(AN: I am on a roll today, TAKE this! Don't forget to check the coment section.)
I don't know when I ended up falling asleep while looking after Nino, but the moment i opened my eyes with blurry vision, I saw her quietly trying to leave the room.
Panic instantly kicked in, and before I could even think properly, I grabbed her wrist.
No matter how innocent my intentions were, the reality wouldn't change.
I had brought Nino to a love hotel.
Setting aside the fact that we were both underage, I was also currently dating her sister. If word ever got out that I brought Nino's unconscious body to a place like this, not to mention i.....yeah, i am screwed.
People would definitely question why I brought her here instead of somewhere else.
But they weren't in my position.
They hadn't seen how desperate I was back then.
If even the slightest misunderstanding happened, I'd probably get arrested on the spot with nobody to bail me out.
Still… that wasn't what scared me the most.
What terrified me was the thought of them hating me.
I could tolerate them getting annoyed at me.
I could tolerate being insulted.
They could even hate me for some other reason.
But not like this…
Without realizing it, tears and snot were already flowing down my face at the same time. My nose was probably running because I never properly dried myself after getting soaked in the rain.
I must've looked unbelievably ugly and pathetic right now.
But I genuinely didn't care anymore.
"Please…" I begged while crying miserably. "At least let me explain…"
Nino let out a long sigh before pulling her hand free from mine.
Without saying a single word, she walked back toward the bed and quietly sat down on it.
Crossing her legs, the slit of the white bathrobe shifted slightly, revealing a glimpse of her smooth thighs.
…Wait.
Did she seriously not realize what she was wearing right now?
Not to mention, underneath the robe she was—
Nino suddenly shot me a cold glare.
My body reacted on pure instinct.
Before I knew it, I was kneeling on the floor in front of her like a criminal awaiting judgment.
Meanwhile, my eyes kept betraying me by darting toward her exposed thighs every few seconds.
Beautiful.
Dangerously beautiful.
My brain instantly started producing suicidal thoughts.
I want those thighs to sandwich m—
No!
You absolute moron!
You're already standing one step away from your grave. If she catches me ogling her thigh right now, she'll seriously kill me.
"You better answer my questions honestly," Nino warned, her glare cold enough to freeze me on the spot. "Or I'll personally make sure you end up behind bars."
I used to be the top dog at my school, you know.
And yet somehow, I had never been this terrified in my entire life.
"Your answer?" she asked again in the same icy tone.
I immediately flinched and straightened my posture without daring to look her in the eyes.
"Yes, ma'am."
"First question. Where did you find me?"
"In the park," I answered without hesitation. "Inside the dome shelter. I went there to get out of the rain but found you unconscious instead."
"I was unconscious?" Nino asked quietly, as though she already suspected the answer but wasn't entirely sure.
"Yes," I answered immediately. "And you had a really high fever too, so I-I brought you here…"
The moment she heard that, Nino abruptly stood up in frustration.
"That's exactly the problem!" she snapped. "Why here?! This is obviously a love hotel! You could've called an ambulance!"
I instinctively looked away, unable to properly meet her eyes.
"That's because my phone broke after I slipped on the road," I explained nervously. "And this was the closest place nearby where I could get you out of the rain."
"Yeah, right…" Nino crossed her arms suspiciously. "Then what were you even doing around the park? Do you live nearby?"
"N-No, I don't live around here. I only came to buy—"
I suddenly froze mid-sentence as a horrifying realization struck me.
"My eggs…"
A look of despair overtook my face.
"My eggs! I left them at the park!"
Unable to contain my grief, I slammed both hands dramatically against the floor while crying out in anguish.
Nino got startled by my sudden outburst, instinctively taking a step back in surprise.
After a brief moment, she cleared her throat and forced herself to calm down.
"…Fine. I understand the situation now," she said with a small smile. "You were only trying to save me."
I immediately looked up, my expression brightening with hope.
"Then—"
"However," she cut me off instantly.
A smile appear on her face, but there wasn't a single trace of warmth behind it.
"Your answer to my next question will determine your fate."
The atmosphere around her suddenly turned terrifying.
Cold sweat immediately drenched my back.
I had a very bad feeling about this.
Nino slowly crossed her arms and stared directly at me.
"What happened to my clothes?" she asked with that same dangerously calm smile.
