YNoMH? (BL)

Off Air - Vol. 2 Story 5.3

Off Air – Vol. 2 Story 5.3

Part 3: Rose-Colored Pop

"So I'm supposed to receive some kind of advertising award."

It was supposed to be happy news, but the phrasing was decidedly vague.

"There's an award ceremony for it at a hotel. How about I book us a room while I'm at it, and you can come over? It's at that hotel, where we had our previous rendezvous."

"Don't say it like That pool!"[1]

"That pool...?"

"Don't google it!"

"Heh... You know, you never watch any porn, so how come you know that particular phrase?"

"M-Minagawa mentioned it."

"And out comes the word that calls for punishment."

"Why!?"

It had to be a fairly prestigious award for them to hold the ceremony at such an upscale hotel, but Ushio seemed only happy about the prize money that came with it.

"Do you hate awards or something?"

"It's not that I hate awards, it's just not for me. If people see my work and say that they like it, I'm truly happy and grateful for it, but everything else? I'm not used to dressing up for people and giving speeches, and it's not like I submitted my work to a competition in the first place, but it's like they decided to pick my work and tell me to attend this thing so that they can praise me."

And to that end, Kei had been thoroughly lured in by the very transparent words that Ushio had issued—So if Kunieda-san waits for me at the hotel room, it'll motivate me push through the ceremony~

Kei didn't have any plans that Saturday, and at around 8 pm he stopped by the front desk to pick up the key for the room. He wouldn't be interacting with people, and it was too much trouble to change, so he came in his "off" mode, wearing a T-shirt, jeans, face mask, and glasses. He figured that Ushio would be in a suit and tie, which meant that they would be reversed from usual.

Ushio likely had to socialize with others after the ceremony, and Kei didn't know when he would be done. He thought very magnanimously that networking was probably very important for Ushio and his freelance work, and so he showered first and then raided the minibar. Old Man Eba had cleaned him out just like this before. Which meant that Ushio didn't have to come back so early since he wanted to lounge around by himself however he pleased (with Ushio's money)—but no, he didn't think that at all.

Kei had already eaten before he came, and there were plenty of nuts and snacks in the room. While he watched the large-screen TV, he emptied the cans of beer, a half bottle of champagne, and even the mini-bottles of whiskey and assorted liquor. He was in a great mood and flopped down on the spacious bed... It was paradise.

There were a number of pillows on the bed, each a slightly different size and softness, and Kei hugged the fluffiest one out of the bunch and exhaled a loud sigh. He realized that the prime time shows were almost over, and Ushio still wasn't back.

Which reminded him, what video did Ushio win the award for? Kei pulled his cell phone over and did a quick search. He found his answer quickly and went to play it.

It was an animation of a goldfish. An orange-colored goldfish had escaped from its goldfish bowl and swam through a diorama-like world, floating through the air. Sometimes its body became flames, or fallen leaves, or even fruit. The film was beautiful, soft and ephemeral, like watching a word association game unfold in a dream.