"Alright! Problem solved."
Daichi panickedly approached Mr. Sakaguchi. "Please, Sensei, don't make hasty decisions! Why must I sleep in Yoshimoto's tent?"
"It's fine as long as he doesn't mind, right? Or would you prefer to sleep on the ground?" Mr. Sakaguchi responded with a question.
Daichi was deafeningly silent.
Even Daichi had not recovered from this annoyance by the time dinner came around.
Shuhei moved closer to Daichi in front of the campfire. He held two bowls of fragrant mushroom soup.
"Eat it while it is still hot," shuhei said, handing one of the bowls to Daichi.
Daichi Nishiyama's beautiful eyes looked with interest at the soup that was still steaming in Shuhei's hand, but he was hesitant to accept.
No, it's not because he's not hungry. But Daichi was still irritated by Mr. Sakaguchi's decision to put him in the same tent as Shuhei Yoshimoto.
Where do you want to put Daichi's soaring self-esteem if he really does sleep in Shuhei's tent?
"Daichi?"
Daichi gave a quick blink. "I am not hungry," he said, looking away.
However, his stomach didn't agree with the young Nishiyama's arrogance. His stomach grumbled loudly, as if he hadn't eaten in days.
"Ah..." Daichi groaned softly, covering his face and avoiding the students stares.
"Even if you're not hungry, you should eat," Shuhei advised. Sitting next to Daichi, holding out one of the bowls once more.
Daichi didn't refuse this time. He accepted the soup from Shuhei, his face flushed with embarrassment, and ate it quickly.
"Oh, it's so hot!"
Shuhei was distracted by a scream from beside him. He noticed Daichi grimacing and fanning his lips with his palm.
"What's wrong?" Shuhei was curious.
"My lips... are burning."
Daichi appears to be in a lot of pain and even starts crying. Shuhei reached out his hand without thinking and lightly stroked Daichi's red lips.
Daichi is taken aback by Shuhei's actions. His face froze, and his tears dried up instantly.
Shuhei's thumb was on Daichi's lips, working hard to remove the remaining soup from his soft lips.
"Are you feeling better?"
Daichi could not respond because he was still frozen. Initially only his lips were red, but due to Shuhei's actions, Daichi's entire face had turned red.
"Y—you, what are you doing with your thumb on my lips?" Daichi scolded in a loud voice, drawing the attention of the other students back to him.
Everyone knows Shuhei rubbed Daichi's lips with his thumb now.
"Eh, why did Yoshimoto rubbing Nishiyama-senpai's lips?" Whispers started to be heard.
"If he did it to a girl, his actions might be considered romantic. But this…Nishiyama-senpai is a boy, albeit a cute and somewhat beautiful one."
Because of the teenagers' vivid imaginations, the gossip in the back became even more heated. Daichi, who had recently had his pride trampled on, felt even more humiliated.
Daichi scolds Shuhei once more. "You don't have any manners, do you?"
"No, that's not it. I just did it as a reflex." Shuhei shook his head. "I recognize that my actions were improper. I'm sorry."
The voices behind him were still gossiping, making Daichi's ears hot and itchy and filling his heart with rage. He threw his soup bowl aside and lunged at Shuhei.
"You did it on purpose to embarrass me, didn't you?" Daichi snapped, both hands tightly gripping Daichi's shirt collar. "Is this your way of mocking me?"
The male student closest to the two stood up and intervened, terrified that the two would punch each other.
"Yoshimoto!"
"Nishiyama-senpai!"
Mr. Sakaguchi arrived just then. "What's going on?"
One of the students reported, "Nishiyama-senpai was about to beat up Yoshimoto, sensei."
Mr. Sakaguchi's sharp eyes locked on Daichi right away.
"Is that true, Nishiyama?"
Daichi's heart was still a mess. The young man responded with a slight nod. "That's right, sensei."
"Can you tell me why?"
Being asked in front of so many people, especially his juniors, was another humiliation that Daichi's pride could barely bear. His fists were clenched, heaving all his emotions back as hard as he could.
Shuhei looked at Daichi. The handsome young man's eyes were drawn to the senior's shaking fists on both sides of his body.
"I was the one who was rude to him first, Sensei. I deserved to be beaten for what I did," Shuhei admitted.
