Philander [Chapter 7]
Author: Ani
Genre: AU, romance
Rating: PG
Pairing: Chiitaro
Word Count: 2552
Summary: In which Ryutaro is working as a host and Chinen's sister winds up with an unfair debt.
Disclaimer: I don't own JE
School usually dragged slowly for Chinen (he always thought he could be working instead of sitting at desk, listening to an adult drone on and on about derivatives), but it seemed to go especially at snails pace today. Yuuto had to poke him numerous times during lecture so he could stay awake and pay attention to the teachers.
"What's with you today?" Yuuto asked when the bell rang for lunch. "You look like you didn't get any sleep all night."
Chinen was still lost in thought and didn't even realize Yuuto had spoken to him until the taller boy pulled his cheeks. Even then, he had to ask Yuuto repeat himself. "Oh, I'm fine." Truth was, he did have a lot of trouble sleeping the night before. And the one before. And the one before that. Pretty much, ever since he started working at the host club a month ago.
Yes, he miraculously survived a month slaving away for a jerk.
Usually, he left the host club much later than midnight, since he didn't want to walk home alone. Unfortunately, Saya's hours were different from his and she couldn't leave until two. With nothing better to do, he would kill the two hours talking with Ryutaro, who he learned had a nocturnal schedule. In other words, the other boy, who was apparently younger than him by two years, was most awake during the wee hours of the morning.
The fact that Ryutaro was actually younger than Chinen only served to make his situation worse. But Chinen did feel a stab of pity for him when he heard Ryutaro had dropped out of school since he couldn't afford the tuition after he lost his family to an accident. He could only understand the pain of having no family too well, though in a sense he was luckier. At least Chinen still had his sister.
Keito would wander in at around one-ish every now and then, but refused to say where he had been. Ryutaro kept teasing him about meeting a girlfriend. Apparently, it was fine as long as the relationship was kept under wraps and it didn't interfere with their work. Or there was money involved. Either way, Keito kept smiling and shaking his head whenever Ryutaro brought the topic up.
Then he remembered, or maybe he had fantasized the whole thing, but last night, Ryutaro had held him back for a few seconds after Saya went to pick him up. He been out of it since the hour was so late and just wanted to crawl under his futon at home to sleep, so he asked, in a really grouchy voice, what the hell Ryutaro wanted.
Without another word, the younger boy leaned in to peck his lips, murmur a quick, "Night, see you later," before shoving the now-in-shock-Chinen out his door. And thanks to that, he had been unable to sleep a wink, what with complicated thoughts and a racing heart.
Sure, it wasn't the first time Ryutaro had kissed him, but the other boy hadn't done so since the night Chinen agreed to work for him. That had been nearly a month ago. Which made him keep circling back as to why Ryutaro kissed him in the first place.
It wasn't the only thing Chinen was questioning, because rather than kiss him, Ryutaro would randomly hug him from behind or start holding his hand for no apparent reason. Once, Yabu sent him to the kitchen to make food and he accidentally cut himself with a knife.
He was just washing the wound clean over the sink when Ryutaro came in and got a Band-Aid for him. That was all fine and normal until the other boy pulled Chinen onto his lap before sticking the bandage on his finger. And Chinen, damn his body, just kept freezing whenever Ryutaro got that intimately close to him.
Nervously, he looked over at his best, debating whether to confide in him. "Yuuto?" Chinen started uncertainly.
"Yeah, what is it Chii?" Yuuto glanced up curiously when he didn't continue.
"Um...I...uhh...how have you been?" Okay, he balked, he couldn't get the words out.
"Oh I've been great!" Yuuto's mood suddenly shot up tenfold. Evidently, he'd been wanting to talk about himself for a while. With a start, Chinen realized he hadn't really talked to Yuuto much since...yeah. "Remember that day, I ran into my old friend where you were working?"
"Uh..." For a second, Chinen was lost. He thought Yuuto was talking about him working at the host club, then remembered Yuuto didn't know where the host club was. "Oh, yeah. Yamada-kun or something right?" He picked up his water bottle to take a sip.
Yuuto nodded happily. "Guess what, he has a boyfriend working in a host club!"
Chinen choked on the water he'd been gulping down. This couldn't be happening. A coincidence like this should not be possible.
"Yeah, I was pretty shocked when I first heard." Evidently, Yuuto misunderstood his choking. "But then I thought it was perfect! Since you and Saya-san got in trouble at a host club, I could use Yama-chan's boyfriend to find out secret, inside information to help you guys!"
