I don't know what I was really expecting, but after I came back to my senses I just walked back to where I last left Hina with the squirrel. And somehow, she was still there.
She wasn't doing anything particular, just sitting on the grass leaning on the trunk of the tree where the squirrel ran up before, with her knees bent and her small hands resting on them.
I hesitated for a moment when I saw that she was still there, but I thought to myself if I turned back and ran away again this time there would be no going back.
As I approached her though, she did not seem to notice me. The reason became apparent when I finally got close enough to see her face. She was taking a nap with her head resting on the tree.
Man, this girl… could you please stop being so carefree?
I looked down at her for a while. She was sleeping soundly.
Well, she does look kind of-
Squirrel.
Yeah, she does look kind of like a squirrel, just a little.
That's all there was to it.
I let out a sigh and sat next to her on the grass. This didn't feel too different from how we always sat around on the beanbags in her office room, except this time we were sitting much closer.
I thought I'd just let her sleep for a bit and hopefully, when she wakes up we will move on like nothing happened. This was just a little transgression, a small unprofessional mistake from me. How the hell was I gonna explain this though if Hina pressed for answers?
Where did you go?
What did you do?
Is everything OK?
Sin-
:Sigh:
I could already hear the kind of questions she'd throw at me that I'd have to dodge and improvise to BS my way through, but well, I was good enough to earn my living from exactly that.
"Sin"
It was almost as if I could hear her speak.
"Sin, is that you?"
That startled me. I wasn't imagining what she might be saying to me, it was literally her talking to me sitting next to my side. I turned to look at her but she still had her eyes closed, but it didn't sound like she was sleep talking.
"Uh-, yes. Miss. It's me"
"Is everything OK?"
There was genuine concern in her voice.
"Yes, Miss. I'm sorry about before. Something urgent just-"
"It's OK, Sin. Please don't explain"
"Miss, but I-"
"I don't want to hear it because I don't want to make you lie to me"
"…Thank you", that was all I could say after a little pause.
Right. We'll put this behind us and move on. Hina and Sin, the boss and her Personal Assistant, Henchman, and the 4 o'clock shadow.
":Hmpf:"
Hina got up and stretched her arms and legs, and I hurriedly got up and stood straight too. I guess it was just a reflex from my work life. You don't sit and talk to your boss. If he or she is standing, you stand. If he or she is sitting, you stand. If he or she is lying down and sleeping in bed drunk from tequila, you just try to stay alive from her overprotective maniac caretaker.
After a long stretch, Hina turned to me again and spoke.
"Ah-, that was a very nice nap. Do you mind if I suggest something?"
"Please do, Miss"
"Other than that time at the Nan Tower, I haven't gone out in the evenings at all"
"What do you mean?"
"You know, for fun. I'm literally just a 19-year-old girl. The weight of the expectation and stress is weighing me down. Sometimes I almost feel sick and feel like I have a fever. And the only prescription is…"
"…is…?"
"More cowbell!"
:Pfft:
I almost laughed as this was so unexpected. How does she even know this joke at her age?
"Ha! That was a laugh, wasn't it?"
"Not quite, Miss. But I will admit that was unexpected"
"Tehe. Seriously though, I do need to go out"
"It didn't go too well last time, Miss"
"I know, that's why I need you to come along"
"I think that one time was more than enough…"
"Don't worry, as long as I stay away from Tequila we should be fine"
":Sigh: Not saying that I will come along, but where are you planning to go?"
"Clubbing. I hope we can go together"
"No. Just no."
"Oh come on. You gotta let it out sometimes"
"Miss, if you really wanted to go out, I can't stop you. But surely you could go out with your friends too? You must have not seen them for quite some time now"
"Yeah, I want to meet up with them too. So I will invite some of them too, and you of course"
I simply could not picture myself mingling on the dance floor with other 19-year-old girls on a weekday night.
"Miss, I'll have to pass. I'm sorry"
":Sigh: Fine. I knew this day would come"
That's right. I'm not gonna get bossed around outside of work hours. Today is the day I draw the line.
As I was thinking this, Hina was looking for something in the inside pocket of her jacket.
"Here! Look at this!"
"What is it?"
Hina then held a card in her hand, made a triumphant smile, and handed it over to me.
"It's my 'You can't refuse' card"
What the hell?
The card literally said "You can't refuse" on it with a small anime-like chibi illustration of someone who could only be Hina.
"What in the world-"
"Ha! Resistance is futile"
"Miss… what on earth is this? I don't even…"
"It's as it says. It's 'You can't refuse Hina' card. It's my secret weapon for a day like today"
OK. She wasn't a 19-year-old teenager. More like a 9 year old idiot.
"And this card always works for you?"
"It does. It's never failed"
When I saw the look in her eyes I understood why this card never failed. She was so genuinely confident and happy with this card that it made you feel like you didn't want to refuse her. She probably had this made when she was a lot younger, and pulled it out on her elder brothers and parents when she 'had to'. And when she did, she probably always had this look that I'm seeing now, the look that says "Ha! I won!". She looked so delightedly triumphant you don't want to refuse it and disappoint her. It'd be like trampling on a young girl's heart.
:Sigh:
I guess I'll just have to play along too.
"Fine, Miss. I will go"
"Victory!"