Vol 2 Chapter 4 (1/2)
Hirosue was so busy at work, he thought hethe weekend―it was thanks to Hayaet Saturday and Sunday off On the Friday before the trip, however, Hirosue worked extra overtiot ho
On the day of their one-night trip to the hot springs, Matsuoka caht on time, true to his punctual nature Hirosue rubbed his sleepy eyes and left his apart in hand
Matsuoka earing a si-sleeve shi+rt with khaki-coloured pants They were the kind of clothes you’d see anywhere, but it was strange how fashi+onable they looked just because Matsuoka earing them Hirosue looked at his own outfit of corduroy pants and a thick wool shi+rt He had taken care to choose the nicer articles a his casual clothes, but now he felt embarrassed at how incredibly unfashi+onable they looked Matsuoka doesn’t say anything, but I bet he doesn’t think I have very good fashi+on sense, he thought, beating himself up over the most trivial of matters
The radio was playing in the car Matsuoka had told hi if he had any, since the ride would be a lengthy one But Hirosue wasn’t very interested in ht a CD in years
The hot spring resort was accessible by highhich could get them there in about two hours Matsuoka, however, faithfully kept to the regular roads, perhaps as a courtesy to Hirosue asn’t coh speeds Hirosue assured hihway, but Matsuoka only s
Hirosue knew that staying aas the least he could do to be polite, since he was alreadyperiod of time But the repetitive scenery, warht before made an unfortunate combination Hirosue was soon overtaken by a powerful drowsiness His eyelids drooped even while he spoke
He fought back against his sleepiness a nuht into the clutches of sleep He woke up froht, for the car was not
“Darn it,” Hirosue clicked his tongue quietly
“What? What’s wrong?” Matsuoka turned around and asked
“Sorry I didn’t mean to nod off”
“Don’t worry You can go back to sleep”
“But you’ve been driving the whole time”
“It’s okay Driving is how I let off steaht?”
“Well,” Hirosue said, raking the back of his head He looked at Matsuoka’s face “Did I tell you I orking late yesterday?”
“No ―When I phoned Hayama yesterday, the topic turned to you, and she said it see behind really late”
“Oh I see”
Matsuoka and Hayaer than Hirosue knew theularly
“Hayalad you’re at Koishi+kawa,” Matsuoka said “She said it can get pretty tough when it’s so busy and she can’t get along with the head clerk, but she said she feels comforted when she talks to you I asked her if it’s aorking with her ex-boyfriend, but she says it isn’t at all Is that usually the way it is?”
Hirosue chuckled “I felt a little ahen I first heard she was being transferred over But as for Ms Hayas at all I guess it’s because she’s getting married”
“Uh-huh,” Matsuoka grunted in reply “Hayama said you two talk a lot”
“We’re the only two in the office apart from the head clerk,” Hirosue explained “Most of the ti to her talk It was like that ere dating Right now, half of e talk about is work, and the other half is about her fiancé”
“Isn’t that, like, hard for you?”
“Hard?”
Matsuoka threw a glance at hiirlfriend talk about her current fiancé”
Hirosue shrugged “It doesn’t bother me I only dated Ms Hayama for a short time, and even then ere more like friends than a couple”
“You don’t have any attach?”
No, Hirosue tried to say, then remembered his conversation with Hayama when he bumped into her at the department store “After we broke up, I did wonder what it would have been like if I got ht not to have ended up with me”
She had done the right thing by not choosing the kind of atory joke, but there was no way Matsuoka could understand it, since he had no idea
“Marriage is pretty important to you, huh, Hirosue” Matsuoka’s tone was decisive
“Why would you think so?”