"You don't really have to do that..." Chinen was already getting more than enough "inside" information than he needed.
"I'm meeting up with Yama-chan after school. He's going to take me to the club his boyfriend works at, since I told him I was interested. Want to come along, Chii?" Yuuto offered eagerly, looking like a kid about to embark on an adventure. "It'll be fun!"
"S-sorry, I'm a bit busy." Chinen thought it was ironic that he would be going to a host club as well, but most definitely not having fun. "I need to work off my debt."
Yuuto's shoulders slumped with disappointment. "Are you sure?" Chinen nodded. "Alright then, it would have been fun if Chii came too though. Some of the hosts there are really nice!" Chinen thought Yuuto was looking too excited for the wrong adventure and made a noncommittal noise. He sighed gratefully when the bell rang. Any reminder of the host club now only drudged up unpleasant memories.
After school, Chinen waved good-bye to Yuuto and rushed off (he couldn't believe it himself) towards the red light district. The last thing he wanted was for his best friend to follow and find out where he was working. There was only about two hours left before the host club opened for business and Yabu still had to brief him on what he would be doing that night.
During the past month, Chinen's jobs had included scrubbing down the toilets (that was gross) to doing the dishes (that had been tiring, but better than cleaning out human waste) to making champagne (though he insisted he was underage) to cleaning up every other host's room (once Yabu ran out of things for him to do, kudos to Ryutaro for suggesting it). Tonight's job, though...
"You want me to what?"
"You heard me. Go be an assistant host for the night, we're running low on hands." Yabu rubbed his temple as though easing a migraine.
"B-but I don't have any experience. I wouldn't know what to do or say!" Chinen protested, his face heating up just thinking about some of the things he's seen the hosts do.
"You're not going to be a host, just an assistant." Yabu clarified with a sigh. "Don't worry about saying anything, you just need to carry stuff and do what the hosts ask you to do. Really, you have minimal contact with the clients." Seeing Chinen still looked unconvinced, he continued, "Tell you what, go help Ryu-tan, you know him best."
Chinen was getting a bad feeling in his gut, (it didn't help that his stomach flipped over at the mention of Ryutaro) but before he could argue further, the manager was dragging him out to the club. Though it had barely opened (his two hours of freedom had disappeared too fast), the interior was already a hive of activity, with hosts leading their clients to tables and champagne bottles being popped.
Vaguely, Chinen noted that he hadn't been out here since the night he crossdressed and snuck into the club. More like, he had been avoiding the the main part of the club. So he had forgotten how h- well-suited Ryutaro looked in formal attire. Even from afar, his palms were getting sweaty, which he thought was stupid, but couldn't help it. Worse, his mind was blanking as Yabu forced led him to the table where Ryutaro sat.
Ryutaro was staring straight at him, but Chinen, with his heart skipping consecutive beats now that he was closer, looked down at his nails as Yabu explained why he was there in the first place.
"But, I don't need help, Yabu-kun," Ryutaro was protesting. Evidently, he didn't want Chinen to be there either. Unknowingly, the older boy's mouth pulled down to a sad pout.
"I know, you can handle your clients pretty well on your own, but Chinen-kun's never done this sort of thing before, so you're just going to show him the ropes around, so to speak," Yabu explained wearily. "He's really nervous about this," he added as though it could help his case.
Ryutaro gave Chine a quick glance and frowned. "Don't you have something else for him to do then?"
"Of course, I have a dozen other tasks I can put him to, but right now, this is the most urgent thing I need help on. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have a choice, and I don't want to stick Chinen with a host he doesn't know."
"He knows Keito-"
"Who already kindly declined and pointed me in your direction, saying he had a special appointment to keep and also mentioned that you two spent more time together." Those words made Chinen's face warm to a temper higher than normal.
It wasn't like he wanted to spend all that time with Ryutaro; the younger boy always appeared wherever he was just to bother him! Luckily, Ryutaro was too busy muttering something, probably a curse, under his breath to notice.
"Was that a yes? Great, thank you so much, Ryu-tan, you're so accommodating!" With that, Yabu shoved Chinen forward and went off.
Which left the two of them in a very awkward silence. Awkward in Chinen's mind set at least. He couldn't even look at Ryutaro, because if he did, he might start hyperventilating. Badly. And that would be embarrassing.
