Chapter Text
Heart Signal Rules:
1. No direct confessions during the stay
“Hello everyone and welcome to Heart Signal. Every night our residents will send an anonymous text message to the person they’re interested in and we panelists will attempt to figure out the senders! I’m your host Sanada Shunpei! Joining us is renowned psychologist, Kominato Ryouske and fellow celebrity panelists: Kamiya Carlos, Isashiki Jun, and Furuya Satoru!”
After each of the panelists waved and greeted the camera in their own way, the camera returns to Sanada.
“We’ll be commenting during the footage! So let’s tune in to the guest house together and see who our residents of this season are!”
Camera cuts to guest house
A large two story house is shown, it has a large front yard with well kept grass that is gated by a tall stone wall. The walkway is paved with stones and a black shiny sports car is shown pulling up to the driveway.
***
“Ohhh, impressive car,” Carlos commented, leaning forward on the panel table.
***
A figure is captured exiting the car.
The man was tall with broad shoulders, he was wearing a knee length navy coat that did little to disguise his well-built body. As he walked to the back of his car to open his trunk the coat was blown back by the wind, displaying muscular things that were encased in a fitted pair of black trousers. The man then opened his trunk and pulled out a suitcase, lifting it easily before setting it down next to him. He locked his car and then rolled his suitcase behind him as he made his way to the house.
Camera cuts to a close up shot of his face as he enters the house.
His hair was shaggy and pushed back from his forehead. He had a pair of thick well-groomed brows and honey-amber eyes framed by dark curling lashes that were partially concealed by a pair of black frames. As the figure took in the house he had just entered he smirked, revealing a dimple in his left cheek and perfectly straight white teeth.
***
“Wow the first resident looks like a lead character in one of my books!” Jun shouted excitedly.
***
The man looked around briefly and found eight pairs of house slippers of four different colors. He chose the larger of two yellow slippers and walked further into the house. He rolled his suitcase next to the staircase before taking off his coat and laying it down on the long white sofa in the living room. Instead of taking a seat right away he rolled up the sleeves of his white button down and started to walk around the house and explore. He first walked into the kitchen, taking in the large area and the organized tools. He opened the drawers and the fridge taking note of what was there and what wasn't.
***
“Oh he seems like a planner. Do you see how he notes where everything is? He also chose to explore first before sitting and relaxing on the couch,” Ryousuke noted, writing down his observations in his notebook.
***
After the man finished exploring the kitchen he continued to explore the first floor. He looked at the modern indoor gym and the dining room before returning to the large living room and seating himself in the middle of the large couch. As he sat on the couch he leaned back, spreading his arms on the couch back and crossing his legs comfortably. He appeared extremely relaxed.
The camera cuts away to showcase a figure on a motorcycle pulling up the driveway.
After the motorcycle parked and cut the engine the figure took off his helmet, revealing bright green hair.
***
“That’s certainly a unique hair color. I wonder what he does for a job, he seems very interesting,” Sanada commented, eyes locked on the screen displaying the footage.
***
The green haired man had a large backpack over his leather jacket. He was dressed in head to toe black, from his black v-neck to the combat boots on his feet. As he got off his bike he pulled out a bag from his motorcycle's saddlebags and hefted it over his shoulder as he made his way to the house.
Entering the house he roughly pulled off his shoes, leaving the laces undone. He noted the pairs of slippers and pulled on the larger green pair before he continued on into the house. The man took in the rolling suitcase next to the stairs and set down his bag and backpack next to it before he made his way to the living room. Upon noticing the other person in the living room he automatically straightened his posture slightly. Giving a slight bow he extended his hand to the other male and introduced himself, “Nice to meet you, my name is Kuramochi Youichi.”
“Ah, likewise. My name is Miyuki Kazuya,” the man with the glasses replied.
After introductions were made Kuramochi took a seat on the far right side of the couch. As the two sat there they lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Kuramochi noticed a laminated sheet of paper on the table and pulled it towards himself to read.
~~~
Welcome to Signal House!
On your first night you may introduce your names but you may not introduce your age or jobs just yet! Get to know your fellow residents’ personalities!
House rules during your stay:
1. No Direct Confessions during the stay
2. At the end of the night, every night, send an anonymous text to one other resident that you're interested in
~~~
Letting out an amused chuckle Kuramochi turned to the silent man beside him, “Have you read this yet?”
“Yeah,” Kazuya replied, “I’m excited to see the rest of the residents.”
“Definitely me too,” Kuramochi replied. After his response the two lapsed back into slightly less uncomfortable silence.
The camera cuts away and a stretch luxury car is shown pulling up.
The driver came out in a suit and hurried to the back of the car where he opened the door for its passenger. A slight figure with pale blonde hair emerged. He was wearing a light blue button down and a pair of fitted white trousers. He nodded his thanks to the driver who had carried his luggage out of the trunk while the figure had taken his time coming out of the car.
As the figure turned to look at the house he pushed up his sunglasses on top of his head, revealing a pair of piercing blue eyes. He then waved goodbye to his driver before he dragged his luggage behind him towards the house.
After he entered the house he removed his shoes and took a second to evaluate the choices of house slippers in front of him. Shrugging to himself, the figure chose the smaller pair of blue slippers. He slipped the house shoes on and then walked confidently into the house. He left his suitcase near the front door, not bothering to move it further into the house by himself. As he entered the living room his eyes widened dramatically when he saw who was sitting there.
“What are you doing here?” He asked, eyes locked on Kazuya’s face.
***
“Oh, it looks like two of our residents know each other,” Ryousuke said, eyes narrowed as he took in the interaction.
***
“I signed up to participate,” Kazuya said, one eyebrow arching up as he smirked at the flabbergasted reaction of the new resident.
A cough drew the blonde male’s attention. “Ah, my name is Narumiya Mei,” the blond said, bowing shallowly in greeting at Kuramochi.
Kuramochi nodded in greeting. “I’m Kuramochi Youichi, since you just arrived you can read this,” he said, passing the laminated house rules over to Narumiya.
Narumiya nodded in thanks before he took a seat on the far left hand side of the couch and began to read the rules.
As Narumiya read the house rules the house once again lapsed into silence.
***
“Judging from the way they’re sitting, Narumiya and Miyuki aren’t very close. What do you think so far, Furuya?” Sanada asked, turning to the quiet panelist next to him.
Furuya scrutinized the figures on the flat screen in front of him and said, “Typically when new animals are introduced to each other they avoid staying in the same spot as they want to claim their own territory. The residents so far have displayed similar tendencies.”
The camera briefly cuts to Carlos’s amused face before it returns to the footage of the house residents.
***
A taxi cab was currently driving up to the house. A small figure with pale pink hair emerged from the cab. The figure retrieved their suitcase from the cab driver before thanking them with a bow and continuing to the house, dragging their suitcase behind them.
The figure had a navy oversized blazer over an oversized white shirt that was tucked into a pair of loose fitting navy pants. Although the clothes disguised his figure it did nothing but emphasize his delicate features. The man’s pale pink hair was on the longer side and the hair on his sides were slicked back, leaving the rest of his hair and his long bangs free. The figure entered the house and quickly selected the smaller pair of green slippers before dragging his suitcase in further and depositing it by the other bags. He spared a glance at Narumiya’s suitcase that was still in the hall and nudged it a little closer to the rest of the bags.
Instead of heading straight into the living room like the other residents he decided to first explore the first floor of the house. The man walked briskly through the kitchen, assessing the space with a sharp eye before he turned and moved to the next room.
***
“Ah Ryousuke-san, this resident is also exploring first. Would you say he’s a planner like Miyuki?” Jun asked.
