-ds- -21 - A Hot Spring Trip - Mizuhara Misono... -

Her phone buzzes. She glances at it — then turns it facedown.

MIZUHARA MISONO (21, sharp-eyed but soft-spoken, wearing a yukata too loose at the collar) sits on the edge of the changing room deck. She hasn’t entered the water yet.

Misono back in her yukata, hair damp, sitting by the open window. A tray of cold soba and pickled plum sits untouched beside her. -DS- -21 - A Hot Spring Trip - Mizuhara Misono...

She picks up her phone again. Scrolls. Pauses over a message she hasn’t replied to in two days.

She sinks into the water up to her shoulders. Her expression doesn’t relax immediately — her brow stays tight, as if waiting for something to go wrong. Her phone buzzes

After a long pause, Misono closes her eyes.

That’s not a plan. That’s a promise to myself. She hasn’t entered the water yet

Her thumb hovers.

Soft trickle of bamboo shishi-odoshi — then clack.

A private outdoor bath, steam rising off black stone. Maple branches overhang the fence, lit faintly by a red lantern.