I straightened my back, pressed my lips tightly together, and swallowed hard.
Of course she would ask about that!!
I was finished T_T.
Avoiding her gaze, I looked to the side instead of answering immediately, but Nino simply waited patiently with that same unnervingly calm smile on her face. Somehow, the longer I looked at it, the more terrifying it became.
There was no escaping this.
Gathering what little courage I had left, I muttered quietly,
"Your clothes were completely soaked…"
"And..?" she urged.
"You had a really high fever…"
"Soo..?"
"There wasn't anyone else around to help…"
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Then?"
"I changed them myself...." I admitted while bracing for impact.
Nino stared at me expressionlessly.
"You did what?" she Asked slowly, "you changed my clothes while I was unconscious?"
Since I have already said it, there is no point in hiding this bit of information, "Y-Yes, I removed everything, and dried you before dressing you in the bath robe."
I tightly shut my eyes again, fully prepared for Nino to explode at me at any second.
But strangely enough—
Nothing happened.
…Why was it so quiet?
Slowly, I peeked through the gap between my arms, which I had raised over my head in preparation for the inevitable beating.
As expected, Nino's face was completely red.
A chaotic mess of anger, embarrassment, humiliation, and panic had taken over her expression. Even her beautiful blue eyes were trembling slightly, tears gathering on them as though they might spill at any moment.
She just stood there silently, fists clenched so tightly they were shaking.
Then finally—
"I'll kill you!"
Nino completely snapped.
Her fists came crashing down against me relentlessly while she shouted in embarrassment and fury.
So that silence earlier…
It was just the calm before the storm.
"Please understand, Nino!" I begged while enduring the assault curled up on the floor, only shielding my head and face since, honestly… I partially deserved this.
"I-I didn't had a choice!" I tried explaining again, desperately hoping she would calm down. "You were freezing, and your condition kept getting worse! I was just trying to help you!"
Unfortunately, my words didn't seem to reach her at all.
Nino continued hitting me in pure emotional overload, eventually ending up sitting on my stomach while furiously pounding against my chest and shoulders.
To be honest, her punches didn't actually hurt that much.
I'd experienced worse before.
But if this kept going, it felt less like she was angry at me and more like she was on the verge of completely breaking down.
As if to fulfill my wish, Her bathrobe got undone partially because of all the movements. Since there was no undergarments my eyes got a peek of her gorgeous chest once again before i could cover my eyes, and i will be honest, she is freaking hot!!
Nino suddenly froze mid-motion.
"Kyaah?!"
She immediately stumbled back in panic, clutching the robe tightly against herself while hurriedly fixing it with a face burning bright red.
For a moment, I genuinely thought she was about to resume beating me to death.
But instead—
Nino slowly crouched down onto the floor.
A fresh stream of tears rolled down her face as her shoulders trembled slightly.
"My life is ruined…" she muttered weakly, sounding completely devastated.
Hearing that, I cautiously got up. A sharp pang of guilt stabbed straight through my chest. Now I seriously felt like shit.
I quietly walked closer without her noticing and slowly knelt down in front of her.
Then, lowering my head completely until my forehead touched the floor, I apologized in silence.
"I'm truly sorry, it was my fault, I said in a low voice. "I didn't think about how insensitive my actions were. At that moment… I was too worried about your condition to actually care."
Nino remained silent while I continued speaking honestly.
"I know you never liked me, and honestly, I understand why," I admitted calmly. "That's why… if there's anything I can do to earn your forgiveness, I'm willing to do it."
I slowly clenched my fists against the floor.
"If you want to call the police, I'll accept it."
"If you want me to break up with Miku, I'll do it."
"If you want me to transfer schools or disappear from your lives completely, I'll do that too."
I took a shaky breath before finishing quietly.
"Just… please don't hate me."
Every single word I spoke was sincere.
No matter how painful those choices might be, I was genuinely prepared to accept them if it meant fixing this situation somehow.
…Though there was still one thing I absolutely refused to allow.
No matter what happened, I wasn't letting Futaro become anything more than just their tutor.
That guy irritated me on a level I couldn't even properly explain.
Only silence remained afterward.
And within that silence, I slowly became aware of my own body.
Why did the back of my throat feel dry and hurt so much?
Why couldn't I swallow properly?