"Just stay out of sight as much as possible," Ryutaro muttered without looking at him, the words unexpectedly stinging. "And get refills from the kitchen whenever the tea's running low."
"Anything else?" Chinen already felt that would be a long night. Plus, Ryutaro usually didn't act this aloof around him. What happened to the annoying brat from before?
"Go change into something more appropriate." Turning around, Ryutaro called for someone. "Oi, Daiki! Dai-chan!" A short host came over curiously. "Do you have an extra outfit?"
Daiki cast a criticizing eye over Ryutaro. "Yeah, but you don't fit my size anymore."
"It's not for me, it's for him." Ryutaro jabbed a finger at Chinen, who was getting irked at being treated as wallpaper. "Can you help?"
Daiki looked from Chinen, who had a sulky expression and staring at the floor, to Ryutaro, who was acting grumpier than usual, and decided to ask questions later. "Sure, Chinen-kun is it? Come with me, I'll have him ready in a jiffy."
"Thanks." Ryutaro called after them as Daiki took Chinen up to his room.
"So what happened to you and Ryutaro?" Daiki asked casually as he looked through his closet for something Chinen-appropriate.
"Nothing." Word had spread like wild fire about Chinen throughout the club, so he usually tried to avoid the other hosts and their probing questions. Dealing with one of them already taxed too much of his energy.
"Hmm." Daiki sounded disbelieving as he held up a formal suit and checked its length on Chinen.
"Did you two have a lover's row?" Chinen whipped his head around at the new voice, heart pounding.
"Inoo! I told you knock before entering!" Daiki exclaimed exasperated.
"Who knocks? That just interrupts all the fun stuff." A tall, pretty host came into the room. "You're Chinen-kun, right? Ryutaro's new pet or something?" The small boy flushed furiously.
"Don't be rude, Inoo." Daiki reprimanded him. "It's not nice to call someone a 'pet'." Chinen was about to say thanks, but the shorty's next words stopped him. "He sounded more like a personal servant, from Ryutaro's explanation. His words, not mine," Daiki added hastily, catching the look on Chinen's face.
I'll kill Ryutaro in his sleep. Chinen vowed, his brain working to come up with a fool proof plan.
"How much do you owe him, anyways?" Inoo asked him. "Don't look at me like that, Arioka Daiki. You wanted to know, too."
"At least I'm mannered enough not to ask."
"Um... about $500. Over $2500, if you count in my sister's." Yes, it increased mysteriously. Ryutaro gleefully kept him well informed on the updated fees. Something about extra kisses and hugs. It did not help improve his mood.
"What did you do to owe that much?" Inoo asked, ignoring Daiki's whacks and kicks to shut him up. "Ow, ow ow!"
"I didn't do anything! It was all him-" Chinen broke himself off, blushing because images of what Ryutaro did were flashing through his mind like those old projector screens.
"What did Ryutaro do then?" Even Daiki looked interested now. "You two didn't sleep together, did you?"
"And you say I'm too blunt," Inoo muttered beneath his breath as Chinen turned tomato red.
"N-no! I don't even like him!" Chinen could feel his blood pounding in his head, the words nearly catching in his throat. "N-not that way at least," he added a bit more quietly.
"But you admit you like Ryutaro?"
Daiki saved him from answering by shoving an outfit at him and ordering him to change. Gratefully, Chinen took the chance to excuse himself, much Inoo's disappointment. He needed a bit of time alone to sort his thoughts, and the two interrogating hosts' weren't helping.
Of course, Chinen shouldn't have any reason to like Ryutaro. The younger boy was the one who, after all, got him into his current predicament. Yes, Chinen was pissed at him. Yes, Chinen got annoyed at him easily. Yes, Chinen thinks he's an unfair jerk. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to hate the other boy.
After all, the kisses he gave were sweet (no they're not), his hugs was warm (that was only once), he did look pretty hot in a formal suit and tie (he did not, oh no, he did not) and...and...his kisses tasted like mint green tea (okay, fine, so his kisses were nice).
And the way his heart would start to beat fast every time Ryutaro held his hand told Chinen it wasn't hate he was feeling. But he was pretty certain it wasn't love either; his emotions were too muddled and mixed up for him to tell exactly what it was that he felt.
On reflection, maybe, just maybe, and it's only a little bit too, but Chinen thought maybe he was crushing on Ryutaro.
A/N: So Chinen finally realizes his feelings (sorta), thanks to some nosy hosts. I personally have Inoo on my #1 favorite character of this series; reason shall be revealed later.