Ryousuke smiled a mysterious smile before he said, “Yes, I do believe that this person is someone who likes to be aware of everything and is a planner.”
***
Finally the man with the pink hair finished his tour and entered the living room. He bowed briefly before announcing himself in a quiet voice, “My name is Kominato Haruichi. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The three residents already in the living room introduced themselves in turn and after their introductions Narumiya handed Haruichi the house rules.
Haruichi thanked him before retreating to a separated lone seat on the right side of the room. He settled himself in the chair and began to read the rules. Once again the house decided into silence, the residents all making themselves occupied.
***
“These residents are more awkward than the previous seasons! No one is talking to each other!” Jun exclaimed with wide eyes.
“Well hopefully we have a resident who can get everyone talking,” Sanada said, smiling charmingly at Jun.
A quiet laugh was heard and the panelists looked in surprise at Furuya. Furuya waved them off with a hand and shook his head, his usually sleepy eyes now more awake and amused.
***
The camera cuts back to the house, showing footage of another person getting out of a taxi cab.
A loud thank you was heard and a figure was seen bowing at a perfect 90 degree angle to the cab driver holding out his luggage. The figure took the luggage from the driver and straightened up his shiny fluffy brown hair flopping messily and curling charmingly around his ears. He was wearing a knee length black coat over a pair of form fitting black trousers and a soft looking yellow sweater that had a wide collar which revealed delicate looking collarbones and set off his tan skin. His form fitting trousers showed off his long lean legs and he hefted his suitcase with an ease that suggested he was quite strong.
As he walks down the pathway the camera zooms into his face.
The contestant was smiling excitedly and brightly, his plump pale pink lips were spread in a wide grin which showcased two twin dimples and blinding white perfect teeth. Above his smile was a cute button nose and two golden brown eyes that were framed by long dark lashes which curled dramatically. Pushing the door open the contestant eagerly took off his shoes and slipped on the smaller pair of yellow slippers without a second of hesitation. The slippers were slightly too small but he didn't seem to mind. As he continued into the house he noticed the lone luggage that was not fully by the staircase, he considered the suitcase for a moment before he grabbed it with his free hand and navigated both his and the other suitcase to the stairs. After, he eagerly made his way to the living room but upon entering the living room he promptly tripped, his feet catching on the slightly too small house slippers.
Three of the contestants jumped up immediately to help him and a loud laugh sounded out. The man in yellow’s face reddened as he glanced up at his fellow housemates from below lowered lashes. He laughed awkwardly and pushed his bangs out of his face before grinning at them. “Hi, I’m Sawamura Eijun! Feel free to call me Eijun,” he said in a slightly bashful tone. He then pouted playfully at Kazuya who had laughed at him, “It’s not nice to laugh at people you just met you know! You should really be nicer, you Tanuki!”
Haruichi and Kuramochi helped him up from the floor while Miyuki watched them from his standing position near the couch. Narumiya continued to sit on the couch and viewed the whole spectacle with a slightly amused expression.
***
“Huh, did you see how three of them immediately jumped to their feet when he fell?” Sanada asked the other panelists with an intrigued tone.
“It’s interesting that Miyuki chose to remain standing instead of walking forward to help him up,” Jun noted, eyes glued to the flat screen.
***
The camera cuts back to the guest house.
Eijun dusted off the back of his pants thanking Kuramochi and Haruichi for their help with a bright smile. He shrugged off his coat and held it in one hand as he looked at the rest of the residents. “So! What are everyone’s names?” He asked excitedly, making his way to the couch. Eijun plopped himself in the middle of the couch near Kazuya, placing his jacket over his lap and leaning back into the couch with an at ease demeanor.
***
“I want you all to note where Eijun has sat down before we go back to watching the footage,” Ryousuke said, writing another note in his book.
***
The camera cuts back to the guest house and focuses on Kazuya’s eyes. Kazuya’s eyes are seen trained on something to his left, as the camera zooms out it's made clear that he’s looking at Eijun.
Kazuya’s eyes moved away from Eijun but almost immediately returned to his face while the other man looked around the room. Narumiya, Kuramochi, and Haruichi introduced themselves first. After Haruichi introduced himself he passed the laminated house rules over so that Eijun could look at them.
Once the others had introduced themselves Kazuya introduced himself, “My name is Miyuki Kazuya. It’s a pleasure,” he said with a low voice, sticking his hand out for Eijun to shake.
Eijun took his hand with a slight blush in his cheeks. “Nice to meet you!” He squeaked out. He then coughed a little and turned slightly in his seat, obviously looking around the living room for something. On his side Kazuya poured out water into glasses, he pushed one in front of Eijun without saying a word and then picked up his own glass and took a sip.
Eijun blushed a little more before thanking him and taking a big gulp of water. He then placed the glass carefully back on the coffee table and turned excitedly to the others in the room.
“Well since we can’t talk about our jobs or ages let’s talk about other things!” Eijun said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Unable to resist the puppy-like excitement of the newest resident, the rest of the house guests found themselves giving into his request and soon the house was full of the sounds of chatter and occasional laughter.
The sound of a car door closing was heard during a break in the chatter and the group of house guests grew silent in expectation, posture straightening slightly as they turned to look at the door.
Camera cuts to the outside
A figure with black hair was seen approaching the door with a backpack and small rolling suitcase. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and white v-neck under a denim jacket.
The camera zooms in on his face as he approaches the house.
He had a worried expression and his shapely brows were slightly furrowed in concentration. He had alabaster smooth skin and a well defined cupid's bow. His frame appeared slight at first glance but another glance showed how muscular his legs were in his tight jeans.
After the man opened the door he slipped on the larger pair of blue slippers before he ventured into the house. Like the guests before him he placed his bags near the staircase and then walked into the living room with slow, hesitant steps.
“Hi there!” Eijun chirped, waving a hand excitedly at the newcomer. “I’m Sawamura Eijun,” he continued. The newcomer’s shoulders visibly relaxed at the sound of Eijun’s friendly welcome. He perched himself on the other separate chair on the left hand side of the room while the rest of the others introduced themselves. After their introductions were over the man straightened in his seat and gave a short bow. “My name is Tadano Itsuki, please take care of me!”
A snort is heard from the right side and the camera pans to follow the sound. Narumiya had one hand covering his mouth delicately and a slight smile on his face. “Sorry sorry,” he said waving the others’ inquiring gazes away.
Eijun smoothed over the awkward moment by pulling the others into a discussion concerning baseball. It turned out that all of the house guests so far had a mutual interest in the game.
***
“The house has certainly livened up since Eijun arrived,” Carlos noted.
“Definitely! He sure knows how to draw people in,” Jun said, attention still focused on the screen in front of him.
“I believe we’re only waiting on two more guests before that’s the full house,” Sanada said, glancing down at his notes briefly before returning his attention to the footage in front of him.
***
The camera cuts to a sleek looking four door car pulling up to the driveway.
A tall broad figure emerged from the driver’s seat, he briskly walked to his trunk and pulled out a large suitcase and leather shoulder bag easily. The figure was wearing fitted charcoal trousers with a black button down and a matching charcoal blazer. As he walked to the house with his luggage the camera zoomed in to film his face and expressions. The man appeared to be of mixed race, with a strongly defined nose and jaw, wise looking olive green eyes below a pair of thick eyebrows. His hair was gelled back with two pieces falling and curling forward onto his forehead. As he opened the door and heard the chatter and laughter from inside he raised one eyebrow in intrigue. The man took off his shoes and put them away neatly before he pulled on the larger pair of black slippers. He walked into the house and placed his bags near the others and continued into the house. He first walked into the living room, stopping in the entryway and giving a short polite bow before he introduced himself.
“Hello everyone, my name is Takigawa Chris Yuu.”
