92. Where's the Key...?
After we finished our meal,
Na Yu-na had about one hour and fifty minutes of free time left.
'What would be good to do...'
I mulled it over.
What kind of date would actually satisfy Na Yu-na?
Designer shopping, parties, drives—Na Yu-na had probably tried all sorts of ways to spend money.
So if I suggested going shopping at a department store to someone like her?
Hmm.
No matter how I looked at it, that was a totally cliché date.
'What is there...'
A way for the wealthy Na Yu-na to have a fresh experience,
something she hadn't tried before.
'Hmm...'
While I was mulling it over, we ended up in the middle of a bustling downtown area packed with people.
Na Yu-na was wearing slippers instead of heels,
so walking around didn't seem to bother her at all.
Maybe because I hadn't said anything for a while,
Na Yu-na came closer and asked,
"Han Si-jun. What's the next thing on the schedule?"
"Ah, don't worry about the time. It's nearby. Nearby."
"...Really? It feels like we've been walking in circles around the same place."
"...Must be your imagination."
Now even Na Yu-na was getting suspicious.
Seriously, what around here could she possibly have not done before?
I casually glanced around so Na Yu-na wouldn't catch on.
'...Well, a motel's out.'
There was a love hotel, naturally, in a downtown area.
I averted my eyes and looked elsewhere.
Coin karaoke, a PC bang, a comic book café—the building had all kinds of entertainment facilities.
And one thing in particular stood out.
'That one's probably the best bet.'
I settled on a destination and said to Na Yu-na,
"I couldn't find it because I have a bad sense of direction, but there it is. Let's go."
"..."
Na Yu-na nodded and moved to follow behind me.
And so we headed toward a particular building.
A building with a sign that read: Room Escape Cafe.
***
"A room escape cafe...?"
"Yeah, Na Yu-na. You've never been to one, right?"
Na Yu-na nodded.
As I'd expected, this seemed to be her first time at a room escape cafe.
'...I figured as much, but it's still a little sad.'
It's a sad story, but Na Yu-na didn't have any friends.
She wasn't much of a talker to begin with,
and she had an independent personality too.
Her expressionless face and dry, curt way of speaking probably didn't help.
But you can't truly know someone without talking to them.
I'd seen Na Yu-na often in V. AGE, so I knew she wasn't the cold, indifferent person she seemed to be.
That's how I became her one and only friend.
"So, Han Si-jun. What exactly do you do here?"
"Just what it says. You escape from the room. Using your head."
Tap, tap.
I tapped my head with my finger.
Room escape cafes are all about using your brain to get out.
I told Na Yu-na this just to be safe.
'...She could break down the door to the next room, after all...'
If it were Ban Ha-na, she'd definitely smash the door and cheer, "Si-jun! Escape!"
I'd been worried Na Yu-na might pull something similar.
With that, we went inside and got a rundown from the staff.
"We'll give you hints if you want them. Up to three times~. If there's a theme you'd like, just pick one. You got it, right?"
A part-timer who gave us the bare minimum, not particularly friendly.
If she kept this up, she'd get fired pretty quickly.
The thought crossed my mind.
Na Yu-na stepped up first to pick a theme.
I wondered what kind of room escape themes they had here.
"Oh, more than I thought?"
"...That's a lot?"
More than I'd expected.
This room escape cafe didn't look that big from the outside,
but it had five themes in total, which was more than I'd expected.
I looked over the various themes listed.
"Abandoned Mental Hospital Escape... Clown's Kidnapping... Room You Can't Leave Unless You XX...?"
What would you have to do to be unable to leave?
I tried to picture it, but a dull headache started to set in.
'It can't be what I'm thinking... right...?'
No way they'd make it that blatant.
Let's not think too deeply about it.
I ignored those three themes
and considered the remaining two.
"Hmm... Na Yu-na. What do you like?"
"...I don't like either of them."
...I hadn't expected that answer.
