It's Not a Date, I'm Just Starving

Clack…

He came out?! Oh no! What is he going to do? ‘I’m sorry, Miss, you should leave this guest house. I don't accept kleptomaniac guests.’ OH MY GOD!!!

I squeezed my eyes shut, creating an illusion to escape and forget this nightmare. I’m imagining a peaceful field of tulips in the Netherlands. A gentle breeze is blowing against my skin. The air is so cool, and the beautiful tulips are tickling my feet.

Thud…

"Ow!"

The tulip field vanished instantly along with a sharp pain in my forehead. It felt like something had been thrown at me. I opened my eyes slowly to find Arjuna already sitting in front of me.

"So, why did you go up to the private floor?"

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't speak. I could only look down. I was truly terrified. Everything inside me feels like a computer that's hanging.

"Good grief... I might just kiss you if you keep staying silent."

EH!!! K-K-KI-SS!? KYAAAAAAA!!!

My head was spinning out of control. The word 'kiss' kept looping in my mind. Even though I was malfunctioning, I could still hear him.

"Hahaha! There it goes again! I'm just kidding.”

My system began to recover. I could only laugh awkwardly—and shyly. If it were real, my entire system would definitely shut down permanently.

"Ehm... ett- um..." I could only manage a small mumble. "I'm hungry. There’s no food in the right wing, the back, or the communal kitchen." I glanced up, but only as far as his neck. It was still hard to look at his face.

"Yeah... There's no food here either. Gita is a dummy; she really only looked after things until I arrived. But it was also because of the storm when we got here."

"I was just about to go find some food. You should come along."

My head automatically snapped up to look at his face. I stared at him intensely.

"A-Arjuna isn't angry?"

"Your reason is clear, so why would I be angry? Though you could have just called, you know." Arjuna laughed handsomely.

Even his laugh is handsome!! I felt my system hovering between normal and glitchy.

"The minimarket isn't far from here. Or do you want to eat at the food court?"

"Food court."

"That means we'll need a vehicle." Arjuna took out his phone and called someone. 

Since he said 'Git,' I assumed he was talking to Gita, the woman from yesterday.

After hanging up, he looked at me. "Wait a moment. You can change your clothes first." He stood up.

I nodded, then rushed toward my room. With every step, my head kept replaying the word "kiss" that he had mentioned.

What does it feel like to be kissed by a man? Especially a handsome man like in the stories. Kya!!!! I curled up with a burst of happy anxiety just thinking about it.

I started picking out clothes. There weren't many options since I didn't have my wardrobe here. A few minutes passed until the room phone rang. Arjuna said the car had arrived and asked me to come out.

Oh... so he called about a car. But where did it come from? I didn't see any cars here yesterday. Did he go through the trouble of finding a car just to go out with me? PRINCE!!! YOU ARE INCREDIBLE!!

I headed to the main house nervously. Gita waved her hand as I emerged from the walkway. I responded with a smile and a wave. Gita bowed as we stood face to face.

EH... EH! WHY IS SHE BOWING?! Oh... right, about the food.

"I am so sorry, Koharu. I forgot to prepare the food stock. Please, go get something to eat with Arjuna now."

"I-It's okay! I'm fine.”

Fine? Koharu... What was that? Arjuna obviously told her. It's clear you're starving. But thanks, because of this, I'm going out with the Prince.

Gita straightened up and smiled. Then she spoke to Arjuna in the local language. I could only stand there, watching their mouths move back and forth.

"Let’s go." Arjuna’s voice startled me slightly. "Gita will look after the place for a while."

I felt increasingly nervous. I followed Arjuna toward the car. Seeing Arjuna open the door for me, my body began to heat up; my nerves were lagging in sending signals.

When they finally reconnected with my eyes, I saw a heart gesture from Arjuna’s fingers. 

My eyes widened as I slowly looked at his face. HE’S SMILING?! IS THIS A CONFESSION?! HE’S IN LOVE WITH ME!!! KYAAAAAA!!!