Why did my chest ache like something inside me was breaking apart?
And why had my vision suddenly become blurry?
Ah....
I see...
I am crying.
But this time, it wasn't out of fear.
Nor guilt.
It was sadness.
Because the truth was—
I really don't want to leave their side.
I want to stay close to them.
Talk to them every day.
Laugh with them.
For the first time in a long while, I had finally found a place where I genuinely wanted to belong.
And now it felt like everything was about to end because of my own stupidity.
…I really am an idiot.
A complete idiot.
Yet even knowing all of that—
If I could go back in time and face the same situation again…
I would still save her without hesitation.
I felt unbelievably weak.
The exhaustion from running through the rain, the cold that had seeped deep into my body, the emotional strain from everything that had happened tonight—
All of it was finally catching up to me at once.
Until now, I had only managed to keep moving forward because of sheer willpower.
Because somewhere along the way, those girls had become a source of light in my life.
The thought of losing that light…
It hurt more than I expected.
Suddenly—
My head went completely blank.
The strength left my body in an instant, and before I could even realize what was happening, all my senses faded into darkness.
---------
"I can't believe you brought an unconscious girl to a love hotel and even had the nerve to remove her clothes. You're disgusting."
Nino's voice was filled with pure disgust as she looked down at Ren like he was filth beneath her feet.
Then Miku suddenly appeared beside her, her expression equally cold.
"You already have me as your girlfriend, yet you brought another girl to a love hotel behind my back?" she said quietly. "And she's my sister on top of that."
Her eyes trembled with disappointment.
"That's unforgivable."
"Don't ever appear in front of me again."
The two girls turned their backs on him.
"Come on girls, leave that jerk alone, you two have me," Standing between them was a black-haired boy who looked suspiciously similar to Futaro.
Ren remained sitting helplessly on the ground.
His throat refused to produce any sound.
Desperately, he reached out toward them with a trembling hand.
"Please… don't leave me…"
But his desperate cries never reached them.
"Please don't hate me…"
Even so, he continued screaming until his voice nearly broke apart.
"I'm sorry… punish me however you want… just… please don't leave me…"
Because deep down, Ren understood something terrifying.
Without them, he would eventually fall back into that same darkness again.
That empty place filled with loneliness.
A place without warmth.
Without light.
Back when pain—and inflicting pain on others—had been the only things capable of making him feel alive.
"I don't want to go back there…"
His voice cracked apart completely.
"Please…"
Ren abruptly jolted awake, shooting upright in a single motion while gasping desperately for air as though he had just escaped drowning.
His entire body was drenched in sweat.
Breathing heavily, he quickly looked around and realized he was still inside the motel room.
Then another detail hit him.
He was shirtless.
A faint redness immediately appeared on his face as he hurriedly lifted the blanket to check himself, only to let out a relieved sigh moments later.
Thank god… his pants were still on.
Trying to calm his racing heartbeat, Ren looked around the room again.
Nino was nowhere to be seen.
The bathrobe she had been wearing earlier was now neatly hung on a hanger nearby.
Which meant—
"She left…"
Ren slowly clutched his head, anxiety immediately consuming him once more.
What was going to happen now?
Did she forgive him…?
Or was his life already over?
To answer his question, Ren soon noticed a small folded note resting on top of the bedside table.
There was no doubt Nino had left it for him, as for the content... His hands felt strangely nervous as he picked it up and slowly unfolded it.
"After calming down a little, I realized you really did save my life, so I'm willing to forgive you. And… thank you."
The moment he read those words, the unbearable pressure crushing his chest finally eased slightly.
But then his eyes moved to the next line.
"However, I still can't forgive the fact that you saw me naked, even if the situation left you with no other choice."
Ren immediately swallowed nervously.
"So be prepared. I'll make sure you take responsibility for it."
Reading that, Ren could only let out a weak, complicated smile.
Still… compared to the nightmare scenarios he imagined earlier, this outcome felt infinitely better.
Just like he had said before, he was willing to accept any punishment she gave him as long as she didn't hate him.
Then he noticed another smaller note scribbled at the bottom.
"Here's my number. Contact me as soon as possible."
For a brief moment, Ren simply stared at the paper before smiling and folding it carefully into his pocket.
"…I don't have a phone anymore."