A low groan could be heard from the restroom just as the wind entered the small gaps through the window pane. Haji sighed as he washed his face for the third ti. ’It’s not like I don’t enjoy the aquarium... it’s just that... this is more exhausting than I initially thought.’ Haji muttered in his mind.
And he was right. He totally underestimated his bodyguarding duties, thinking that looking after gumi was child’s play. Turns out, he had no idea that keeping an on soone would be more exhausting than babysitting them.
At the very least, he didn’t have any problems with expenses whatsoever since he had plenty to spend. Even after eating at the sushi restaurant, he still hasn’t spent a fourth of the entire amount that he received from gumi’s dad.
After ssaging Franz, updating him of their whereabouts, Haji got out of the restroom. Just then, gumi also got out of the ladies restroom, and the two of them awkwardly stared at each other before proceeding to rejoin the group.
"Where did you get the money?" gumi asked out of nowhere, causing Haji to raise up his hand in defense since he thought gumi was about to straight up punch him in the face. "I know you quit working at the construction site... so how co you have money?"
"Honestly, I don’t have any money. I’m spending money I don’t have right now." Haji responded. While his answer had underlying correctness to it, he didn’t think about the misunderstandings his conveyance had caused.
"You an... you borrowed from soone?" gumi’s pupils dilated, slightly surprised and annoyed at Haji’s decision. "How could you do that? You shouldn’t socialize with loan sharks, Haji." gumi reprimanded him, completely concerned about his well-being.
"Relax, I borrowed from a friend." With a shrug, Haji responded to gumi. He didn’t want to alarm her for fear that she’d find out where the money ca from. ’If she knew... she’d probably chop off my head or sothing like that.
"As if you have friends. You should’ve borrowed from ... aren’t we friends?" A hint of concern and sarcasm touched gumi’s voice, making Haji oddly confused.
"Says the person who has no friends." Haji didn’t know how to answer so he just gave another sarcastic response in return.
gumi’s face reddened as she pouted and clenched her pudgy fists. Even though she was ready to fly at Haji at any given mont, she suppressed herself since they were in a public place. Furthermore, she didn’t want to act so unseemly in front of Kaori and Shizuka. They’d just tease her to no end if she did so.
"Shut up, I have friends." gumi hissed.
"By the way..." Before they rejoined the group, Haji had the urge to ask gumi about her relationship with Keiichi. After all, they seem to know each other even though this was Keiichi’s first day at school as a transfer student.
"What is it?" gumi asked. There was uncertainty in Haji’s tone, causing gumi to turn around and stop in her tracks. ’Is he all right? What does he need? Argh~ it’s not like I’m going to help him if he asked so straightforwardly... well, maybe I will but it depends on what he’s going to ask of .’ gumi said in her mind, keeping a straight face in front of Haji... however, she couldn’t hide the redness on her face, getting more vibrant as she stared at Haji who was scratching his head, unsure of sothing in his complicated thoughts.
"Um... never mind." Haji forced a grin on his face. Of course, he couldn’t directly ask gumi about it. If any, it would just seem like he was jealous of their relationship. Sohow, he could already picture gumi’s face, teasing him to no end if he asked the question.
"What took you guys so long?" Kaori greeted, interrupting gumi and Haji’s wordless exchange the rest of the way as they rejoined the group.
And the atmosphere between them had gotten even more awkward.
.....
anwhile,
Coincidentally, Natsumi’s group also went to the aquarium since this was one of the interesting parts of the tour’s vicinity. Unsurprisingly, almost everyone didn’t stick with the tour’s route, but it was all right for the teachers since the students are nearby. While they didn’t stick with the tour, they were bound to cover most of the tourist spots since they cannot wander too far from the route.
Natsumi just got out of the restroom, casually walking around while appreciating the variety of tropical fishes in the aquarium. She unintentionally separated from her group but she didn’t mind it at all. They could et up whenever they could since they could easily contact each other by phone. Natsumi didn’t bother though, to her, the peace and quiet of solitude just made the entire trip better.
"Imagine if I just happen to bump into Haji here... that would be pretty interesting." She giggled to herself while admiring a clownfish that rubbed its scales on a huge anemone. It was cute, so Natsumi was drawn in to watch it a little bit longer.
Through the reflection of the aquarium, a familiar face appeared, causing Natsumi to flinch in surprise. At first, she thought she was just hallucinating so she had to rub her eyes a couple of tis before realizing that the reflection was in fact there. She wasn’t seeing things.
Haji was there.
"What are you looking at?" Haji asked, appearing out of nowhere. "Ah, isn’t that the... the one from the movie? I swear I’ve seen that one before but I forgot the title."
"It’s Finding Nemo. Isn’t it cute?" Natsumi returned, imdiately regaining her composure even though her heart palpitated increasingly. Thump. Thump. Natsumi suppressed the impulse to grab her chest, self-conscious about the fact that Haji might hear her heartbeat.
"Are you alone? Where’s your group?" Haji asked, his eyes wandering around since he didn’t see any high school groups there except his group. "Did you separate from them?"
Natsumi nodded. "I kind of got lost..." She chuckled, fiddling with her thumbs as she hopped in front of Haji. "I’ll join your group!" she offered without thinking twice.
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