I automatically covered my face with both hands. Then I slowly slid them to my cheeks. The nervous joy made it even harder to say anything.

"Uhm.... D-do you—really love me? B-but are you—sure?"

"Huh?" Glancing sideways, I saw Arjuna tilting his head in confusion. After a few moments of silence, he spoke.

"Oh!!! This? I was just snapping my fingers because you were just standing there."

My body felt extremely hot—not just boiling, but like a furnace over 100 degrees. I feel like I’m going to explode. Before my system went completely haywire, I hurried into the car, ducking my head as low as possible. I want to bury my head in the ground.

SO EMBARRASSING!!! Koharu... how can you go on living now? How are you going to face him? Stupid! Stupid!! Stupid Koharu!!!

My head was noisy with the voices of little Koharus who were all dying of shame.bWhile keeping my head down, I pulled the seatbelt and fastened it. My hands gripped the strap tightly. We drove in silence. Arjuna focused on the road, and I remained quiet in my shame.

"We’re almost there, but it's a bit congested. We just need to turn into the parking lot," Arjuna said after the long silence.

I tried to lift my head, but—my neck felt locked. It’s because Arjuna was messing with me. It’s all Arjuna's fault!!! Yes... Arjuna's fault. The Prince is innocent.

I massaged my neck lightly to ease the stiffness. My head finally started to move, though my neck still felt a bit odd. 

After parking, we got out of the car. Above us, a sign read 'Jimbaran Food Court'. Arjuna, already near the entrance, called out to me as I stood there staring blankly at the sign. I quickly caught up to him. Although I was moving normally now, the awkwardness and shame hadn't fully faded.

Inside, I was stunned by how huge the food court was. I looked around; there were many food stalls with neatly written signs.

Without me realizing it, Arjuna was already standing in front of a stall labeled 'Indian Food'.

Why is he always so far ahead? What am I, anyway? Just because he’s a resident of this Country of Bali. HMPH!!

I immediately approached him. Arjuna sensed my presence and looked at me as I reached his side. With a silent sigh, I gathered my courage to speak.

"W-what are you ordering?"

"Butter Chicken. I want to try it."

Hearing that, I looked around. I searched for what I wanted to eat.

"Go ahead and look around," he said, seemingly holding back a laugh. "Don't worry, I’ll keep an eye on you from here—so you don't get kidnapped."

I nodded and hurried away, embarrassed by his teasing. Keep on teasing me!! Do you think I'm a child? Why does he love teasing me so much? He keeps playing with me!

After browsing the stalls, I stopped at 'Sushi Fusion'. I ordered one portion of sushi.

"Cash or QRIS, Miss?" the vendor asked.

"Huh?!" Oh right.... the payment!! I don't have cash!! Oh no, what do I do! What is QRIS? Can I use JPQR?

As I stood there frozen and confused about how to pay, Arjuna arrived. Once again, he became my savior by paying for my order.

"Thank you, please wait a moment," the stall attendant said.

"I'll show you how to use QRIS and JPQR later," Arjuna said.

My eyes followed him as he went to a drink stall. He's buying a drink without asking me? Maybe he wants to give me a surprise... Mwhehehe!

After waiting for our respective food and Arjuna picking up the drinks, we began to eat.

"Itadakimasu!" I said.

We truly enjoyed the food, so no one spoke. I watched him while eating; his face showed that he was really enjoying the butter chicken. Eventually, our food was finished.

"Thank you for the meal!"

"You're welcome!"

I was a bit startled to hear him answer my "prayer" with a smile. I turned my face away slightly in embarrassment. We relaxed for a bit since we had just finished eating, enjoying our drinks. I tried the orange-colored drink; clearly, it was the orange juice Arjuna had ordered for me. I gazed at him dreamily, like a character subconsciously falling for someone doing something romantic. I let out a sigh.

What’s next? Are we going back?