"Locked inside?"
The smile on Shioyaki Lemon's face hadn't fully faded, but it now froze at the corners of her mouth.
She blinked her eyes, which were exceptionally bright from the exercise, and repeated: "Eh? Locked up?"
"Yeah."
Imaizumi Keita nodded and yanked the doorknob again. The heavy iron door made a muffled "clanging" sound, but the lock still didn't budge.
"It looks like the door was accidentally locked from the outside."
"E-E-E-Ehh—?!"
Shioyaki Lemon finally understood their current situation, and visible panic appeared on her face.
"Then, then what do we do?! Can't we get out?"
She rushed to the door in one stride and, mimicking Imaizumi Keita, grabbed the handle with both hands, pushing and pulling with all her might, but it was naturally in vain.
"Don't waste your energy."
Imaizumi Keita watched her, leaning against the nearby equipment rack, and said in a flat tone, "This is an iron door; it's impossible to break it open."
His calmness formed a sharp contrast with Shioyaki Lemon's panic.
"Then, then are we just going to be locked in here forever?"
"Not necessarily."
Imaizumi Keita shook his head, walked to the only small window, and stood on his tiptoes to look outside.
At this time, the students who had been free on the playground had mostly dispersed, heading toward the school building in groups of twos and threes.
"There are still people outside. If we shout for help, someone should hear and come to help."
"Shout for help?!"
Shioyaki Lemon shook her head, a look of mixed worry and resistance appearing on her face.
"No, no! Absolutely not!"
Imaizumi Keita ignored Shioyaki's refusal and directly shouted for help outside: "Hey! Is anyone there? Someone's locked in the warehouse!"
Shioyaki Lemon's brain completely short-circuited at that moment.
Her body acted faster than her thoughts, making an instinctive reaction.
"Don't shout so loud!"
With a short, exasperated cry, she lunged forward and leaped high from behind Imaizumi Keita.
Her long, firm arms unceremoniously wrapped around his neck, while her other hand tightly covered his mouth.
"Mmph...!"
The sudden attack caused Imaizumi Keita's body to instinctively stumble forward a step.
He could clearly feel Shioyaki Lemon's legs tightly gripping his waist; she was hanging onto him like a large koala.
As expected.
Just as he thought, Shioyaki Lemon was basically a tomboy.
Imaizumi Keita once again confirmed his characterization of Shioyaki Lemon in his heart.
"Hey, Shioyaki..."
He managed to make a sound from under her palm, his tone full of helplessness. "Get off me first, let's talk properly."
"I won't!"
Shioyaki Lemon refused without thinking, her arms around his neck tightening a bit more. "Unless you promise me not to call anyone!"
"In this situation, is there any other way besides calling for someone?"
Imaizumi Keita felt his patience being worn away bit by bit. "If you keep clinging to me like this, by the time everyone outside is gone, we really will be locked in until tomorrow morning."
"But, but..."
Shioyaki Lemon's voice took on a tearful tone. "Our class has PE with Kouki and the others. If we call for help, Kouki will definitely find out we were alone together..."
"If there's a misunderstanding, I won't know how to explain it to Kouki at all..."
Looking at Shioyaki Lemon's confused state, Imaizumi Keita sighed and remarked, "Weren't you just saying you two were just ordinary friends..."
"Eh?! That's because..."
Shioyaki Lemon fidgeted with her fingers awkwardly; her shy appearance only made him feel she was somewhat cute.
Unfortunately, this girl's shyness wasn't because of him, which was a real shame.
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