The designer had several outfits in different colors and styles that he wanted him to try on, specifying some according to his own preferences. While waiting for the other person to fetch the clothes, Miya Atsumu also walked out from the back room.
Seeing Hinata's face written with restraint, he found it a bit amusing. "What's wrong?"
Hinata moved to the side, making room for Miya Atsumu to sit next to him, pointed with his finger at the outfit he had just been looking at.
Miya Atsumu leaned in to take a look, after seeing the price, he silently wiped his face.
—So expensive.
Hinata leaned close to Miya Atsumu and said nervously, "If I break it, I wouldn't even be able to pay for it even if I sold myself and worked here for months.."
After a brief two-second silence, Miya Atsumu decided to lighten the mood: "It shouldn't be that bad; you could probably sell yourself for a few months and still afford it."
Hinata lowered his voice as much as possible: "Liar! You couldn't even afford a sleeve! Atsumu-ge, don't screw me over!"
I'm not lying," Miya Atsumu said, waving his hand dismissively. "Think about it, you're someone who has already won two MVPs; your market value shouldn't be much lower than mine.
After a moment of thought, Hinata sat up straight and asked tentatively with a serious expression, "Atsumu-ge.. how.. how much?"
Miya Atsumu leaned toward Hinata and held out his hands toward him: "The previous offer was this much, but I won the performance-based contract, since I've already been promoted to the National Team.."
As he spoke, Atsumu held up six fingers, placing them next to the five: "The base annual salary alone won't be lower than this amount."
—Meaning that this doesn't include commercial endorsements or prize money from various competitions.
Hinata's eyes lit up: "Six hundred and fifty thousand!"
Miya Atsumu, whose market value had been inexplicably slashed by Hinata, gave Hinata a light, annoyed flick to the forehead: "Add another zero."
Hinata's body didn't just lean back; he felt like he was being knocked senseless by all that money. "Six—six hundred—"
Miya Atsumu calculated for Hinata, "And there's still one more signing bonus."
Rather, when it came to his contract, the signing bonus was the biggest part.
Hinata felt like money was flying before his eyes, his head was spinning.
Atsumu added, "But a rookie's market value is only so much. Once you achieve some results in a couple of years, your annual salary will probably increase dozens of times over."
Shoyo, try to win as many awards as possible before you turn professional to boost your market value. Who knows, it might even end up being higher than mine.
Hinata sat up straight and replied earnestly, "I'll work hard."
He is serious about his love for volleyball, it is also true that he wants to work hard to make money to improve his parents' lives and support Xiaoxia's better development.
Being able to combine the two would be an even greater blessing for him.
Miya Atsumu curled the corners of his mouth. "So.. Shoyo, do you think the three-piece set looks better, or the two-piece set?"
"Huh?" For a moment, Hinata couldn't keep up with Miya Atsumu's pace.
Atsumu laughed, "I said suits."
Suddenly realizing that he might also become a rich person, Hinata grew a little bolder. After avoiding that store's crown jewel—the one that would require selling one's soul for several months—Miya Atsumu, Hinata cast his gaze toward a suit diagonally across from him.
He said decisively, "The three-piece suit looks good!"
What about the color?
Hinata began to think hard: "Atsumu-ge, what hair color are you planning to change to later?"
Miya Atsumu replied, "Blonde? The kind that's a bit dazzling."
He decided to get his hair done after taking his graduation photos; the manager said he wanted him to have his image settled before joining the team.
Hinata's eyes lit up, he reached out to point toward a beige suit with a checkered vest located slightly ahead: "Would you want to try a lighter color?"
"Sure." Miya Atsumu agreed readily.
Although the several sets prepared by the designer weren't the custom-tailored kind that fit perfectly, Miya Atsumu himself was a natural clothes hanger, the effect of everything he wore looked wonderful.
In the end, they settled on a three-piece suit in deep purplish-blue with a light-colored vest, as well as a two-piece set consisting of beige and a gray shirt.
Hinata admitted that his taste was excellent.
Facing an Atsumu like that, it's only natural to be captivated by his looks!
Miya Atsumu took several selfies in front of the mirror and sent them to the manager, who quickly replied with several thumbs-up emojis, while also sending him product information from the Black Jackals' fixed sponsors to ask which ones he was interested in.
Ignoring the manager's words for the moment, Miya Atsumu changed back into his own clothes and returned to the hotel with Hinata, which Coach Kurosu had helped them extend for another day.
He booked a room at Chihayagwan for tomorrow.
This season isn't the best time for sightseeing; after all, Kawarai Onsen is famous for its rose gardens and Kureha, right now, there's likely nothing to see but snow. Room rates have also dropped accordingly, making them affordable for two people.
—Actually, the best choice for a bit of comfort would still be Kashoen.
But looking at that terrifying price, which was nearly double, the currently penniless Miya Atsumu and Hinata could only hold back.
The two arrived at their reserved room in the morning. Atsumu had chosen the most basic Japanese-style room, the moment they stepped through the door, Hinata noticed the large balcony with its floor-to-ceiling windows.
It was snowing outside, as far as the eye could see, everything was a vast expanse of white.
Miya Atsumu ran his hands over the various things in the room. "The yukata and the disposable towels are all here. We can go to any hot spring except for Kashoen. There's a performance at eight-thirty tonight."
After putting the things into the locker, Hinata pulled out a blue floral yukata from inside: "Then.. are we going to the hot spring now?"
Atsumu also pulled out a matching one: "Let's go."
After a quick rinse, Hinata pushed open the door leading outside.
