stalling in arima
Onsen Boys Chapter 4 - SEIYA🔥
Welcome to Apple Hair!
Usually, in the CANON, I explore creating a fictional universe with the hopes that you’ll follow along with your own world. Every fourth week, I’m releasing an AU story or an exclusive with one of the members of Apple Hair. This time, we have the fourth chapter of Onsen Boys! We’re following David and Seiya on their trip to Japan.
Want to read Onsen Boys from the very beginning? You can start here!
If you’re new here, Apple Hair is a fictional, Asian American boy band from Hawaii. I’m Airen, and this particular short story draws on my experiences in Japan.
Welcome to the newsletter, and I’m excited to share this AU with you.
“Can we head to the onsen already though?” I say.
David’s been stalling. After we settled in the room, we headed out to walk around the town. We bought some pickled items to take home, got a soy milk ice cream—fire, by the way—and explored every single possible corner, so now it feels like I know where everything is.
“Huh?” he says.
“You know what I said, dude,” I say.
“Fine.” He rubs his cheek and turns the other way. A mood, honestly.
We head back to the room and get changed into a yukata. Quite breezy, but we wrap a robe around ourselves. David tries to stall by saying that his yukata’s too big for him. I call out BS and wrap the sash more tightly around him.
“Are we heading to the silver or gold one first?” David says.
He draws out his sentences, lingering on the threshold. Cute and determined. I reach out and ruffle his hair. He scowls at me. “Silver,” I say.
Feisty dude. I gesture toward the door, and we grab our clothes and towels. As we walk down the stairs to the road, the cold almost takes me under. The gold onsen’s only paces away from the apartment, but the silver one takes a bit longer to get to.
Because David’s been stalling for a hell of a long time, it’s already dark out. I heard the silver one’s less crowded. It’ll be a good “first time,” I’m thinking.
“I don’t feel that informed yet,” David says. “I feel like we need to watch a tutorial.”
“A tutorial?” I almost burst out laughing. “You can’t be serious, man.”
“I just think that if I mess up in there, it’ll be really embarrassing. And isn’t that such a vulnerable place for people? An onsen? If I do something wrong, it won’t just embarrass me, it’ll embarrass everyone.”
I watch him scratch at his neck. He brings his whole basket up to his chest as he does that. His chestnut brown hair reflects the lights of the storefronts and the stars. Damn, he’s just that guy.
Eventually, we reach the silver onsen, which appears as a modest looking building, almost like a little inn. We head inside and pay a fee at the machine, getting our tickets. We use a coin to stuff both of our shoes into one locker.
“Okay,” David says, stepping over onto the wooden floors with his fluffy white socks. “So the silver onsen doesn’t close until another few hours. We have time. So we don’t need to rush or anything.”
Even with his cuteness, a little flare of annoyance goes through me. “Seriously? David, we came here for the onsen.”
He carries his basket closer to his chest. “I know. But it sounded so much better and romantic in my head.”
The annoyance leaves me like a zap. “If you really don’t wanna…”
It must be opposite day. His face hardens. “No, I’m going. That’s what we’re really here for. I can’t miss out on it.”
We hand our tickets to the old man at the counter, and I think he tells us to enjoy ourselves. I follow David’s lead and head into the men’s locker room.
David’s stalling worked. There’s no one else in here, and only one pair of slippers lingers in the shoe locker. For a good few seconds, we just stare at each other. David breaks off first and chooses a locker in the corner. He stuffs his things inside, then arranges them when he has nothing else to do.
I choose the locker right next to his. He goes pretty hard in untying and tying his sash. I take my time, just to give him more time to freak out less.
His face looks like a beet. He finally unties his sash and leaves it that way. His yukata sways from left to right. He stares down at his feet.
“Don’t worry,” I say. “I won’t look. Too hard.”
The poor guy almost punches me in the face. “I would’ve been just fine if you didn’t tell me that.”
And despite ourselves, and because we’re the only ones in the locker room, we for sure end up stalling. I watch David open and close his locker door. He bites on his lip and weighs his feet. Left foot. Right foot.
I decide to humor him. “Was this different from what it looked like in your dreams?”
He shakes his head. “I somehow thought it would be really fun and relaxing.”
“No ulterior motives?” I say. “Huh?”
He clenches his jaw. “No. I mean, well… of course I thought about this part.”
Because David grew up in a pretty conservative church, he never mentioned anything past PG-13 to me. I respect that, and I’m happy about where things are now. Waiting for marriage? I could do that. EZ.
But he looks like the opposite of “hang loose,” and the least I could do is help him relax. I put an arm around his shoulder. “How many times have we just been basically naked at the dorm?” I say. “This will be no different. And bathing… ya’, that’s something we do every day.”
“I guess you’re right,” David says. “I… I’m going to do this. No backing out. No more stalling.”
“It’s going to be just fine,” I say. I give him a little smile. I pull my sash and make it loose, then turn in the other direction. Respect.
I hear him rustling a bit. And then he laughs. I turn back to see him clutching his belly. “This is ridiculous,” he says. “We’re so dramatic.”
“You think?” I turn back around after punching him lightly in the chest.
I am one with the yukata. Despite trying to make him more calm, the truth is, freaking out describes me too. I can’t imagine my life after sharing this moment with the David Cho, the hammah himself.
But yo. I’m Seiya, Japanese to the core, the upcoming master of the onsen. I’m going to bathe like a champ.
Hey, it’s Airen again! Did you enjoy Onsen Boys? Jump into the Chat to talk about it!
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The hardcover is out for pre-order, but the paperback is coming on January 31, right on release day! I highly recommend getting at least a paperback to own the stunning piece of art from my illustrator, Nisa. I’m flipping through one of the copies right now, and I’m so happy with how it turned out.
Happy reading!