His olive eyes studied each person sitting in the living room as they introduced themselves. After they introduced themselves he smiled politely and said, “I’m going to take a quick look around the house first.”
***
“Ah, he’s a different type of planner. If you noticed he greeted everyone first, with regards to politeness. But then shortly after he went to tour the house and get the layout,” Ryousuke said, gesturing to the screen with his pen.
***
“Ah! I haven’t looked yet either, I’ll join you,” Eijun said, bouncing up from the couch with a smile.
Chris nodded with a smile but before they could leave Kuramochi said, “I haven’t looked either! I’ll join you.”
Narumiya glanced up from his phone and said, “I’ll go too, we can make this a group tour. Itsuki you haven’t looked yet either right?”
Itsuki looked at Narumiya with startled eyes and nodded rapidly, before he got up from the couch and joined the group.
Kazuya looked over at the group with a raised eyebrow, “Haruichi I noticed you already toured the house but should we join the rest of the group?”
Haruichi nodded his agreement and the two left their seats to follow after the group.
At the front of the group Eijun was walking with a slight bounce in his step, obviously excited by the luxurious house. He ran his hands over everything, opening cabinets and the fridge all with an innocent eagerness. The group also explored the uncharted second floor. Taking in the three rooms, two were large bedrooms with four beds in each, the last room seemed to be a small cozy room where you could work or lounge on beanbag chairs and watch television. After their tour finished they returned to the living room just in time to hear the sound of the front door opening.
As the door opens the camera cuts to capture the figure entering the house.
It was a tall man, with a closely shaven head. He had strong eyebrows and a pair of quiet but serious looking eyes, he was full of lean muscle and moved with a quiet aura. The man was wearing a long tan coat with a pair of navy fitted pants with a black turtleneck tucked in. He slipped on the last pair of slippers, the small black pair, and continued into the house placing his luggage by the others and quietly walking to the living room. After he entered he looked over the occupants of the room before his gaze caught on Chris and widened dramatically. “Chris?”
“Koichiro, I didn’t realize you had joined! After everyone introduces themselves I’ll take you on a tour,” Chris said, with a warm smile.
A faint blush passed over Tanba’s face quickly. He nodded his agreement before he turned to the rest of the room, “I’m Tanba Koichiro, it’s a pleasure to meet you all.”
The rest of the room introduced themselves and after they finished Chris got up from the couch and walked over to Tanba, patting his shoulder with a friendly hand and then gesturing to the hallway.
~~~
Camera cuts back to the panelists.
“Now that we’ve met all the residents. What do you think of this season?” Sanada asked, turning to face the table in front of him and looking at his fellow panelists.
“Once again, our producers have managed to find 8 good looking single people. I have no clue how they do it,” Jun said with his head thrown back in a laugh.
“I for one am extremely excited for this season, especially since there’s a different twist this year!” Carlos said, leaning back in his chair. Carlos was wearing a white button down with the first three buttons undone, his hair was artfully disheveled. He looked every inch the top model he was.
“Thanks for bringing that up Carlos!” Sanada said with a bright TV ready smile. He turned to face the camera and continued, “This season is special as each of the featured panelists has a connection to one of the contestants! We won’t know all the contestants but hopefully the added insight to the contestants we do know will make it easier for us to guess the love connections,” Sanada said, winking at the camera.
“Now before we cut back into the guest house to see how our residents are doing, let’s go around and talk a little about the contestant we know and our connection to them! Carlos since you brought it up, let’s start with you,” Sanada said with all the practiced ease of a veteran celebrity.
“I know Narumiya Mei, the bratty looking blonde. We first met in high school and when I heard that he was joining this show I immediately agreed to participate. Katsuyuki would never let me live it down if I turned down an opportunity to tease Mei publicly and get paid for it,” Carlos said, smirking playfully and sticking a pen behind his ear.
Jun, the panelist next to him let out a loud laugh and smacked the table with his hand. “I agreed to the show before I even knew my friends Chris and Tanba were going to participate! The whole premise is amazing, the love that will bloom in secret, the drama! It’s a Shoujo manga!” Jun said, waving his arms and getting carried away.
Sanada let out a chuckle. “I think you’re the only panelist who knows more than one contestant! Can you tell us a little about your friends or how you know them Jun-san?” He said, trying his best to get the acclaimed shoujo author back on track.
“Oh right! I actually went to high school with both Tanba and Chris! Whew the drama I remember from back then, well I guess one sided drama. Haha! I’m very excited to see how things play out with them,” Jun said, hands braced on the table as he leaned forward excitedly. He turned to the person on his other side who appeared to be slightly dozing. “Furuya!” He roared, “your turn!”
Furuya’s eyes widened suddenly, he straightened in his seat and turned a confused glance to Sanada, the main host. Sanada let out a chuckle and explained, “We’re just speaking a little about the contestant we know and our connection with them.”
Furuya nodded in understanding before he clasped his hands on the table and started speaking in an earnest and serious voice. “I honestly don’t understand much about romance. I don’t get it. When I was asked to participate I was very hesitant because of this. But then I heard Eijun was participating. Eijun has been a very good friend of mine for a long time. He’s very popular so the producers told me they had a long list of possible panelists for him. I agreed to this show because I’m Eijun’s best friend and we’re the closest.” As Furuya gave the reason for his joining a small childish expression crossed his features.
The panelist next to him, psychologist Kominato Ryousuke, let out an amused huff. “So you basically joined to prove to your mutual friends that you’re Eijun’s best friend.” Ryousuke chuckled, low and amused, he wrote something on a small book he had in front of him and then said, “My brother is actually a participant in this. Kominato Haruichi, we share similar hair so he’ll be easy to identify. As the psychologist of the show I’m mostly here to evaluate the contestants and make educated guesses on love connections. However, I also want to keep an eye on who attracts my little brother’s attention and make sure they’re acceptable.”
“Ah...right! We’re all definitely looking forward to your analysis of the residents and their love interests,” Sanada said, suppressing a shiver at the thought of having the intimidating Ryousuke as a possible brother in law.
“As for me! The resident I know is Miyuki Kazuya. We met in my first year of college, he has a bit of a difficult personality but I’m definitely excited to see if someone will finally catch his heart!” Sanada said with an excited glimmer in his eye.
“Now that we talked a little about ourselves and the residents we know let’s go back to the house and see what they’re doing!” Sanada continued, gesturing to the flat screen TV that was displaying footage from the guest house.
~~~
Camera cuts to the guest house
The residents were all sitting in the living room, Eijun was holding an envelope in his hands.
“Alright then, I’ll open and read!”
Eijun opened the envelope and read, “Welcome to signal house! Each night try to have dinner with your fellow residents and learn more about them.”
Eijun looked up after reading, his eyes sparkling with delight, “How exciting!”
Kazuya let out an amused chuckle and said, “I feel like you think everything’s exciting.”
Eijun let out a huff and stuck out his tongue at Kazuya in response.
“Does anyone remember what we have in the fridge?” Narumiya asked, cutting in.
“I believe that they only gave us the basic necessities, such as rice and sauces. We’ll have to make a trip to the grocery store to stock up,” Haruichi said, speaking up from where he was silently sitting on the side.
“Alright then, we should split up then to make it slightly easier. One group will go grocery shopping, one group can cook dinner, and one group will clean dishes,” Chris said with a calm voice.
“We can make the grocery trip with a group of four to make it quicker,” Kazuya said with a nod.
“Shall we draw sticks to decide groups?” Istuki suggested hesitantly.
Eijun smiled at him warmly, noting how shy the man seemed and said, “That sounds like a smart idea Itsuki!”
“I saw some game sticks in one of the drawers earlier,” Itsuki said with a shy smile as he got up to grab the sticks.
