Chapter Text
Pushing open the single glass door, the ravenette takes hesitant steps into the building. Haruki couldn’t tell if what he was feeling was dread, excitement or nervousness, but he did know that he was very, very close to vomiting all over the reflective black tiles right now. The interior of the host club was, for a lack of better terms, tacky. It’s slightly dimmed, maroon velvet panelling plastered over the walls and a shiny chandelier which reflected light onto the tiles of the floor. There’s nobody else around — even the reception table was empty. Was this some kind of “help yourself” type of place? How's he supposed to know what to do?!
Haruki wanders around the lobby, pacing awkwardly. God, he really should just walk out right about now, huh? This stuff’s not even worth it, right? The ravenette sighs, turning himself back towards the glass door, ready to head out and pretend like nothing happened at all. As if he hadn’t just tried to get himself a host experience.
That was until he heard a loud voice coming from behind him. “Ah, welcome mister!”
The ravenette stops in his tracks, fists clenching as he turns around stiffly. He’s greeted by the sight of a shorter black-haired boy with turquoise streaks throughout, dressed to the nines in a dark purple suit. Is he one of the hosts around here? “Hello! Uh-” Haruki stumbles over his words, unable to get anything out at all, but the man cuts him off and starts doing most of the talking anyways. ”Welcome to Club Collet! Is it your first time? Should I give you our grand introduction?” blue eyes seemed to sparkle as he spoke with way too much enthusiasm. Haruki had no idea how he was supposed to reply, only nodding in embarrassment.
“Oh, so you are a newcomer, huh? Well! That just means I need to show you what we’ve got!” The man smiles, going behind the reception counter. “Over here, over here!” Haruki beckons to his call, nearly stumbling over his own feet like a fool. He’s able to read his nametag a little clearer when he’s standing in front of the reception desk, Neiro. Neiro holds out an open book to him, his person still seemingly bursting with energy. “He’s way more excited about this than I am..” the thought lingers bitterly in Haruki’s mind. The very least he could do was to swallow the anxiety bubbling inside and try to show some interest, right? It wasn’t as if he really hated this.
In the open book, it seems to be a selection of the hosts that they have. It’s decorated with obnoxious sparkly lettering in big curly font, and it included pictures of the hosts themselves too. Haruki’s eyes glanced over it quickly, then his eyes dragged his gaze up towards Neiro. “Anyone caught your eye yet?” Neiro excitedly flipped through the pages, and Haruki did his best to follow through with looking through it. Really, all of the hosts looked awesome but — Oh…
“Wait, stop!”
Haruki shoved his hand on to the page, stopping Neiro from turning it. The man’s eyebrows raised, leaning in to look at the page as well. Jil, ‘A total heartthrob who looks all cool, but is actually super sweet!’ The description works to entice Haruki a little, but it's the image that does the heavy lifting. Hair that was dyed a snowy white color, dark eyes and that pierced like an arrow through the heart. Even from just the picture itself, he really is a heartthrob, huh?
Neiro grinned, nodding at Haruki’s choice. “You’re in luck, mister! Jil just so happens to be free right now!~” He moved from behind the counter, way too fast for Haruki to even catch up with — and he's already dragging him down a long hallway. The ravenette does his best to not trip over his own feet, not wanting to look ridiculous. They stopped in front of a door that had a sign on it, reading “JIL”. Neiro knocked on the door, calling out the host's name who was presumably inside before turning the knob and pushing the door open — all while Haruki was doing his best to not shit himself next to Neiro. Seriously, aren’t things moving way too fast?
When the door swung open, the man from the picture was revealed to his eyes. He looked every bit like what the image had shown, but a lot more detailed, and a lot more attractive. Haruki's by no means short, but Jil was tall — even taller than he is. Usually Haruki had no issues with looking men in the eyes, but for some reason he's starting to feel a little nervous right now.
“3 hours should be enough for your first time, right?”
“Well, ah-”
“Alright, off you go now! Jil will take good care of you!”
What?
The ravenette's utterly baffled, purple eyes stunned with shock for a moment. Haruki opens his mouth to say something, but all he could manage was to look at Jil for a considerable amount of time. Thankfully enough, the host takes the lead for him. He's being guided into the room, and the door swings shut with a soft click. “So, it's your first time, hmm?” The question’s a lot more embarrassing coming from Jil, but Haruki nods in response. “Yeah, first time at any host club, actually.”
Jil hums thoughtfully, strolling over to the loveseat. He sits down and pats the spot next to him, a clear invitation. Haruki shuffles over too, sitting awkwardly next to him.
“I'm Jil, by the way.” Haruki wants to say that he knows that already, but it probably isn't what he's supposed to say. “Uh, I'm Haruki.” He finally makes eye contact with Jil, shiny black eyes seem to reach his heart so easily. Jil continues after Haruki's self-introduction, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Haruki.” He practically chirps, eyes closed when he smiles. How awfully charming…
“I’ll be yours, and yours alone for tonight.”