The cold air rushed toward him. Because the water used was hot spring water, the shrubs planted on both sides of the path still showed their green color beneath the layer of snow covering them.
Stepping barefoot onto the snow, Hinata looked up at the sky where snow was still falling.
There weren't many tourists here after the New Year holidays ended. After coming out of the indoor hot spring, Hinata only encountered four people along the way, though it couldn't be ruled out that most people chose to stay at Senshuukaku.
Hinata walked backward, looking down at the footprints he left in the snow one by one: "By the way, we discussed before that the names of Kawarai, Matsukawa-senpai, the others are all names of hot springs."
Miya Atsumu added, "Actually, the founder of this hot spring was named Kindaichi."
"So Seijo is actually Seijo Hot Spring Village?" Hinata couldn't help but burst into laughter.
The two voices were highly recognizable; upon hearing Miya Atsumu's voice, the only person in the open-air hot spring looked up.
Looking at the hot spring with its rising misty steam, Hinata was quite excited: "We're here!"
Neither of them considered the indoor hot springs, after all.. who could refuse soaking in an outdoor hot spring on a snowy day!
Draping a towel over his shoulders, Hinata walked in while testing the water temperature.
There had been quite a bit of steam up there before, so it wasn't until he stepped into the hot spring and sat down that he realized there were others inside.
Seeing those familiar eyebrows, Hinata blinked. "Ah."
Miya Atsumu, who had just come down the steps, let out a sound of pure disdain: "Tch."
Komori, who was munching on melon while soaking in the hot spring, gave a soft response, "Mm."
Chapter 549: The Five Hundred and Forty-Ninth Fox
“Long time.. no see?”
After saying this, Komori even laughed out loud.
They had only been apart for a single day, but.. why did they have to reunite in a place like this! He swore he had no intention of facing his old rival head-on!
After silently rolling his eyes, Miya Atsumu sat down near the aisle, pulling on Hinata's arm to make him sit down beside him as well, even though Hinata had originally intended to walk past.
He looked at the wooden tray floating next to Komori on the opposite side. "Is it just you?"
Komori replied, "Kiyoomi is in the private bath; he isn't interested in open-air hot springs."
“Private bath?!" Hearing those words, Hinata and Miya Atsumu both expressed shock at the same time.
The only places with private hot springs are Kawarai and Kashoen; the former requires a paid reservation for its private baths, while the latter has private hot springs right in the hotel rooms, though the price is, of course, quite steep.
Hinata swallowed hard and asked tentatively, "Gen-senpai, where are you all.. staying?"
Over at Kashoen," Komori replied, "the rooms with outdoor hot springs are family rooms. It would be a bit wasteful for just the two of us, I think soaking outside has its own unique charm.
—In short, the private hot spring in their room was being used by Sakusa.
Thinking back to the room prices he saw when booking a room with Miya Atsumu, Hinata's face was written with shock.
He knew Itachiyama was an elite private school, he knew that everyone studying there was wealthy, but.. having struggled alongside them on the court every day, he had never felt the gap between their wealth and poverty so clearly before.
Miya Atsumu rested both hands on the stones, but they felt a bit cold, so he pulled them back and tucked them into the hot spring. "Those damn rich people.."
It's alright.." Komori scratched his head. "If we're talking about being rich, shouldn't that be Oikawa-senpai?
"Huh? Oikawa-senpai?" Miya Atsumu was stunned for a moment.
To be honest, his familiarity with Oikawa Tooru was limited to the court; he had never paid any attention to his private life.
He only knew that when Oikawa Tooru joined the V1 last year, the annual salary Tachibana Red Falcons offered was four million, which could be considered an astronomical sum for a Setter whose highest achievement in high school was reaching the Semifinals.
However, Oikawa signed with the Tachibana Red Falcons mainly because of Coach Blanco; his salary wasn't something he cared about.
Miya Atsumu had been following the announcement of the new players in this year's Argentine volleyball league, in which CA San Juan signed Oikawa Tooru, a starting Setter from Japan's V1 Tachibana Red Falcons, with an annual salary of one hundred million Argentine pesos.
Compared to Oikawa Tooru's treatment at Tachibana Red Falcons, it could be said to have doubled.
Although it is still a long way from being a true star player, as a rookie in his second year of professional play, he is already able to demonstrate the club's high regard for Oikawa Tooru.
As far as Miya Atsumu knows, the current starting Opposite of the Black Jackals, Mr. Oliver, has an annual salary of over ninety million yen.
—It's more than ten times his.
But where did Komori get the conclusion that Oikawa Tooru was rich? The skincare products that guy normally uses seem to be just normal, or rather, just slightly expensive brands.
He uses things in that price range as well; after all, for one, he couldn't afford anything more expensive, for another, there wasn't much difference in the results—buying more would be like being a sucker.
Komori looked up, recalling, "When Oikawa-senpai came to the Junior National Team training camp last time, he was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt. I remember the price was over fifty thousand."
Miya Atsumu and Hinata both cried out in shock at the same time, "How much?!"
Hinata fell back, floating on the surface of the hot spring water, with only his face visible. "This world is so scary.."
Miya Atsumu felt a sense of crisis.
But it didn't matter. Since Oikawa-senpai had decided to naturalize, he wouldn't be able to participate in any world tournaments representing a country for the next two years, so the Rio Olympics would naturally have nothing to do with Oikawa.
And Kito-senpai had an injury; under the circumstances of him playing as a starter, he, as a substitute, had a very high probability of being able to take the court.