Ehh... [Kunimi makes a small show of "considering" whether he'd like random teenagers tagging along everywhere they go.] I prefer having you to myself.

[Not like Whelk needs Kunimi to point out how horribly his mood tanked when Gansey barged in, so again, Kunimi massages his words a little to turn the blatantly obvious into a compliment. They can always go somewhere private (read: Whelk's place) and spend some time getting to know each other (read: actually swapping stories and learning more about each other's lives), as long as they don't get distracted (read: bang too hard to make it out that evening.)

At the mention of karaoke, Kunimi has a brief moment of cultural vertigo that leaves him staring at Whelk as if waiting for the punchline. No, drinking isn't the punchline, it's just a fact of karaoke... so that means... Whelk really is telling him...]

American... country music... karaoke... [Like Whelk with the name of his hometown, Kunimi just slips into proper pronunciation naturally on the odd occasions when Japanese loan words come up in their conversation.] It isn't surprising, I just... never considered...

[He's not saying no, Whelk. He's just in shock.]