Free Web NovelChapter 108: Lurking Danger
Natsumi’s self-invitation didn’t affect the tour itself since it was just an additional headcount for the group. Besides, Natsumi stuck to Hajime like glue, which implied that she wouldn’t be separating from the group anytime soon. This gesture made Megumi bite her fingernails, though, but she didn’t show her slight annoyance outwardly, probably because she had a reputation to keep up— a pretense to show to the son of their business partner, Mizunari Keiichi.
Fortunately, Keiichi was as dense as he was rich, and he didn’t notice the rivalry between the two girls. In essence, though, he was the perfect gentleman himself, offering to carry Megumi’s bag, striking up a conversation from time to time so no one in the group would get bored, and sharing a couple of life experiences with them as well, making the trip to the aquarium more interesting. As much as Hajime wanted to deny Keiichi, he could tell that Keiichi was a pretty good guy all throughout. His animosity towards Hajime kept showing though and Hajime was beginning to wonder if he did something that would force him to harbor such grudges.
Even with his dense demeanor, Keiichi could tell that Hajime and Megumi were close, and that brought about a feeling of rivalry from yours truly to Hajime. Despite the fact that Hajime stood no chance against his standing, he still felt mildly threatened by Hajime’s presence. he couldn’t quite put his finger around it, but nevertheless, it threatened him.
"And here we have the clownfish, scientific name Amphiprioninae. Clownfishes form symbiotic mutualisms with sea anemones. They are usually found in warm waters of the Red Sea and the Pacific Ocean— " One of the guides started going on and on about the clownfish, and somehow his voice died down as everyone went about admiring the clownfish.
"So it’s called a clownfish..." Hajime muttered to himself. "I thought its name was Nemo though."
"What are you talking about? Of course, it’s a clownfish." Natsumi chuckled to herself.
Ching~! Hajime’s eyes shot wide open as he turned around, wondering why he felt a prick on the neck out of nowhere. ’Are the debt collectors here? I only feel like that when they’re nearby.’ Hajime said to himself, his face wearing a serious expression as he swiveled his head in all directions.
There were no signs of the debt collectors whatsoever, but Hajime still felt a bit uneasy. ’Are we being followed? But by who?’ He asked.
"Hajime, is something wrong?" Shizuka whispered, noticing the sudden change in Hajime’s aura.
"N-nothing, it must be nothing..." Hajime muttered.
Still, that didn’t remove the uneasy feeling he felt. Because of that, Hajime put his guard up, observing his surrounding with a cautious gaze— not missing anything that was somewhat suspicious.
"Are you all right?" Shizuka continued with another question.
Hajime forced a smile on his face. Something about his odd feeling bothered him but he didn’t tell anyone about it. If worse comes to worst, he’d just have to deal with the situation when it calls for it.
The tour of the aquarium passed by in a blink of an eye, leaving Keiichi less time to spend with Megumi on their group date. While he was disappointed that he couldn’t speak to Megumi too much since she seemed distracted, he knew that he still got plenty of chances to get to know her. Lunchtime was coming soon, after all, and they’d get to spend more time in a different atmosphere.
Going to the aquarium was actually a pretty good idea for the group so everyone enjoyed it. Moreover, Keiichi paid for everyone’s entrance fees except for Hajime. He still hasn’t gotten over the fact that Hajime tagged along with Megumi’s group just because Keiichi separated from their original group. That’s why he was still stubborn enough to not pay for anything Hajime’s.
"That was a nice aquarium. Now I’m hungry~" Kaori announced just when the six of them burst out of the aquarium. (And yes, Natsumi was still with them.) "Where are we eating next?"
"Hmhmm~" Keiichi hummed, stealing glances at everyone in the group before he raised his hand up, pointing his index finger towards the sky. "Leave it to me!"
The group walked deeper into the city with Keiichi in the lead. Despite the setbacks he had involving Hajime, he still got back in good spirits as his plan smoothly folded out. He had the entire day scheduled out and he wouldn’t let anyone get in the way of it, not even Hajime who joined the group to keep an eye on him. Then again, he would sometimes catch Megumi initiating a conversation with Hajime even though she never did that with him. The gesture made him jealous, but he brushed it off, thinking that Megumi was probably just acting familiar out of pity.
Fortunately, he doesn’t know how close Hajime and Megumi really were as friends. Otherwise, he’d have pulled his hair out right then and there.
Meanwhile, three men dressed in casual pants and t-shirts emerged from the exit of the aquarium, smiling to themselves as they continued to tail the group. They stayed at a manageable distance from the group since a particular individual there seemed to have a good sense when it comes to being followed. They were actually almost caught a couple of times, that’s why they didn’t risk tailing the group right by their tail. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
"Almost there, fellas. The boss will really like this one." One of the three men licked his lips in satisfaction. "But first, let’s treat ourselves to something nice after getting their money?"
"Yeah, I can’t wait." The second man, the lankiest man of the group, clenched his fists in excitement, imagining the kidnapping as if it was the most successful kidnapping in history.
"We’d better be careful, all right? Once we got our fill, we should bring him straight to the boss so he could negotiate for a ransom. That way we’d be able to squeeze all the money this kid has." frёeωebɳovel.com
"You mean, his parents’ money? ha-ha!" The third man continued, laughing under his breath.
