Chapter 1 of 5

Chapter 1

7 min read1,862 wordsMature

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surprise release yeet

hello! new novel, same me. before you read, just a few things that might get lost in translation:

“host clubs” are clubs which cater primarily to female (or gay male) customersthey feature a list of staff, known as “hosts”. customers can “nominate” a host to spend time withthe hosts basically talk and drink with the customer. like speed dating

Young Star

“It’s morning. Wake up.”

“Eh?”

Narutaki Kazusama opened his eyelids to the quiet voice. There was a young man smiling at him. He was wearing a clean uniform and he had a gorgeous smile.

“Sir, the screening is over.”

“Ah, sorry.”

Embraced by the starry night, he had fallen asleep.

He was at the MIlk Way, a planetarium inside a large-scale business institution. Kazumasa was here for a summer business meeting about event management. The meeting started at one in the afternoon, but it was amended to three by the other company. He decided to pass the extra time at the planetarium. He was meant to immerse himself in the romantic beauty of the universe, but instead he had fallen asleep halfway through – no, he had been fast asleep from the beginning.

“You narrated so well, so I guess I fell asleep. Sorry.”

“Eh?”

“Shimizu Yuya, right? I figured that out from your nametag.”

Welcome to the Milky Way. My name is Shimizu Yuya, and I will be your narrator for today…

He was the same man who had introduced himself at the beginning of the screening. And his voice was the same. It was easy for Kazumasa to deduce his name.

***

“You have a really nice voice. It’s so warm and soothing.”

“Thank you.”

“I also like the way you woke me up.”

It’s morning. Wake up.

“You weren’t like, Sir, wake up!, which would’ve been quite awkward,” Kazumasa laughed. He wanted to talk with Yuya for another hour, but it wasn’t going to happen. He gathered some momentum and got up from the reclining chair. Dressing himself in a crisp suit and fastening his tie, he grabbed his briefcase.

“Thanks. I’ll be on my way now.”

“Oh. Um…”

“Mm?”

“If you enjoyed the show, please come again. I’ll be waiting.”

“Sure. I’ll come again.”

Yuya stared longingly at Kazumasa, who waved and left.

***

Kazumasa worked at an events management company. He returned to the company, having been entrusted with the summer plans, but there were a lot of headaches.

“Manabe, I think you should focus a bit more on safety for this plan.”

“Eh? I thought the plan had already been approved?”

“The outline, yes. From now on, you need to pay more attention to detail.”

“We’re just going to use existing fossil collection kits and give the children a hands-on experience, though. What safety measures are there?”

“Just because it’s off the shelf doesn’t mean it’s safe. When you’re smashing plaster with a hammer, you could get a splinter in your eye.”

“I tried the kit once, and that didn’t happen.”

It might happen, was what Kazumasa was trying to say. He pressed on.

“What should you do as a safety measure?”

“Umm… googles?”

That’s right, Kazumasa said, smiling.

***

He continued battering his subordinate with questions.

“And what should we do to prevent kids from breathing in the plaster particles?”

“Masks?”

That’s exactly right, Kazumasa said, his smile growing bigger.

“Seems like you’ve gotten the hang of it. So, goggles and masks – give me a quote on those, and any other safety equipment you can think of.”

“Understood.”

“The plan is going great. Keep it up!”

“I will!”

After watching Manabe return triumphantly to his desk, Kazumasa called in another employee.

“Akiyama, can I see you for a bit?”

“Of course.”

“You used to be in charge of the summer kids’ event, right? I want you to follow up on Manabe.”

“Did he do something?”

“It’s his first time being the first-in-charge, so just make sure he doesn’t overlook any details.”

“Yes, sir.”

After Akiyama went over to Manabe, Kazumasa let out a sigh. The kids these days will stray off the right path if you don’t point them in the right direction. We should lead them in the right direction, but also acknowledge their strengths.

Kazumasa thought of the planetarium again.

***

When was the last time you looked up at the stars?

High school? Middle school? Or even younger?

A nostalgic feeling arose. Kazumasa wanted to look up at the night sky and be comforted by the stars.

Welcome to the Milky Way. My name is Shimizu Yuya, and I will be your narrator for today…

Him.

He wanted to be immersed in Shimizu’s voice.

That day, Kazumasa left work right on time. Shimizu had shows at 1:00PM, 4:00PM and 7:00PM. Kazumasa decided to go to the seven o’clock screening, grabbing coffee on the way. He was determined not to fall asleep this time.

***

“It’s morning. Wake up.”

“Eh?”

Kazusama opened his eyelids to the quiet voice. Yuya was smiling at him.

“Sir, the screening is over.”

“Oh, crap.”

Embraced by the starry night, he had fallen asleep again.

“Were you on your way home from work? You must be tired, so I fully understand.”

“Hearing you say that makes me feel a little less guilty.”

But he had come all this way to hear that beautiful voice. How unfortunate.

“Shimizu, what time do you get off?”

“Eight o’clock.”