Genre: AU, romance
Rating: PG
Pairing: Chiitaro
Word Count: 2552
Summary: In which Ryutaro is working as a host and Chinen's sister winds up with an unfair debt.
Disclaimer: I don't own JE
School usually dragged slowly for Chinen (he always thought he could be working instead of sitting at desk, listening to an adult drone on and on about derivatives), but it seemed to go especially at snails pace today. Yuuto had to poke him numerous times during lecture so he could stay awake and pay attention to the teachers.
"What's with you today?" Yuuto asked when the bell rang for lunch. "You look like you didn't get any sleep all night."
Chinen was still lost in thought and didn't even realize Yuuto had spoken to him until the taller boy pulled his cheeks. Even then, he had to ask Yuuto repeat himself. "Oh, I'm fine." Truth was, he did have a lot of trouble sleeping the night before. And the one before. And the one before that. Pretty much, ever since he started working at the host club a month ago.
Yes, he miraculously survived a month slaving away for a jerk.
Usually, he left the host club much later than midnight, since he didn't want to walk home alone. Unfortunately, Saya's hours were different from his and she couldn't leave until two. With nothing better to do, he would kill the two hours talking with Ryutaro, who he learned had a nocturnal schedule. In other words, the other boy, who was apparently younger than him by two years, was most awake during the wee hours of the morning.
The fact that Ryutaro was actually younger than Chinen only served to make his situation worse. But Chinen did feel a stab of pity for him when he heard Ryutaro had dropped out of school since he couldn't afford the tuition after he lost his family to an accident. He could only understand the pain of having no family too well, though in a sense he was luckier. At least Chinen still had his sister.
Keito would wander in at around one-ish every now and then, but refused to say where he had been. Ryutaro kept teasing him about meeting a girlfriend. Apparently, it was fine as long as the relationship was kept under wraps and it didn't interfere with their work. Or there was money involved. Either way, Keito kept smiling and shaking his head whenever Ryutaro brought the topic up.
Then he remembered, or maybe he had fantasized the whole thing, but last night, Ryutaro had held him back for a few seconds after Saya went to pick him up. He been out of it since the hour was so late and just wanted to crawl under his futon at home to sleep, so he asked, in a really grouchy voice, what the hell Ryutaro wanted.
Without another word, the younger boy leaned in to peck his lips, murmur a quick, "Night, see you later," before shoving the now-in-shock-Chinen out his door. And thanks to that, he had been unable to sleep a wink, what with complicated thoughts and a racing heart.
Sure, it wasn't the first time Ryutaro had kissed him, but the other boy hadn't done so since the night Chinen agreed to work for him. That had been nearly a month ago. Which made him keep circling back as to why Ryutaro kissed him in the first place.
It wasn't the only thing Chinen was questioning, because rather than kiss him, Ryutaro would randomly hug him from behind or start holding his hand for no apparent reason. Once, Yabu sent him to the kitchen to make food and he accidentally cut himself with a knife.
He was just washing the wound clean over the sink when Ryutaro came in and got a Band-Aid for him. That was all fine and normal until the other boy pulled Chinen onto his lap before sticking the bandage on his finger. And Chinen, damn his body, just kept freezing whenever Ryutaro got that intimately close to him.
Nervously, he looked over at his best, debating whether to confide in him. "Yuuto?" Chinen started uncertainly.
"Yeah, what is it Chii?" Yuuto glanced up curiously when he didn't continue.
"Um...I...uhh...how have you been?" Okay, he balked, he couldn't get the words out.
"Oh I've been great!" Yuuto's mood suddenly shot up tenfold. Evidently, he'd been wanting to talk about himself for a while. With a start, Chinen realized he hadn't really talked to Yuuto much since...yeah. "Remember that day, I ran into my old friend where you were working?"
"Uh..." For a second, Chinen was lost. He thought Yuuto was talking about him working at the host club, then remembered Yuuto didn't know where the host club was. "Oh, yeah. Yamada-kun or something right?" He picked up his water bottle to take a sip.
Yuuto nodded happily. "Guess what, he has a boyfriend working in a host club!"
Chinen choked on the water he'd been gulping down. This couldn't be happening. A coincidence like this should not be possible.
"Yeah, I was pretty shocked when I first heard." Evidently, Yuuto misunderstood his choking. "But then I thought it was perfect! Since you and Saya-san got in trouble at a host club, I could use Yama-chan's boyfriend to find out secret, inside information to help you guys!"
