Masao's thoughts drifted, untethered, as he sank into the plush embrace of the sofa.
He wasn't alone for long. The soft click of a door announced Sayuri Sawamura's return from preparing the guest room.
Her eyes fell upon him, sitting in silent stillness, and a flicker of chagrin crossed her features.
She had committed a social misstep. Leaving a guest alone in the living room was a surefire recipe for breeding awkwardness.
Given Eriri's current… predicament, coaxing her downstairs to entertain their guest was out of the question. The duty of hostess, it seemed, fell squarely upon her shoulders.
Her mind made up, Sayuri approached, a warm, apologetic smile gracing her lips.
"I'm sorry, Masao-kun, for leaving you alone. You must be bored out of your mind."
Masao snapped back to the present, shaking his head. "Not at all."
Sayuri settled into a nearby armchair.
"I've let the chef know, so dinner shouldn't be too much longer."
She wasn't a full-time housewife; between managing the household and her own… creative pursuits in illustrating BL (yaoi) doujinshi, staff were a necessity for a home of this size.
She tapped a finger to her chin, her expression turning playful.
"Now then, what should we do to pass the time? Any ideas?"
"How about the television?" Masao suggested.
He felt a deep-seated desire for passive entertainment, something that required no mental or physical effort.
"TV? A fine idea," Sayuri agreed. She retrieved the remote, and the large TV screen flickered to life.
"Any preferences, Masao-kun? A particular show?"
"Nothing specific," he admitted after a moment's consideration.
Having only been in this world for a week, most of which was spent in grueling training, his knowledge of local pop culture was scant.
"Perhaps a variety show? Or a reality program?"
"Variety shows are a staple," Sayuri said cheerfully, navigating the menu. She selected a channel. "This one is always good for a laugh. It's a prank show."
"Aah~"
The program opened with a sound—a high-pitched, breathy feminine moan that painted Masao's cheeks a faint shade of pink.
His eyes locked onto the screen. He knew this genre; it was a classic, if notoriously risqué, Japanese format.
The prank show.
On screen, a beautiful female entertainer was perched, knees together, on a vibrating fitness machine.
Her challenge, as the bold text on the screen explained, was to maintain a phone conversation with an acquaintance while enduring the machine's relentless oscillations.
Ahem.
Sayuri cleared her throat softly, an attempt to mask her own mild embarrassment.
"This show is quite popular. Their segments are always very… inventive."
Masao nodded, his eyes still glued to the TV.
"Bold concepts are the point of such programs, I suppose."
In truth, he found it morbidly fascinating. It certainly wasn't just the sight of the woman's struggling form; he was genuinely curious about the audacity of the producers.
The first contestant, her long black hair swaying with the vibrations, looked pleadingly at the host.
"This feels so… indecent! Are we really doing it like this?"
The host's enthusiastic confirmation was met with gales of laughter from her two co-stars, who were waiting for their own turns.
"You'll be laughing from the other side of your face soon enough!" the woman retorted, her voice already wavering.
"Eeeh? How cruel~!" they chimed back in mock distress.
The challenge began. She dialed a number—her manager, according to the subtitles.
"Moshi moshi?"
"Yes, it's me."
"…? What's that sound? Is everything alright over there?"
"I'm fine, I just… I…"
Seemingly self-conscious about the tremors in her voice, she clapped a hand over her mouth.
The action, however, only served to muffle her speech into something even more suggestive and strained. The studio audience roared with laughter.
Masao felt a chuckle bubble up in his own throat, but he stifled it, acutely aware of Sayuri's presence beside him.
The humor here relied on a certain… worldly understanding.
Sayuri, a seasoned veteran in the ways of the world and its less-savory subcultures, understood them perfectly. Noting Masao's visible struggle to maintain his composure, an impish desire to tease him took hold.
Adopting a mask of wide-eyed innocence, she turned to him.
"Ne, Masao-kun," she began, her voice laced with feigned confusion. "Why is everyone laughing? Is there something strange about the way she's talking?"
Masao froze.
He met her guileless gaze, and a wave of awkwardness washed over him.
"It's… well… you see…" Then, like a lightning strike, realization dawned. This was Sayuri Sawamura he was talking to.
A BL (yaoi) doujinshi artist. A woman whose knowledge base was, to put it mildly, extensive. She was playing him.
"Sayuri-san," he said, a wry smile finally breaking through his embarrassment. "Please, spare me. Should we perhaps find something else to watch?"
"Haha!"
She laughed freely, unabashed at having her ruse discovered.
"Masao-kun, there's no need to be so shy! Laugh if you find it funny. Let's see how this plays out."
Her little performance had its intended effect. The tension broken, Masao finally allowed himself to relax.
A grin—a mix of relief and shared mischief—spread across his face as he settled back into the sofa.
Sayuri watched the screen with a pleased smile of her own.
"This game is quite clever. It would be even more entertaining if they were calling their boyfriends or husbands, don't you think?"
Masao nodded, getting into the spirit of it.
"And if they had a live feed of the person on the other end of the line, showing their real-time reaction? That would be the pinnacle of entertainment."
"My, Masao-kun, you have a devious mind," Sayuri said, her eyes twinkling. "Are you gathering material for a new plot, perhaps?"
—
They continued to chat, flipping through channels and watching other segments where hapless celebrities were subjected to all manner of hilarious torments.
Some of them sympathized with the victims, but the sheer absurdity of the situations proved too much, and more than once, the comfortable living room echoed with their shared laughter.
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[email protected]/Raven_scroll (30+ Advance Chapters)