My Boss, My Roommate - Part 1
The sound of the cellphone ringing could be heard by all of the staffs during the meeting. The vice president of the company, Sakurai Sho, who was explaining the performance of the company, stopped talking when he heard the sound. All of the staffs looked at one another, searching for the culprit who forgot to silence the phone during the meeting.
Nino sneakily slides his hand into the pocket to silence his phone while he looked around, pretending to look for the source of the noise. He tried to keep a straight face as he felt the phone vibrating in his pocket. To be honest, he never put his phone in silent mode, not even during the previous meeting. He wondered who called him. People seldom contact him. Aiba and Jun often contacted him but both of them were present in the meeting room so it couldn’t be them.
“Don’t forget to turn off or silence your phone during office hour,” said the president of the company lazily. His name is Ohno Satoshi. Perhaps Nino was imagining this but he could feel the president knew he was responsible for the noise. He was looking around the room as he said that but he only gave a sharp stare when he looked at Nino. The stare might be because Ohno hated him. His boss was strict and he was stricter to Nino compared to the other workers. He always gave Nino a hard time. However, despite his dislike towards Nino, Nino found himself to develop a crush towards his boss for unknown reason. Well, his boss was cute and the type of guy he likes so maybe that’s the reason.
The meeting continued without any interruption. After an hour or so, the meeting ended and as everyone else rushed to go outside, Ohno ordered Nino to stay behind. Nino nodded his head. A few staffs were looking at him sympathetically as they went past him while Nino keep on thinking if he did anything to make the boss angry. He silently prayed it wasn’t about the phone.
“Ninomiya san,” called his boss once they were left alone in the meeting room. “Come here,”
Nino walked to his boss. He noticed the boss was holding the proposal he submitted a week ago. Did he make a mistake in the proposal?
“Here,” Ohno handed the proposal back to him. “I need you to revise the cost,”
“Is that all?” Asked Nino.
“There are a few comments in the proposal but overall, the client loves your idea even though I think it was mediocre,”
There he goes again. Ohno never compliments his work even though other people always thought his idea was brilliant. He also had the privilege of having his work directly reviewed by Ohno himself while his other colleagues’ works were reviewed by the manager. He wondered if Ohno wanted to check his work so that he had more excuses to bully Nino.
“Okay, sir,” answered Nino.
“Submit the revised proposal by tomorrow,” the boss said before Nino went out of the room. He didn’t even look at Nino as he kept scrolling on his phone.
“Ne… It was your phone, right?” As soon as Nino sat on his chair, Jun brought his chair closer to Nino. Nino looked around the office, hoping no one else would hear what Jun said.
Nino almost forgot about the phone until Jun reminded him of what happened in the meeting room. He didn’t deny nor admit to what Jun said, instead he took out the phone out of his pocket to check who was bothering him just now. Turns out, it was his mother. There were five missed calls and two text messages from his mother.
‘Kazu, why didn’t you answer your phone?’
That was the first message from his mother.
‘Ah, gomen. I forgot you are working right now. Anyway, I found a solution for your problem’
Solution? Nino thought to himself. A few days ago, he accidentally told his mother about the problem he had with one of his neighbours. He was afraid to go back to his own house because of what happened between them so he cancelled his lease and now he stayed with Jun while trying to look for a new room to rent. Unfortunately, the rent for most of the rooms he found was quite expensive. Even though Jun seems to be okay with him staying together, he felt uncomfortable. Jun didn’t say anything but he knew Jun didn’t like if anyone invaded his private space. On the other hand, he cannot stay with Aiba because Aiba live together with his boyfriend.
“What’s wrong?” Jun asked him when he continued to stare at his phone.
“Ah, nothing. It’s just… Maybe my mom found a new room for me,”
“Why do you need a new room? You can just stay with me,”
“You are nice, J. But I cannot take advantage of your kindness. I know you are not comfortable. You cannot even bring your girlfriend home,” answered Nino. Jun smiled at him in return.
“I admit sometimes I feel annoyed at you but I love having you as my roommate. It’s fun to play games with you all weekend but I would appreciate if we spend time doing outdoor activities as well,” said Jun. Nino chuckled as he heard that. He had been living with Jun for about three months now and every day, Jun would nag him for playing too much. During weekend, he would beg Nino to join him doing other activities outside but Nino would immediately reject him. “I just want you to know that you can stay in my house as long as you want. Honestly, I don’t mind. But, if you really found a new room… Well… I’m relieved that I don’t have to listen to your snore anymore or having your drool on my sofa,”
“Hey, I don’t snore or drool, okay!” Nino lightly smacked Jun’s head.
“Yes, you are,” said Jun in return. “I better get back to my work,”
Jun went back to his place when a few staffs were looking at them annoyingly. Nino smiled at him and then eyeing the proposal that Ohno had returned to him. He should start revising the proposal now if he wanted to finish it by today. He would call his mother during the lunch break to ask whether she really found a new room for Nino.
“Ah, here it is,”
Nino and his mother stood in front of an apartment building. He couldn’t believe his eyes to see how luxurious the building is. He knew only rich people live around here so the apartment must be expensive. But, he should expect this when his mom told him the solution she found for him. Apparently, she met her friend from high school and her friend was looking for a roommate for her son. Well, more like a maid for her son. Her son aka Nino’s future roommate was busy with his work and because of that, he didn’t take care of himself properly. Worried for her son, she decided to find a roommate to live with him and take care of him. Nino didn’t have to pay for the rent. All he has to do is preparing meals for her son and make sure he eats as well as cleaning the apartment. In Nino’s opinion, she could just find a housekeeper for her son. However, as explained by Nino’s mother, he always forgot to eat the meals prepared by the housekeeper. That’s why her friend needed someone to stay with her son. Well, whatever. He was lucky to be able to stay in a big house for free so he didn’t mind. He only hoped that his new roommate is not fussy about food.
“Moshi moshi,” his mother said to the intercom. “Miwa san, it’s me, Kazuko,”,
“Ah, Kazuko san,” said the person on the other end. “I’m letting you in. Just push the door, okay,”
His mother did as instructed by the woman named Miwa and they were now in the building. They get into the elevator and his mother pressed for level 17. When the elevator opened at their desired floor, a woman around his mother’s age already waited for them. This must be Miwa as his mother excitedly hugged the woman. As Nino looked at the woman, she resembled someone he knew and suddenly he became nervous, thinking if it was possible that his new roommate would be that man. Nino shook his head in denial as an attempt to stop thinking of that possibility.
“Is this your son?” Miwa’s attention shifted to Nino and Nino bowed and smiled sweetly at her. She looked excited to see him. “What a handsome young man he is,”
“Yes, he is my son,” his mother answered. “But, your son is incredible. He must be a successful person to be able to live in this beautiful place,”
Miwa just laughed in return, looking proud to hear the compliment about her son. She then urged them to follow her and as they walked together, Nino took the chance to ask if her son was okay to have a new roommate. She then told him that there was nothing to be worried about. He seems reluctant at first but agreed to the plan as long as the new roommate is a good cook. Nino shouldn’t worry about that as well because her son always said everything is delicious.
His new apartment was at the end of the corridor. Miwa was about to open the door before it was opened from the inside. Standing inside of the apartment was the guy Nino thought about earlier. Ohno Satoshi. Both of them looked at each other in surprise.
“Did you know each other?” Miwa asked when she noticed their reaction. However, from her intonation, he could tell that she already know the answer.
“He is my boss,” answered Nino timidly. Miwa and his mother looked excited to hear that.
“Ah, good! So, you are not stranger,” said Miwa excitedly. Nino stared at his boss, expecting him to suddenly reject the idea of them staying together. However, Ohno didn’t reject him. Instead he invited Nino inside the house and offered to carry one of Nino’s bags.
“Is this everything?” For the first time, Ohno spoke to him nicely. It must be because their mothers were here and he didn’t want them to know how he usually treated Nino.
“Yes,” Nino nodded his head. He only brought his clothes, toiletries, DS and PSP. He left his other consoles at Jun’s apartment.
“Okay, let me show you to your room,” said Ohno and Nino followed him, leaving behind their mothers. As they walked, Ohno explained to him that there were three bedrooms and Nino’s was in the middle. Ohno warned him that no matter what he shouldn’t entered the other two bedrooms because they belonged to Ohno. Nino may use the bathroom located outside the room. They will not share the bathroom because Ohno already had one in his room.
“Okay. Does that mean I don’t have to clean your rooms then?” Nino asked for confirmation.
