Buy two cups

The aroma of tea mixed with the faint sweetness of nectar wafts into my nose with unstoppable momentum. Without hesitation, I reach out and raise two fingers to indicate that I want two cups. [Hideki Akechi]So the "buy one get the second for half price" marketing tactic does work on you. If I knew this before, I would have used a different tactic when asking you to help the club. [player]That's not entirely it. Being outside for so long makes my body kinda stiff. I could really do with a cup of something hot to keep my hands warm. [Hideki Akechi]...I'm sorry, I didn't notice that. Would it be better if you wear another jacket? [player]No, I'll be okay. I just need a little time. Put your jacket back on first. I reject his proposal with a wave of my hand and take the bag the employee hands over to Hideki Akechi before he can take it. [player]Hmm? What's this? I thought I only ordered two cups... [Employee]The gentleman next to you requested these. I look at Hideki Akechi in confusion. He smiles and takes the bag with the tea inside and takes out the two "extra" cups. [Hideki Akechi]These two cups contain warm tap water, which you can use to warm your hands. It's better to enjoy the tea since the shopkeeper worked so hard to make it. His voice has a charismatic magic to it that makes people believe him unconditionally. I can see from the undisguised charmed look on the employee's face that he had been charmed by Hideki Akechi. [Hideki Akechi]Let's go. The show is about to start, so we should get our tickets checked. Only after entering the performance hall do I realize how little I know about this "largest opera house of One Han City." A space that has no obvious boundaries and is composed of gold and red spreads throughout the hall. Exquisite gold-plated statues are perfectly integrated into the area as decorations. Seeing the whole area in the same color gives me the illusion that I've shrunk down. [player]It's really shocking that this performance hall that can accommodate 5,000 people is almost full. [Hideki Akechi]Music is a medium that allows people to communicate without speaking the same language, and people only need a moment to understand the emotions conveyed by actors. This wonderful feeling is why opera shows always have such a big audience. [Hideki Akechi]What's more, this performance features many famous opera actors, so I'm actually not surprised about this. [player]Oh... The ticket must have been really expensive. I feel bad for making you spend so much money on it. [Hideki Akechi]It's not a lot compared with your smile, which makes everything worth it. Besides, I also learned something new from you today. [player]You did?! Hideki Akechi shakes the cup in his hand gently, causing the liquid to make a distinct water sound when it hits the wall of the cup. [Hideki Akechi]I was curious, so I got the same drink as yours, and it tastes so much better than I expected... How should I put it? Compared to the boba tea I usually have, its aftertaste has a romantic aroma. Everyone enters the venue while we speak. A bell tolls three times in the theater to remind everyone the show is about to begin. I make a shush gesture to Hideki Akechi and sit upright there waiting for the curtain to rise. [Actress A]I'm coming! I'm coming! Stop torturing my poor doorbell. It's... Oh, excuse me, I thought my roommate had returned. Who are you looking for? [Actor B]Is this where Mr. Kane lives? I made an appointment with him yesterday. [Actress A]Oh, I think you've got the wrong place. Mr. Kane lives next door. The Labrador in his garden is extremely fierce, so be careful when you pass by. [Actor B]Yes, I did go to the wrong place, until you opened the door. The moment you opened that door, I realized that God must have led me here. Beautiful lady, I'm twenty-four years old, with healthy parents and a well-off family, and I'm planning to... [Actress A]Wait! Why are you telling me all this? [Actor B]Because I fell in love with you the moment you opened the door. The show we're watching is called "Apricot Blossom Rain," and it is one of the ten major opera shows. This show tells the tale of a girl from an ordinary family who meets a young nobleman and how they quickly fall in love despite the disparity in their status and the constraints of secular ethics. In this tale, the father of the young nobleman insists on making his son marry the daughter of a noble family with similar status, forcing the two protagonists to break up and causing irreparable regrets. On the stage, the actor playing the role of a young, rich, and bohemian nobleman puts on a very likable performance, winning bursts of good-natured laughter from the audience. When he gets down on one knee in the heavy snow created by a snow machine on the stage with a rose in his hand and sings to the audience, his love fills the performance hall, so powerful that it'll move even the most indifferent person. However... I can't shake the feeling that he's missing something... As I wonder about this, I subconsciously look next to myself. Hideki Akechi, who is sitting next to me, is smiling calmly like always. As he sits there quietly, revealing his gentle and considerate temperament. "Now this is what a real young nobleman should be like," I think to myself. [Hideki Akechi]? Noticing my eyes on him, Hideki Akechi asks me with his eyes if I need his help. I quickly shake my head to tell him that I'm fine and focus on the stage again. A heavy symphony is played as the stubborn and conservative father discovers his son's love affair. To him, this is a betrayal of the family, so he gives orders to lock his son up at home and force him to meet the daughter of another noble family to bring his "lost" son back on the "right" path in life. The lovers were forcibly separated, and the young nobleman pretended to follow his father's arrangement to protect his beloved. But those who are madly in love don't think very rationally. When he learned his father planned to announce his engagement at his birthday party, he made an important decision... [Actor B]Beautiful ladies, flowers, gold, and sweet