The Fine Line Between Truth and Dare

I had never been in a relationship before. Yes, I had fallen in love at the start of puberty, and I had been interested in a girl in high school, but those feelings had all been fleeting. I had never actually dated anyone.

Back in high school, this used to bother me a lot. I had even considered forcing myself to fall in love, just for the sake of experience.

But I couldn’t do it.

For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to deceive either myself or the other person. Because now, I knew that playing with someone’s feelings was the cruelest thing I could ever do—not only to them but to myself as well.

And I felt that way, too.

That was why I couldn’t be with Aiko.

I didn’t see myself as the right person for her.

And despite my curiosity about love, I had found peace in this state of being.

To put it simply—

I saw nothing that could push me out of my comfort zone.

Maybe it was fear. I didn’t know.

But I still didn’t want it.

Crying with Aiko, I had never felt like such a piece of trash in my life.

I hadn’t even considered that I could be wanted by someone.

We were both a mess, sniffling and teary-eyed.

While she cried over being rejected, I cried for her—and for myself.

“We should probably head back soon.” Aiko wiped her nose and finally let go of me.

The warmth of her body had seeped into my chest, and when she pulled away, the cold hit me instantly.

“Yeah… but I should stop by the bathroom first,” I said. There was no way I was going out with red, swollen eyes and a runny nose.

“You’re right. I should go too,” she said.

“Then I’ll see you at dinner,” I replied.

I still couldn’t believe how normal I sounded after everything that had just happened.

I turned to leave, heading toward the shared restroom, when Aiko called out behind me.

“Hey, Yuta.”

I stopped and looked back at her.

“Let’s stay as close as we were before… no, let’s be even closer.”

She hesitated for a moment, then smiled softly.

“But I don’t mean romantically. Let’s keep playing music together. Let’s keep singing like we always have.”

Her face was still red from crying, but she smiled through it.

I smiled back. “Yeah… okay.”

There was no trace of, ‘I won’t give up until I win,’ in her voice.

And at the same time, there was no, ‘So I guess this is it.’

It felt as if we had simply let go of everything.

Like we had reached a place where emotions just… were.

There was no battle. No rivalry. No expectations.

No need for love to be some kind of goal or competition.

And honestly…

I think that’s what real love should be.

Even if I had never been able to feel it myself.

After dinner, I went back to my room, grabbed my things, and headed to the hot springs.

Now, this was what I had been waiting for.

I had spent the entire day looking forward to this—the idea of sinking into the warm water, letting myself relax completely, and then heading back to my room all soft and drowsy.

Honestly, that’s what had kept me so energized throughout the day.

Well, except for the incident a few hours ago.

The air inside was humid, thick with steam, and for some reason, it had this strange ability to empty my mind.

The place was completely deserted.

It felt like the entire hot spring had been reserved just for me.

I slowly stepped into the water, letting the warmth creep up from my feet.

“Hot, hot, hot…” I muttered under my breath.

At first, the heat was almost unbearable.

But soon, my body surrendered to it completely.

My muscles melted, my tension vanished.

I let out a long, slow sigh.

“This…” I murmured.

Tilting my head back, I stared blankly at the ceiling.

What a day.

A day I would never forget for the rest of my life.

On the surface, I was the kind of person who seemed social—someone who could talk to anyone.

But in reality, I was more of an introvert.

I clung to my comfort zone like my life depended on it.

No matter how much I tried to act normal, there was no way I could feel normal after everything that had happened today.

As I thought about Aiko, another person suddenly popped into my mind—

Lyra.

What was she up to right now?

It had been a while since we had a “normal” conversation.

Outside of casual university friendships, I had very few people I genuinely kept in touch with.

Actually, if I was being honest, there had never really been anyone.

But Lyra… was different.

Maybe it was because of the way we met, I didn’t know.

Even though our conversations were “normal,” she had a different presence in my life compared to the others.

I wondered if she was okay.

Should I text her?

But what would I even say?

Would her boyfriend be okay with it?

Would she think I was hitting on her?

