Arrival (3)

Right when the door opened, I noticed that there was a number [B-4] on it.

The door revealed a dark mysterious room, where I could hardly see anything.

Wait… Isn't this the room where I needed to come tomorrow.?

Well, if I'm going in tomorrow, it wouldn't hurt to go in now right?

Though it could be a trap set by her, but I don't think she's the kind of person to arrange that.

After taking a few steps I felt a familiar feeling in my stomach after seeing the dark room. But that's not the only case, there was also a thrilling sensation that felt familiar as well.

Even if you looked closely into the room, you still couldn't see a thing, that's how dark the room is.

But instead of walking further, I slowly started to walk backwards, each step trembling.

Was it fear?

It was both yes and no.

After all, I wanted to avoid danger.

But is it fear that's stopping me from going in?

Or was it something else?

Again…

Again, I don't know anything.

Even my decisions…

After all, I do not recognize myself in any way.

For every step I took, my heart started beating faster and faster.

I realized I wasn't just scared.

It's worse than that.

It was a trauma that was stopping me.

Traumatized about something I have no memories of, and yet I can feel the trauma.

"Ha...ha…ha"

This is ridiculous.

Am I traumatized by a dark room?

But it wasn't just that.

The room also gave a strange vibe from just looking through it.

The sensation of the air after opening the door was also weird.

And it was also a huge room, you can't determine the size of it just by looking from the outside.

I stepped back, and eventually, my hands tapped the wall.

"I shouldn't disappoint Hiroshi."

Right after I said those words, it felt as if a rock had hit my head.

My head was suddenly filled with voices.

'Just go in!'

'Go inside the room!'

'You won't regret it!'

I wasn't sure if those thoughts were mine or someone else's.

"There shouldn't be a reason for me to go in."

"Calm down, this isn't your house…"

I took a deep breath, calming myself down.

It wasn't a big deal, since I was going there tomorrow already.

Suddenly I shivered.

I was too focused on the room.

"What are you doing at this hour?"

It wasn't Hiroshi or that girl from before.

I didn't even notice someone behind me.

The voice of a man.

The man stood with an unsettling stillness,

He was tall and slim, with long, jet-black hair that hung smoothly past his shoulders, almost as if it absorbed the light around him.His eyes were a sharp amber, and his gaze felt like it could see right through anything.

He wore a dark, well-fitted coat that draped over him perfectly, with faint patterns that seemed to mean more than just a decoration, like they held some hidden secret. His hands were covered with fine leather gloves, adding a touch of class that made him look out of place but completely intentional.

His expression was calm, almost bored, with a slight frown as if lost in deep thought.

What caught me off guard was the strange emptiness around him—no sense of energy or strength, just a quiet, unreadable presence.

He stood there without moving, like a shadow, giving off an air of calm authority without even trying. It was like he was in a world of his own, untouchable and mysterious.

And all he was doing was just staring at me, patiently waiting for an answer.

My mouth gradually began to move in the slightest corner.

"… S-shower, yeah… Shower."

Though I was being extremely awkward, his sudden appearance caught me off guard.

However, he wasn't exactly suspicious or acting weird like that girl from earlier.

The man was calm, slightly nodding after hearing my answer.

"Looks like you're new around here."

"Well, yeah… I'm indeed new."

"Who invited you to this place?"

"It's Hiroshi."

His expression was full of nothingness, it was indeed an unreadable expression.

However, after hearing the old man's name his expression changed slightly.

"Seems like he made the right decision."

He turned his back, and he was off.

"W-wha what about the shower?"

He waved goodbye with his right hand before speaking again.

"We don't have one in the hallway, it's in your room."

With that he left, he was walking normally, but he was suddenly gone in an instant, as if he merged himself into the air.

"…"

I was left speechless.

Was all of this for nothing?

But I was sure that I didn't notice a bathroom.

Where even am I?

I've gone so far that I don't even know where I am or where I should go…

Forgot about entering the room, I need to find my own first.

…

After a while of endlessly searching, I still couldn't find my room.

Being lost in a place where you aren't settled in yet is normal. But being stupid and making awful decisions like this isn't.

Well, every door were similar to each other, and I didn't want to enter it in case it was someone else's room.

