"Sorry!"
Lucas dropped to his knees and bowed his head deeply.
"I'm really sorry!" he said, sincerely and without hesitation.
Gotoh Hitori stared at him, completely at a loss for words. Her face turned red again—after all, he had just seen everything.
But seeing Lucas still kneeling like that, she realized he hadn't meant to do it. His reaction made that clear.
"Lucas-san, you… you don't have to blame yourself. I know it wasn't on purpose," she said softly, tugging her clothes into place and walking up to him.
"I swear—I didn't want to see you undressed, especially considering we're not that close." Lucas said firmly, not looking up.
His voice was serious, his posture rigid. It was a bit awkward, but it also revealed something rare—his principles.
Gotoh Hitori's heart felt strangely warm.
Lucas-san… he…
He really…
"O-Or, Lucas-san, maybe you should just stand up…"
"No!"
"Then at least turn around…"
"Huh?"
Lucas blinked and slowly turned his head—only to see Gotoh's mother standing at the doorway, arms behind her back.
And if he wasn't mistaken, what she was holding was a smartphone.
Which meant…
That whole exchange?
Yeah. It was probably recorded.
And worse—heard.
By both moms.
"Lucas," Gotoh's mother said with a pleasant tone, "come here with Auntie for a moment."
"Okay…"
He glanced back at Gotoh Hitori. "I'll be back."
Then he followed Gotoh's mom downstairs, feeling like a man walking toward his doom.
"Auntie, what's going on?" Lucas asked carefully.
"Nothing much. Your mom just wants to talk to you again," Gotoh's mother said kindly, handing him the phone.
Lucas took it with trembling hands.
"Mom? What is it now…?"
"Oh, nothing. Just finished chatting with your future mother-in-law. I'm planning to come to Japan during your school break."
"…You what?!"
"I've already seen your girlfriend—she's adorable. And wow, my son! You managed to see her naked already? That's some lightning-speed relationship progress!"
"..."
Lucas stared into the void.
"Mom, the signal here is terrible. I'm hanging up now!"
Beep… beep… beep…
He shut off his phone and shoved it deep into his bag.
Then he turned to Gotoh's mom, bowing furiously. "Auntie, I swear what just happened was purely an accident!"
Since the earlier conversation had been in Japanese, and the phone was on speaker, both mothers had clearly heard everything.
But Gotoh's mother just smiled gently.
"It's okay. These things will happen more and more in the future."
"…Huh?"
"Alright, go find Hitori."
She turned and walked to the kitchen.
Lucas scratched his head, puzzled.
Is there some kind of alliance going on between our moms…?
No—never mind. I don't want to know.
He climbed the stairs again and cautiously opened Gotoh Hitori's door—this time confident she wasn't changing.
The room was empty.
"Gotoh-san?" he called out.
There was no reply, but he heard the faint, stiff sound of someone typing.
Gotcha.
He followed the sound to the closet, pushed it open—and there she was.
Gotoh Hitori sat inside, headphones on, hunched over a laptop. The screen showed a little blue bird, a username labeled GuitarHero, and several lines of commentary.
Lucas froze.
"Student A-Am… aki …"
She looked up in panic, ripping off her headphones and snapping her laptop shut.
Lucas coughed awkwardly. "I didn't see anything. It's getting late—let's go."
"…Okay."
She climbed out of the closet, heart pounding, her fingers smoothing down her messy hair.
Together, they headed downstairs.
Gotoh's mom looked over and smiled.
"Let's make sure to have fun today."
Lucas groaned inwardly.
That one call between our moms, and this is what it turns into…
"Gotoh-san, please stick close to me from now on," he muttered.
"O-Okay…"
***
Lucas and Gotoh Hitori had already come out, but they didn't know where to go.
Since one of them was an otaku and the other suffered from social anxiety and had no idea about the outside world, the two of them just stood there.
If there was a place Lucas wanted to go, it would probably be Akihabara—but it was hard to say with Gotoh Hitori.
Lucas thought about it.
Although the idea sounded good, it didn't feel very nice for a boy like him to invite a girl to a place she might not enjoy.
So Lucas came up with another idea: maybe the amusement park or a playground.
He pulled out his cell phone and searched for any interesting places nearby.
The results showed mostly hotels.
"…?"
In response, Lucas turned off his phone.
As expected of Japan, he thought. It's so open-minded.
"Gotoh-san, is there anywhere you want to go?"
Lucas still chose to ask. When inviting a girl out, it was best to find somewhere fun for both. If they were in China, he could have taken Gotoh Hitori around for a full day.
But this was Japan.
He wasn't very familiar with it.
When Gotoh Hitori heard Lucas asking her, she gradually became a little flustered. She didn't know where there were any fun places.
"Um… nowhere in particular…" Gotoh Hitori replied.
"..."
"It's okay. Let's just walk around and find something to eat," Lucas said with a smile.
"Uh-huh."
So they went out for fun—just walking without a specific goal.
The gentle breeze blowing along the street made everything feel pleasant and comfortable.
Gotoh Hitori followed closely behind Lucas, as he had told her to stay near him.
Lucas held his phone in his hand and opened PayPay to see if there was anything interesting to buy on the way.
Apparently, he had planned correctly.
There was a small stall ahead selling cotton candy.
Lucas turned around and said, "Gotoh-san, do you want some cotton candy?"
"Ah?"
Faced with Lucas's sudden question—and having walked carelessly and lost her balance—Gotoh Hitori fell involuntarily into Lucas's arms.
The sudden softness of her body startled Lucas.
Gotoh Hitori, already cute to begin with, now had a slightly reddened face as she quickly slipped away from his chest like a startled cat.
"I'm… I'm sorry, Lucas-san. I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking," she said quickly, bowing slightly in apology.
"No… it's okay. As long as you're not hurt."
Lucas didn't know what else to say. He just thought that Gotoh Hitori looked kind of cute in that moment.
"Wait here for a second. I'll go buy you some cotton candy."
After saying that, Lucas trotted over to the cotton candy cart.
"Lucas-san really has a nice personality," Hitori muttered to herself. "Being warm to others helps ease awkward situations. And I…"
She stood alone, talking to herself.
Of the things she said, seven out of ten were self-deprecating thoughts about her own lack of confidence.
If Lucas had been there, he would've denied every word. Though he was kind to others, he was actually introverted and didn't bother talking to people he wasn't close with.
"Wait, I can't pay with my phone?" Lucas said in surprise.
He had thought that Japan also widely used mobile payments.
Instead, he was hit with reality.
It wasn't really his fault. Many countries still relied on cash, whereas mobile payment was something nearly every household in China used.
He didn't have any yen on him—or at least, he thought he didn't.
He rummaged through his pockets and eventually pulled out a 100-yen coin.
"Two marshmallows, please," Lucas said, handing the coin to the cotton candy vendor.
"Okay," the vendor replied, handing him two sticks of cotton candy.
Lucas took them and walked back.
"Here, marshmallow," he said, handing one to Gotoh Hitori.
"Thank you, Lucas-san. Next time we buy something, let's split the cost."
Lucas immediately shook his head.
"No need."
If his mom found out he let Gotoh Hitori pay while he was still in Japan, she'd kill him when he got back.
"Eat quickly—then we'll go find lunch."
"Mm."
Lucas gently held Gotoh Hitori's wrist. He had noticed a large crowd ahead. He didn't know what was going on, but he could hear faint sounds of guitar and drums.
If they tried to squeeze through, Gotoh Hitori might get left behind.
"Gotoh-san, hold my hand," Lucas said with a soft smile.
"O-Okay…" she replied.