Emotions were running high in the hot spring until Mr Patsu broke the silence. “Since all the customers had arrived. Would you like to partake in a mini game? There will be rewards if you win the mini game.”
Mr Patsu’s words broke Bin Yong’s daze and he managed to return back to reality. “Erm, sure. Jia Le, would you like to join?”
Jia Le was a little frustrated but largely relieved. She herself could not bear the intense beating of her heart and it might have further worsened since Bin Yong appeared to have feelings for her, based on his reactions.
“Okay, I will join.” Jia Le nodded her head lightly as she pulled her towel further up her chest.
Mr Patsu clapped its flippers and two penguins swam towards them with a medium sized parcel each in their beaks. “Quickly wear the yukatas prepared in the parcels and come to the side of the mountain right at the front.”
The two acknowledged Mr Patsu and stood up together but soon realised that both were scantily clad with just a single green towel. They looked away from each other with faces flushed in pinkish red as they collected the parcels from the penguins.
Jia Le got out of the hot spring and opened the parcel to reveal a gorgeous sakura flower pattern on her yukata, a casual Japanese garment usually made of cotton fabric. She changed on the spot by wearing the yukata over her towel and tightening her sash after removing the towel. When Jia Le was tying her sash, she could not help but turned her head to peek over at Bin Yong. However, it was too much of a coincidence between them as Bin Yong turned at the same time to peek at her.
“Oh!” The two embarrassed adults returned to focus on their clothing but Jia Le could not seem to tie a proper knot on her sash. “Do you need some help?” Mr Patsu asked Jia Le whether she needed assistance and she hastily shook her head.
“Customer, please assist your partner. She seemed to be having difficulty tying her sash.” Mr Patsu ignored Jia Le and gestured Bin Yong to help her since he was already done with his. Bin Yong slowly walked towards Jia Le with his head looking sideways and downwards.
“Do you need help?” Bin Yong finally glanced upwards and saw Jia Le in the eye. That abrupt eye contact was all that needed to ignite their hearts again on fire but both were still in some awkward denial.
“Mmm. Please help me.” Jia Le closed her eyes while holding on to her yukata and her sash tightly. Bin Yong indecisively took over the sash and his hands trembled as he assisted Jia Le with her sash.
While he was doing that, he whiffed the same but now faint fragrance of strawberry he remembered smelling from the office. All he needed to do was to untie the sash and perhaps everything might fall into place.
For Jia Le, her senior and idol, whose artwork she always looked up to, was now right beside her. All she had to do was to grab him by his collar and she would be in his embrace. Even if it was just for a second, she believed it was worth it.
Not known to each other’s feelings, there was indeed a tightening tension…a fiery desire in them which they wished to release out in the open and as they were dying to relish the touch between themselves. Nothing was stopping them in this service instance for unleashing their bestial cravings from within except for the respect and inculcated courtesy for each other.
However, Bin Yong controlled real hard to hold his blazing urges and tied the obi and looked at Mr Patsu once he was done.
“Alright, please follow me.” Mr Patsu led them to the side of the mountain where there was a deep gradient slope where one could fall and never return. The base of the mountains was filled with forests but both Jia Le and Bin Yong noticed something was coming.
Meanwhile, two group of penguins were having trouble transporting parts of a rather heavy looking crossbow to them. The penguins eventually installed the large crossbow in between two rocks which seemed to be crafted and designed well for the placement of the crossbow despite its natural aesthetic.
The penguins then installed a large magnifying glass and a seat at the top of the crossbow which looked ridiculous and useless while another group of penguins were carrying buckets of soap bars towards Bin Yong and Jia Le.
At this moment, they heard a frightening bellow from the forest and something…emerged out of the forest. It looked like an enormous pile of foul mud moving slowly towards the top of the mountain as it left its remnants which rot the earth and plants that were in contact with it.
“That is Mr Muddles. He always like a bath every alternate week at the top of this hot spring and while we do welcome him grudgingly, we prefer him to be clean before enjoying our hot spring pool as a sign of respect to other customers using the pool too.” Mr Patsu shook its head as it offered an explanation to Bin Yong and Jia Le.
“Hence, your objective is to make him as clean as possible before he enters our pool. Shoot the soap bars at it and he would absorb it to cleanse himself.” Mr Patsu demonstrated how to load the crossbow and he shot the soap bar at Mr Muddles. Unfortunately, it missed badly.
