown on our exclusive farm...]
Why on earth did they give us alcohol? I'm technically still a minor in this world. While the older generation might have started drinking young, I was a minor living in the 2000s.
"Dear? Doesn't this remind you of us?"
"They won't understand if you speak in Korean."
Wait... were they an international couple? I froze, unable to keep up with the barrage of new information hitting me. No wonder their mindset felt so global; they actually were a global couple.
"Hide! Look at this! There's so much food! And there's a weird drink here too! It even has flowers~☆"
"It does, doesn't it?"
The decorations were indeed beautiful, every little detail carefully arranged. Of course, the Yaguanmun-ju stood out, asserting its presence despite being far removed from the elegant aesthetic.
"Juice first! ( ˃ ⩌˂)"
Wait, that's liquor. By the time I snapped to my senses, Ai was already pouring the notoriously potent Yaguanmun-ju into a water glass. A full glass, at that.
"Wa—wait!!!!"
I rushed over, snatched the glass Ai was pouring, and downed it in one go. To think the first alcohol I'd have in this world would be Yaguanmun-ju—it was a stark contrast to my past life, where I started with light, fruity sparklers.
'Ugh... it's damn strong...'
Since it was a large glass filled to the brim, the heat and a wave of lightheadedness hit me instantly. I was just glad that even though I hadn't drank in a while, my tolerance seemed to have carried over. It was the kind of stiff drink that would have knocked a lightweight out in a single sip.
"Ai, that's not juice. It's alcohol."
Look at that, my tongue isn't even tripping. I'm not drunk. The years of experience drinking straight soju without snacks don't just disappear.
.
.
.
.
After that brief commotion, we decided to change clothes before eating. It was my suggestion; I thought it would be better to eat in a more atmospheric way.
Next to the TV in the living room, a set of male and female yukatas had been prepared. The male yukata was a simple navy blue with white stripes, while the female one was a pale pink with a modest pattern of multi-colored flowers embroidered onto it. Oh, and the obi sash was yellow.
I went into the bathroom, quickly wiped off the sweat from riding the motorcycle, and loosely threw on the yukata. Men are generally fast at changing clothes.
'Ah, maybe it's taking a while because it's her first time wearing one.'
Ai was never very good at tying ribbons. Heck, I'm still the one tying her shoelaces for her even now.
"Ah~☆ That feels so refreshing! So good! ( ˃ ⩌˂)"
The reason Ai was late wasn't because of the sash. Judging by her damp hair, she had taken a shower.
I could only stare blankly at her as she walked toward me with a brisk pace, her eyes shimmering with those iconic stars.
Her face was flushed from the heat of the shower, and her collarbones were visible through the opening of the yukata. To make matters worse, she had tied the sash so tightly that her silhouette—lines I really didn't want to be aware of—was displayed vividly.
The only reason I'm seeing Ai as a member of the opposite sex right now is because of the alcohol. If it's not that, there's no other way to explain why I'm feeling like this.