***
“Eijun appears to be very observant of others’ emotions. He noticed how hesitant and shy Itsuki was and roped him into the conversation smoothly,” Ryousuke noted.
“Yes, Eijun is very good at that. You wouldn’t think he was at first based on his carefree attitude,” Furuya said.
***
The residents were gathered around the coffee table in the living room and looking at the cup of sticks Itsuki held in his hand.
“We can draw in the order we arrived,” Tanba suggested in a quiet but firm voice.
The others nodded their head in agreement and Kazuya, being the first to arrive, reached out one hand to pull a stick. He covered the colored end with one hand and smirked playfully. “I’ll wait to reveal when everyone has their sticks. Don’t want anyone to cheat~,” he said, looking at Eijun.
Eijun turned red and puffed out his cheeks, “I told you I didn’t cheat at rock paper scissors! You just really suck. You damn Tanuki!”
Kazuya cackled at Eijun’s expression and leaned back on one arm behind him as he sat on the ground.
Kuramochi rolled his eyes at the two’s antics and pulled a stick next, like Kazuya he kept the colored end covered. Following Kuramochi— Narumiya, Haruichi, Eijun, Itsuki, and Chris all pulled a stick. As the last to arrive Tanba grabbed the lone stick.
“Alright, we’ll show on 3,” Kuramochi said. “1, 2, 3—”
The residents all uncovered their sticks.
The groups were as followed:
Grocery team: Chris, Kazuya, Eijun, Haruichi
Cooking team: Tanba, Kuramochi
Cleaning team: Narumiya, Itsuki
Narumiya let out a groan, “Uh cleaning? Don’t we have a dishwasher?”
“Yeah, you! Kyaha,” Kuramochi said with a cackle.
Narumiya grumbled and mumbled under his breath but nodded his acceptance. Itsuki was looking at Narumiya with an expression of nervousness, his fingers tapping against his thigh.
“Oh while we’re still here. Let’s draw sticks for the rooms!” Eijun said with a smile. He gathered the sticks and drew a 1 or 2 on each of them before placing them back in the cup.
Once again the residents went in arriving order and picked a stick from the cup. After they revealed their choices the rooms were split as follows: Kuramochi, Kazuya, Chris, and Itsuki. Narumiya, Haruichi, Eijun, and Tanba.
The residents all stood up and went to grab their bags to carry upstairs to their rooms. Eijun bounded up the stairs first, easily carrying his suitcase which seemed to surprise a few of the others, from Kuramochi, Chris, and Kazuya’s slightly widened eyes. He entered the room that was further from the stairs and plopped himself onto a chair in the middle of the room. Haruichi, Tanba, and Narumiya followed in slowly after. Eijun smiled at them and said, “I don’t mind any of the beds so you guys can choose first”
Haruichi took the chair next to Eijun and said, “I don’t mind either. Please choose first Tanba and Mei.”
Tanba shyly nodded before he chose one of the bottom beds. “I think I’ll have to leave a little earlier in the mornings so a bottom bed will be less of a hassle for everyone,” he said, placing a bag on his chosen bed.
Narumiya looked at the bunk beds with a critical eye before he said, “I’ll take a top bed.” He pointed at the bed he wanted above Tanba’s before he rolled his suitcase into the large walk in closet.
Eijun turned to Haruichi with a bashful smile and admitted, “I forgot that I’ll have to leave relatively early for the first week. My car is in the shop. I don’t want to bother you as well. Is it okay if I take the bottom?”
Haruichi smiled in response. “I actually wanted the top bed. So this works out fine,” he said softly, patting Eijun’s arm to reassure him.
Letting out a relieved breath Eijun beamed brightly at Haruichi, “You’re the best! Can I give you a nickname? I love nicknames! Can I call you Harucchi?”
Haruichi took in the rapid words with wide eyes and a slight shy blush. He nodded his acceptance of the nickname and pressed a hand to one of his flushed cheeks.
The remaining three roommates gathered their stuff and followed Narumiya to the walk-in closet to begin the process of putting away their things.
In the other room the other four residents were going through something similar. It appeared that Kazuya and Chris had both claimed a bottom bed while Kuramochi and Itsuki were sleeping on the top beds. The four men were putting away their things and working in relative silence.
Chris broke the silence and turned to Kazuya. “Should we put together a grocery list after we finish?”
Kazuya nodded at him and said, “Sure, sounds good.”
After the two finished putting away their things they made their way down to the kitchen. Kazuya opened the fridge and began to list items he believed they needed to Chris who was writing the list on his phone. They were soon joined by Eijun and Haruichi. Eijun bounded over to peer over Chris’s shoulder at the list on his phone.
The camera switches so that the frame is focused on a three shot of just Chris, Eijun, and Kazuya. Chris and Eijun are centered, leaning over the phone together as they stand behind the kitchen island while Kazuya is captured off to the side in front of the fridge, eyes trained on Eijun and Chris.
***
“Hmm,” Sanada said thoughtfully, “honestly even when we go out and hang out with a group of friends no one has caught Miyuki’s attention like that before.”
***
Eijun and Haruichi added a few suggestions to the grocery list and after they all decided that they had listed everything they needed for the week the four decided to head out to the grocery store. On the way to the car Chris turned to the group and said, “Since I arrived later than the rest of you my car is likely closer to the edge of the driveway. So I can drive us there.”
“Oh thank you Chris! My car is actually in the shop this week so I didn’t drive here,” Eijun said, keeping pace with Chris as they walked in the front of the group.
“I don’t really drive so it’s no problem Chris,” Haruichi said with a quiet demure smile.
“I’m fine with you driving Chris,” Kazuya said, hands shoved in the pocket of his coat as he walked leisurely in the back of the group.
“Miyuki Kazuya, you can sit in the front! I, Sawamura Eijun, am a gentleman after all! Wa ha!”
Kazuya rolled his eyes with a slight smirk at Eijun’s antics but still quietly got in the front seat of the car without complaint. Eijun and Haruichi climbed into the backseat of the car talking quietly and comfortably the entire time. As Chris started the vehicle he connected his phone to the car and pulled up directions to the grocery store on his map app.
“You’re quite a good driver Chris!” Eijun commented as Chris drove.
Chris’s small smile goes unnoticed by the car occupants but is caught by the camera on the dashboard.
“Ah, thank you Eijun,” he said in a calm voice.
As they entered the grocery store Chris pulled up the list on his phone. “I can share the grocery list with you guys so we can split up and shop faster,” he said.
Haruichi nodded quietly, pulling out his phone to check. Eijun tilted his head and said, “I’ll just go with whoever has a list!”
Kazuya raised a brow at Eijun and said, “I feel like whoever goes with you needs to watch you carefully. You’d probably get lost on your own.”
Eijun huffed out a breath. “For your information this Sawamura Eijun is great with directions. I’ve only been lost in a grocery store once!”
Kazuya cackled at his response. “You definitely need a keeper.”
Chris settled the bickering by tapping Eijun on the shoulder. “You can shop with me Eijun. Haruichi and I split the list while you two were bickering,” he said with an amused smile.
Eijun turned to Chris with bright eyes, “Oh, as to be expected of my Harucchi and the great and respectable Chris! You guys are on the ball.”
Haruichi flushed pink and the praise and nickname and just shook his head at Eijun, already getting used to the man’s odd charm.
Eijun bounded over to the shopping carts and pulled one out. “Alright let’s get this done quickly so those at home aren’t waiting too long,” he said, pushing the cart next to Chris.
Chris reached out one hand to help pull the cart along and waved at Kazuya and Haruichi. “We’ll meet you guys by the check out when we finish.”