“Yes. I will do it myself,” said Ohno. “You just clean living room and the kitchen,”
Nino looked at him suspiciously. For him, it was normal if Ohno didn’t want him to enter his bedroom. He himself won’t allow anyone to enter his room. But, was there anything in the other room that Ohno didn’t want him to see? He was curious but knowing it wasn’t his place to ask, he let it go.
Ohno let him inside his new room. It was big, bigger than Jun’s room. Just like his mother said, the room was furnished with a bed, closet and table. He put his bags near the bed and was ready to go out but Ohno stopped him and locked both of them inside the room.
“Do you even know how to cook?”
Ohno was back to the way he usually spoke to Nino now that they were alone and far from their mothers. Nino sighed, starting to doubt if he should really live here. Should he go back to Jun’s apartment? At least Jun was his friend.
“I’m just curious because… Well… You usually eat bento from convenience store,” Ohno continued when Nino didn’t say anything. “I think it’s because you don’t know how to cook,”
“Ohno san… It’s because I’m lazy, not because I don’t know how to cook,”
Ohno looked at him sceptically, as if he still doubted Nino’s cooking skill. Nino won’t say he is the best cook but at least he had decent skill, unlike Aiba.
“Well, there’s no room for you to be lazy now. Even though my mom said that you only have to prepare my breakfast and dinner, I want you to prepare bento for lunch as well..” Nino wanted to protest. He didn’t want to get bullied by Ohno at home. However, before he could say anything, Ohno immediately continue. “… If you know how to cook, this shouldn’t be a problem for you, right?”
Nino narrowed his eyes as he looked at Ohno who smirked at him. This guy… Maybe he was doing this to stop Nino from staying here. Whatever. Nino wasn’t going to give up now that the guy had challenged him. He would prove his skills and made Ohno begged for more from him.
“Satoshi…” Ohno’s mother knocked the door, interrupted them. Ohno quickly opened the door.
“I’m going to the supermarket with Kazuko san. There’s nothing in your fridge for me to use for lunch,”
“You don’t have to…” said Ohno as he smiled innocently at Nino. A smile that made Nino thinks he was plotting something to bully Nino. “I’ll go with Nino,”
That was the first time Ohno called him that. Usually he would address Nino as Ninomiya san or simply Ninomiya.
“I agree with Ohchan. I would be cooking in this house from now on so I should do the groceries shopping,” said Nino. Ohno looked surprised to hear Nino called him with a nickname but he didn’t say anything.
“Both of you seem close,” said Miwa, which made Ohno and Nino to glance at each other. “It makes me happy to have someone reliable to look after Satoshi,”
“Mama, you don’t have to worry for today’s lunch. Nino would cook today. He said he wants to let you taste his pasta. The best in Tokyo, that’s what he said,”
Oh, so that’s the meaning behind Ohno’s smile. He wanted to bully Nino to cook for him right away. Pasta? He never cooked that before but he had enough experience watching Jun prepared pasta before. So, hopefully he could make it as tasty as Jun’s.
“Let’s go,” Ohno pulled him away from the room as he tried to remember which pasta was the easiest to prepare.
“You called me Ohchan,” remarked Ohno. Nino ignored him as he read the message from Jun regarding how to prepare pasta.
“Hey…” Ohno took the phone away from Nino. “Did you listen to what I said?”
“Why do you take my phone?” He snatched the phone back from Ohno as he received a new message from Jun, asking him why he was interested with pasta.
“Is that from your boyfriend?”
“It’s Jun. I’m asking him for the tips on how to make delicious pasta. I never make pasta before,” answered Nino as he typed a reply to Jun. Then, he put the phone in his pocket as he looked around the aisle for ingredients to buy.
“So, Ohno san, which…”
“Call me Ohchan,” Ohno interrupted him before he could finish his question, making him blinked in surprise.
“You want me to…”
“Nino!”
Nino didn’t have the chance to complete his question when he was once again interrupted. He looked in front of him to see Aiba a few shelves away and was waving excitedly at him. The person next to Aiba tried to calm him down and Nino was even more surprised to see who he was. It was Sakurai Sho.
Ignoring Sho’s attempt to stop him from making noise, Aiba rushed forward to Nino and Ohno while Sho chased him, pushed their trolley. Nino tried to process the whole scene. Aiba never introduced nor told Nino and Jun who his boyfriend is. The only thing he told them was he lived together with his boyfriend. Because Aiba was being secretive about his boyfriend, Nino and Jun kept on teasing him of having an imaginary boyfriend. But, seeing Aiba and Sho doing groceries shopping together in the supermarket, is he crazy to think that Aiba’s mysterious boyfriend is Sho?
“Nino!” Said Aiba excitedly once he was right in front of Nino. “What are you doing here? I thought you are going to your new apartment today,”
“Masaki!” Said Sho, trying to catch his breath. “How many times do I have to tell you don’t yell when we’re in public place. See, everyone was looking at us!”
Nino looked around and Sho was right. Everyone was looking at them and he smiled apologetically at people around them.
“I’m sorry!” Aiba pouted. “I’m just excited to see Nino chan and Ohchan… Eh?”
Aiba’s eyes went back and forth at Ohno and Nino as if he just realized what really happened. Nino didn’t know what to do. He didn’t expect to meet Aiba here. He had decided earlier that he will not tell Aiba and Jun who his new roommate is. But, there’s no way he could keep this as a secret anymore. Aiba had a big mouth and he would definitely tell Jun about this.
“Well, seems like my guess is correct,” said Sho. “Masaki told me you’re going to move into a new apartment and sort of acted like a maid to your new roommate while Satoshi told me his mom found a roommate to take care of him so I thought it was possible that you guys are going to be roommate,”
“Eh?” Aiba sounded surprise. “Ohchan is Nino’s new roommate? I thought they were dating,”
Everyone looked at him with wide eyes. Nino shook his head in disbelief. He thought Aiba had realized that with the way he was looking at them before. Who would’ve thought Aiba was thinking of something else.
Nino blushed slightly as he thought of his own crush for Ohno. He never thought of dating Ohno. It was impossible with the way Ohno treated him. He turned to look at Ohno to see how he reacted with what Aiba said. Ohno’s cheeks was red, perhaps even redder than Nino’s. Was it because he is embarrassed? Or is he angry at Aiba for speaking nonsense?
“Well… I think we should hurry up,” said Ohno instead. “Why don’t both of you joined us for lunch today? Nino is making pasta for us,”
Sho and Aiba agreed to the invitation and Ohno then excused himself and Nino from both of them.
“Are they dating?” Asked Nino once they were far from the couple. He wanted to confirm what he thought about earlier. If it was true, he wanted to tell Jun and he must be even more surprised than Nino. Ohno confirmed it with a nod and seeing that Ohno was not in the mood to talk with him, they do their groceries shopping in silence. Ohno just pushed the trolley without speaking. He didn’t even take anything and simply let Nino decided what to buy. When Nino thought they have bought enough to last for a month, he asked Ohno if he wanted to add anything. Ohno looked at the trolley and shook his head. They both proceed to the counter after that, ready to pay for everything they bought.
“Ohno san…” Called Nino as the cashier started to scan their items. “You’re going to pay, right?”
Ohno nodded his head and ready to take his wallet out of the pocket. However, he frowned as he looked at Nino. He scratched the back of his head before smiling sheepishly at Nino.
“Did you forget your wallet?”
Nino made a guess when Ohno didn’t say anything but continue to grin like an idiot to him. Ohno apologized and nodded his head, promised to pay extra when they get home. Nino sighed in return. Luckily he loved to carry a lot of cash so he had enough to pay for their stuff. He pretended to be angry at Ohno by refusing to help Ohno carried the stuff but deep inside, he was laughing. His boss always appeared to be charismatic and reliable so he found it adorable to see his boss being careless like this.
“Nino, it’s heavy!” Ohno started to complain when Nino walked without taking any of the bags from the counter. “Please help me carry them,”
“Did you have a different switch for your private life?” Asked Nino without thinking, as he took some of the plastic bags from Ohno. “You are so different in the office and at ho… Ah… I shouldn’t say that,”
Nino immediately apologized when he realized what he was saying. He expected Ohno to scold him for crossing the line and being casual with him but instead Ohno smiled softly at him.
“I give my everything at work so when I get home, I’m just too lazy to do anything. Lazy to cook, lazy to clean, lazy to eat…”
“And lazy to bring your wallet,” said Nino. He felt more comfortable with Ohno now. However, a small part of him was worried that Ohno will snap at him.
“Well… Please don’t act like this when we’re in the office. I have a reputation to protect,” said Ohno. Nino nodded his head. He took that as the approval for him to act casual with Ohno when they were alone.
