Chapter 16: The Hot Spring Incident

The hot springs were supposed to be the relaxing part of the trip. That was the plan. The reality, of course, was the exact opposite, because Haru and Ren managed to walk straight into the wrong side of the building.

“I swear the sign had a little stick figure with short hair,” Haru said, towel slung over his shoulder.

Ren gave him a tired look. “That was a girl in a bun.”

“…Oh.”

They stepped through a cloud of steam. Voices echoed from down the hall. Haru took one step back. Ren took one step forward. They heard laughter—female laughter—and both boys froze.

“Wait,” Ren whispered. “This is—”

Then Yuki and Mina appeared from the opposite direction, also fresh from the baths.

Yuki and Ren locked eyes for half a second.

And then everything exploded.

“AAAAAH—!”

“WHY ARE YOU—?!”

“TURN AROUND!”

Ren practically vaulted backward, slipping on the wooden platform before catching himself. Yuki shrieked, grabbed her towel tighter, and bolted behind Mina, who stared at the boys like they were intruders in a sacred temple.

Haru tried to cover his face with both hands. “Abort! ABORT!”

The four of them scattered like scared cats. Doors slammed. Sandals squeaked. Someone knocked over a bucket. Staff sighed in the distance, used to this sort of chaos during school trips.

By the time Ren made it back to the safety of the boys’ room, he wanted to dig a hole and live in it forever.

Haru collapsed on his futon, laughing way too hard. “Dude, the look on your face—”

“Don’t,” Ren warned.

“I’m just saying. You two scream exactly the same.”

Ren threw a pillow at his head.

---

An hour later, Ren slipped out for fresh air. Or maybe to cool down. Or maybe to hide from Haru’s teasing. He wasn’t sure anymore. Anything was better than lying on a futon replaying the scream scene thirty times in his mind.

He wandered to the vending machines by the lobby, where the soft hum of the lights made everything feel a bit calmer.

He put in coins. The machine whirred. A cold bottle of lemon soda clattered down.

As he bent to pick it up, he heard soft footsteps.

He didn’t need to turn. He already knew who it was.

Yuki stopped a few steps away. She hesitated like she was considering escape again. Ren straightened up slowly, unsure if he should greet her or give her space.

“…Hey,” he said.

“…Hey.” She looked everywhere except at him.

They both reached for the machine at the same time, then pulled their hands back. The silence stretched, awkward and warm at once.

Yuki cleared her throat. “So. Earlier.”

Ren rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. Uh. Sorry. Wrong door.”

“I figured,” she said, lips twitching. “Haru looked guilty the moment I saw him.”

“He always looks guilty.”

That got a small laugh out of her. Soft, quick, but real. Ren felt the tension in his shoulders ease.

Yuki picked a can of peach tea and stared at the label like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. “It’s weird,” she said after a while. “Talking to you again like this.”

Ren nodded. “Yeah.”

“Not bad weird,” she added. “Just… weird.”

He didn’t know what to say at first. The steam, the screaming, the way she’d clutched her towel and turned red—his heart hadn’t handled any of it well. Now that they were alone, things felt even more complicated.

“We used to talk a lot in places like this,” Yuki said. “Vending machines. Hallways. Late at night during trips.”

Ren remembered all of it. The way she used to tap her shoes together. The way she’d steal sips of his drink without asking. The way a quiet moment with her could make an entire day feel lighter.

“I missed that,” he admitted.

Yuki finally looked up. Her eyes softened in a way that made him feel both warm and unsteady. “Yeah,” she whispered. “Me too.”

The words hung there, gentle but heavy.

Ren didn’t tell her how often he thought about their old life. Yuki didn’t mention the dream of their daughter crying. Neither brought up the fear of falling back into the same heartbreak.

But for a few minutes, the worries didn’t matter.

They stood there quietly, sipping their drinks from opposite sides of the machine, but somehow it felt like they were standing much closer.

A small breeze slipped in through the open hallway window. It brushed past Yuki’s hair, making it flutter a little. Ren watched without meaning to. Yuki caught him, met his eyes, and quickly looked away, cheeks warming all over again.

“Don’t stare,” she murmured.

“Sorry,” he said, though he didn’t sound very sorry.

She hid her face behind the can. “Idiot.”

Ren smiled at the insult. She hadn’t said it like she used to—angry or frustrated. This time it sounded small, almost affectionate. Almost nostalgic.

---

Far down the hallway, Sena Aikawa stepped out from behind a pillar.

She had come for a drink. That was what she kept telling herself. But her eyes were fixed on Ren and Yuki the whole time.

She watched the way Ren leaned slightly toward Yuki without noticing. She watched Yuki’s fingers twist nervously at the hem of her sleeve. She watched the gentle calm that settled between them, something you didn’t get from people who barely knew each other.

Something that didn’t belong to her.

Sena pressed her lips together, the can in her hands growing colder.

They like each other.

That much was obvious.

But Sena wasn’t going to back down. Not when she had decided Ren was interesting. Not when she was certain she could turn that interest into something more.

She lifted her chin and walked away, heels clicking against the floor.

This trip isn’t over, she thought.

And neither was her chance.

---

Back at the vending machines, Yuki finished her drink and faced Ren again. “We should head back before the teachers get suspicious.”

“Right.”

Neither moved.

Yuki tucked her hair behind her ear. Ren shifted his weight. They stood there for one more heartbeat, one more quiet breath, both trying to say something without saying it.

Then Yuki stepped back. “Goodnight, Ren.”

He nodded. “Goodnight.”

She walked away first. He watched until she turned the corner.

For the first time in a long while, his chest felt lighter.

He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a dangerous one.

Either way… he didn’t mind the feeling.