As they continued to grocery shop the cameras continued to film them. Chris was filmed fondly smiling at Eijun as Eijun rambled on about random products and tried to convince him to buy a few snacks that weren’t on the grocery list. As they continued to fill their cart they passed the alcohol section.
“Should we grab some drinks for the house?” Chris asked.
“That sounds great! It’s our first night in the house all together and I know it’s a weekday so not everyone can drink... But we could celebrate and drink them this weekend,” Eijun said, eyebrows pulling together slightly as he considered the drink selection in front of him.
They ended up choosing several types of beer and a bottle of sake because Eijun insisted that they needed a ‘variety of drinks for a variety of people.’
When they finally made their way to the front they saw Kazuya and Haruichi waiting by the check out side by side in silence. Eijun considered the pair and said, “Harucchi, did Miyuki Kazuya bore you by not making conversation?”
Haruichi blushed at Eijun’s brazen question. “ Eijun, it was fine. I wasn’t bored, we gathered our groceries quickly and efficiently.”
Eijun frowned slightly but quickly got over it as they rolled their carts to the register together and checked out.
The four loaded the car with little issue and Eijun continued to pull the rest of them into random conversations all the way back to the house.
Meanwhile at the house.
Tanba was captured quietly putting away clothes in one room. Mei, Itsuki, and Kuramochi were sitting around the coffee table in the living room playing a board game, or attempting to play a board game. Kuramochi and Mei were really just arguing over how to correctly play the game while Itsuki watched the two with an amused expression, the game’s rules in his hand.
“Ah, I think I hear a car. They’re probably back,” Itsuki said, smoothly interrupting and defusing the argument before it blew up any further. He stood up from the floor and turned to the other two. “Should we go help them carry the groceries?”
Kuramochi quickly stood up as well. “Sounds good,” he said, brushing the back of his pants off and quickly moving to the front door.
As the car pulled up Kuramochi exited the house. He stood by the door with his arms crossed against the chill until the car parked. As the passengers began to exit the car Kuramochi started forward. “Yo,” he called out, one hand raised in greeting.
“Aw Mochi-kun~ Did you miss me that much?” Kazuya asked in a teasing voice.
Kuramochi rolled his eyes, “You wish,” he said, before he walked over to the trunk. He was just in time to help Haruichi grab a heavy bag out of the car. “I’ll carry that,” he said gently, taking the bag from Haruichi and starting back to the house.
After Kuramochi’s back turned the camera captures a blush taking over Haruichi’s face.
Itsuki walked up to the car, pulling one of the last bags out and shutting the door for Eijun. Eijun thanked him with a smile and then the two walked towards the house following after the rest of the group.
***
“If you haven’t noticed, pay attention to how Eijun walks when in groups. He typically keeps pace with whoever he’s talking to. Usually when someone does this it's a sign of interest however, I will say in this case it might just be more of his friendly personality,” Ryousuke said, tapping the end of his pen on his book and watching the screen with a sharp stare.
***
Tanba came down from his room when he heard the noise of the returning group. He joined the rest of the housemates in the kitchen and helped them put away the rest of the groceries.
The camera focuses on Tanba’s eyes which are gazing at a figure, the camera zooms out and the figure is shown to be Chris.
***
“Ah….” Jun said a little quietly.
Sanada turned towards him with a raised brow and an intrigued stare but Jun just waved him off with a hand.
***
As they put away the groceries the camera captures Kazuya working by Eijun’s side, unlike the instances with others the two are bantering playfully and seem extremely at ease. The camera remains trained on them as Kazuya and Eijun move more into each other’s space as they put away groceries. Kazuya’s chest brushes Eijun’s back briefly as he reaches over him to grab the bag of veggies. The flush that rises to Eijun’s face is shown clearly as well as the bob of his Adam's apple as he gulps.
***
“Ah! Now that is a different reaction,” Ryousuke said suddenly, his eyes are narrowed and his lips are curled up in a satisfied expression.
“Yes it is,” Furuya said, finally participating in the conversation. His eyes are trained on the screen and his head is tilted slightly to the side as he watches his friend’s behavior.
***
After the rest of the groceries were put away the rest of the house guests save for the cooking team retreated to the living room. They gathered around the coffee table where the game from earlier was still laid out. As they went to sit Kazuya subtly sat to Eijun’s right, placing himself between Chris and Eijun. Tanba took the seat on the other side of Chris with Mei next to him, Mei was directly across from Kazuya and on the left of Itsuki. On Itsuki’s other side was Haruichi who sat on Eijun’s left.
“Oh, I know this game,” Haruichi said, picking up one of the game pieces.
Itsuki’s face lit up in response. “Great! We can play then, we found it a little while ago but weren’t able to start because you guys had finally got here.”
Eijun tilted his head at the game, “hey Harucchi, I’ve never played this before. Will you explain it?”
Haruichi smiled indulgently at Eijun and nodded. “Sure,” he said, before he proceeded to explain to Eijun and the rest of the table about the game.
Kazuya listened along but also picked up the paper with the game’s rules to read along. After reading quickly through it he turned his body slightly towards his right and asked Chris if he wanted to read it. Chris thanked him and then took the paper from him, studying the rules with a slightly serious expression.
The camera briefly cuts to the kitchen where Kuramochi and Tanba were shown cooking in relative silence.
After a moment Kuramochi looks up from where he was peeling an onion. “By the way Tanba, what are we cooking?”
Tanba looked back at Kuramochi and an embarrassed flush passed over his face, “I thought you had a plan.”
“Kyaha,” Kuramochi cackled, looks like both of us didn’t plan. “How are you at cooking?”
“Honestly not that great, I only really use green onions.”
“How about we just make rice and hot pot? That should be easy to make,” Kuramochi suggested, already moving to pull out more vegetables from the fridge.
Tanba smiled shyly, “that sounds like a good plan. I’ll start on the rice then.” He moved to the opposite side of the kitchen and began preparing the rice, measuring out 8 cups of rice before he rinsed the rice repeatedly making sure he washed it properly. He took the washed rice to the rice cooker and placed it in the cooker with enough water before he pressed start. Finished with the rice, Tanba wiped his hands on a towel and turned around to offer his help to Kuramochi.
Kuramochi asked Tanba to find two large pots and portable gas stoves. As Tanba went to find the items Kuramochi continued to wash and prepare the vegetables and ingredients for the hot pot. After washing the vegetables he peeled the carrots and cut them as well as various mushrooms and cabbage. He then rummaged in the cupboards, pulling out various sauces to put in the stock. Tanba returned with the items and Kuramochi thanked him before he added water to the pots and began heating them on the stove. As the water heated Kuramochi added slices of garlic, onions, soy sauce, and konbu to the pots, he waited for the water to boil before he removed the konbu and tasted the broth. He spooned another sample and blew on it briefly before turning towards Tanba and offering it to the taller man. Tanba blushed and instead of opening his mouth he took the spoon from Kuramochi and tasted the broth. At the taste his eyes widened in surprise.
“This is good!”
“Kyaha, hot pot is one of the few things I can actually make!,” Kuramochi said.
Tanba laughed along, looking a little more comfortable than before.
“I’ll go tell the others that dinner is ready,” he said, making his way to the living room.
Tanba made his way to the living room quietly, he peeked his head into the room and saw that the others were playfully arguing over a board game. He decided to wait until they died down a little before informing them about dinner, but as he waited his presence was noted by Eijun,
“Tanba! Did you want to join? We’re pretty much done with this game,”
“Only because someone didn’t tell us the full rules and won too easily,” Mei cut in, leaning forward and staring at Itsuki.
“I did tell you! You just didn’t listen. I-I even gave you the instructions,” Itsuki replied, flushing as the attention of the group was turned towards him.