“Want to grab a cup of coffee before we get home?” Asked Ohno when they’ve put all the groceries in the car. “Ah, I’ll pay you when we get back,”
“Sure,” Nino nodded his head. “But, you don’t have to pay me back. It’s my treat. The coffee... Not the groceries,”
Ohno only smiled at him without saying anything. Then they started to walk together to the café.
Nino stopped walking when someone tapped his shoulder from behind. He turned around to see the last person he wanted to see. Makoto, his old neighbour. The one who made him move from his previous apartment.
Nino gulped when Makoto smiled at him. He was scared to see him again as he remembered what happened the last time they met. Even though they were in public, he was worried of what Makoto will do to him.
“Nino, is he your friend?” Ohno’s voice brought him back to reality. He looked at Nino with concern. Without thinking, Nino hold Ohno’s hand tightly, hoping the guy will protect him from Makoto. He was grateful when Ohno didn’t push him away.
“Kazu, it has been a while. I’ve been looking for you! Why did you move out without letting me know? You even changed your phone number,” said Makoto. “Let’s drink a cup of coffee. Alone,”
From his tone of voice, he clearly instructed Ohno to leave Nino with him. When Ohno didn’t leave, he tried to grab Nino’s hand to pull him away from Ohno. However, Ohno was faster. He stood in front of Nino, trying to stop Makoto from taking him.
“Hey, Kazu is going with me,”
“I don’t think he wants to go with you,”
“But, I want to talk with him,”
“If you want to tell him anything, talk to him here. He’s not going anywhere with you. I will call the police if you force him,”
Ohno took out his phone from the pocket, ready to dial the number. Makoto scowled in return but he left them without protest.
“Thank you,” Nino finally found his voice to talk when Makoto was no longer in his sight.
“Are you okay?” Asked Ohno and Nino nodded his head. He was far from okay but at least he felt better than before.
“Let’s go home,” said Ohno, leading him to the car without letting go of Nino’s hand.
“Can you… Hmmmm… Go somewhere else before we get home? I’m afraid he will follow us,” said Nino before Ohno started driving the car. He nodded his head, agreed with Nino’s request.
Ohno didn’t ask him anything about Makoto even though his expression clearly shown he had a lot of questions. Nino was grateful for that. He wasn’t ready to talk about what Makoto did to him.
“So… Let me get this straight…” said Jun when the three of them sat together at their usual table during lunch on Monday. “You’re dating the vice president…” He pointed at Aiba and then pointed at Nino. “… And you stay together with the president,”
“Yes… And Nino live next door to me!” Answered Aiba. Jun looked at both of them, like he was waiting for them to say it was a joke. But, when neither of them say anything to contradict what he said, he rolled his eyes in disbelief.
“Wow! You guys really aim high,”
“I was really surprised to see Ohno san opened the door,” Nino said in a low voice so other people won’t hear them. “But I was even more surprised to see Aiba and Sakurai san together. Why didn’t you tell us your mysterious boyfriend is Sakurai Sho,”
“You won’t believe me if I’ve told you he is my boyfriend,” answered Aiba. Both Jun and Nino looked at each other and then silently agreed with what Aiba said. They would definitely say Aiba was making up a story if he told them the truth. “It’s because you’ve seen us together that you believe,”
“Well… That’s true,” Nino admitted to what Aiba said.
“Anyway, how is he?” Said Jun, subtlety pointing at Ohno who walked together with Sho into the cafeteria. Nino made a brief eye contact with his boss. He himself had a hard time believing Ohno is his new roommate. He was totally different from the person he had breakfast with this morning. It made Nino to think how lucky he was to have a chance to see a different side of Ohno.
As he was thinking of Ohno, he was reminded of what happened after they accidentally meet Makoto. Ohno drove around the town, being extra careful to ensure nobody followed them. Once he was sure Makoto didn’t followed them, they went home and he warned the security guard to tell him if they saw anyone suspicious around the building. When they got home, Aiba and Sho were already there with their mothers and they were asked why they went home late. Ohno made up an excuse that the car broke down and once again, he was thankful that Ohno didn’t say anything about Makoto. He didn’t want his mother and Aiba to be worried for him because they knew what Makoto did to him and the fear he had because of that.
Ohno then helped him preparing pasta. After all of them had their late lunch, Aiba and Sho went home. They rest for about an hour before Ohno send their mothers home. He wanted them to stay longer but they refused. The next day, Nino spent the day cleaning the apartment. He needed a distraction from thinking about Makoto. Ohno, on the other hand, spent the day in the third bedroom and only went out of the room to eat.
“He is different in private, right?” It was Aiba who answered. Contrary to what Nino thought, Aiba wasn’t a big mouth. He didn’t tell anyone how Ohno really was even though he already knew about it long before Nino knew. “He is nicer and I enjoyed spending time with him,”
“Really?” Asked Jun in disbelief. He glanced at Ohno’s direction. “That bento… You made it?”
Nino nodded his head. Everyone in the company knew Ohno never brought a bento before and Nino hear people who sat at the table next and behind him speculated that Ohno had a girlfriend now because of the bento. Nino only smiled when he hear that. If only they know the truth.
“Acting like a wife!” Said Jun teasingly. Nino narrowed his eyes at Jun. He never told Jun or Aiba about his crush on Ohno but he suspected Jun knew it. He was quite observant. “Did you wake up early to make his breakfast and lunch?”
“Not really,” answered Nino. Ohno’s apartment was closer to the office than Jun’s. Furthermore, he didn’t need to take the train. He went to work by sharing a car with Ohno, Aiba and Sho. So, he saved more time because of that.
As told by Ohno’s mother before, he wasn’t fussy about food so Nino made him eat cereals for breakfast and a simple chahan bento for him. He didn’t complained anything but maybe it was too early to make a conclusion.
“Well… At least you’re eating properly so I don’t have to worry about you. See, you even brought bento from home,” remarked Jun.
That was true. Before this, Nino always skip breakfast and dinner. Like Ohno said before, he usually ate bento from convenience store for lunch. When he started living with Jun, as expected, Jun ensure he will eat properly. But, sometimes, if Jun wasn’t home, no one will remind him to eat. Now that he has the responsibility to prepare meals for Ohno, he used that as the opportunity to take care of his own meals. Maybe he was similar to Ohno in that aspect. They will forget to eat unless there is someone to remind them.
When he almost finished eating his lunch, Ohno approached him. As usual, people look at him, wondering what Ohno was going to do to him this time. Nino immediately stood up. He himself was worried. Ohno had switched on his Professional-Ohno mode. There’s no way he would be able to joke with Ohno like he did Saturday morning.
“Matsumoto san, Ninomiya san, meet me in the office after lunch,” instructed Ohno and then left the cafeteria. Jun had finished his meal and was waiting for Nino to finish. Nino quickly eat. He didn’t want to make Ohno or Jun wait for him. After he finished eating, he left the cafeteria with Jun, leaving Aiba to eat alone.
“I really want to see him in private. If he was really nice as what Aiba said,” said Jun as they made their way to Ohno’s office. Nino didn’t say anything. He wonder why Ohno called both of them to his office. Is it related to work? What if Ohno overhear their conversation in the cafeteria and he didn’t like that Nino told Jun about their living arrangement?
They knocked on the door and a soft voice from inside asked them to enter. Once inside, they greeted their boss properly who in return asked them to sit. Then, he handed them a document.
“Matsumoto san, I want you to be the project manager for this project. Ninomiya san, you will be his assistant,” announced Ohno.
Jun took the document from Ohno and Nino watched how his eyes were wide in surprise. Then, Jun handed the document to him and he understood why Jun was surprised when he saw the client’s name.
“We will be in-charge for Suzuki san?” Jun asked for confirmation and Ohno nodded his head.
Nino feel anxious to know that. Suzuki is their biggest client. If they screwed up, it might cost them their job. Furthermore, Nino never be an assistant of a project manager before. How could he helped Jun if he didn’t have enough experience? He glanced at Jun who tried to look cool but he knew better. Jun was as anxious as he was about being the project manager. This wasn’t the first time he was chosen, but before this, he was only in-charge for small project.
“I know you don’t have enough experience,” said Ohno. “But this was requested by the client. He heard compliment about your previous projects so he wants to work with you,”
Someone knocked on the door but without waiting for Ohno’s permission to enter, the door was opened from the outside. It was Sho.
“Ah, you guys are quick!” Said Sho. “Satoshi, have you told them about the project?”
Ohno nodded his head.
“Okay, I want you to read the document first. We will discuss about it with the two of you tomorrow,”
Both Jun and Nino nodded their head, then excused themselves from the office. However, before he stood up, Nino noticed the way Ohno and Sho were exchanging glances. It was like they are communicating using sign language. But, he ignored both of them because it had nothing to do with him.