After a slight pause, Matsuoka spoke “Because with Yoko Eto, you started talking about e pretty early”
“Well, that,” Hirosue said with a se itself I just wanted to ht be the fastest way to achieve that”
Even now, his heart contracted painfully when he thought about Yoko Eto―even if he knew that thein the driver’s seat beside him was the same person Their conversation lapsed for a little after that, and the car radio filled the silence between theion
The inn that Matsuoka had arranged for them was a traditional japanese ryokan in the outskirts of the hot springs Contrary to the few hotel-style inns they had spotted in the heart of the hot springs, the inn Matsuoka had chosen was old but well-ood days of the past, and the word “rustic” described it perfectly Its old wooden doors and dark, glossy moss-covered cobblestone also lent to its s over the modern, sleek kind
They were greeted at the door with reverence in true ryokan fashi+on, and were shown to their room The tatami-floored room was spacious, and Hirosue was overjoyed when he opened theand saw a sarden and a pond outside, all fenced in by bamboo
Hirosue stared absently out the hile sipping the tea that the parlour and tokono he was back at his house in the country Although it was his first time here, it didn’t quite feel like it Hirosue felt all the muscles in his body release their unnecessary tension
Matsuoka was sitting on the floor cushi+on with his legs flung out When he saw Hirosue lie down on the tatami, he also rolled over onto his back beside hih to h Matsuoka rolled over onto his stomach and inched closer to Hirosue
“You know, I feel like I’m the kind of adult that people tell you not to becorave
“Why?”
“Because we just got to the inn and I’ around”
“That’s what this place is for, to take away your exhaustion froht”
“I guess I am,” Matsuoka murmured with such a serious expression on his face that Hirosue burst out laughing
“What’re you laughing at?” Matsuoka said, jutting out his lip this time His expression reminded Hirosue of his nephew, and he reached out to stroke the sullen man’s head
“If you’re feeling restless because you’re not doing anything, it’s probably a sign that you work too et about work for today and tomorrow Let’s relax”
Matsuoka’s short hair was softer than he’d iradually reddened as Hirosue continued to stroke his head, and the man buried his face in the floor cushi+on as if to hide it
“What’s wrong?”
“…I’ainst the floor cushi+on
“I know But it’s cute ―When you get sullen, you remind me of my nephew”
Matsuoka’s blush spread to his ears When Hirosue huht pinch, he felt the heat on his fingertips
“I said stop…” Matsuoka mumbled weakly in protest, his voice at once sub His face was hidden It was only his voice, yet its unexpectedly sensual tone threw Hirosue off guard Agitated, he quickly withdrew his fingers He was the one feeling embarrassed now
It arm inside the rooht After a few small yawns, Hirosue fell asleep before he even knew it
He woke up to the sound of footsteps crossing back and forth in the hallway He felt a presence right beside hi down on him That tranquil expression reminded him of someone―oh, Ms Yoko They really are the same person, he realized, albeit a little late
Hirosue rubbed his eyes vigorously
“Sorry I fell asleep again,” he apologized Matsuoka laughed
“It wasn’t for that long Maybe about twenty minutes”
His heart fluttered uncomfortably as they stared at each other The sensation unsettled hihtly
“Wanna go take a bath or soht he saw Matsuoka’s shoulders twitch slightly at his question
“Um Sure”
“I want to soak in the outdoor bath, but it looks pretty cold outside, huh?”
“It should be fine The website said it’s right by the indoor baths, so you don’t have to walk much”
“Oh, I see”
As Hirosue pulled his change of clothes out of his bag, a voice spoke up behind him
“Want et out?”
“We can just go together Why?” When Hirosue turned around, Matsuoka studied him carefully
“―You won’t be disturbed going in with me?”