I had no idea.

Maybe it was better to leave things as they were.

Just like how you lose touch with school friends after graduation…

Maybe that’s how it would be with her, too.

Maybe that’s how it should be.

But for some reason…

I didn’t want that.

“What the hell am I even thinking about in a place like this?” I muttered, splashing hot water onto my face.

I needed to clear my head.

And besides, once I got back to the room, they were going to drag me into a ton of board games.

Hopefully, nothing too ridiculous.

Especially after what happened with Aiko…

I had a feeling we’d both be way too embarrassed.

Not to mention, the others would probably grill us about relationships.

Speaking of which…

We hadn’t even discussed whether we were going to tell anyone.

Would it be a problem?

I had only known Aiko for a few months, and she didn’t seem like the type to spread something like this around.

And I definitely wasn’t going to say anything.

All I wanted…

Was a quiet, uneventful night.

I stepped out of the hot spring and made my way back to the room.

Damn, that felt good.

I opened the door, still basking in the afterglow of the bath—

Only to be immediately greeted by an irritated Ray.

“Where the hell were you, dude?”

“What happened?” I asked.

“Sota and the others started playing Truth or Dare in their room. We were waiting for you to go.”

“How many people?” I asked.

If it was too crowded, I had zero intention of going.

“Four or five,” Ray said.

That was actually less than I expected. Barely a quarter of the club.

I didn’t want to go, but at the same time, this was usually where the real fun happened.

And besides, a little change of pace wouldn’t hurt.

“Alright, let me dry my hair first,” I said.

“Yes!” Ray fist-pumped excitedly.

Yasu, however, shot him a sharp, teasing look.

“You do know she’s not coming, right?” he said.

Ray immediately froze. His face turned red as he stammered, “I-I know that! S-still, a game’s a game! And also—hey, what do you mean mine?!”

His reaction was honestly kind of adorable.

I couldn’t exactly tell him that Sayuri wasn’t coming because of Sota’s presence.

Even if I felt guilty, there was nothing I could do about it.

When we arrived at the room, I realized something.

This was definitely not a “four or five people” situation.

There were at least ten.

They were all sitting in a circle like some kind of mutant cult, already deep into the game.

So… turning back wasn’t an option, huh?

Goddammit.

The upperclassmen were drinking, and some were already tipsy.

Aiko was sitting next to Ayame.

We made eye contact.

It felt a little awkward, but not as much as I had expected.

Actually, if anything…

I felt closer to her.

We hesitantly joined the group.

After the obligatory “Why are you so late?” treatment, the game resumed.

At least with this many people, the bottle probably wouldn’t land on me, right?

…Right?

“Alright, let’s go!” Ayame, already drunk, grabbed the bottle and spun it.

It spun…

And spun…

And spun…

Until it landed directly between—

Me.

And Ayame.

The room went silent for a second.

You have got to be kidding me.

“OOOOHHHH!” The others immediately burst into cheers, grinning wickedly.

Seriously?! I just got here! And of all people…

It had to be Ayame.

She downed the rest of her beer in one go as the crowd around us hyped up the situation.

I was not having fun.

“So, Yuta~” Ayame said, her tone playful and teasing. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” I said immediately.

There was no way in hell I was picking dare.

“Boo! Coward!” The others booed and jeered, laughing as they egged me on. Say whatever you want. I’m not changing my answer.

“Oh, whatever.” Ayame waved her hand dismissively, almost like a referee calling for a pause. She was definitely drunk.

“Alright then… I’ll ask two questions,” she said with a mischievous grin. “You can pick which one to answer. Consider it a warm-up, since you just got here.”

“Ooooohhh!” The others cheered again, fueling the tension.

My heartbeat picked up.

“Alright,” I said cautiously.

Ayame smirked.

“So…” She leaned forward.

“Have you ever had a romantic moment with anyone in the club?”

“Or—”

She paused for dramatic effect.

“Do you have any romantic feelings for that girl who came to help us out?”

…

And in that moment—

I wished I had picked dare.