“Nino..” He was about to open the door when Ohno suddenly called him.
“Yes?” Nino immediately answered.
He wondered if it was his imagination, but Ohno didn’t look like his strict boss, he looked more like his adorable roommate. His cheeks turned red, it was the same colour as when they were in the supermarket. When Aiba said they were dating. Did Ohno switched off his professional-Ohno mode?
“Your chahan…It’s really delicious,”
“Ah, thank you,”
It was a simple compliment but it was enough to make Nino’s heart skip a beat. He lowered his head as he went out, not letting anyone see his face. He thought it was possible it was the same colour as Ohno’s, perhaps even redder. But, he accidentally make an eye contact with Jun once they were outside of the room. Jun didn’t say anything, only smiled teasingly at Nino.
“Ohno san,” Nino knocked on Ohno’s bedroom. “Dinner is ready!”
Nino had just finished making dinner for both of them. He had asked Ohno what he wanted for dinner and Ohno said he wanted to eat karaage.
“Okay!” Answered Ohno from inside of the room. Nino waited for him in the dining table to start eating together. He started to scroll his handphone while waiting, checking for announcement of new games.
It had been 10 minutes but Ohno didn’t get out of his room yet. So, Nino once again knocked on the door.
“Yes. I’m coming!” Shouted Ohno. “Give me 10 minutes,”
“Ohno san, you should eat now. If you don’t, both of us are going to get distracted once again and forget to eat,”
“I will eat in 10 minutes,”
“Now or I will call your mother,”
He heard footsteps approaching the door and Ohno opened the door showing his dissatisfaction.
“You’re annoying!” Said Ohno. Nino laughed to see him pouting as they sat down to eat.
“I have to. Your mom hired me to make sure you eat,”
“My mom is your boss but I’m your client. You should treat your client carefully. If you upset your client, he will complain to your boss and you will lose your job,”
“Well, I think my boss know how stubborn the client is. She will give me bonus if she knows I successfully convince her son to eat,”
Ohno continued to pout. But, as soon as he bite the karaage, he exclaimed loudly how delicious it is. Nino laughed looking at his adorable reaction.
“Your mom is right! You will say everything is delicious. Have you ever eat anything that Aiba chan cooks?”
Ohno nodded his head and told him the dishes made by Aiba weren’t that bad. He continued to eat his karaage and keep on complimenting the dinner Nino made for him. This was totally different than Ohno in the office who never praised his work before. And thinking of work, it reminds him that there was something he wanted to ask Ohno.
“Ohno san, may I ask you something?”
“Can you call me Ohchan when we’re alone?” Nino was surprised with the sudden request but he realized it wasn’t the first time Ohno requested that. He said the same thing before they were interrupted by Aiba in the supermarket.
“Okay, Ohchan, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Why do you choose me to be Jun’s assistant? I never be an assistant and only involved in small projects before,”
Ohno didn’t answer him immediately. Instead he kept on eating. It made Nino wonders if the question made Ohno angry at him and ruined the good relationship they have.
“What do you think?” Ohno suddenly asked him which made him blinked.
“Eh?” Nino asked him back.
“Why do you think I chose you?”
“Hmmm…” Nino didn’t know what to answer
“I chose you for two reasons. One, I want you to be busy with the project until you don’t have time to cook for me. Then, I will complain to my mother and she will fired you,”
Nino was shocked to hear the reason that he didn’t know how to respond.
“Two, if something happened to the project, you will be responsible and I can finally kick you out of my company. You are a newbie. So there is a high possibility you will make mistake,”
Nino couldn’t believe what he heard. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Ohno as he felt like crying. He thought Ohno finally realized his capabilities and that’s why he chose him to assist Jun. But…. To know the truth that Ohno actually wanted to get rid of him, it hurts him a lot. What did he do to make Ohno hate him so much?
“Ah… I’m sorry,” Ohno lifted his face to look at him properly. Then, he wiped tears from Nino’s face. He was crying? He totally didn’t realize that. It was too embarrassing that Ohno saw him crying.
“Don’t cry… I… I didn’t mean any of that… It was.. It was a joke… But, I guess it was too much… I’m really sorry,” said Ohno, looking panic. Nino was confused. Why did Ohno suddenly apologized to him?
“I’m sorry, Nino. Those two reasons…I didn’t choose you because of that. As I said before, the client wants Matsumoto to be in-charge and Sho suggested you to be his assistant because the two of you is a great combination. I agreed because I think it’s time to give you more responsibilities,”
“But you don’t think I can do it right? You always underestimate me,”
“No. Who said I underestimate you?”
“You always criticize my work, saying it was mediocre even though others always compliment my work,”
“I don’t want you to get cocky. I believe you have a great potential so I do that to make you continue to do better to impress me,”
Nino stared at the other guy, wondering if he was really telling the truth to Nino. Did he really believe Nino had a great potential? He looked sincere enough so Nino didn’t think he was lying.
“Besides…” Ohno continue to explain when Nino didn’t say anything. “Do you think I want to jeopardize my company by selecting someone incapable to lead my project? A lot of money is involved and Suzuki san is our biggest client. I won’t do something like that simply because I want to get rid of someone. If I really want to fire you, I will do that a long time ago,”
“Okay,” Nino finally answered.
“I’m really sorry, okay?”
“It’s okay and thank you for believe that I have a great potential,” said Nino. He acted really stupid just now. How could he believe everything that Ohno said before without thinking logically? He made a fool of himself by crying in front of Ohno. But, it wasn't his fault. Ohno looked so serious when he explained the reason and that's why he believed him. However, he also felt good to have this conversation with Ohno. Because of it, he had a chance to know what Ohno really thought of him.
“I like you more when you smiled. You are really cute,”
Once again, his heart skips a beat to hear a compliment from Ohno.
“Thank you,” Nino tried to be cool. He acted like what Ohno said didn’t affect him. He didn’t want Ohno to know about his feeling, afraid things might get awkward between them because of it. “We should finish our food,”
“Nino, you’re going to be busy after this because of the project. Suzuki san is hard to please so be prepared okay? I know you can do it,”
Nino smiled in return. He felt more determined to do his job when Ohno encouraged him like that. He agreed with Ohno that he might get cocky if Ohno always compliment him. So, he prefer if Ohno continue to criticize his work like he did before. But, if Ohno encourages him like this again, it would be better.
Just like Ohno said, things get busy at work because of the project. He barely had time for himself but he didn’t use that as the reason to neglect his other duty to Ohno. He had to ensure Ohno eats properly as he had promised Ohno’s mom. Thankfully, Ohno had been understanding about this. He didn’t ask Nino to make bento for lunch anymore and if Nino didn’t have time to prepare dinner, he will order delivery food for them or brought Nino to a restaurant. In fact, he found their role to be reversed as Ohno was even more concerned with his well-being.
Ohno would also accompany him in the office if he needed to work overtime or if he had appointment outside of the office. If he cannot go with Nino to the appointment, he would ensure someone will go with Nino. Usually he will send Aiba to go with Nino even though Aiba’s work has nothing to do with the project. No matter what, he wouldn’t allow Nino to go anywhere alone and that makes Nino interested to know why he was so protective of him. He cannot deny, he enjoyed the attention from Ohno and he wonders if Ohno had any feeling for him.
Another thing that made him curious about Ohno was Ohno’s secret activity in the third bedroom every weekend. Ohno would sleep on that bedroom every Friday night and spend the rest of the weekend in the room. He asked Sho about it and Sho told him that most probably Ohno was drawing and he kept most of his drawing and sketch there. If it was true, Nino really wanted to enter the room to look at the arts created by Ohno.
The sound of the alarm clock woke him up from his sleep. It was Saturday morning and Nino wanted to go to the office after breakfast. He had to finish a progress report which will be submitted to the client on Tuesday. He wanted to finish it as soon as possible so he will have time to re-check the report.
However, he had a terrible headache and he couldn’t even stand up properly. He forced himself to stand, convince himself that he would get better after taking a shower. But, before he could even get to the door, everything around him was spinning and everything becomes dark.
Nino groaned in pain when he opened his eyes. He still had the headache but it wasn't severe like before. There was a wet towel on his forehead but before he could took it off him, a hand stopped him followed by a soft voice that he recognized belongs to Ohno.
“You should rest. Your fever is quite bad,” said Ohno.
Nino tried to sit but once again, he was stopped by Ohno. Instead Ohno adjust his pillow properly before helping him to sit comfortably on the bed.
“What time is it now?” Asked Nino. He felt dizzy.
“Almost 12. I made porridge for you. Do you want to eat now?”
Nino shook his head.
