Since the company would be on holiday starting tomorrow, everyone could enjoy themselves to the fullest tonight.
The mahjong game downstairs carried on, while those who weren't too interested gathered together and headed to the home theater upstairs to watch horror movies. They even brought bedding in, planning to sleep there directly.
Ichin didn't object. After all, there was air conditioning inside, so no one would catch a cold.
Watching the girls huddled together under the blankets, screaming while watching the horror film, Ichin laughed and said, "Watch all you want, but don't wet the bed. If you do, you'll be hand-washing the blankets yourselves."
"No way!!!" ×5
After Ichin closed the door and left, Eriri pulled the blanket up to cover half her vision. Even though the alcohol had made her a bit braver, horror movies were still terrifying in this state.
Especially since they were watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. She had never managed to finish a single movie from that series.
Meanwhile, Shinoda was watching with great interest. Though she kept screaming, there was a genuine smile on her face.
It seemed she didn't want everyone to think she wasn't scared at all.
Fortunately, the dim lighting and everyone's focus on the movie kept anyone from noticing.
As for Hifumi, who had been dragged along, she had already curled up under the blanket, covering her ears.
After checking in on them, Ichin headed back downstairs.
The moment he came down, he saw Shizuka Hiratsuka pouring drinks for Utaha and Yukino.
Sitting beside Utaha, Ichin said, "You two should drink a bit less."
Utaha smiled. "Relax, Ichin. We only had half a glass of red wine earlier, and this is just another half. We won't get drunk~~~"
Yukino, her cheeks slightly flushed, nodded and took a small sip.
"The wine Hiratsuka-sensei brought is really good. It would be a waste not to drink it."
That was true. The red wine and sake Hiratsuka had brought were both high quality and quite expensive, the kind you couldn't easily find on the market.
Hiratsuka took a sip and nibbled on some snacks, smiling. "I only bring out my personal collection for gatherings like this. Otherwise, no chance."
"Alright, alright, thank you for valuing us so much, Hiratsuka-sensei."
Ichin nodded helplessly, then picked up the bottle and poured himself a drink. In this atmosphere, it would feel odd not to.
Hazuki walked over at this moment, her glass already empty. Her fair face was flushed red, though she still seemed quite clear-headed.
Noticing Ichin's gaze, she smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm not drunk yet. I'm not like Kou with that kind of low tolerance."
As she spoke, she pointed toward the mahjong table.
Sure enough, Yagami Kou was already struggling to play. Rin Toyama had moved her aside and taken over halfway through the round.
Looking over, Ichin frowned slightly. "She's already drunk? How much did she even drink?"
"Not that much," Hazuki replied. "She just mixed beer, red wine, and sake, so she got drunk faster. Don't worry though, once this round is over, Rin will take her upstairs to rest."
With mahjong going on over there, Ichin's group didn't just drink. They started playing Fight the Landlord as well.
Drinking and playing, time slipped by little by little. Before they knew it, it was already past midnight, and everyone gradually went off to rest.
Ichin's side was no different. Although Utaha and Yukino had said they wouldn't drink much, they ended up having several more glasses and became quite dizzy. In the end, Ichin and Haruno each carried one of them upstairs.
The next morning, eight o'clock.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, and Ichin, still half-asleep, slowly opened his eyes as he felt the warmth.
"Mm… what time is it?"
Just as he reached for his phone to check the time, his face was suddenly smothered, leaving him unable to move.
And… the feeling seemed a bit different?
After struggling for a while, he finally freed himself and saw who was in front of him.
"Haruno…?"
Looking at Haruno, who was still fast asleep, Ichin froze for a full half minute before turning his head to look around. Utaha and Yukino were there too, just on his other side.
Their sleeping postures were fairly proper, though like him, they had only taken off their outerwear and hadn't changed into sleepwear.
Ichin's memory gradually returned. After bringing the two of them upstairs last night, he had also drunk quite a bit, so he had simply taken off his coat and gone straight to sleep.
But… how did Haruno end up here too?
He quickly checked and saw that their clothes were still intact, which finally made him let out a sigh of relief.
Slowly sitting up, Ichin scratched his messy hair and was about to get out of bed to wash up when Haruno also woke up.
"Huh? Ichin?"
Clearly, Haruno hadn't expected to be sleeping here either. She looked completely groggy.
After a moment of confusion, she suddenly sat up and checked her clothes.
"Good, good. I'm not ready to become a mother just yet."
Ichin looked at her with a tired expression. "You're overthinking it, Haruno. I fell asleep the moment I lay down last night. I don't even remember how you ended up here. What were you expecting to happen?"
"Hey, isn't there that saying about losing control after drinking?"
"That's just an excuse people use to do things they already wanted to do. When someone's really drunk, who even has the energy for that? They sleep like the dead," Ichin said, pointing at Utaha and Yukino. "Look at these two. They barely drink normally, and after last night, they haven't even moved yet. Get it now?"
Haruno pouted, clearly dissatisfied. "Tch, why do you have to be so blunt? You're no fun at all. You know, I've never slept in the same bed as a guy before. You've taken a huge advantage, you know?"
Ichin didn't take it seriously at all. Instead, he yawned and replied, "You've got it backwards. If anything, you took advantage of me. You were clinging onto me the whole time while you slept."
"Huh? Really?"
This time, it was Haruno's turn to blush.
Ichin nodded calmly, then got out of bed, tucking the blanket over Utaha and Yukino as he did.
Putting on his slippers, he looked at Haruno, who was still a bit dazed, and said, "I'm going to make breakfast. Do you want some? If you do, hurry up and wash up."
"Ah! I want some!"
Snapping out of it, Haruno quickly followed him out of the room.
As soon as they stepped out, Haruno saw her own room door open. Shizuka Hiratsuka and Hazuki came out, both yawning.
Seeing Haruno coming out behind Ichin, Hiratsuka gave a playful whistle. "Sleep well last night?"
"You knew, didn't you? Why didn't you drag me out of there!"
Laughing as she dodged Haruno lunging at her, Hiratsuka replied, "Well, you were hugging Ichin pretty tightly, so I didn't bother. Besides, judging by how energetic you are now, nothing happened."
As for one of the parties involved, Ichin had already slipped away to the bathroom ahead of them.
...
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