Chris patted Itsuki’s shoulder consolingly before turning towards Tanba.
“Tanba, you must have needed something. Can we help with anything?”
Tanba stepped more into the room as he was addressed and said, “Ah, dinner is just about ready. We just need to move the food to the table.”
“Osh!” Eijun said excitedly, as he moved to stand his shoulder bumped slightly into Kazuya’s. At the touch the tips of Eijun’s ears turned a light pink. Luckily for him the flush went unnoticed by the rest of the house guests as they too were moving to stand. The only one who looked at Eijun was Kazuya, but Kazuya was too busy glancing at Eijun’s eyes to notice his ears.
After standing Eijun excitedly grabbed Haruichi’s arm and tugged him in the direction of the kitchen and dining room. The rest of the house guests followed at a slightly slower pace. Their eyes widened as they took in the delicious smell of the food that Kuramochi and Tanba had cooked.
“Great, I needed some help. Can you grab the dishes and glasses and help set the table?” Kuramochi asked, looking up from where he was dishing rice into bowls.
The house guests all moved to help out Kuramochi, Chris and Kazuya grabbed the glasses and dishes while Haruichi and Eijun grabbed napkins and utensils. As they set the table, Tanba went to the kitchen island to plate the hot pot vegetables and other ingredients. Mei and Itsuki looked slightly awkward standing as they had nothing to do, noticing their predicament Kuramochi insisted that they go ahead and take a seat at the table.
***
“Ohh, Okay we definitely have to watch where they sit. Personally, if I was interested in someone I would want to sit near them,” Sanada said, running a hand through his artfully tousled black hair.
“Yes, it’s actually been proven that you tend to sit diagonally from someone you are interested in as it provides the best view point,” Ryousuke said, his lips pulled into his famous shark-like smirk.
***
Mei took a seat on the far left end of the table, while Itsuki took a seat on the opposite end and opposite side.
The camera cuts briefly to the panelists where Jun is shown raising his brow slightly, he makes a note in his book before returning his attention to the screen in front of him.
As they finished placing the utensils and napkins Haruichi and Eijun also took some seats at the table. Haruichi sat on the inside of Mei and Eijun plopped himself next to Haruichi without much thought. Chris and Kazuya both took slightly longer to take their seats, Chris sat on the inside of Itsuki directly across from Eijun.
The camera zooms in to Kazuya’s face and catches the slight furrow of his brow as he stares towards the dining table. As the camera zooms out Kazuya makes his way to the table.
Kazuya moved to the table and sat next to Chris, diagonally from Eijun and across from Haruichi. At that time Kuramochi and Tanba came out of the kitchen, Tanba was holding wide plates of hot pot ingredients while Kuramochi was carrying two portable gas stoves.
“Are we having what I think we’re having?” Eijun asked, hands clasped in front of him and eyes sparkling in excitement.
“Kyaha! Well if you think we’re having hot pot then we are,” Kuramochi said, placing the two portable stoves on the table.
Tanba smiled at Eijun’s excitement as he placed the plates on the table. Tanba and Kuramochi then returned to the kitchen taking trips to bring out bowls of rice and the two large pots of hot pot broth. They carried it carefully to the table where they placed the pots on the portable stoves and handed out the bowls of rice to the houseguests.
After everything was placed on the table they looked at the dining table and noted that there were only two empty seats. Tanba automatically moved to the seat that appealed to him, he took the seat directly across from Itsuki and diagonally to Chris. Kuramochi clearly didn’t mind his seat as he went to the last seat, directly across from Mei and diagonally from Haruichi.
They waited until the broth began to boil before they reached over and began to slide ingredients into the broth.
“Ahh...h-hot,” Eijun said, mouth open and full of just cooked cabbage. He waved his hands frantically in front of his mouth, trying to cool down the steaming food he had just placed inside his mouth.
Haruichi quickly handed a glass of cold water to Eijun, an expression of amusement and concern on his face. Eijun thanked him silently as he gulped down the cooled food and drank the glass of cold water, soothing his mouth.
“The broth is really good Kuramochi,” Haruichi said, with a small smile. The smile warmed his face and drew attention to his pretty peach colored eyes.
Kuramochi lightly blushed at the attention and shook his head slightly. He swallowed the food in his mouth before he said, “I just made a broth and prepared ingredients! I usually make meatballs for hot pot but I figured it’d take too long, next time I’ll make some.”
Haruichi's smile widened a little. “I look forward to that,” he said, bringing a spoon of broth up to his mouth.
The rest of the house guests gave similar sentiments to Kuramochi and Tanba. It was obvious that the food was quite good as the house guests faded into quiet as they continued to eat, the only sounds in the dining room were slurps of broth, and quiet exclamations of delight.
After everyone finished eating they helped clear the table and return the now empty dishes to the kitchen.
“Ahh, it’s quite a lot of dishes. Did you want more help?” Chris asked Itsuki as he took in the large stack of dishes on the kitchen island next to the sink.
“It’s alright Chris, It shouldn’t be too bad.”
Meanwhile Mei was tugging on Eijun’s arm. “Pleaseeeee Ei-chan,” he said, pouting his lips at the other.
“Nope! The sticks have decided! You’re gonna clean,” Eijun said with a smile, patting Mei’s hand and pushing the blonde gently in the direction of the kitchen.
Mei let out a huff, “fineee,” he whined, moving in the direction of the kitchen. As he took in the large pile of dishes his eyes widened dramatically.
Catching the expression Itsuki chuckled and shook his head slightly.
“It shouldn’t be that bad. How about I wash and you just dry?” He said kindly, already rolling up his sleeves and pulling on a pair of rubber gloves.
Mei nodded slightly before he moved to stand next to Itsuki and picked up a dish towel, readying himself to dry the dishes.
Meanwhile in the other room the rest of the housemates were lounging around the living room, full and sated from the meal they just had.
Suddenly there was a knock on the front door. The housemates turned confused gazes at one another before Chris got up from the couch to take a look. He opened the door and looked around as he didn’t see anyone, he was about to close the door when his gaze caught on a bright pink envelope lying on the ground in front of the door. Picking it up he made his way back into the living room where the rest of the house mates, save for Itsuki and Mei, were looking at him curiously.
“Should I grab Itsuki and Mei briefly so that we can read this together?” He asked, showing the envelope to those in the living room.
“That sounds like a good plan,” Tanba said softly, reaching out a hand for the envelope.
Chris smiled at him kindly and handed him the envelope, before he left the room and made his way to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Itsuki and Mei had made decent work of the dishes thanks to their teamwork and only had a few left. They were quietly chatting and their conversation was interrupted by the appearance of Chris. Itsuki straightened up slightly and titled his head, wondering what Chris was doing there.
“We got an envelope for the house. I was going to ask if you wanted to see it now but you guys made decent work of the dishes. We’ll wait until you’re done,” Chris said smiling gently at the two men before he exited the kitchen.
Chris being the one who picked up the envelope was urged to read it by the rest of the house guests. He ruffled his own hair slightly at the combined attention of the house before opening up the envelope and beginning to read.
~~~
Here at Heart Signal we hope that you enjoyed your first day together.
As mentioned before we don’t want you to reveal your job or age just yet however we know the curiosity must be getting to you! So we will allow you all to reveal one hint about your occupation and tomorrow night after dinner you will go around the room and guess each other’s occupation as well as reveal your own!
~~~
After he finished reading he looked up at the rest of the house guests and raised a brow. He was definitely curious as to the jobs of his fellow housemates and he could tell by the excited glints in their eyes that they were too.
“Hmmm, I might need a few minutes to think of the hint. I should make you all work,” Mei said playfully.
“Let’s guess what everyone’s jobs are prior to the hints as well,” Tanba said, getting excited.