“What happened, Ohchan?”
“Well… I was in the kitchen when I heard a loud noise from your room. I knocked but you didn’t answer so I was afraid something happened to you. That’s why I entered your room without permission. Sorry,”
“Don’t be sorry. I should thank you for taking care of me,”
He suddenly thought of the report that he needed to do. Would Ohno allow him to go to office if he told him what he wanted to do?
“I have a report to finish,”
“Nino…” As expected, Ohno sighed when he said that. “You should rest properly. You get sick because you didn’t get enough rest. Do the report when you get better or ask Matsumoto to do it,”
“Matsumoto is my superior. I cannot ask him to do my work,”
“I’m the president. I order you to ask him to do the report,”
Nino laughed to hear that. Having a president as his roommate is a good thing, right?
“I’ll do the report when I feel better,”
Ohno smiled at him and then caressed his cheeks softly. Then he looked at his watch before sighing once again.
“I will bring the porridge for you,” said Ohno and he left before Nino could stop him. Nino don’t have appetite to eat but he knew Ohno was right. He needs to eat to replenish his energy.
A few minutes later, Ohno came to his room, bringing a tray with a bowl of porridge and a glass of water.
“I don’t know how it taste,” said Ohno as he sat down once again. He stirred the porridge then started to feed Nino. It was tasteless but Nino didn’t say anything, just continue to eat from Ohno.
“I think our role was reversed now,” Nino told Ohno once he finished eating. “Your mom wants me to take care of you but you were the one who take care of me,”
“I don’t think so. I think both of us take care of each other,” Ohno response with a smile before he went out of the room, carrying the dirty dishes with him. He came back to Nino’s room about fifteen minutes later, wearing a different outfit than before.
“I need to go out with Sho chan,” Ohno informed him. Though he was disappointed to hear that, he only smiled at him. He thought he could spend the entire day with Ohno. “It might take a while. You just get some rest. Aiba chan and Matsumoto will come to look after you later. They were busy with something right now. Do you think you could take care of yourself before they get here?”
Nino nodded his head. “I’m an adult, Ohchan,”
“Okay. Don’t open the door for stranger,” added Ohno as he adjusted the pillow once again to let Nino lie down properly. “Get some sleep. I will leave the key to Aiba chan so you don’t have to open the door for him,”
Once again, Nino nodded his head. Ohno looked like he wanted to add more but he didn’t. Instead, he placed a soft kiss on Nino’s forehead. Nino blushed the moment Ohno’s soft lips touched his skin, he wondered how it would feel to have those lips against his.
“Bye,” said Ohno awkwardly before closing the door. Nino then let sleep claimed him as he closed his eyes.
Part 2
Nino sneakily slides his hand into the pocket to silence his phone while he looked around, pretending to look for the source of the noise. He tried to keep a straight face as he felt the phone vibrating in his pocket. To be honest, he never put his phone in silent mode, not even during the previous meeting. He wondered who called him. People seldom contact him. Aiba and Jun often contacted him but both of them were present in the meeting room so it couldn’t be them.
“Don’t forget to turn off or silence your phone during office hour,” said the president of the company lazily. His name is Ohno Satoshi. Perhaps Nino was imagining this but he could feel the president knew he was responsible for the noise. He was looking around the room as he said that but he only gave a sharp stare when he looked at Nino. The stare might be because Ohno hated him. His boss was strict and he was stricter to Nino compared to the other workers. He always gave Nino a hard time. However, despite his dislike towards Nino, Nino found himself to develop a crush towards his boss for unknown reason. Well, his boss was cute and the type of guy he likes so maybe that’s the reason.
The meeting continued without any interruption. After an hour or so, the meeting ended and as everyone else rushed to go outside, Ohno ordered Nino to stay behind. Nino nodded his head. A few staffs were looking at him sympathetically as they went past him while Nino keep on thinking if he did anything to make the boss angry. He silently prayed it wasn’t about the phone.
“Ninomiya san,” called his boss once they were left alone in the meeting room. “Come here,”
Nino walked to his boss. He noticed the boss was holding the proposal he submitted a week ago. Did he make a mistake in the proposal?
“Here,” Ohno handed the proposal back to him. “I need you to revise the cost,”
“Is that all?” Asked Nino.
“There are a few comments in the proposal but overall, the client loves your idea even though I think it was mediocre,”
There he goes again. Ohno never compliments his work even though other people always thought his idea was brilliant. He also had the privilege of having his work directly reviewed by Ohno himself while his other colleagues’ works were reviewed by the manager. He wondered if Ohno wanted to check his work so that he had more excuses to bully Nino.
“Okay, sir,” answered Nino.
“Submit the revised proposal by tomorrow,” the boss said before Nino went out of the room. He didn’t even look at Nino as he kept scrolling on his phone.
“Ne… It was your phone, right?” As soon as Nino sat on his chair, Jun brought his chair closer to Nino. Nino looked around the office, hoping no one else would hear what Jun said.
Nino almost forgot about the phone until Jun reminded him of what happened in the meeting room. He didn’t deny nor admit to what Jun said, instead he took out the phone out of his pocket to check who was bothering him just now. Turns out, it was his mother. There were five missed calls and two text messages from his mother.
‘Kazu, why didn’t you answer your phone?’
That was the first message from his mother.
‘Ah, gomen. I forgot you are working right now. Anyway, I found a solution for your problem’
Solution? Nino thought to himself. A few days ago, he accidentally told his mother about the problem he had with one of his neighbours. He was afraid to go back to his own house because of what happened between them so he cancelled his lease and now he stayed with Jun while trying to look for a new room to rent. Unfortunately, the rent for most of the rooms he found was quite expensive. Even though Jun seems to be okay with him staying together, he felt uncomfortable. Jun didn’t say anything but he knew Jun didn’t like if anyone invaded his private space. On the other hand, he cannot stay with Aiba because Aiba live together with his boyfriend.
“What’s wrong?” Jun asked him when he continued to stare at his phone.
“Ah, nothing. It’s just… Maybe my mom found a new room for me,”
“Why do you need a new room? You can just stay with me,”
“You are nice, J. But I cannot take advantage of your kindness. I know you are not comfortable. You cannot even bring your girlfriend home,” answered Nino. Jun smiled at him in return.
“I admit sometimes I feel annoyed at you but I love having you as my roommate. It’s fun to play games with you all weekend but I would appreciate if we spend time doing outdoor activities as well,” said Jun. Nino chuckled as he heard that. He had been living with Jun for about three months now and every day, Jun would nag him for playing too much. During weekend, he would beg Nino to join him doing other activities outside but Nino would immediately reject him. “I just want you to know that you can stay in my house as long as you want. Honestly, I don’t mind. But, if you really found a new room… Well… I’m relieved that I don’t have to listen to your snore anymore or having your drool on my sofa,”
“Hey, I don’t snore or drool, okay!” Nino lightly smacked Jun’s head.
“Yes, you are,” said Jun in return. “I better get back to my work,”
Jun went back to his place when a few staffs were looking at them annoyingly. Nino smiled at him and then eyeing the proposal that Ohno had returned to him. He should start revising the proposal now if he wanted to finish it by today. He would call his mother during the lunch break to ask whether she really found a new room for Nino.
“Ah, here it is,”
Nino and his mother stood in front of an apartment building. He couldn’t believe his eyes to see how luxurious the building is. He knew only rich people live around here so the apartment must be expensive. But, he should expect this when his mom told him the solution she found for him. Apparently, she met her friend from high school and her friend was looking for a roommate for her son. Well, more like a maid for her son. Her son aka Nino’s future roommate was busy with his work and because of that, he didn’t take care of himself properly. Worried for her son, she decided to find a roommate to live with him and take care of him. Nino didn’t have to pay for the rent. All he has to do is preparing meals for her son and make sure he eats as well as cleaning the apartment. In Nino’s opinion, she could just find a housekeeper for her son. However, as explained by Nino’s mother, he always forgot to eat the meals prepared by the housekeeper. That’s why her friend needed someone to stay with her son. Well, whatever. He was lucky to be able to stay in a big house for free so he didn’t mind. He only hoped that his new roommate is not fussy about food.
“Moshi moshi,” his mother said to the intercom. “Miwa san, it’s me, Kazuko,”,
“Ah, Kazuko san,” said the person on the other end. “I’m letting you in. Just push the door, okay,”
His mother did as instructed by the woman named Miwa and they were now in the building. They get into the elevator and his mother pressed for level 17. When the elevator opened at their desired floor, a woman around his mother’s age already waited for them. This must be Miwa as his mother excitedly hugged the woman. As Nino looked at the woman, she resembled someone he knew and suddenly he became nervous, thinking if it was possible that his new roommate would be that man. Nino shook his head in denial as an attempt to stop thinking of that possibility.
