"Oh..."
"It landed on him! It landed on him!"
"Kagihara, it's your turn!"
Kobashi Yume was so excited she nearly jumped up, as though she had just won a great victory.
Everyone's eyes turned to Kazehara Tetsu at once.
Kazehara Tetsu lowered his head, looked at the bottle pointing straight at him, then at the roomful of girls eyeing him like predators. He fell silent for a moment.
"All right."
He put down his chips and dusted off his hands. "A bet's a bet. Truth or dare-you pick."
"Truth!" they answered almost in unison.
Seriously, what interesting dare could they give a boy?
The questions they had been holding in all night were all meant for "truth."
As the bottle-spinning "referee," Ichinose Honami was pushed forward by the others.
She looked at Kazehara Tetsu, her cheeks still a little red, but anticipation and nervousness shone in her eyes too.
She huddled with Kobashi Yume and Ando Sayo beside her, whispering for a while. Every so often, the girls let out muffled, mischievous giggles.
At last, Ichinose Honami cleared her throat and raised her head.
"Here goes, then." She looked at Kazehara Tetsu, enunciating each word.
"The person you like most right now..."
"Who is it?"
The moment the question left her mouth, the entire private room fell silent.
Everyone held their breath. Even Hoshinomiya Chie stopped what she was doing and widened her eyes, waiting for the answer.
This question was more direct than all their earlier attempts to fish for information.
No beating around the bush, no room to dodge. Just one name.
Kazehara Tetsu sat in his seat, meeting Ichinose Honami's gaze.
As he looked at her, he suddenly smiled.
Instead of deflecting as he had before, he reached out and picked up the drink bottle on the