Selling tickets at a water park was definitely one of the best jobs a university student coming from Japan to Palau could find.
Especially when this water park was running a couples' promotion. Just standing there every day allowed her to see countless pairs of men and women pass by, which greatly satisfied the young girl's curiosity.
[Not talking to you anymore, I'm busy as hell here. Go be miserable at home by yourself!]
Sending a final message to her curious roommate, the ticket girl straightened her back to present her best professional face—
What kind of strange encounters would there be today? Would it be a passionate couple with a twenty-year age gap, a young boy and girl who couldn't produce IDs, or a sunset romance between an elderly grandpa and grandma? She was so looking forward to it!
"Hello, two couple tickets please, thank you."
"No problem, Little Brother. Is this your partner? Sorry, but our couples' discount requires—"
"Nanaka?"
Watching the girl in front of him press her two index fingers together in a constant hint, Miyazawa Yuu smoothed out the frown lines caused by Nojima and the others. He turned his head, and before he could finish speaking, a moist sensation pressed against his lips.
Tapping Nanaka on the forehead, he handed over the ticket money with a doting smile that instantly cleared his dark mood.
Facing this super-sweet pair of handsome man and beautiful woman, the ticket girl only felt a dryness in her throat, as if she had been force-fed an incredibly sweet donut!
She quickly took the money and handed over the couple tickets. Watching the loving pair walk through the gate, she felt her whole body go limp—
To be honest, this crappy job had a downside: it made you really want to be in love!
"Hiss... how's the situation? Did Yu and the others get in?"
Not far away, unsure if the water park's vetting process for couples was strict, the remaining members of the PaB club and the Scumbag Squad chose to watch from a distance.
They let Miyazawa Yuu and Nanaka scout the path first, planning to act once they figured out the rules.
"What did Yu say? We can't see what they did at all!"
"Oh! The message is here!"
In an instant, the whole group crowded around. Imamura Kohei opened Line to find Yuu private message. On it was the intel he had sent back!
[Just walk over calmly and you won't be checked. Even if you're caught, a kiss on the cheek can prove it!]
"I see! Looks like it's not that strict. Everyone, get ready to move!"
"Oh!!!"
...
"Um, Yu, is it okay for us to do this? Kohei and the others are one thing, but Nojima..."
Inside the gate, having found a shaded spot, Kotegawa Nanaka licked a sundae while peeking at the messages Yu sent to her sister and the others. She couldn't help but try to persuade Yu to be kind.
She wasn't too worried about Kohei and Aina, but Iori and Chisa were a bit of a stretch.
As for the most cringe-worthy part, it was definitely those three "versatile" single dogs from the Scumbag Squad. With their beastly natures, they'd probably try to kill Yu once they got in!
"It's fine. Friends are things meant to be pranked at key moments to truly be called friends~"
Stashing his phone with a wicked grin, Miyazawa Yuu turned and accurately bit off more than half of Nanaka's sundae, though his eyes remained glued to the ticket booth.
"Oh! Someone's been spotted. The first pair is indeed that kid Kohei!"
"But Aina is still in heavy makeup, right? Can Kohei really bring himself to..."
Tossing the last bit of the cone into her mouth, Kotegawa Nanaka puffed out her cheeks to complain, but the next second, her attention was drawn to the two blondes at the gate—
"What? You have to kiss..."
Too embarrassed to say the second half of the sentence, Imamura Kohei stared wide-eyed and agitatedly slapped the ticket counter, startling the ticket girl into nodding apologetically and confirming it once more.
"Um... it's company policy. After all, if any man and woman could just pair up to get the discount, we'd lose a lot of money!"
"Dammit, it must be that guy Yuu!"
Biting his lip while leaning on the counter, Imamura Kohei was so angry his eyelids were twitching, a "red-screen" flush spreading from his face down to his neck!
He could swear that Yu had intentionally reported false intel, probably just to hide somewhere and watch him in this pathetic state!
And in fact, that guy had guessed correctly. He had indeed prepared himself mentally for a cheek kiss, but as for a real kiss—that was a high-level act that only happened after a confession!
"Ahem, Kohei?"
While Kohei was having a mental earthquake, Yoshiwara Aina had a different view on kissing. If she were in her normal state, she would be just as shy as him, but right now, she was in her Corpse Beast form!