“Is this your son?” Miwa’s attention shifted to Nino and Nino bowed and smiled sweetly at her. She looked excited to see him. “What a handsome young man he is,”
“Yes, he is my son,” his mother answered. “But, your son is incredible. He must be a successful person to be able to live in this beautiful place,”
Miwa just laughed in return, looking proud to hear the compliment about her son. She then urged them to follow her and as they walked together, Nino took the chance to ask if her son was okay to have a new roommate. She then told him that there was nothing to be worried about. He seems reluctant at first but agreed to the plan as long as the new roommate is a good cook. Nino shouldn’t worry about that as well because her son always said everything is delicious.
His new apartment was at the end of the corridor. Miwa was about to open the door before it was opened from the inside. Standing inside of the apartment was the guy Nino thought about earlier. Ohno Satoshi. Both of them looked at each other in surprise.
“Did you know each other?” Miwa asked when she noticed their reaction. However, from her intonation, he could tell that she already know the answer.
“He is my boss,” answered Nino timidly. Miwa and his mother looked excited to hear that.
“Ah, good! So, you are not stranger,” said Miwa excitedly. Nino stared at his boss, expecting him to suddenly reject the idea of them staying together. However, Ohno didn’t reject him. Instead he invited Nino inside the house and offered to carry one of Nino’s bags.
“Is this everything?” For the first time, Ohno spoke to him nicely. It must be because their mothers were here and he didn’t want them to know how he usually treated Nino.
“Yes,” Nino nodded his head. He only brought his clothes, toiletries, DS and PSP. He left his other consoles at Jun’s apartment.
“Okay, let me show you to your room,” said Ohno and Nino followed him, leaving behind their mothers. As they walked, Ohno explained to him that there were three bedrooms and Nino’s was in the middle. Ohno warned him that no matter what he shouldn’t entered the other two bedrooms because they belonged to Ohno. Nino may use the bathroom located outside the room. They will not share the bathroom because Ohno already had one in his room.
“Okay. Does that mean I don’t have to clean your rooms then?” Nino asked for confirmation.
“Yes. I will do it myself,” said Ohno. “You just clean living room and the kitchen,”
Nino looked at him suspiciously. For him, it was normal if Ohno didn’t want him to enter his bedroom. He himself won’t allow anyone to enter his room. But, was there anything in the other room that Ohno didn’t want him to see? He was curious but knowing it wasn’t his place to ask, he let it go.
Ohno let him inside his new room. It was big, bigger than Jun’s room. Just like his mother said, the room was furnished with a bed, closet and table. He put his bags near the bed and was ready to go out but Ohno stopped him and locked both of them inside the room.
“Do you even know how to cook?”
Ohno was back to the way he usually spoke to Nino now that they were alone and far from their mothers. Nino sighed, starting to doubt if he should really live here. Should he go back to Jun’s apartment? At least Jun was his friend.
“I’m just curious because… Well… You usually eat bento from convenience store,” Ohno continued when Nino didn’t say anything. “I think it’s because you don’t know how to cook,”
“Ohno san… It’s because I’m lazy, not because I don’t know how to cook,”
Ohno looked at him sceptically, as if he still doubted Nino’s cooking skill. Nino won’t say he is the best cook but at least he had decent skill, unlike Aiba.
“Well, there’s no room for you to be lazy now. Even though my mom said that you only have to prepare my breakfast and dinner, I want you to prepare bento for lunch as well..” Nino wanted to protest. He didn’t want to get bullied by Ohno at home. However, before he could say anything, Ohno immediately continue. “… If you know how to cook, this shouldn’t be a problem for you, right?”
Nino narrowed his eyes as he looked at Ohno who smirked at him. This guy… Maybe he was doing this to stop Nino from staying here. Whatever. Nino wasn’t going to give up now that the guy had challenged him. He would prove his skills and made Ohno begged for more from him.
“Satoshi…” Ohno’s mother knocked the door, interrupted them. Ohno quickly opened the door.
“I’m going to the supermarket with Kazuko san. There’s nothing in your fridge for me to use for lunch,”
“You don’t have to…” said Ohno as he smiled innocently at Nino. A smile that made Nino thinks he was plotting something to bully Nino. “I’ll go with Nino,”
That was the first time Ohno called him that. Usually he would address Nino as Ninomiya san or simply Ninomiya.
“I agree with Ohchan. I would be cooking in this house from now on so I should do the groceries shopping,” said Nino. Ohno looked surprised to hear Nino called him with a nickname but he didn’t say anything.
“Both of you seem close,” said Miwa, which made Ohno and Nino to glance at each other. “It makes me happy to have someone reliable to look after Satoshi,”
“Mama, you don’t have to worry for today’s lunch. Nino would cook today. He said he wants to let you taste his pasta. The best in Tokyo, that’s what he said,”
Oh, so that’s the meaning behind Ohno’s smile. He wanted to bully Nino to cook for him right away. Pasta? He never cooked that before but he had enough experience watching Jun prepared pasta before. So, hopefully he could make it as tasty as Jun’s.
“Let’s go,” Ohno pulled him away from the room as he tried to remember which pasta was the easiest to prepare.
“You called me Ohchan,” remarked Ohno. Nino ignored him as he read the message from Jun regarding how to prepare pasta.
“Hey…” Ohno took the phone away from Nino. “Did you listen to what I said?”
“Why do you take my phone?” He snatched the phone back from Ohno as he received a new message from Jun, asking him why he was interested with pasta.
“Is that from your boyfriend?”
“It’s Jun. I’m asking him for the tips on how to make delicious pasta. I never make pasta before,” answered Nino as he typed a reply to Jun. Then, he put the phone in his pocket as he looked around the aisle for ingredients to buy.
“So, Ohno san, which…”
“Call me Ohchan,” Ohno interrupted him before he could finish his question, making him blinked in surprise.
“You want me to…”
“Nino!”
Nino didn’t have the chance to complete his question when he was once again interrupted. He looked in front of him to see Aiba a few shelves away and was waving excitedly at him. The person next to Aiba tried to calm him down and Nino was even more surprised to see who he was. It was Sakurai Sho.
Ignoring Sho’s attempt to stop him from making noise, Aiba rushed forward to Nino and Ohno while Sho chased him, pushed their trolley. Nino tried to process the whole scene. Aiba never introduced nor told Nino and Jun who his boyfriend is. The only thing he told them was he lived together with his boyfriend. Because Aiba was being secretive about his boyfriend, Nino and Jun kept on teasing him of having an imaginary boyfriend. But, seeing Aiba and Sho doing groceries shopping together in the supermarket, is he crazy to think that Aiba’s mysterious boyfriend is Sho?
“Nino!” Said Aiba excitedly once he was right in front of Nino. “What are you doing here? I thought you are going to your new apartment today,”
“Masaki!” Said Sho, trying to catch his breath. “How many times do I have to tell you don’t yell when we’re in public place. See, everyone was looking at us!”
Nino looked around and Sho was right. Everyone was looking at them and he smiled apologetically at people around them.
“I’m sorry!” Aiba pouted. “I’m just excited to see Nino chan and Ohchan… Eh?”
Aiba’s eyes went back and forth at Ohno and Nino as if he just realized what really happened. Nino didn’t know what to do. He didn’t expect to meet Aiba here. He had decided earlier that he will not tell Aiba and Jun who his new roommate is. But, there’s no way he could keep this as a secret anymore. Aiba had a big mouth and he would definitely tell Jun about this.
“Well, seems like my guess is correct,” said Sho. “Masaki told me you’re going to move into a new apartment and sort of acted like a maid to your new roommate while Satoshi told me his mom found a roommate to take care of him so I thought it was possible that you guys are going to be roommate,”
“Eh?” Aiba sounded surprise. “Ohchan is Nino’s new roommate? I thought they were dating,”
Everyone looked at him with wide eyes. Nino shook his head in disbelief. He thought Aiba had realized that with the way he was looking at them before. Who would’ve thought Aiba was thinking of something else.
Nino blushed slightly as he thought of his own crush for Ohno. He never thought of dating Ohno. It was impossible with the way Ohno treated him. He turned to look at Ohno to see how he reacted with what Aiba said. Ohno’s cheeks was red, perhaps even redder than Nino’s. Was it because he is embarrassed? Or is he angry at Aiba for speaking nonsense?
“Well… I think we should hurry up,” said Ohno instead. “Why don’t both of you joined us for lunch today? Nino is making pasta for us,”
Sho and Aiba agreed to the invitation and Ohno then excused himself and Nino from both of them.