Aside from the horror themes, what remained were an adventure theme and a couple theme.
The adventure theme had a concept of escaping from a deserted island.
Looked completely boring right off the bat.
Setting that one aside, the last one left was the couple theme.
A theme called 'Room Where Love Automatically Blossoms.'
As it turned out, the only one left was the couple theme.
I absolutely did not plan for this.
"It says they recommend only couples enter... but this is the only one really worth doing."
"...Do you really think so?"
"What, do you have a different opinion?"
"...It's nothing."
Na Yu-na went along with what I said, too.
I was curious, sure, but we couldn't exactly pick the room where you can't leave unless you XX.
Right?
"You two have chosen the couple theme~. For precautions, just read the sign inside, okay~."
With that, Na Yu-na and I were led by the half-hearted staff member
and entered the room through the opened door.
What in the world would a 'Room Where Love Automatically Blossoms' be like?
I walked in full of curiosity.
***
They say first impressions are everything.
That's why the first impression is the most important.
Isn't there a saying like that?
So, if I were to evaluate this room on those terms,
I could call it truly ambiguous.
The walls were painted pink.
On one wall, there was a door leading to the next room.
Okay, the pink wallpaper makes sense since couples go in here.
But why did I say my evaluation of this room was ambiguous?
It was because of a strange object in the center of the room.
"What is this...?"
"I know. What could this be?"
There was a small cabinet sitting all by itself in front of Na Yu-na and me.
Why on earth was this inside a pink room like this?
I decided to read the sign posted in front of it.
"The key is inside this cabinet... There is a device that detects the number of people... Exactly two people must enter for the key to appear... Find the key and escape the room...?"
So, to put it simply.
Na Yu-na and I both have to get inside this cramped cabinet, find the key, and then come out. That's what it's saying.
'...Actually, isn't this good?'
Humans are wired to feel closer to people they have a lot of physical contact with.
If I were pressed up against Na Yu-na inside that cabinet, our intimacy would definitely go up.
I felt like I finally understood why this room made love automatically blossom.
"Na Yu-na. To get out of this room, it looks like we'll both have to go inside together."
"..."
Na Yu-na blinked, staring intently at the cabinet.
She looked pretty composed.
Then, Na Yu-na, who had been staring at the cabinet, suddenly walked over to the wall.
"...It won't open."
"You have to find the key for it to open."
"..."
Once she realized she couldn't get to the next room,
she headed for the phone the staff had given us.
What was she planning to do?
I asked Na Yu-na.
"Na Yu-na. What are you trying to do?"
"Two people can't fit in there. I'm getting out of here."
"...!"
She was ready to quit.
Na Yu-na was a girl.
And I was a guy.
The close contact seemed too embarrassing for her,
and she was trying to give up.
...Well, this is a bust.
I guess business is closed for the day.
Regrettably, my plan to seduce Na Yu-na looked like it was about to end in failure.
Na Yu-na got on the phone set up inside the room and tried to contact the part-timer.
But even after some time passed, no words about quitting came out of Na Yu-na's mouth.
"..."
"What's wrong, Na Yu-na?"
"...No one's answering on the staff's end."
"What?"
Really?
I took the receiver, hiding the laugh that was escaping me.
Beep, beep, beep.
The sound of a disconnected line came through the phone.
'...The part-timer was working half-heartedly... Did they step out...?'
The part-timer who'd looked like they were phoning it in from the start.
It seemed they'd stepped away after putting us in the room.
Na Yu-na was stunned by this turn of events.
A little flustered, she muttered to herself.
"How did it come to this...? This is ridiculous... They expect a man and a woman to get into that tiny space together...?"
Na Yu-na shook her head from side to side.
I decided to inform Na Yu-na of reality, since she was in denial about it.
"Na Yu-na. You don't have much free time left, do you? I think it'd be better to just quickly escape from the room."
"You're right, but... a-are you really okay with getting into that tiny space together...?"
