Chapter 3

unedited

The dimly lit car was filled with popular music that was completely out of place in this atmosphere.

It was a song that I have always listened to and I love the lyrics, but now it sounds like a song from some faraway country.

“Umm, what about Kazuki? Is he alright?”

“Kazuki, huh… Is that kid your boyfriend?”

“Huh?! No no no! He’s just a friend! I mean, please answer my question!”

I was asking seriously, but why is he making fun of me?

I felt like he chuckled quietly at me, it made the furrow between my eyebrows deepen.

“Ah, my bad. Anyway, you seem to be misunderstanding something… Your friend is safe. He’s probably having some nice tea with my friends by now.”

“What, tea…?”

A totally unexpected response came back and made me lose all the tension in my body. Kazuki isn’t the type to think too deeply about things, so if someone asked him out convincingly, it’s totally possible for him to have some tea time with strangers.

But still, that doesn’t mean I’m out of trouble.

“It was just as Tooru said. You definitely came with someone…”

“…..”

He glanced at me and I held my breath. I wonder if this Tooru person is his accomplice.

I wanted to try contacting Kazuki, but I couldn’t do that because he confiscated my phone when I got in the car.

I don’t know if I could trust what he said, but for now I could only believe that Kazuki is safe and sound.

“Haru, are you nervous? Your face is so tense the whole time.”

He stretched his hand and stroked my cheek with his sturdy adult fingertips that were just like wings.

It would be weirder to not feel nervous in this situation. In fact, I just want to run away right here and now.

“I think girls are cuter when they smile.”

“Huh?”

For a moment, I couldn’t believe my ears, I gasped and looked up.

My gaze got tangled with his and I involuntarily looked away immediately. I could feel him laughing above my head, it made my heart race.

Did he say that I’m a ‘girl’ just now?

I didn’t mishear, right?

Could it be, that he hasn’t realized my true identity?

“Err, umm…”

“Ah, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Akira. I’m not a shady guy so don’t worry.”

“…..”

As usual, he gave me a refreshing smile, and it made me have mixed feelings.

Is this a trap to set me up? Or does he actually don’t realize it yet?

I thought he was a heinous criminal, but maybe that’s not actually true?

No, they say that appearances are deceiving, and dating apps are basically a breeding ground for crime.

The more I thought about it, the less I knew what the truth was.

I tried to rack my head which felt like it’d explode and tried to think of a way to get out of this situation.

However, on top of being inside a locked car, I don’t even know the destination we’re going to. If I tried to escape I’d be lost on the streets, I could see myself eventually being caught by him again.

If so, it’d be better to talk to him so as not to arouse suspicion and wait for the chance to escape.

Fortunately, Akira seems to like to talk and will talk about all sorts of things even if you don’t ask.

He talked about stuff such as that he likes history, he can’t wait to go and see shrines and castles, or that likes to ride his motorcycle up the mountains in the middle of the night to observe the celestial bodies.

Did he perhaps try to shake off my nervousness?

Just as I was getting uncomfortable with the silence, Akira suddenly dropped a bomb on me.

“Sorry for talking about myself too much since earlier. Why did you use the Real Love app, Haru?”

My body tensed up at the sudden question.

“E-err… I don’t have many friends, so I thought it would be nice to meet all kinds of people.”

“Hmm, what a coincidence. Me too.”

That must be a lie! There’s no way that girls would leave this handsome guy alone! I managed to resist the urge to retort back and responded with a fake, friendly smile.

As we continued our verbal rally, Akira glanced at me just as the traffic light turned red and said,

“Don’t you feel thirsty? Here, you can drink this.”

“Huh, but…”

A plastic bottle is smoothly offered to me. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary drink.

“Don’t worry. There’s no poison in it. Or maybe you don’t like orange juice?”

Did he notice my worry? My cheeks tightened up because it felt like he could see through me.

I had been feeling nervous, so it’s true that my throat was dry.

“I don’t- dislike it.”

“Then, will you trust me if I do this?”

When Akira saw that I won’t drink it, he let out a small sigh, opened the cap of the plastic bottle, put it in his mouth, and gulped it down.

“Look, I drank it too so you’re fine with this, right?”

My head got stroked gently, then I stared at the plastic bottle. Well, he drank it himself, and he wouldn’t drink it if it has poison…. It would be fine if I drink it, right?

“Then, I’ll take a sip.”

I still don’t fully trust him yet, but I’ll take his generosity.

I was also feeling thirsty, it’s fine to drink a bit of it, right?

I sipped it and found it to be a perfectly normal orange juice.

Maybe it was stupid of me for being so cautious?

I thought that only unattractive and frustrated middle-aged men would register on dating sites, so I was very surprised.

I was so prejudiced. I felt a little sorry.

But still… why did a handsome guy like Akira use this kind of app?

Moreover—

“By the way, where are we heading to…?”

“To somewhere nice.”

He wouldn’t answer this one question no matter how many times I asked.

“You would know once we get there”. Leaving behind a few cryptic words, the car continued on its way down the deserted road.

Where the hell is somewhere nice?

The well-heated car brought me a sudden and intense feeling of drowsiness, and my eyelids became heavier and heavier.

I felt so sleepy that I couldn’t keep my eyelids open.

Why am I… suddenly…

“We’re not there yet, you can take it easy.”

“Okay..…”

His big hands stroked my head gently. The feeling was so pleasant that I felt as if I was floating.

“Good night, Haru….”

I heard Akira’s low voice somewhere in the distance, and my memory was suddenly cut off at that moment.