"You don't really have to do that..." Chinen was already getting more than enough "inside" information than he needed.
"I'm meeting up with Yama-chan after school. He's going to take me to the club his boyfriend works at, since I told him I was interested. Want to come along, Chii?" Yuuto offered eagerly, looking like a kid about to embark on an adventure. "It'll be fun!"
"S-sorry, I'm a bit busy." Chinen thought it was ironic that he would be going to a host club as well, but most definitely not having fun. "I need to work off my debt."
Yuuto's shoulders slumped with disappointment. "Are you sure?" Chinen nodded. "Alright then, it would have been fun if Chii came too though. Some of the hosts there are really nice!" Chinen thought Yuuto was looking too excited for the wrong adventure and made a noncommittal noise. He sighed gratefully when the bell rang. Any reminder of the host club now only drudged up unpleasant memories.
After school, Chinen waved good-bye to Yuuto and rushed off (he couldn't believe it himself) towards the red light district. The last thing he wanted was for his best friend to follow and find out where he was working. There was only about two hours left before the host club opened for business and Yabu still had to brief him on what he would be doing that night.
During the past month, Chinen's jobs had included scrubbing down the toilets (that was gross) to doing the dishes (that had been tiring, but better than cleaning out human waste) to making champagne (though he insisted he was underage) to cleaning up every other host's room (once Yabu ran out of things for him to do, kudos to Ryutaro for suggesting it). Tonight's job, though...
"You want me to what?"
"You heard me. Go be an assistant host for the night, we're running low on hands." Yabu rubbed his temple as though easing a migraine.
"B-but I don't have any experience. I wouldn't know what to do or say!" Chinen protested, his face heating up just thinking about some of the things he's seen the hosts do.
"You're not going to be a host, just an assistant." Yabu clarified with a sigh. "Don't worry about saying anything, you just need to carry stuff and do what the hosts ask you to do. Really, you have minimal contact with the clients." Seeing Chinen still looked unconvinced, he continued, "Tell you what, go help Ryu-tan, you know him best."
Chinen was getting a bad feeling in his gut, (it didn't help that his stomach flipped over at the mention of Ryutaro) but before he could argue further, the manager was dragging him out to the club. Though it had barely opened (his two hours of freedom had disappeared too fast), the interior was already a hive of activity, with hosts leading their clients to tables and champagne bottles being popped.
Vaguely, Chinen noted that he hadn't been out here since the night he crossdressed and snuck into the club. More like, he had been avoiding the the main part of the club. So he had forgotten how h- well-suited Ryutaro looked in formal attire. Even from afar, his palms were getting sweaty, which he thought was stupid, but couldn't help it. Worse, his mind was blanking as Yabu forced led him to the table where Ryutaro sat.
Ryutaro was staring straight at him, but Chinen, with his heart skipping consecutive beats now that he was closer, looked down at his nails as Yabu explained why he was there in the first place.
"But, I don't need help, Yabu-kun," Ryutaro was protesting. Evidently, he didn't want Chinen to be there either. Unknowingly, the older boy's mouth pulled down to a sad pout.
"I know, you can handle your clients pretty well on your own, but Chinen-kun's never done this sort of thing before, so you're just going to show him the ropes around, so to speak," Yabu explained wearily. "He's really nervous about this," he added as though it could help his case.
Ryutaro gave Chine a quick glance and frowned. "Don't you have something else for him to do then?"
"Of course, I have a dozen other tasks I can put him to, but right now, this is the most urgent thing I need help on. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have a choice, and I don't want to stick Chinen with a host he doesn't know."
"He knows Keito-"
"Who already kindly declined and pointed me in your direction, saying he had a special appointment to keep and also mentioned that you two spent more time together." Those words made Chinen's face warm to a temper higher than normal.
It wasn't like he wanted to spend all that time with Ryutaro; the younger boy always appeared wherever he was just to bother him! Luckily, Ryutaro was too busy muttering something, probably a curse, under his breath to notice.
"Was that a yes? Great, thank you so much, Ryu-tan, you're so accommodating!" With that, Yabu shoved Chinen forward and went off.
Which left the two of them in a very awkward silence. Awkward in Chinen's mind set at least. He couldn't even look at Ryutaro, because if he did, he might start hyperventilating. Badly. And that would be embarrassing.
"Just stay out of sight as much as possible," Ryutaro muttered without looking at him, the words unexpectedly stinging. "And get refills from the kitchen whenever the tea's running low."
