"Knock, knock, knock—"
Another knock at the door?
Uesugi Hara had just finished a call with Ayanokoji on his Terminal. He muttered to himself that his room had been getting busier and busier lately.
He got up and opened the door. He had barely managed to say, "You..." when Karuizawa Kei beat him to it.
"Let me in." Her tone was firm, and she turned sideways, trying to squeeze into the room.
Uesugi Hara instinctively held his ground, frowning slightly.
He had a lot of questions. How had this woman found him? And why had she come in the middle of the night?
They blocked the doorway, one determined to get in and the other refusing to give way. They stayed like that for several seconds.
"There's someone else in my room," Uesugi Hara said, making up an excuse on the spot.
"I already checked. You're the only one in there." Karuizawa Kei lifted her head and met his gaze without backing down, not the least bit hesitant.
"...What are you here for?" Uesugi Hara asked in a low voice, dropping his casual demeanor.
"Let's talk inside." Karuizawa Kei glanced down both ends of the corridor. Her voice was low, but firm. "You wouldn't want anyone else to see a girl with a boyfriend coming to your room in the middle of the night, would you? I don't mind, though. We can stay here like this as long as you want."
"Who knew you had it in you to use your head?" Uesugi Hara said with a teasing smile. "But what if I refuse to let you in?"
"..." Karuizawa Kei pressed her lips together and didn't answer.
Uesugi Hara watched her for a few seconds, then stepped aside. "Come in."
The instant Uesugi Hara closed the door, Karuizawa Kei