Chapter 155: Horsepower
“Ryusei! Where are we going?” Keiko half-laughed, half-yelled as I tugged her hand down the dim side street.
It was already past 10 p.m., and yes, we had to be up early tomorrow for the Christmas-to-New-Year crush at the restaurant. But Christmas only came once a year—and I couldn’t just let it slip away without doing something stupidly romantic.
“Trust me!” I said, though I honestly had no clue where we were going. My plan was… no plan. Just run around until something felt right.
Keiko huffed, “You sound like a shady guy trying to kidnap his girlfriend.”
“That’s the charm!” I grinned, dragging her forward.
We turned a corner, and suddenly the world lit up. A whole street covered in shimmering illuminations stretched out before us—arches of gold and blue lights hanging over the road, trees strung up with stars.
At the end of the street stood a little oden stall with steam rising into the chilly night air.
“Jackpot,” I muttered.
“Eh?” Keiko tilted her head.
“Sit here,” I told her, pointing to a wooden bench under the glow. “Wait for me!”
Before she could protest, I dashed off to the stall, bought two steaming bowls of oden, and came running back like an excited kid. The plastic bag swung dangerously, and I nearly wiped out on the pavement.
“Gyahhh—!” I skidded.
Keiko jumped up and caught me before I face-planted. “You idiot!”
“Woah… thanks.” I panted, handing her one bowl like it was treasure.
Her eyes sparkled. “Oden!”
“Yes, oden! Romantic dinner for two!” I declared dramatically.
She giggled, “You dragged me across half the city… for oden?”
“Not just oden—oden with illuminations!” I pointed at the lights like I had just discovered fire.
She laughed again, but softer this time, her face lit up by the glow. “You’re ridiculous… but thank you.”
We ate in silence, side by side on the bench, watching couples pass by holding hands, families taking photos, and kids squealing under the lights. Keiko sipped her broth and whispered, “It’s really beautiful.”
“Yeah,” I nodded, pretending to look at the lights but really looking at her smile. “A little break from work. Just us.”
Then, without warning, she leaned over and pressed her lips to mine. Just a quick kiss—barely a second—but it caught me completely off guard.
“Huh?” I blinked dumbly.
Keiko only grinned, biting back her laugh, as if she had just pulled off a prank.
I smiled too, my chest tightening. That tiny kiss felt like it filled me with enough warmth to last the whole winter.
Sometimes, I thought, detours really were the best.
---
The next morning was… chaos.
“Hieee… hieee…”
The sound echoed through the staff room. My first thought: did someone’s giving birth to a horse?
Then the door slammed open and out burst—no joke—a full horse. Well, a human in a horrifyingly realistic horse mask, galloping through the restaurant.
“What the hell?!” I jumped back.
“Wahhh!” Keiko shrieked, grabbing Miko, who screamed too. Customers at the front were already staring.
Only Suzuka stood proudly in the corner, grinning like she had just invented comedy itself.
Sure enough, inside the horse mask was… Aki.
“Hieeeek! Hieeee!” Aki neighed, stomping her feet.
I rubbed my face. “Why? Just… why?”
Suzuka stepped forward like a translator at the UN. “Ladies and gentlemen,” she said with deadly seriousness, “it will be the year of the horse next year. Therefore, Aki will become… a horse.”
“…What.”
Miko, the usual partner in their stupidity, just blinked and whispered, “And who are you supposed to be?”
Suzuka puffed out her chest. “I am… the horse translator.”
Aki neighed again.
I was speechless. Keiko was rubbing her temples like she’d aged twenty years in one second.
“Aki. Suzuka. Stop this. I tolerated Santa. But this—” she jabbed a finger at the horse “—this is nightmare fuel.”
The horse drooped its head sadly. “Hiiieee…”
Suzuka whispered, “She says she’s heartbroken.”
“Then she can be heartbroken in the back room,” Keiko snapped.
Then another "Hiee... Hieeeee...!"
Suzuka hesitated, looking guilty, then blurted, “…Sorry, I was farting.”
Aki instantly smacked her on the head with a hoof. I burst out laughing so hard I nearly fell over.
“This mask is creepy as hell!” Keiko snapped. “Think about the children! People will call the police!”
“But I wanted to be My Little Pony…” Aki whined from inside the mask, trying to prance cutely.
“You look like a demon!” Keiko shouted back.
Suzuka added water to Aki’s mask like fake tears. “The horse… cries…”
“ENOUGH!” Keiko smacked them both. “Customers waiting! Take it off and back to work!”
“Y-yes, ma’am!” Aki ripped the mask off, drenched in sweat, while Suzuka saluted like a soldier.
As I walked back to the kitchen, I sighed. Soon I’d be free of these idiots—but poor Keiko would be left wrangling them.
Behind me, I still heard Aki muttering, “Horse… sad…”
And Suzuka whispering, “Horse… hungry…” before Keiko smacked them both again.
---
That night, after the last customer left, I leaned against the counter and looked at Keiko, exhausted but smiling as she cleaned.
She caught my eyes and chuckled softly. “You’ll really leave me alone with these clowns, huh?”
I walked over, touched her shoulder, and said, “Don’t worry. You’re scarier than a horse mask.”
She blinked, then smirked. “You’re not wrong.”
We laughed together, and despite the chaos, it felt like the warmest Christmas gift I could ask for.