Hirosue felt a flash of guilt at the ht of his birthday when he had pushed Matsuoka away He hadn’t felt any resistance towards the kiss itself Like last ti overly “ainst his skin But―
“I won’t be disturbed,” Hirosue answered decisively, but the end of his sentence wavered uncertainly He suddenly lost his confidence as anxiety reared its head inside him What would he think when he saw Matsuoka naked? Would he just see it as a man’s body, or would it induce so else? He hadn’t the faintest idea
Matsuoka was s in an uncertain way
“I’ll take a bit of a break before I head over Go ahead, Hirosue I’ll coested they bathe separately, as if to sense Hirosue’s hesitation Hirosue didn’t have the courage to insist they go together He went on ahead to the hot springs, feeling a little guilty all the while
It was a small inn, and since it was the middle of the day, the men’s bath was deserted The bath itself was spacious, and there were seven washi+ng stations On the whole, it was of an orthodox design, and the dark-green tiles gave off a retro feel
Hirosue quickly washed his body and eagerly sank into the bath It was slightly on the hot side, and it felt nice The water was a htly slippery to the touch, and smelled of sulphur
Although he was concerned about Matsuoka, he ad all to himself He swam around inside the bath, since no one was around to tell him off It was a modest but unparalleled luxury
He went through the door on the right side of the washi+ng stations to find an outdoor bath built with stone It ell-aged with an air of rustic beauty There was an exhilaration that cah fences around, the vieas spectacular He could see the entire town below In the car, he had noticed they were going up quite far into thedown froh they had come
Hirosue savoured his solitude in the soothing bathwater and beautiful scenery There was nothing like undisturbed bliss, but once he got used to that, he felt a strong urge to talk to someone He wanted to share this scenery and the co with soo out of his way for ht insensitively
Hirosue returned to the indoor bath and soaked in the water again The water inside felt slightly hotter than the outdoor bath The door to the change rooht it was Matsuoka, but it was a pair of twonot to coht had just crossed his mind when Matsuoka finally appeared
When he saw Hirosue, he raised his right hand lightly in acknowledge station He was thin Hirosue had always thought the man was slim, but once he ithout clothes and in his bare skin, his thinness was almost painfully stark ―Hirosue had taken that body for his once, but he didn’t feel like he did He had been drunk, and he barely reht If he had remembered, he would probably feel unbearably unco Matsuoka’s bare flesh in the open like this
Matsuoka carefully washed his slender ar inside the bath He was a little far away, so Hirosue half-swam closer to him
“That took you long”
Matsuoka hunched his shoulders “Not to be like you, but I kind of fell asleep,” he ave a se of colour was in his cheeks
“The teone to the outdoor bath yet?”
“Yeah The vieas really nice”
“It said on the Internet that the outdoor bath is pretty good, too But it looks cold outside I think I’ll waro”
Matsuoka’s hand-towel sat folded on his head, as he stared up at the ceiling and eh
“Hot springs are great I feel allaway”
“You’re certainly right about that,” Hirosue agreed “Matsuoka, are things hectic for you around this time, too?”
“You ed down at the end of the fiscal year, so it’s nothing new Why?”
“You look like you’ve gotten thinner”
There was a splash as the towel fell from Matsuoka’s head into the water Matsuoka scooped it up hastily and ringing it outside the edge of the bath His neck and his face went from pink to red as if dipped in dye
“What’s wrong?”
“Wh―What do you mean?” Matsuoka pressed his towel to his face
“Are you not feeling very well? Your face is red”
Matsuoka lowered his face and fell silent He was acting odd
“Did you look?” he asked in a small, hoarse voice
“Look at what?”
“You know…” Matsuoka mumbled It was then that Hirosue finally realized that he was talking about his naked body He hadn’tembarrassed anyway
“I didn’t stare or anything I just saw a little when you ashi+ng” But it was still true that he had looked “I’ized
Matsuoka propped his chin on the edge of the bath and looked down “I’,” he murmured
“Are you alright?”
When Hirosue touched his shoulder, Matsuoka flinched so violently that he felt taken aback Startled at the man’s reaction, Hirosue quickly withdrew his hand
“Oh Sorry”
“I’et out You should stay behind and relax, Hirosue” Matsuoka got out of the bath and left, barely minutes since he had come in to soak Hirosue was ridden with shaht nothing about looking at Matsuoka’s naked body, since they were bothseen naked carried a special kind of
Hirosue also got out of the bath soon afterwards, but Matsuoka was not in the change room He was probably back in their rooot back He wanted to go back to their rooe rooood while, he bought a can of juice as a token of apology and returned to the room