4 Help me!

No, he learned in dismay.

No one but Haruki had seen the exotic object. Intrigued, the singer eliminated his theory about a magic object binding them to a spell when they signed the contract.

"I signed a one-page contract. The text was very clear and without any obvious catches. When my friend gave me the document and that pen to sign, he said they made sure it was with that pen. He supposed it was some superstition," Haruki recollected," That's why I thought there might be something shady about it. But if you didn't even see that pen ... Well, it must have been the smartwatch."

Discreetly, Haruki observed the reaction some of them had.

Okane opened his mouth to speak, but before he had time Noguchi nudged him and they exchanged glances with furrowed brows.

Yamada asked, after that silence that ensued.

"Just a contract sheet, and did you sign it in your friend's studio, not at the company?"

"Yes. But I think he knew nothing. He's just a freelancer, and they hired him to design this otome. He is an excellent artist. I highly doubt Kenta knew this shit was going to happen."

He went on to detail how he found his friend. And how he ended up accepting to pose as a model for an otome character. To help his schoolmate earn some money.

Everyone stared at him in disbelief at the end of his heartfelt narrative.

Embarrassed, and feeling judged without knowing exactly why, Haruki stood up,

"Well, now that I've told you how I signed the contract, we can compare the patterns, can't we? Let's compare how all of us were 'recruited'. So we will know what may have caused it all.

Everyone looked at each other, waiting for the first to speak. Yoshida-san grunted,

"This isn't really necessary."

Daisuke nodded. The others muted.

"Okay. Do as you wish." It unnerved Haruki. He was usually quite calm, but that petty attitude offended him. He decided to go out to the beach, to relax a little.

The sunset was falling over the beautiful seaside landscape. The seas rolled calmly, and the vision of the shimmering golden ocean dragged Haruki from his problems for some minutes of contemplation. Turning to see over his shoulders, he could see the mansion's facade and the last rays of sun reflecting on the windows.

The mansion was huge, and he could see a green hill behind the property. It was a heavenly place, indeed.

Too bad it was also an unreal prison for six real people.

Thinking about the things he reported, Haruki thought there might be a chance to communicate with Kenta.

Maybe he could break the fourth wall!

Picking up a twig any, he spent the rest of the time until the nightfall writing a message in giant letters in the sand,

KENTA

I AM HARUKI

I AM STUCK IN THE GAME

HELP ME

It was a pathetic attempt, but it was better than doing nothing. But he got no results.

When the night finally fell over the island, and he was tired, Haruki went back to the house.

Exploring the residence, he discovered another intriguing fact, in addition to the fact that there was no food: he was unable to enter all the doors.

The rooms were mostly empty, and there were many locked doors.

He also discovered that the music room, the kitchen, and the leisure room were the only furnished and decorated rooms in the mansion! There were not even bathrooms or washrooms!

'Uh oh! This is serious, very serious!' Surely, he needed to find a way out of that place as soon as possible. Like... He could do it, but he wasn't a fan of relieving himself in thickets and flower beds.

'I really am a civilized man, contrary to what my little sister always thought.'

He joined the others after solving his bladder problem near the petunias in the garden. And at least the kitchen tap had drinking water.

Joining the rest of the group in the game room, the only one with comfortable sofas, Haruki realized that this was the official 'bedroom'.

However, there were no big enough sofas for everyone.

Because he was the last to arrive, there were not even pillows for him. Everything had been strictly distributed before his arrival.

He bit his lip, avoiding creating an argument about it.

Yoshida-san was lying on a sofa that could fit two people, Noguchi was on the floor with one of the curtains and a pillow. Daisuke and Okane shared another big sofa, and Jun was on a couch too.

Haruki sighed, resigned, and got a cushion on the back. When he looked, he saw that the 'bad boy' had thrown one of his cushions to him.

Or at him, whatever. He thanked Sasaki Jun, anyway.

Still, he chose not to sleep with them.

Going to the music room, Haruki found a plush rug that wasn't big enough for his entire body but at least protected his back from the cold marble floor.

He lay on his back and looked at the beautiful crystal chandelier, lit only by the moonlight that came in through the large window.

Then he felt watched. It was a very uncomfortable and strong feeling. He knew, however, that no one else could be there.

Unless...

"Kenta? Itawa Kenta? Are you there? Looking at me lying in the music room?"

[HARUKI!]

He heard his friend's voice resonate as if a god spoke to him from heaven.