“Are they dating?” Asked Nino once they were far from the couple. He wanted to confirm what he thought about earlier. If it was true, he wanted to tell Jun and he must be even more surprised than Nino. Ohno confirmed it with a nod and seeing that Ohno was not in the mood to talk with him, they do their groceries shopping in silence. Ohno just pushed the trolley without speaking. He didn’t even take anything and simply let Nino decided what to buy. When Nino thought they have bought enough to last for a month, he asked Ohno if he wanted to add anything. Ohno looked at the trolley and shook his head. They both proceed to the counter after that, ready to pay for everything they bought.
“Ohno san…” Called Nino as the cashier started to scan their items. “You’re going to pay, right?”
Ohno nodded his head and ready to take his wallet out of the pocket. However, he frowned as he looked at Nino. He scratched the back of his head before smiling sheepishly at Nino.
“Did you forget your wallet?”
Nino made a guess when Ohno didn’t say anything but continue to grin like an idiot to him. Ohno apologized and nodded his head, promised to pay extra when they get home. Nino sighed in return. Luckily he loved to carry a lot of cash so he had enough to pay for their stuff. He pretended to be angry at Ohno by refusing to help Ohno carried the stuff but deep inside, he was laughing. His boss always appeared to be charismatic and reliable so he found it adorable to see his boss being careless like this.
“Nino, it’s heavy!” Ohno started to complain when Nino walked without taking any of the bags from the counter. “Please help me carry them,”
“Did you have a different switch for your private life?” Asked Nino without thinking, as he took some of the plastic bags from Ohno. “You are so different in the office and at ho… Ah… I shouldn’t say that,”
Nino immediately apologized when he realized what he was saying. He expected Ohno to scold him for crossing the line and being casual with him but instead Ohno smiled softly at him.
“I give my everything at work so when I get home, I’m just too lazy to do anything. Lazy to cook, lazy to clean, lazy to eat…”
“And lazy to bring your wallet,” said Nino. He felt more comfortable with Ohno now. However, a small part of him was worried that Ohno will snap at him.
“Well… Please don’t act like this when we’re in the office. I have a reputation to protect,” said Ohno. Nino nodded his head. He took that as the approval for him to act casual with Ohno when they were alone.
“Want to grab a cup of coffee before we get home?” Asked Ohno when they’ve put all the groceries in the car. “Ah, I’ll pay you when we get back,”
“Sure,” Nino nodded his head. “But, you don’t have to pay me back. It’s my treat. The coffee... Not the groceries,”
Ohno only smiled at him without saying anything. Then they started to walk together to the café.
Nino stopped walking when someone tapped his shoulder from behind. He turned around to see the last person he wanted to see. Makoto, his old neighbour. The one who made him move from his previous apartment.
Nino gulped when Makoto smiled at him. He was scared to see him again as he remembered what happened the last time they met. Even though they were in public, he was worried of what Makoto will do to him.
“Nino, is he your friend?” Ohno’s voice brought him back to reality. He looked at Nino with concern. Without thinking, Nino hold Ohno’s hand tightly, hoping the guy will protect him from Makoto. He was grateful when Ohno didn’t push him away.
“Kazu, it has been a while. I’ve been looking for you! Why did you move out without letting me know? You even changed your phone number,” said Makoto. “Let’s drink a cup of coffee. Alone,”
From his tone of voice, he clearly instructed Ohno to leave Nino with him. When Ohno didn’t leave, he tried to grab Nino’s hand to pull him away from Ohno. However, Ohno was faster. He stood in front of Nino, trying to stop Makoto from taking him.
“Hey, Kazu is going with me,”
“I don’t think he wants to go with you,”
“But, I want to talk with him,”
“If you want to tell him anything, talk to him here. He’s not going anywhere with you. I will call the police if you force him,”
Ohno took out his phone from the pocket, ready to dial the number. Makoto scowled in return but he left them without protest.
“Thank you,” Nino finally found his voice to talk when Makoto was no longer in his sight.
“Are you okay?” Asked Ohno and Nino nodded his head. He was far from okay but at least he felt better than before.
“Let’s go home,” said Ohno, leading him to the car without letting go of Nino’s hand.
“Can you… Hmmmm… Go somewhere else before we get home? I’m afraid he will follow us,” said Nino before Ohno started driving the car. He nodded his head, agreed with Nino’s request.
Ohno didn’t ask him anything about Makoto even though his expression clearly shown he had a lot of questions. Nino was grateful for that. He wasn’t ready to talk about what Makoto did to him.
“So… Let me get this straight…” said Jun when the three of them sat together at their usual table during lunch on Monday. “You’re dating the vice president…” He pointed at Aiba and then pointed at Nino. “… And you stay together with the president,”
“Yes… And Nino live next door to me!” Answered Aiba. Jun looked at both of them, like he was waiting for them to say it was a joke. But, when neither of them say anything to contradict what he said, he rolled his eyes in disbelief.
“Wow! You guys really aim high,”
“I was really surprised to see Ohno san opened the door,” Nino said in a low voice so other people won’t hear them. “But I was even more surprised to see Aiba and Sakurai san together. Why didn’t you tell us your mysterious boyfriend is Sakurai Sho,”
“You won’t believe me if I’ve told you he is my boyfriend,” answered Aiba. Both Jun and Nino looked at each other and then silently agreed with what Aiba said. They would definitely say Aiba was making up a story if he told them the truth. “It’s because you’ve seen us together that you believe,”
“Well… That’s true,” Nino admitted to what Aiba said.
“Anyway, how is he?” Said Jun, subtlety pointing at Ohno who walked together with Sho into the cafeteria. Nino made a brief eye contact with his boss. He himself had a hard time believing Ohno is his new roommate. He was totally different from the person he had breakfast with this morning. It made Nino to think how lucky he was to have a chance to see a different side of Ohno.
As he was thinking of Ohno, he was reminded of what happened after they accidentally meet Makoto. Ohno drove around the town, being extra careful to ensure nobody followed them. Once he was sure Makoto didn’t followed them, they went home and he warned the security guard to tell him if they saw anyone suspicious around the building. When they got home, Aiba and Sho were already there with their mothers and they were asked why they went home late. Ohno made up an excuse that the car broke down and once again, he was thankful that Ohno didn’t say anything about Makoto. He didn’t want his mother and Aiba to be worried for him because they knew what Makoto did to him and the fear he had because of that.
Ohno then helped him preparing pasta. After all of them had their late lunch, Aiba and Sho went home. They rest for about an hour before Ohno send their mothers home. He wanted them to stay longer but they refused. The next day, Nino spent the day cleaning the apartment. He needed a distraction from thinking about Makoto. Ohno, on the other hand, spent the day in the third bedroom and only went out of the room to eat.
“He is different in private, right?” It was Aiba who answered. Contrary to what Nino thought, Aiba wasn’t a big mouth. He didn’t tell anyone how Ohno really was even though he already knew about it long before Nino knew. “He is nicer and I enjoyed spending time with him,”
“Really?” Asked Jun in disbelief. He glanced at Ohno’s direction. “That bento… You made it?”
Nino nodded his head. Everyone in the company knew Ohno never brought a bento before and Nino hear people who sat at the table next and behind him speculated that Ohno had a girlfriend now because of the bento. Nino only smiled when he hear that. If only they know the truth.
“Acting like a wife!” Said Jun teasingly. Nino narrowed his eyes at Jun. He never told Jun or Aiba about his crush on Ohno but he suspected Jun knew it. He was quite observant. “Did you wake up early to make his breakfast and lunch?”
“Not really,” answered Nino. Ohno’s apartment was closer to the office than Jun’s. Furthermore, he didn’t need to take the train. He went to work by sharing a car with Ohno, Aiba and Sho. So, he saved more time because of that.
As told by Ohno’s mother before, he wasn’t fussy about food so Nino made him eat cereals for breakfast and a simple chahan bento for him. He didn’t complained anything but maybe it was too early to make a conclusion.
“Well… At least you’re eating properly so I don’t have to worry about you. See, you even brought bento from home,” remarked Jun.
That was true. Before this, Nino always skip breakfast and dinner. Like Ohno said before, he usually ate bento from convenience store for lunch. When he started living with Jun, as expected, Jun ensure he will eat properly. But, sometimes, if Jun wasn’t home, no one will remind him to eat. Now that he has the responsibility to prepare meals for Ohno, he used that as the opportunity to take care of his own meals. Maybe he was similar to Ohno in that aspect. They will forget to eat unless there is someone to remind them.