"Anything else?" Chinen already felt that would be a long night. Plus, Ryutaro usually didn't act this aloof around him. What happened to the annoying brat from before?
"Go change into something more appropriate." Turning around, Ryutaro called for someone. "Oi, Daiki! Dai-chan!" A short host came over curiously. "Do you have an extra outfit?"
Daiki cast a criticizing eye over Ryutaro. "Yeah, but you don't fit my size anymore."
"It's not for me, it's for him." Ryutaro jabbed a finger at Chinen, who was getting irked at being treated as wallpaper. "Can you help?"
Daiki looked from Chinen, who had a sulky expression and staring at the floor, to Ryutaro, who was acting grumpier than usual, and decided to ask questions later. "Sure, Chinen-kun is it? Come with me, I'll have him ready in a jiffy."
"Thanks." Ryutaro called after them as Daiki took Chinen up to his room.
"So what happened to you and Ryutaro?" Daiki asked casually as he looked through his closet for something Chinen-appropriate.
"Nothing." Word had spread like wild fire about Chinen throughout the club, so he usually tried to avoid the other hosts and their probing questions. Dealing with one of them already taxed too much of his energy.
"Hmm." Daiki sounded disbelieving as he held up a formal suit and checked its length on Chinen.
"Did you two have a lover's row?" Chinen whipped his head around at the new voice, heart pounding.
"Inoo! I told you knock before entering!" Daiki exclaimed exasperated.
"Who knocks? That just interrupts all the fun stuff." A tall, pretty host came into the room. "You're Chinen-kun, right? Ryutaro's new pet or something?" The small boy flushed furiously.
"Don't be rude, Inoo." Daiki reprimanded him. "It's not nice to call someone a 'pet'." Chinen was about to say thanks, but the shorty's next words stopped him. "He sounded more like a personal servant, from Ryutaro's explanation. His words, not mine," Daiki added hastily, catching the look on Chinen's face.
I'll kill Ryutaro in his sleep. Chinen vowed, his brain working to come up with a fool proof plan.
"How much do you owe him, anyways?" Inoo asked him. "Don't look at me like that, Arioka Daiki. You wanted to know, too."
"At least I'm mannered enough not to ask."
"Um... about $500. Over $2500, if you count in my sister's." Yes, it increased mysteriously. Ryutaro gleefully kept him well informed on the updated fees. Something about extra kisses and hugs. It did not help improve his mood.
"What did you do to owe that much?" Inoo asked, ignoring Daiki's whacks and kicks to shut him up. "Ow, ow ow!"
"I didn't do anything! It was all him-" Chinen broke himself off, blushing because images of what Ryutaro did were flashing through his mind like those old projector screens.
"What did Ryutaro do then?" Even Daiki looked interested now. "You two didn't sleep together, did you?"
"And you say I'm too blunt," Inoo muttered beneath his breath as Chinen turned tomato red.
"N-no! I don't even like him!" Chinen could feel his blood pounding in his head, the words nearly catching in his throat. "N-not that way at least," he added a bit more quietly.
"But you admit you like Ryutaro?"
Daiki saved him from answering by shoving an outfit at him and ordering him to change. Gratefully, Chinen took the chance to excuse himself, much Inoo's disappointment. He needed a bit of time alone to sort his thoughts, and the two interrogating hosts' weren't helping.
Of course, Chinen shouldn't have any reason to like Ryutaro. The younger boy was the one who, after all, got him into his current predicament. Yes, Chinen was pissed at him. Yes, Chinen got annoyed at him easily. Yes, Chinen thinks he's an unfair jerk. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to hate the other boy.
After all, the kisses he gave were sweet (no they're not), his hugs was warm (that was only once), he did look pretty hot in a formal suit and tie (he did not, oh no, he did not) and...and...his kisses tasted like mint green tea (okay, fine, so his kisses were nice).
And the way his heart would start to beat fast every time Ryutaro held his hand told Chinen it wasn't hate he was feeling. But he was pretty certain it wasn't love either; his emotions were too muddled and mixed up for him to tell exactly what it was that he felt.
On reflection, maybe, just maybe, and it's only a little bit too, but Chinen thought maybe he was crushing on Ryutaro.
A/N: So Chinen finally realizes his feelings (sorta), thanks to some nosy hosts. I personally have Inoo on my #1 favorite character of this series; reason shall be revealed later.