“One of you need to get up and occupy the spotter’s seat and use the magnifying glass while the other fires the crossbow. Do not worry, since there are only the two of you, the penguins will continuously hand over the ammunition to you but you have to do the reloading yourself.” Mr Patsu clapped its flippers once more and the penguins jumped into action with much noise.
“Do you want to take the spotter seat?” Bin Yong asked Jia Le. This time round, with the attention redirected to something else, he was more confident of himself.
“Okay, but I don’t exactly know how the spotter works.” Jia Le looked at Mr Patsu hoping it will have some explanation.
“Ah Customer, it is simple. Get up and use the control screen. It will be intuitive from then on. Oh and there are special power ups once in a while. Do remember to use them!” Mr Patsu explained once more.
“Come, I will give you a hand to get onto the seat since the yukata might hinder your movements.” Bin Yong remembered she might not be wearing any undergarments and had genuine concerns for her one and only clothing to maintain her decency.
Jia Le accepted his help and Bin Yong held onto her waist to lift her up to the spotter’s seat. “Thank you, Bin Yong.” Jia Le voice now became a sweet melody to him.
Jia Le took a closer look at the magnifying glass and realised there were touch screen functions on the screen including the adjustments needed for Bin Yong to calibrate the crossbow.
“Bin Yong! Turn the knot beside the crossbow until you hear two clicks and you are ready to fire.” Jia Le gave instructions and Bin Yong did as instructed then he fired a fairly big piece of soap. From the side of the crossbow, he saw the soap bar flying into Mr Muddles.
It immediately produced some white steam from its body and bellowed even more. “We need more attacks in! It seems to be moving slightly faster!” Jia Le readjusted the magnifying glass to have a better view. “Yes fire now!” Jia Le gave the order and Bin Yong fired.
Within minutes and a few large soap bars disappeared into the Mr Muddles, a power up skill appeared in front of Jia Le. That came at a crucial time as they saw Mr Muddles had climbed half of the distance up the slope of the mountain. However, the rot seemed to lessen as Mr Muddle climbed higher but Bin Yong was getting tired from the reloading and firing which made him pant a little.
“Do you want me to take over?” Jia Le was a little concerned seeing how Bin Yong was getting exhausted. “No its fine, you are doing great giving me those instructions. They were clear for me.” Bin Yong gave a thumbs up to her and focused his enemy on his crosshair.
“Do not worry, I have obtained a power up, it might help!” Jia Le waved him a fist to encourage him to press on.
“Then, let’s do it, baby.” Bin Yong unknowingly said it out loud which Jia Le noticed his affection and her lips curled into a smile.
“Firing!” Bin Yong shouted as he sent another large piece of soap bar towards Mr Muddles. Right when he fired the soap bar, Jia Le pressed a button on the magnifying glass indicating “Enlargement.”
The soap bar that was flying immediately grew in size and became gigantic. Since Mr Muddles could not evade, it could only closed its eyes to meet its impending doom from the soap bar of death. The soap bar hit its target so hard and fast that Mr Muddles only swallowed it partially with the rest hanging out of its mouth.
In a short while, Mr Muddles swallowed the rest of the mammoth soap bar and with a bright light emanating from its body, it was reborn into a transparent jelly pudding slime. Mr Patsu and the rest of the penguins cheered by squawking incessantly as Mr Muddles happily climbed its way up to the mountain and jumped a little in joy. It then approached Bin Yong and Jia Le to thank them for cleansing by hugging the both of them simultaneously.
Unfortunately for the two, the hug by Mr Muddles brought them close together that they felt each other’s skin. Bin Yong could no longer resist and hugged Jia Le without any hesitation.
“I am really sorry, but I think I might have feelings for you.” Bin Yong shouted out loud with all the courage he had in his heart while trying to tone his confession down as he was afraid Jia Le was all along just being kind towards him.
“Don’t be sorry. You can start by bringing me out on a dinner date.” Jia Le returned the hug and both embraced each other tightly. Jia Le closed her eyes and smiled widely. She was glad her gamble paid off.
“Promise.” Bin Yong slowly let go of her as Mr Muddles released them and they subsequently enjoyed each other’s company in the hot spring instance together.