As everyone knew, the Cakey Beast form automatically granted: Courage +999, Confidence +999.
Therefore, in her logic, the kiss wasn't the point; the point was that Kohei was actually this resistant to kissing her in her Corpse Beast form!
"You! Are you disgusted by the current me?!"
His head was forcefully wrenched around. Imamura Kohei stared dazed for a moment at Aina, whose tear stains hadn't even dried yet. Then, his gaze hardened as he leaned in and gave his answer with action.
"Chu~"
"Sorry for the trouble, couple tickets please."
"No problem!"
Printing and handing over the tickets in one smooth motion, the ticket girl watched the blonde guy with strange, bright red lip prints around his mouth. Her eyes were filled with shock as she nodded repeatedly—
Was this pure love? He could actually bring himself to kiss someone with such terrifying makeup. She officially acknowledged this couple!
...
Five minutes later, being pulled by half of his body on each side by a dark-faced Chisa and Aina, Miyazawa Yuu felt like a pig on a butcher's block about to be split in two!
"Chotto matte! You guys got in, didn't you! Why the violence!"
"You have the nerve to say that, Yuu!"
Her small face was flushed as she subconsciously wiped her lips. Seeing this bastard dared to act innocent, Kotegawa Chisa gave up on the "dismemberment" and simply picked up her bag and slammed it against Yuu head—
This bastard actually made Iori kiss her. Although she had been willing, she definitely needed a scapegoat to feel at peace!
"Um..."
"You can't go over there, Nanaka-san!"
"This is what Yu deserves!"
With a palm print and a lip print on their respective faces, Kitahara Iori and Imamura Kohei expressionlessly spread their arms, firmly blocking Nanaka who wanted to intervene.
No matter what, the misfortune inflicted upon them had to be compensated for by doubling it onto Yu for them to feel at ease!
"Wait! Nojima! Nojima and the others haven't come in yet!"
Having endured a combo from Chisa, Miyazawa Yuu was unscathed and at nearly full health; tempered by alcohol, he was no longer someone a "weak" Chisa could shake!
But he couldn't just keep tanking damage while out to play. In desperation, he shifted the focus to Nojima and the other two.
Ultimately, misfortune was all about comparison. As long as someone was more miserable than Chisa, he believed Chisa could make peace with her past self!
"Oh right, Nojima and the others aren't in yet! Kohei!"
"Roger!"
Suddenly enlightened, Iori and Kohei glanced at each other and quickly huddled together, sinister smiles appearing on their faces.
If the Scumbag Squad could suffer, they didn't mind passing on Yuu malice at all. They began typing frantically to egg them on—
[Hurry up and come in! The check is super loose; even if you're a pervert, there's no problem at all!]
[The ticket girl is super easy to talk to; just give her a few compliments and she'll let you through!]
"Hmm... Iori and the others said that. Looks like there shouldn't be any issues..."
Outside the gate, amidst the pointing of passersby, Nojima Hajime stuffed his phone back into his pocket.
Calmly holding his "girlfriend," he nodded to Yamamoto, who was not far behind. Then, he strode forward with the group and struck what he thought was his coolest pose in front of the ticket booth.
"Hello there, Miss. It is truly a great honor to meet you, my beautiful lady!"
"Um... hello?"
Looking up, the ticket girl felt a stinging pain in her eyes the moment she made contact with Nojima!
For some reason, although there was no body odor or strange smell, she felt like this strange man, wearing a sleeveless vest with his arm raised against his head, was constantly emitting some kind of toxic gas!
However, out of professional etiquette, she still squeezed out a smile and nodded with a service-oriented spirit: "One single ticket, right? Coming right up—"
"NO! Beautiful lady, it's a couple ticket!"
"Eh?"
This was the first time she had heard of a couple ticket being bought for one person. The ticket girl suspected the young man was definitely here to cause trouble! And the evidence was clear!
"No... Sir, a couple ticket is meant for you and your beloved—"
"Exactly!"
Deeply presenting the plastic mannequin at his side, Nojima Hajime's hand squeezed twice on a certain round part of the figure's chest, making a suspicious quack-creak sound.
"Clearly, this is my girlfriend, Elena! A pure and lovely twenty-year-old adult university student who can legally drink!"
"DON'T GIVE THE DOLL A NAME, YOU BASTARD!!!"