“Do you wanna go for dinner afterwards? I have a few things I want to ask you.”

“Oh. Umm… I…”

“I don’t have any ulterior motives.”

Yuya laughed at his response and replied with an ok. Yuya had taken a liking to Kazumasa, who said he would be waiting at the south entrance of the building.

“It’s the first time someone’s called me by my name, seeing as I’m just a narrator.”

In that way, he had special feelings for Kazumasa.

***

“I’m Narutaki Kazumasa. Nice to meet you.”

Yuya took the business card with two hands.

“This summer, I’m doing events management for kids at the building where your planetarium is.”

That’s why he was at the building that day, Kazumasa explained, taking a piece of sushi.

“Do you work at an events management company?”

“It’s pretty tough. At my age, I have to train the younger guys as well.”

“I see. What was it you wanted to ask me about?”

“Ah, about that. Sorry, I got carried away,” Kazumasa said, offering sushi to Yuya.

“Planetarium narrations are usually recordings, aren’t they? Why is the Milky Way insistent on using live voices?”

“I heard it was the director’s idea. Apparently it builds a connection with the audience and it’s more engaging. My job isn’t just narration. After the screening I clean the place, check for forgotten belongings…”

“Wake up people who are sleeping?”

That’s right, Yuya laughed.

***

Yuya’s smile and his soothing voice washed over Kazumasa’s soul. He wanted to see his smile for a little longer. Listen to his voice a little longer.

“Shimizu, what do you wanna do after this? Wanna go somewhere else?”

“Sorry. I have a night job from ten o’clock.”

“That’s too bad.”

Kazumasa wondered if it was ok for Yuya to work that late at night.

“My planetarium job starts in the afternoon, so I can take it easy in the morning. I can handle it,” Yuya replied, fiddling with his teacup.

“I see. But still, take care of your body, ok?”

“I will.”

After parting ways with Yuya, Kazumasa stretched his hands. He felt like he had gotten ten years younger.

“Ahh, that was fun!”

A smile crept up his lips. He wanted to go to the Milky Way again, he thought as he made his way home.

***

“Narutaki, it’s morning. Wake up,” Yuya smiled, gently waking Kazumasa up. Kazumasa had been visiting Yuya’s planetarium a lot recently. He was busy during the day with work, so he always ended up coming to the seven o’clock screening at night. For Yuya, waking up Kazumasa had become the norm, as Kazumasa was always tired from work.

But something was different today. Kazumasa lifted up the corners of his mouth into a grin and opened one eye.

“Hahaha. I was awake the whole time.”

“So you were pretending to be asleep?”

Rising from his seat, Kazumasa headed towards the southern exit. It had become the norm for Kazumasa to wait for Yuya there, too. They ate a late dinner together. For both Kazumasa and Yuya, it had become an enjoyable and irreplaceable time spent together.

***

“Wanna go to karaoke after this?”

“Karaoke…?”

“I heard you singing “Tour Of The Stars” in the screening. It was pretty good.”

“Ahh, how embarrassing…”

How nice would it be to go with Kazumasa to karaoke? But, alas.

“Sorry. I have my night job after this.”

“Oh, I remember,” Kazumasa said dejectedly. Their work schedules didn’t line up at all. Kazumasa was off on weekends, and Yuya was off on weekdays. The planetarium on weekends was Yuya’s way of making a few extra bucks. There was no way for him to use any vacation days.

But what kind of night job did Yuya do?

Kazumasa had always wanted to ask, but he hesitated. He decided to wait for Yuya to tell him himself. With that in mind, they parted ways once again.

***

Something’s off today.

It was Friday night, and with tomorrow being the weekend, Kazumasa was unusually psyched up. Not only his mind, but his body was yearning for something.

I should go to a club or something. I want something sexy.

Heading towards the entertainment district, Kazumasa stepped foot into a host club.

【 HOST CLUB – AGAMEMNON 】

He had gone to this club a lot when he was younger. The club was partitioned into several separate rooms, and the customers spent time with a host of their choice. You couldn’t switch hosts halfway through, but anything else was free game. When he was still young, he spent a lot of time with older guys and did a lot of dirty things.

All the guys are probably younger than me now.

Renovation after renovation, Agamemnon had become a club with a stunning atmosphere. The price had indubitably gone up, but Kazumasa wasn’t worried about the price. He chose a two-hour session and looked at the staff menu.

I don’t like permanent nominations, and extravagant guys are usually not that great…

As he traced the pictures, Kazumasa’s hand stopped on one person’s face.

Shimizu?

There was Yuya, who he had just eaten dinner with, smiling.

the way that kazumasa was literally sleeping on yuya????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? yuya my baby boy you are so cute adorable handsome gorgeous handsome cute handsome imma get you outta there he doesn’t deserve you

(heyo shallotnoodle here, just saying this was a muck up. this isnt safest but a new novel. sorry for the mixup.)

RealEx

My Japanese isn’t perfect but I try my best. My biggest kink is hand holding.

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