Don't Want to Miss It
The moment the door closes, a silver-haired woman blocks the way. Her outfit is a China dress style with bare shoulders, designed with a distinctly Japanese flair. Her crimson eyes meet mine, then she suddenly panics and raises a hand.
“Oh—oh no! I always close the door!”
“Huh? Oh… right.”
A similar scene had played out just hours earlier. Her cold, haughty demeanor often invites misunderstandings—though it seems to happen only around me. With her subordinates she is sharp-tongued and strict.
“By the way… what room is this?”
“Hm? Ah! Well… um… how should I put it…”
Reina wears a troubled expression, hesitating. True to her promise to speak without hiding anything, she quietly begins to explain. The room is lined with closets and the kind of clothing racks you’d find in any studio apartment. Hanging from them are all sorts of outfits—clearly cosplay costumes straight out of manga or anime.
“I mainly wear these when I need to sneak in somewhere!”
“What!? Th-this!?”
“Mm… but I don’t wear them much these days!”
Reina pulls one garment from the rack. My jaw drops. It is unmistakably a bunny-girl costume.
“Wh-what is that outfit!?”
“This one’s for infiltrating casinos and gambling dens… You’ve seen it, right, Yujin? Plenty of my subordinates are women.”
Besides the bunny suit, there are countless other costumes. From a distance they look like simple cosplay, but up close the craftsmanship is surprisingly good. Hearing her explanation, I feel the tension in my shoulders ease, though a strange emptiness lingers. What kind of organization sends people out in outfits like these? I’m curious, but she looks uncomfortable, so I let it drop.
“Hehe~ I’m wearing this one! Ta-da!”
She grabs a swimsuit from the rack and holds it up. A bikini.
“Th-that’s what you chose!? That’s basically the same as being naked!”
I protest on instinct. Reina only smiles slyly, reminding me we agreed to pick whatever we wanted.
“Th-that’s unfair! Ugh! I knew I shouldn’t have listened to you, Nuna!”
“Hehe! Too late now!”
She sticks her tongue out, winks, and starts to undress. I panic.
“Wait—stop!”
“Hm?”
I remind her we also promised not to stay naked. She puffs out her cheeks in a pout.
“Hmph… mean…”
“It’s not mean! Just go change in the fitting room!”
Because the room is meant for changing, there is a small fitting room inside. I push her toward it. The door slides shut, and every rustle of fabric is audible in the tiny space. I quickly turn my back to avoid any wayward thoughts and head for the men’s section of the rack.
“Seriously… nothing but trunks…”
That means my upper body will be bare no matter what. I would have preferred a rash guard, but there isn’t a single one.
“Yujin! Look at this! How do I look? Pretty, right!?”
The fitting-room door opens. Reina stands there in a pure-white bikini, arms raised in a playful pose that leaves her armpits completely exposed. The bottom is styled like a little skirt.
“Huh? Is it… weird…?”
“What!? N-no! It’s pretty! Really! It suits you perfectly!”
The words slip out before I can stop them. Reina beams and links her arm through mine. The sudden closeness makes my face burn; I desperately need to escape the situation before my body reacts again.
“Nuna, you go on ahead to the bath! I’ll be right there!”
Still blushing, I ask where the bathroom is. She points to the door and tells me to turn right.
― ♠ ―
Reina and I step into the bathroom humming. The spacious room holds both a European-style bathtub and a large hot-spring-style bath, already cleaned spotless on her orders. She dips a hand into the water to check the temperature, then suddenly freezes.
She has forgotten one crucial thing: this means being separated from Yujin. Not because she distrusts him, but because until moments ago he had been trying to escape. Anxiety surges back.
“M-maybe… no, it can’t be… Yujin said he’d be here…”
Worried he might have gotten lost, she hurries back to the room they had just left.
“Yujin! I got worried after all—huh? Yujin?”
The room is empty. Even the clothes he had been wearing are gone, and the swimsuit he had been reaching for still hangs untouched on the rack. Her mind goes blank. Her heart plummets; her fingertips turn ice-cold.
“This is too much… No, it can’t be! There’s no way! Yujin would never—hey! Someone get in here right now!”
She shouts for her subordinates. Several women in kimonos, Japanese swords at their waists, rush in.
“Boss? What’s wrong?”
“Where’s Yujin!?”
When they only stare in confusion, she snaps at them to stop gawking and search immediately. They scatter in a panic.
“Huh? That voice…”
Yujin’s voice drifts in from the hallway. Reina dashes out in nothing but her bikini. He is still in his regular clothes, locked in a tense exchange with one of her men.
― ♠ ―
No matter how I look at it, going shirtless feels wrong, so I step outside and ask one of her subordinates—clearly not Japanese—if there is a swimsuit that covers the upper body. He shakes his head, insisting he cannot act without the boss’s orders.
“I’m just asking whether such a swimsuit exists! Nuna already gave permission!”
Frustrated, I raise my voice. A moment later, something soft and warm presses against my back. The heat of bare skin seeps through; a gentle, plush sensation envelops me.
“Hik! N-Nuna!? Why all of a sudden!?”
“D-do you have any idea how anxious I was!? Why are you still here, you idiot!?”
Reina clings to me, sobbing. I realize she must have misunderstood again.
“I-I’m sorry! I was just going to ask if there were other swimsuits in another room, but…”
“You’re so mean! I already told you—if you need anything, tell me! Why are you asking my subordinate!?”
Her voice trembles like someone terrified of being abandoned.
“N-Nuna…?”
She throws a childish tantrum. I shoot a pleading look at the subordinate, but he only mutters that I should take good care of the boss and quickly retreats.
“Hwaaang! Yujin’s the worst! Sniff… You keep telling me it’s fine, but you’re honest with my subordinate!”
“No! I-I just wanted to get back to you quickly, that’s all!”
The excuse is weak, but I keep patting her back until her sniffles subside. Still holding her hand, I return to the room, grab a pair of trunks, and change in the fitting room.
“L-look! I’m wearing the swimsuit now! Even if I wanted to run, I couldn’t! See!?”
“Sniff… Okay… But if you need anything… you have to tell me, got it?”
“Yes…”
Only hours ago I had been desperately trying to escape. Now I am openly proving I cannot. The realization is pathetic, yet reassuring her feels more important right now.
When we step back into the hallway, Reina is humming again, swinging our joined hands as she leads me toward the bath. The bikini makes her chest sway with every step.
‘Wh-what am I thinking!? Seo Yujin, get a grip!’
We are not lovers. What happened earlier was her doing—seduction and coercion. I can tell myself it was separate from whatever this is now. For the moment, we should simply remain as younger brother and older sister.
‘But… that line was already crossed a long time ago… Even now…’
Watching her hum happily, I feel my heart pound. The feeling is not unpleasant, yet I cannot bring myself to look at her directly. Instead I worry I have made a mistake—and find myself hoping, just a little, that these feelings might be something good after all.