smiles. Everything is so pleasing to the eye. I have an important announcement to make. Yes, right now, at my birthday party. [Actor C]Everyone, I apologize for my son's rudeness. I'll have someone take him back to his room... Listen, now is not the time for you to be so headstrong. If you have any conscience at all as the heir of the family, just shut up and go upstairs, and I'll pretend that never happened. [Actor B]No, father! I've made up my mind. [Actor C]Be quiet! [Actor B]I won't stop even if you beat my back with your cane. If you lock me in my room, I'll shout loudly every day. Even if you pull out my tongue, I'll still write down everything I want to say on paper. [Actor B]I-I'm in love with a young editor of the newspaper! She's a girl who loves life and longs for freedom and romance. Even the sun pales in comparison when she laughs. I'm head over heels for her, and love her with my entire heart. [Actor B]Be it the past, present, or future, she's the only one I'll love! Just like how she'll only love me. I must marry her and have her take on my surname. [Actor C]Shut up, you ungrateful child! Are you crazy?! [Actor B]Father, being in love with someone doesn't break any laws. I just want to give her my everything... [Actor C]Why do you think you have such a noble status? Everything you have is from your family! It seems that I've indulged you so much that you think I'm soft and kind. I'll show you the fate of someone who angers the head of the family! I hope you can still be so naive after I'm done with you... Someone come and take him away! It's time for him to learn some lessons! This young man who has always been well off never thought that one day his worst enemy would be his own father. He struggled and tried hard to convince him to change his mind, but he was still locked in a dark basement. His spirit, and even his body started dying slowly. Seeing a free and unrestrained person get tortured until he looks like he has nothing to live for touches my heart even though I know it's part of the script. The young nobleman, who had everything taken from him, takes a deep breath and opens his mouth in preparation to express his longing for his lover to the moonlight. I can already imagine how sad and beautiful his next poetic words will be. I and the entire audience are looking forward to them. [Actor B]My beloved, for you, I'm willing to sacrifice my life to—Eh?! However, after the actor started singing one line, the stage was plunged into endless darkness after a short cry... [player]...? The pitch-black darkness of the theater seems like it is about to drag people into the abyss. Recalling the interrupted singing, it seems that something has happened on the stage. [Hideki Akechi]PLAYER, are you okay? [player]I'm fine. Um, is this... part of the opera show? [Hideki Akechi]Unfortunately, no. Although it sounds unbelievable... there's a power outage here at the opera house. Ahem, I knew shouldn't have chosen to watch an opera. [player]Why do you say that? [Hideki Akechi]Well, I actually hesitated before coming here... The most famous operas in the world are basically all tragedies, and I can never shake the feeling that they are alluding to something unlucky. [player]Huh?! I always thought you were a staunch materialist. Do you actually care about something like this? [Hideki Akechi]I go back to my grandma's house in the countryside every summer vacation. She has her own beliefs but never forces me to accept them. She spends most of her time taking care of the Buddhist altars at home by herself. It wasn't much later that I found out she had affected me more than I thought. [player]Like not saying anything disrespectful in shrines or never saying divorce lightly? Hmm, I'm just giving examples. [Hideki Akechi]Well... you can think of it like that. I don't want to think this way either, but the fact is, we encountered a power outage while watching a tragic opera at the opera house. You should know that this has never happened here since this opera house was built. I finally got the chance to invite you to something, and this happens... There is a hint of frustration in Hideki Akechi's voice. It looks like he really does care a lot about this night out. I look at the performance hall, which is so dark that I can't even see my fingers, and don't know whether I should laugh or cry. At this moment, I don't know if I should praise his intuition or not. [Staff A]Dear audience, the opera house is currently experiencing a power outage. We expect the backup power to activate within 15 minutes. Please stay calm and stay in your seat. Thank you for your cooperation. Unable to use the broadcasting system because that requires power, the manager of the opera house can only shout through a simple loudspeaker to try to calm everyone down. The sudden power outage during the performance confuses and dissatisfies the audience. Fortunately, everyone is still quite calm for the time being, and nothing too chaotic has happened. In addition to the shouting manager, some staff members with flashlights have appeared in the aisles between the seats to maintain order at the scene. The flashlights return some light to the theater, and I sit completely relaxed in my chair. Using the weak light, I look at Hideki Akechi beside me. Almost as if he can sense my actions, he turns his head to me too and smiles at me. One minute... Two minutes... Three minutes... Time passes by, second by second, seeming to flow slower than usual because of the darkness. More than 15 minutes have passed, but there is no sign of light returning to the opera house. The staff members who are maintaining order keep walking back and forth with their flashlights. Unfortunately, for a performance hall that can accommodate more than a thousand people, the light of a few flashlights is like a drop in the bucket. The audience's patience has been exhausted by the backup power supply that hasn't been activated for some reason and the long wait. The audience, which has been quiet for all this time, starts to protest. The current situation is really unfriendly for people who are scared of the dark.