It wasn't a surprise that I was tired from everything, I had no energy left to search my room.

"Mmmh… haaah…"

"I'm soo tiiired…"

My vision started to get more and more blurry and my body was getting tired.

"…"

"I can't sleep… Not in a place like this…"

"…"

"…"

"!"

***

'I'm hoping I'm not seeing him today… I don't want to see the newcomer ever again, not after that embarrassment…'

'Flattery w-will get him nowhere…'

Her expression was bright red, making her head look like an orange. Her expression matched with her orange hair and golden eyes.

In fact, she couldn't sleep at all because of what happened in his room. After all, all she did was think about the encounter with him.

'Stop! Lucy, you're overthinking, he's just a random person… Besides, he looks like a dirty homeless guy.'

'Wait… Why am I even thinking about this? I should be ashamed of myself.'

It was morning already.

Lucy carefully made her bed, checking every corner to make sure everything was clean.

"Yes!"

Lucy clenched one of her fists, creating a proud expression. Celebrating her success of making her bed, for her, this was something special, she was usually sloppy, and doesn't want to do anything besides sleeping. But today was something different, she wanted to be different for a day.

'I wonder if that guy went there.'

She laughed creating an awkward smile, she wasn't sure if he trusted her words, especially after that strange encounter.

There was a feeling of unease grumbling in her stomach. Instead of acting all high and mighty, she started to feel guilt.

After hearing that a newcomer was coming. Lucy, who was treated as a normal person, wanted to be seen differently.

Though it failed miserably, what made Lucy think about her actions?

After what happened she realized she wanted to be treated the same as before. But she wasn't sure if that was going to keep going.

"Shoot!"

"I'm going to be late…"

She didn't notice how late it was getting. She was supposed to be in room [B-4] a minute ago.

Quickly she wore the same clothes from yesterday, even though she planned to wear something different.

She ran to her door, opening it with her right hand while eating a piece of bread that she bought ages ago, ignoring the fact that it might have expired.

She closed the door with her foot as she ran towards [B-4].

'This can't be…'

To her surprise, she found the guy carelessly sleeping on the floor.

Lucy let out a sigh of disbelief.

"Hey… Wake up!"

She tried to wake him up by gently tapping on his shoulders.

But as she expected it didn't work.

"There's no other way now."

In an instant, she threw a punch at his head at full speed where you couldn't even see it. But instantly after that, she immediately realized what she had done, yes, regret….

'Things can't be worse than this…'

'Why's this happening to me…'

She was about to tap on his shoulder when suddenly.

"…"

"!"

He slightly turned his head, his hair was messy and his eyes were half-awake.

"W…Wha… W-what? …. Is happening to me."

The punch wasn't a soft one, it was an extremely strong one. A small amount of blood even started flowing out of his nose.

'Oops… Did I hit him too hard?'

Eventually, he began to stand up.

"…"

His eyes were avoiding Lucy as if he wanted to avoid eye contact at all costs.

But for Lucy it was different, she genuinely wanted to help him, but the weird encounter they had before created a strange atmosphere between them.

For her, meeting him again wasn't that bad. This reminded her of how foolish he was, and that made her stop overthinking.

Eventually, he realized he was awake and wasn't just having a bad dream.

He was confused, there were bags under his eyes, in other words, he didn't sleep well.

"W-where am I?"

"You're in the hall."

Lucy didn't question him about why he was sleeping in the hall, considering that he was new and might've been lost last night.

Instead of complaining, Lucy guided him back to his room and advised him to take a quick shower before going to room [B-4].

"Thank you."

She patiently waited until he was done, leaning against the wall next to his door.

'Still, I can't believe that he was sleeping in the hallway, how stupid can he be?'

Eventually, the door opened revealing the room where he was standing, but for some reason, he wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Wha… W-what are you standing there for… Go put some clothes on!"

But now that he showered, Lucy's excitement started to go wild.

He wasn't wearing a shirt because he didn't want to wear the old nasty one, but later on, he found some clothes in the closet.

"Is this alright?"

However she didn't know what to say, and so she just stared at him, expressionless.

And finally, they began walking towards room [B-4], forgetting the fact that they were late.

***