Eijun clapped his hands and wiggled in his seat at Tanba’s suggestion. “That sounds super fun, what a great idea” he gushed, turning his bright sparkling gaze in Tanba’s direction.
Tanba flushed slightly at Eijun’s compliment but was saved from having to respond by Kuramochi.
“Alright, alright. Who’s first?”
“I’ll go,” Chris volunteered.
“I feel like Eijun is a school teacher,”
“Hmm....how about a dancer?” Itsuki offered.
Eijun hid a smile behind his hand and cleared his throat.
“I won’t address your guesses!” He said playfully before turning towards Haruichi.
“A judge or, or or a detective!” He said, leaning forward.
Haruichi tilted his head and smiled a small secretive smile before he turned towards Kazuya and said, “Maybe an analyst, economics perhaps?”
Kazuya smirked in response, not bothering to reply as he tilted his head in Kuramochi’s direction.
“You look like a gangster.”
Kazuya laughed at Kuramochi’s sputtering before he waved a hand and said he was joking.
“Okay, okay how about..um something in fashion or art? You have green hair.”
Kuramochi stopped sputtering and rolled his eyes at Kazuya, muttering gangster and green hair quietly under his breath.
“I feel like you might be one of those computer people…” he said to Tanba, scratching his head slightly as he considered.
Tanba raised a brow silently at Kuramochi before he turned to Mei.
“Honestly, I’m not sure you work?”
As the rest of the house guests burst into laughter and Mei raised his eyebrows Tanba hurriedly continued.
“But!! If you do, I feel like you’d be some type of boss,”
A corner of Mei’s pale pink lips rose up in a slight smirk before he turned to Itsuki.
“Architect or accountant,”
Itsuki remained silent but looked surprised that Mei had chosen to guess at his occupation.
“Chris would be a good professor or teacher.”
“Oh! How about a lawyer?”
“Maybe a doctor?”
Chris just smiled quietly as the rest of the house guests attempted to guess at his occupation.
“Hmm..quite interesting guesses. How about we go around with hints now? I’ll start,” He said, leaning back in his seat and crossing his legs comfortably.
“Here’s my hint: there are a lot of people at my work,”
As the housemates pondered his hint Mei raised his hand and indicated that he would give his hint next.
“Alright, my work has to do with something you all use everyday,” Mei said, leaning back in his seat with a smug look.
“Ohhh...how tricky!” Eijun said, scrunching his nose in thought and cupping his chin in his hand.
“I do a lot of reading in my job,” Haruichi said with a small smirk and a twinkle in his eye.
Kuramochi raised a brow at the playful expression before he said, “My job has no real set hours.”
“Ah how lucky Kuramochi. My job involves a lot of calculations,” Itsuki said.
“My job involves helping!” Eijun exclaimed, his eyes wide and earnest.
“That sounds fitting. My job uses a lot of numbers,” Kazuya said, he gestured at Tanba to finish as he was the only one who had yet to speak.
“Ahh...my job involves...speaking,” Tanba said, a shy blush tinging the tips of his ears.
“Really? Hmmm...what a broad hint, how sneaky Tanba,” Mei said with a wink in the taller man’s direction.
Tanba gave him a bashful grin and just shrugged, not bothering to further expand on his hint.
As they continued to talk a clock began to ring in the house, and over the speakers in the living room a voice said,
“Signal house guests, please collect the phone marked with your name and then find a space for you to be alone. It is now time to send your text of the day.”
***
“Ah! Looks like it’s time,” Carlos said, rubbing his hands together in excitement.
“For viewers who don’t know or are just joining us. Every night the contestants will send an anonymous text to the person who interested them the most or who they are the most attracted to at the time. It’s up to us panelists to guess who will message who, using the footage from the guest house as well as a mixture of intuition and advice from our very own psychologist, Ryousuke!” Sanada said into the camera. As he spoke a giant green chalkboard with images of the house guests was rolled behind him next to the panelist’s table.
“To explain a little more, the pink colored lines we will see represent texts sent from the members on the left. While the blue colored lines are text sent from the members on the right,” Ryousuke said.
“Shall we begin the debate?”: Sanada asked, now turning to face the rest of his fellow celebrity panelists.
“First off, Narumiya Mei,”
The camera begins to play repeat footage of Mei and his interactions with various houseguests
“Remember he knows Kazuya from before the guest house,” Jun pointed out.
“You’re right Jun. But, he’s never brought up that name in any of our previous conversations...I will admit that Mei has dated someone slightly similar to Kazuya in the past though. So I’m not sure if that’s a point in his favor or against him,” Carlos said, tapping his pen on his notebook.
“What about Itsuki?” Furuya asked quietly.
“Oh! He did wash the dishes with Mei and it seemed like they had a good vibe then,” Sanada agreed.
“I don’t know...I feel like Mei is typically someone who waits for others to approach him. In this instance I feel like he’d choose Kazuya as he already knows him,” Ryousuke said.
“I guess that makes sense,” Sanada admitted.
“Shall we vote?” Furuya asked, looking at the rest of the panelists.
His fellow panelists nodded in agreement.
“Alright those who believe Mei will text Itsuki,”
Only Furuya raised his hand.
“Those who think he’ll text Kazuya,’
The rest of the panelists raised their hands.
Sanada nodded his head before drawing a pink line leading from Mei’s picture to Kazuya’s.
“Alright next up, Kominato Haruichi,”
The panelists all turned and looked at Ryousuke to start off the discussion.
Smiling his shark like smile in response Ryousuke crossed his legs and said,
“As a panelist I would note that he had the most interactions with Eijun. Although to me it was obvious that those were platonic interactions. There are two choices here: he could choose Eijun to be polite or he could choose Kuramochi. As a brother I feel like he was very aware of his presence.”
“He also seemed pleased when Kuramochi helped him carry some groceries,” Furuya added.
“Hmmm….but if we were to continue with him being polite wouldn’t choosing Kazuya also be an option since they were partnered during grocery shopping?” Carlos asked.
“Carlos makes a good point. I also don’t feel like he interacted much with other guests so let's vote between Eijun, Kuramochi, and Kazuya,” Sanada said, looking around the table at the other panelists.
“Alright, for Eijun,”
No one raised their hands.
“For Kuramochi,”
Furuya and Ryousuke raised their hands.
“Kazuya,”
Jun, Carlos, and Sanada raised their hands. As more of the panelists voted that Haruichi would text Kazuya, Sanada then drew a pink line from Haruichi’s image to Kazuya’s.
“Alright let’s discuss Tanba next,” Sanada said.
“I feel that his choice is a little obvious,” Ryousuke said, “The camera focused a lot on his eyes and body language, which both displayed clear interest in Chris who he had known before.”
“He did have that moment in the kitchen when Kuramochi fed him broth,” Carlos pointed out.
Ryousuke nodded at that fact but said, “But, that was only one instance. The camera caught him many times focusing on Chris.”
“Oh the blush on Tanba’s face when Chris acknowledged him was quite telling, no?” Sanada added.
“As Tanba’s friend, I agree with Ryousuke and feel that he’ll choose to text Chris,” Jun said, stroking his goatee slightly.
“Alright, shall we vote?” Sanada asked.
“Kuramochi,”
Only Carlos raised his hand.
“Chris,”
Furuya, Ryousuke, Sanada, and Jun all raised their hands.
“Alright then, Chris wins,” Sanada said, drawing a pink line from Tanba’s picture to Chris’s.
“Next up let’s debate over who Kazuya will choose,” Sanada said, an eager smile on his face.
“As his friend I want to point out that I’ve never seen him be as interested as he appears to be in Eijun.”
“I’ve noticed that Kazuya does a lot of silent actions, like pouring water, to show his interest,” Ryousuke added.
