Have you ever had a moment when you thought, “Is this girl doing papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan)?” I’m a woman, and when someone brings bottled water from a love hotel to work, reacts unusually strongly to papa-katsu-related words, or has an unusual name saved on LINE, I wonder if she’s in the same line of work.

I’m Saito, a columnist♪ I can’t speak to papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan), but when I was having dinner with a certain race queen, she called the waiter over with, “Excuse me.” I remember thinking, “I wonder if she works at a hostess club.”

Maezawa from the Corporate Planning Office here as well. I also found myself wondering, “What is love hotel water?” So it was the bottled water they leave out. I didn’t know that some people take it home. When you say it makes things obvious, that may be true. However, the paid bottled water in the office refrigerator supplied by a vendor at Universe is also very cheap and not a brand I’ve ever seen in regular stores, so it could be the same water. I’ve seen this water at discount stores too, so it’s possible that it’s also supplied to love hotels. It’s extremely cheap. Thinking about it that way, what someone assumes is love hotel water could simply be water sold at a nearby discount store. In that case, the person asking may actually be the one with the problem for mistaking it for love hotel water. Just because it’s from a love hotel doesn’t mean it’s some special kind of water. The same product is often sold by the case at discount stores—sometimes 500 ml bottles cost only 28 or even 25 yen each. It’s possible that someone might react to words associated with papa-katsu, but I feel that experienced people would be less likely to react. It may be people who are just considering papa-katsu who would respond to it. That aside, there may be cases where you can tell someone is doing papa-katsu from what they wear or carry. But they might actually just work in the nightlife industry, so I’m not sure you can necessarily conclude that they’re doing papa-katsu.

I’m Paper Airplane, a male member. Do you mean women whose LINE names are just one English letter or a single symbol? And do they change their photos after starting papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan)? You really can’t tell anything from LINE alone. The only ones I can identify are the ones whose LINE names give me a hint, or girls who’ve told me they joined a club. Love-hotel water is a no-go. These days, I make absolutely sure not to bring it home. Once, I walked into a hotel and saw the exact same bottled water from a love hotel right in front of me. My wife immediately went, “Oh… are you…?” I’d had enough after that. P.S. Meg, when I went to work today, there was a gorgeous new college girl there, and I was stunned. I’m going to stay here forever without making a move… If she were with a club, she’d definitely be Platinum or Black level or higher. Not being able to make a move is even more nerve-racking… For camouflage, I hug my wife and shower her with kisses every time I leave and come home, so she thinks I’m always touching women at work too. She even tells me, “If you ever got arrested for groping someone, I’d totally believe it…” But in reality, nothing could be further from the truth—I can’t even lay a finger on anyone. PP.S. I thought I could get away with saying the water I brought to work was just a discounted bottle for everyone, but I ended up going to the same love hotel that’s become one of my regulars—even though that only happens once a year at most… Idiot. And of all days, the bottle wasn’t in the refrigerator; it was sitting on the shelf right in front of the entrance. PPPS. That new college girl is 18 and will officially become a college student this April. I gave her some money for juice as a little treat, and she took it in her hand and said, “Huh? What’s this for?” She was completely confused. But when I explained, she shouted, “Wow! Yes!” and was absolutely thrilled! So that’s how someone reacts when they’re receiving a little treat for the first time… You only get a reaction like that once in a lifetime.

I’m Meg, a female member. Someone at work bringing in water from a love hotel→ Isn’t that a dead giveaway? LOL That’s what I think whenever I see an elegant, fair-skinned woman in her 40s wearing something that, no matter how you look at it, is clearly a date outfit. Paper Airplane, it sounds like you have quite a few mishap stories… (Sorry, but my curiosity got the better of me—I’m kind of morbidly interested in hearing them.) P.S. Paper Airplane, You really went for it, didn’t you? LOL Your hug-and-kiss attack on your wife→ I’m so jealous. The new female college student→ Her reaction was so cute♪ That level of tension must have been intense (^_^;)