Mr. Sakaguchi shifted his gaze from Daichi to Shuhei, assessing the soon-to-be 17-year-old teenager for a few moments to see if he was lying or not.
"OK, OK. This activity is designed to strengthen relationships between participants. Don't let the purpose of this activity be jeopardized because of a minor detail. Whatever your problem is, please solve it now by apologizing to each other."
Shuhei wanted to apologize to Daichi again, but he was interrupted by him.
"Well, I'm sorry, Yoshimoto."
Daichi bowed to Shuhei before turning away from the campfire.
Daichi continued his languid steps sneaking around the dimly lit environment, unconcerned about the small whispers that were still bothering him, until he came across a fallen dead tree.
Daichi stomped his buttocks on the shattered tree.
"Huh... I just want to go home..." A long sigh gave the impression that the young man was carrying a heavy burden.
"This year's first-graders are all annoying." Daichi imagined the junior students who liked to gossip, then Yua Miyagi and Shuhei Yoshimoto.
"I shouldn't have participated in this activity! Being chastised by the teacher is still preferable to being embarrassed in front of the juniors!" Daichi's mouth never stopped nagging.
Daichi remained in mourning for his shattered pride throughout the night. Apparently, the young man had no plans to return to the tent anytime soon.
"If I hadn't had a fever two years ago, I would have participated in this activity with Akira and the others."
Daichi began to imagine how much fun the camping activity would be if he did it with his classmates.
Daichi was busy imagining things that would never happen when he heard the sound of dry leaves being stepped on by something.
His ears perked up, and he became alert.
"Is that the sound of footsteps? People's footsteps or...animals?" Daichi was perplexed.
Daichi lifted his feet from the ground, bringing them closer to his chest, in an attempt to sharpen his vision.
Footsteps became more audible. A tall figure appeared from behind the tree not long after. The light from the person's small flashlight fell on Daichi's body immediately.
"I finally found you, Daichi."
Daichi frowned when he recognized the voice as Shuhei Yoshimoto's.
"What brought you here to look for me? Did Sakaguchi-sensei order you?"
"No. He didn't even know you weren't in the tent." Shuhei approached Daichi, standing in front of him. "It's getting late. Let's go back."
Daichi didn't respond, but he stood quietly. With just one step, his legs unexpectedly weakened and he fell to the ground.
"Ouch,"
"Daichi, are you okay?"
"I think... my feet are tingling."
Shuhei knelt in front of Daichi, who was kneeling on the ground.
"Get on my back," he instructed.
For a brief moment, Daichi was unable to respond. "Uh... what?"
"Get on my back. I'll take you back to the tent."
Daichi was certain he did not hear it incorrectly because Shuhei said it again.
He fixed his gaze on the broad back in front of him. Both hands reached out automatically, embracing Shuhei's shoulders. When the lovely young man regained consciousness, he was already clinging to Shuhei's back like an octopus.
"Eh, why don't I feel right about this...? But it's already up, so just let it go," Daichi said, calming himself.
Shuhei took a step back, carrying Daichi on his back, towards the camping area.
Fortunately, when they arrived, there was only a group of male students chatting around the campfire.
"Don't let them see us!" Daichi said quietly.
"Hm? Why?" Shuhei inquired in hushed tones, causing a light hit on his shoulder from the question.
"Are you a moron? This is a very ambiguous position; if someone sees it, they will undoubtedly say something later!" Daichi said angrily. "I don't want to add to myself as gossip. I've had enough of people talking about me because of that Miyagi."
Shuhei stiffened briefly. "I am sorry."
Daichi chose not to respond because he did not understand why Shuhei was apologizing.
"Had reached."
Shuhei dropped Daichi in front of the tent entrance.
Daichi cast a cynical glance around the room where the two of them would sleep tonight.
"Do we really have to sleep in the same place?"
"Why? Do you prefer sleeping on the ground?" Shuhei reiterated Mr. Sakaguchi's previous threatening words.
Daichi glared, snorted in disgust, and went into the tent upon hearing Shuhei's words.
Shuhei was secretly smiling behind Daichi's back.
Shuhei also came in. Because the tent was small, when they lay down, their shoulders, hands, and feet touched. Daichi tried to avoid it by shifting slightly, but the touch was unavoidable.
"Move over a little for me." Daichi ordered.