CH 68

“The penguins were so cute.”

“But the inside of their mouth was pretty scary.”

“Isn’t it nice to have a bit of gap?”

“No, no, no. That’s just plain scary.”

“It’s not scary. It’s cute.”

After being soothed at the penguin corner, Asahi and Fuyuka looked back at the past few minutes and struck up a conversation.

“Scary.”

“Cute.”

“Scary.”

“Cute.”

“…Then compromise, let’s call it both.”

“What do you mean?”

“We call it both cute and scary.”

“I see… But it’s still cute.”

Fuyuka, who insisted that all penguins were cute, was adamant in her stance.

Asahi gave in, but he smiled in satisfaction.

The white teeth that peeked out from her smile were nicely aligned and cute.

‘I wish penguins would learn from this.’

Such an incomprehensible thought passed through his mind.

“The penguin with the fluffy fur biting the fish very hard was pretty amazing.”

“Like Chiaki. He’s the type to bite with all his strength.”

“So, the little one who was frolicking around should be Aiba-san, right?”

“No doubt about it. The way it fell on the ice, it was perfect.”

The conversation continued for a while like,

She had never seen a penguin belly-slide before.

She heard that their waddling was adorable.

She heard that they were fast swimmers after all.

After all that talk…silence fell.

It was fine as he was focused on the adorable penguins and the conversation, but when silence descended, he couldn’t help but focus on one thing.

That one thing was the warmth he felt from holding hands.

Asahi knew that this was only to prevent them from getting seperated, however he couldn’t help but become conscious about it.

‘C**p, I’m sweating…does she think it’s disgusting?’

The more he became aware of their palms lightly touching each other, the more swamped he became.

[‘I need to strike a topic.’] 

Their thoughts overlapped.

「The dolphin show will start soon in the outdoor space area on the first floor.」

The announcement echoed quietly in the elegant and graceful space.

Before Asahi could think of anything else, he realized that this was it.

“Let’s go see it, Asahi-kun!”

A girl’s voice arrived with her eyes sparkling and her tension suddenly high.

“It’s crowded…”

“Yeah… I don’t see any empty seats.”

Asahi had heard from Chiaki that the dolphin show was a highlight of the event and very popular, but he didn’t expect it to be this big.

As it was spring break, the seats available were filled with families and lovers, and the few empty seats he could see were only for one person.

A lot of things happened and the show had slipped out of his mind.

“…I guess we’ll just have to stand and watch.”

“Let’s do that. We can see it from here just fine.”

If you couldn’t sit, you had to stand.

It was an obvious and unavoidable choice, but it was still good to be able to sit down.

Asahi was one thing, but a thin and slender girl like Fuyuka might be tired from all the walking.

‘Is there any way we can get a seat?’

As he was thinking about this, a hand lightly touched his shoulder.

Surprised, he turned around and saw a woman in a staff uniform standing there.

“Sir, please come this way.”

Asahi followed the back of the staff as they led him to the front, where there were exactly two seats available.

“Please wear this raincoat during the show as there will be water splashes.”

“Ah, thank you very much.”

“Thank you, it was very helpful.”

They both thanked the staff for not only providing them with seats, but also raincoats.

The female staff member, on the other hand, opened her mouth with a wonderful smile.

“You’re welcome. Couples are welcome to enjoy the special seats.”

“…Eh?”

“…Eh?”

The female staff looked at both of them, who were puzzled, and kept smiling.

“Couples are welcome to enjoy the special seats.”

“Oh, no, I can hear you, but…”

“We’re not a couple, we’re just friends.”

“…Pardon?”

When Asahi told her the truth to clear up the misunderstanding, the female staff member looked very puzzled.

On a side note, for some reason Fuyuka looked a little disappointed.

“E-excuse me…you’re holding hands and so I mistakenly…”

[“Ah…”]

“Well then, please enjoy the show.”

The staff member bowed politely and returned to her post.

Asahi and Fuyuka, who were left behind, were both blushing.

“…Let’s put our raincoats on.”

“R-right…”

They sleeved up the plastic raincoats given to them by the staff to protect themselves from water splashes.

Naturally, during this time, their hands were separated.

‘From the side, do we look like a couple…?’

If a man and a woman were to come to an aquarium holding hands, everyone would think that they were lovers, of course.

Still, the fact that they misunderstood made him very happy, and Asahi regretted leaving the warmth that still lingered in his palm.

They didn’t have to hold hands to prevent them from getting lost because they were not moving while watching the dolphin show.

His free right hand settled on the knee in vain.

“In which case, we would like to start the dolphin show!”

An energetic young lady appeared in the center of the stage, raised her hands, and blew her whistle.

And immediately, the lovely dolphins responded in and out of the water.

There were swirls, dance, and sometimes singing.

As he watched the gorgeous and beautiful scene, he felt a hint of heat and softness in his right hand.

It wasn’t long before he realized that they were the palms of Fuyuka’s tiny hands.

The voice arrived, as clear as the voice singing.

“…Just in case.”

“…I see.”

Asahi’s boiling head didn’t have time to ask what she meant.

For now, he focused on their reconnected hands.

“Well then, Iruka-chan~! Everyone, count to three! Big jump~!”

In the eyes of the audience, they were observing the best showtime, transcending the barriers of race.

The joyful dolphins jumped high into the sky in response to the call of the staff with big smiles on their faces.

There was a huge splash of water, and the crowd cheered and defended themselves.

Meanwhile, Asahi and Fuyuka who were in the front row.

The overlapping palms robbed them of their senses, and they were not prepared.

“…Ah.”

“…Wah.”

It was already too late.

The moment the two of them saw the large amount of water looming in front of them.

A waterfall-like splash hit them, swallowing their raincoats.