“He inserted himself between Chris and Eijun when they went to sit down to play a game. Similarly to an animal marking his territory,” Furuya pointed out.
Jun laughed at the description before he said, “I feel like we can all agree that Kazuya seemed most interested in Eijun and will probably text him.”
The rest of the panelists all nodded their agreement and so Sanada picked up a chalk and drew a blue line from Kazuya’s image to Eijun’s image.
“Oh a little more challenging. Let’s discuss Kuramochi Youichi,” Sanada said, gesturing at the flatscreen that was now showing footage of Kuramochi.
“Kuramochi seemed very interested when Eijun first walked in,” Furuya said.
“I agree, he hopped up almost immediately to help when Eijun tripped,” Jun added.
“There are other options he might text like Tanba or Haruichi but I agree that Eijun seems the most likely,” Ryousuke said.
“I agree with the rest of you. So shall we vote on Eijun?” Carlos asked.
The rest of the panelists all agreed and Sanada reached over to trace a blue line from Kuramochi’s picture to Eijun’s.
“Tadano Itsuki, is the next contestant. He’s one of the quieter house guests. What do we think? Sanada asked.
“He seems like a polite man, I feel like he could probably text Mei because they were paired together,” Jun said.
“Either that or maybe Eijun because Eijun made an effort in including him in conversations,” Ryousuke said after consulting his notebook.
“Let’s vote,” Carlos said.
“Alright for Mei,”
Carlos, Sanada and Jun raised their hands.
“And for Eijun,”
Ryousuke and Furuya raised their hands.
Taking note of the votes Sanada reached over to the chalkboard and drew a blue line from Itsuki’s image to Mei’s.
“Alright two more guests! Let’s do Takigawa Chris next,” Sanada said with a smile.
“Chris does know Tanba from before this. Do you think that’ll factor largely into his text?” Carlos asked, turning to look at his fellow panelists.
“Hmm...I think he’ll consider it a bit but based on his personality from how I know him it won’t really affect any of his choices,” Jun said.
“I do think that Tanba is on his radar, however I feel like currently Chris appears to be more aware of Eijun,” he continued.
“He also partnered with Eijun during the grocery trip and sat across from him at dinner,” Furuya added.
“Good points. There was also the instance when he was driving that the camera caught him blushing at Eijun’s compliment,” Ryousuke said after checking his notebook.
“I agree with all of you,” Sanada said.
Carlos nodded as well and added, “Shall we mark down that Chris will text Eijun?”
Everyone nodded their agreements and Sanada reached over to draw the line that connected Chris’s image to Eijun’s.
“All right last but not least. The current most popular house guest, Sawamura Eijun,” Sanada said.
“I feel like this might be the most difficult one. Eijun is very friendly with everyone so it might be a little hard to differentiate him being friendly from him being interested,” Ryousuke said.
Furuya nodded before he said, “Yes, that was always an issue in school as many people would think that Eijun was interested when he was just being friendly. As his best friend I will say that his interest in Kazuya appears to be more than friendly.”
“But, I feel like that could be said about Chris as well,” Carlos said.
“I agree, I feel like it’s a toss up between Chris who he went grocery shopping with and Kazuya who he seemed to have a lot of chemistry with,” Sanada said.
“Should we vote?” Jun asked.
“Ahh! This is going to be tough,” Carlos said with a playful smile.
“Okay everyone who wants to vote for Eijun texting Chris raise your hands,” Sanada said.
After a beat Carlos and Jun raised their hands.
“And for Kazuya,”
Sanada, Furuya, and Ryousuke all raised their hands.
The panelists laughed at the nervous tension that was in the air as Sanada drew the final line that connected Eijun’s image to Kazuya’s.
“I know it’s just a guessing game but I can’t help but get nervous,” Jun admitted with a chuckle.
“I get exactly what you mean,” Carlos said, smacking Jun’s shoulder playfully.
“Alright the producers are setting up the answer board,” Sanada said, turning to face the camera.
“Now if you haven’t watched any of the previous seasons of heart signal I feel like I have to tell you that a lot of these might change throughout the course of their stay. Many houseguests don't automatically send texts to the person they’re most attracted to, some will first choose to text those they feel the most comfortable with or those they interacted with the most!—
“—Alright now. Let’s flip the board!” Sanada continued with a smile, gesturing to the chalkboard behind him.
The two masked production team members who had drawn the answers on the opposite side grabbed the board and then flipped it. The board now displaced colored lines that correctly connected the house member’s pictures.
“Looks like a lot of people chose to text Eijun,” Furuya noted, an amused but not truly surprised light in his eyes.
“I can’t say I’m that surprised either. He was very active today,” Ryousuke agreed.
“We got a few wrong,” Carlos admitted with a chuckle.
As the panelists continued to scrutinize the board their eyes widened.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You’re not gonna display who Eijun texted?” Jun asked, eyes wide and dismayed.
Sanada who had a similar expression was handed a card by the production team and looked down to read it.
“Ahh..these producers sure are cruel,” he said with a rueful smile.
“Looks like we’ll all have to wait until next week to see who Eijun texted!”
“Whew what a cliffhanger!!” Carlos said, smiling wide in excitement.
Furuya nodded his agreement and said, “I definitely look forward to that answer next week.”
“You heard it here folks. If you’re as curious as us and want to know who Eijun texted, tune in next week for a new episode of Heart Signal!” Sanada said, giving his signature heart-stopping smile to the camera.
The camera zooms out as the panelists wave goodbye. Then footage of the houseguest’s interviews plays.
~~~~
What were your initial thoughts of the other contestants? Did anyone catch your attention?
Eijun: “I was honestly really nervous to sign up for something like this! I mean I moved to Tokyo a few months ago, but when I got here everyone warmed right up! I mean sure it was a little awkward at first since no one was talking when I came in. But now I feel like we can get along great!!”
So did anyone catch your attention?
*a blush spreads across his cheeks and he looks off to the side shyly*
Eijun: “T-there was someone who was pretty interesting…”
Mei: “No one really talked until Eijun showed up so it was pretty awkward. I knew Kazuya from before the show so it was nice to see someone I knew. No one has been able to catch my attention so far. But I wouldn’t mind them trying” *winks*
Haruichi: “My brother said this show would be fun so I agreed to do it. Initially everyone was very quiet which I was ok with. As far as my attention….I feel like Eijun and I could be great friends….and Kuramochi-san was…” *begins to cough*
Kazuya: “Eijun was interesting. He tripped as soon as he came in, what a riot. But after he came in everyone began to talk...that was pretty cool...yeah Eijun was…”
Kuramochi: “Eijun, I think it’s the smile..or maybe the shouting? He really made me feel comfortable and he was cute.”
Itsuki: “I’m a pretty reserved person, so initial reactions and meetings are pretty hard for me. Eijun was nice enough to bring me into conversations...Some of the people were a little intimidating.
Could you tell us who?
Itsuki: “ ...Mei-san.”
Chris: “I haven’t lived with this many people since dorming in high school. As for contestants who caught my attention… Eijun was very bright and I went to high school with Tanba, aside from those two I wouldn't particularly say anyone else caught my attention. It should be interesting, there hasn’t been much lately that has interested me.”
Tanba: “I went to high school with Chris… He was very inspiring to me…”
* a bright red blush passes over Tanba’s stoic face*
Tanba: “...I guess he still is”
~~~~~
Next week’s preview plays briefly.
Eijun and Kazuya are shown riding in a car together. The footage then cuts and now Mei and Kuramochi are shown at a pottery cafe with clay on their hands. The last scene shows Haruichi as he clearly waits for someone, as he turns to greet the person he was waiting for the camera fades to black.