"Well, we're friends, so isn't it fine?"
Because we're friends.
In my eyes, you are absolutely not a woman.
I tried to persuade Na Yu-na with these sweet words.
There's no such thing as true friendship between a man and a woman.
Unaware of that, Na Yu-na answered those sweet words.
"R...right...? We're friends, so... we can... handle this much, right...?"
Na Yu-na was trying to play it cool.
As if to show she was fine with it, she was the first to put her body inside the cabinet.
"G...get in. Han Si-jun. It might be a little cramped, but... we have to escape quickly."
"Got it."
I was feeling a little nervous, actually.
But I put my body inside the cabinet without so much as a flinch, like it was nothing.
Then I closed the cabinet door so we could find the key.
Slam!
Once I did, there was no space at all left between Na Yu-na's body and mine.
We could barely move our hands, and any movement forced us to press right up against each other.
In the middle of that situation.
Na Yu-na spoke to me, her breath audible.
Maybe because we were stuck so close together,
the warmth from her mouth reached me.
"...The key. Do you think you can find it?"
"It seems a little tricky, but I'll give it a try."
I moved my arm to search for the key,
catching the scent of shampoo drifting from Na Yu-na.
"Kyaa!"
"Wh...what's wrong, Na Yu-na!"
"N...no. Your hand just brushed against my body for a second..."
Na Yu-na's voice was startled.
...Had my hand just touched Na Yu-na's waist?
It was too dark inside the cabinet to see well.
I apologized to Na Yu-na for my mistake.
"Sorry..."
"I-it's fine... so... search carefully... Don't mind me..."
Na Yu-na's only goal was to get out fast.
You said not to mind you?
I moved my hands this way and that, just as Na Yu-na said.
"N...not there... Han Si-jun...!"
"Hnk...! N...not there either... heek...!"
"Haa... Han Si-jun... are you sure you're searching properly...? Haa..."
Where the hell was this key?
I had no choice but to end up touching most of Na Yu-na's body.
Na Yu-na was making breathless sounds like, 'Haa... haa...' as if she was suffocating.
I needed to find this fast.
"Nnn... I said not there..."
Just as I was checking various places,
my hand felt the metallic jangle of something.
The position was a little... iffy, though?
I decided to explain the situation to Na Yu-na.
"Oh? Na Yu-na. I think I found it?"
"Wh...where is it...? Quick... take it out, quick..."
"...Take it out quick?"
"Qu...quick, take it out..."
Na Yu-na's sweet breath reached me.
'You said to take it out quick?'
I decided to pull the key out quickly, just like Na Yu-na said.
"Heek...! R...right there...!"
"Just hold on a second, Na Yu-na..."
Who on earth designed this cabinet?
The key was placed near Na Yu-na's rear, which seemed maliciously intentional.
That was why Na Yu-na had been making those alluring sounds.
"Hiiiik...!"
"Just a moment! I got it all the way out!"
Na Yu-na had been letting out something like a shriek.
I pulled the key out fast for her sake.
"Okay! I got the key. Na Yu-na!"
At that, Na Yu-na immediately opened the cabinet and headed out.
Once the door was open, the light we hadn't seen in a while shone down on us.
"Phew...! I...I couldn't breathe..."
So it really was hard to breathe.
Inside the cabinet, we'd been pressed so close together
that the humidity had built up, and it had genuinely been hard to breathe.
...But, well.
There was a slight problem.
Without a word, I took off my jacket and draped it over Na Yu-na's shoulders.
"...? Why are you giving me this?"
"J...just put it on."
Na Yu-na looked confused, then checked her own clothes.
"...!"
She panicked.
Of course she would.
Her white dress shirt was soaked with sweat, making her underwear visible through it.
"...I didn't look."
At the sound of my voice, Na Yu-na's face went red.
She had definitely seen right through me in her mind.
'...It was yellow.'
That was how Na Yu-na and I cleared the first room.