When he almost finished eating his lunch, Ohno approached him. As usual, people look at him, wondering what Ohno was going to do to him this time. Nino immediately stood up. He himself was worried. Ohno had switched on his Professional-Ohno mode. There’s no way he would be able to joke with Ohno like he did Saturday morning.
“Matsumoto san, Ninomiya san, meet me in the office after lunch,” instructed Ohno and then left the cafeteria. Jun had finished his meal and was waiting for Nino to finish. Nino quickly eat. He didn’t want to make Ohno or Jun wait for him. After he finished eating, he left the cafeteria with Jun, leaving Aiba to eat alone.
“I really want to see him in private. If he was really nice as what Aiba said,” said Jun as they made their way to Ohno’s office. Nino didn’t say anything. He wonder why Ohno called both of them to his office. Is it related to work? What if Ohno overhear their conversation in the cafeteria and he didn’t like that Nino told Jun about their living arrangement?
They knocked on the door and a soft voice from inside asked them to enter. Once inside, they greeted their boss properly who in return asked them to sit. Then, he handed them a document.
“Matsumoto san, I want you to be the project manager for this project. Ninomiya san, you will be his assistant,” announced Ohno.
Jun took the document from Ohno and Nino watched how his eyes were wide in surprise. Then, Jun handed the document to him and he understood why Jun was surprised when he saw the client’s name.
“We will be in-charge for Suzuki san?” Jun asked for confirmation and Ohno nodded his head.
Nino feel anxious to know that. Suzuki is their biggest client. If they screwed up, it might cost them their job. Furthermore, Nino never be an assistant of a project manager before. How could he helped Jun if he didn’t have enough experience? He glanced at Jun who tried to look cool but he knew better. Jun was as anxious as he was about being the project manager. This wasn’t the first time he was chosen, but before this, he was only in-charge for small project.
“I know you don’t have enough experience,” said Ohno. “But this was requested by the client. He heard compliment about your previous projects so he wants to work with you,”
Someone knocked on the door but without waiting for Ohno’s permission to enter, the door was opened from the outside. It was Sho.
“Ah, you guys are quick!” Said Sho. “Satoshi, have you told them about the project?”
Ohno nodded his head.
“Okay, I want you to read the document first. We will discuss about it with the two of you tomorrow,”
Both Jun and Nino nodded their head, then excused themselves from the office. However, before he stood up, Nino noticed the way Ohno and Sho were exchanging glances. It was like they are communicating using sign language. But, he ignored both of them because it had nothing to do with him.
“Nino..” He was about to open the door when Ohno suddenly called him.
“Yes?” Nino immediately answered.
He wondered if it was his imagination, but Ohno didn’t look like his strict boss, he looked more like his adorable roommate. His cheeks turned red, it was the same colour as when they were in the supermarket. When Aiba said they were dating. Did Ohno switched off his professional-Ohno mode?
“Your chahan…It’s really delicious,”
“Ah, thank you,”
It was a simple compliment but it was enough to make Nino’s heart skip a beat. He lowered his head as he went out, not letting anyone see his face. He thought it was possible it was the same colour as Ohno’s, perhaps even redder. But, he accidentally make an eye contact with Jun once they were outside of the room. Jun didn’t say anything, only smiled teasingly at Nino.
“Ohno san,” Nino knocked on Ohno’s bedroom. “Dinner is ready!”
Nino had just finished making dinner for both of them. He had asked Ohno what he wanted for dinner and Ohno said he wanted to eat karaage.
“Okay!” Answered Ohno from inside of the room. Nino waited for him in the dining table to start eating together. He started to scroll his handphone while waiting, checking for announcement of new games.
It had been 10 minutes but Ohno didn’t get out of his room yet. So, Nino once again knocked on the door.
“Yes. I’m coming!” Shouted Ohno. “Give me 10 minutes,”
“Ohno san, you should eat now. If you don’t, both of us are going to get distracted once again and forget to eat,”
“I will eat in 10 minutes,”
“Now or I will call your mother,”
He heard footsteps approaching the door and Ohno opened the door showing his dissatisfaction.
“You’re annoying!” Said Ohno. Nino laughed to see him pouting as they sat down to eat.
“I have to. Your mom hired me to make sure you eat,”
“My mom is your boss but I’m your client. You should treat your client carefully. If you upset your client, he will complain to your boss and you will lose your job,”
“Well, I think my boss know how stubborn the client is. She will give me bonus if she knows I successfully convince her son to eat,”
Ohno continued to pout. But, as soon as he bite the karaage, he exclaimed loudly how delicious it is. Nino laughed looking at his adorable reaction.
“Your mom is right! You will say everything is delicious. Have you ever eat anything that Aiba chan cooks?”
Ohno nodded his head and told him the dishes made by Aiba weren’t that bad. He continued to eat his karaage and keep on complimenting the dinner Nino made for him. This was totally different than Ohno in the office who never praised his work before. And thinking of work, it reminds him that there was something he wanted to ask Ohno.
“Ohno san, may I ask you something?”
“Can you call me Ohchan when we’re alone?” Nino was surprised with the sudden request but he realized it wasn’t the first time Ohno requested that. He said the same thing before they were interrupted by Aiba in the supermarket.
“Okay, Ohchan, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Why do you choose me to be Jun’s assistant? I never be an assistant and only involved in small projects before,”
Ohno didn’t answer him immediately. Instead he kept on eating. It made Nino wonders if the question made Ohno angry at him and ruined the good relationship they have.
“What do you think?” Ohno suddenly asked him which made him blinked.
“Eh?” Nino asked him back.
“Why do you think I chose you?”
“Hmmm…” Nino didn’t know what to answer
“I chose you for two reasons. One, I want you to be busy with the project until you don’t have time to cook for me. Then, I will complain to my mother and she will fired you,”
Nino was shocked to hear the reason that he didn’t know how to respond.
“Two, if something happened to the project, you will be responsible and I can finally kick you out of my company. You are a newbie. So there is a high possibility you will make mistake,”
Nino couldn’t believe what he heard. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Ohno as he felt like crying. He thought Ohno finally realized his capabilities and that’s why he chose him to assist Jun. But…. To know the truth that Ohno actually wanted to get rid of him, it hurts him a lot. What did he do to make Ohno hate him so much?
“Ah… I’m sorry,” Ohno lifted his face to look at him properly. Then, he wiped tears from Nino’s face. He was crying? He totally didn’t realize that. It was too embarrassing that Ohno saw him crying.
“Don’t cry… I… I didn’t mean any of that… It was.. It was a joke… But, I guess it was too much… I’m really sorry,” said Ohno, looking panic. Nino was confused. Why did Ohno suddenly apologized to him?
“I’m sorry, Nino. Those two reasons…I didn’t choose you because of that. As I said before, the client wants Matsumoto to be in-charge and Sho suggested you to be his assistant because the two of you is a great combination. I agreed because I think it’s time to give you more responsibilities,”
“But you don’t think I can do it right? You always underestimate me,”
“No. Who said I underestimate you?”
“You always criticize my work, saying it was mediocre even though others always compliment my work,”
“I don’t want you to get cocky. I believe you have a great potential so I do that to make you continue to do better to impress me,”
Nino stared at the other guy, wondering if he was really telling the truth to Nino. Did he really believe Nino had a great potential? He looked sincere enough so Nino didn’t think he was lying.
“Besides…” Ohno continue to explain when Nino didn’t say anything. “Do you think I want to jeopardize my company by selecting someone incapable to lead my project? A lot of money is involved and Suzuki san is our biggest client. I won’t do something like that simply because I want to get rid of someone. If I really want to fire you, I will do that a long time ago,”
“Okay,” Nino finally answered.
“I’m really sorry, okay?”
“It’s okay and thank you for believe that I have a great potential,” said Nino. He acted really stupid just now. How could he believe everything that Ohno said before without thinking logically? He made a fool of himself by crying in front of Ohno. But, it wasn't his fault. Ohno looked so serious when he explained the reason and that's why he believed him. However, he also felt good to have this conversation with Ohno. Because of it, he had a chance to know what Ohno really thought of him.
“I like you more when you smiled. You are really cute,”
Once again, his heart skips a beat to hear a compliment from Ohno.
“Thank you,” Nino tried to be cool. He acted like what Ohno said didn’t affect him. He didn’t want Ohno to know about his feeling, afraid things might get awkward between them because of it. “We should finish our food,”
“Nino, you’re going to be busy after this because of the project. Suzuki san is hard to please so be prepared okay? I know you can do it,”
Nino smiled in return. He felt more determined to do his job when Ohno encouraged him like that. He agreed with Ohno that he might get cocky if Ohno always compliment him. So, he prefer if Ohno continue to criticize his work like he did before. But, if Ohno encourages him like this again, it would be better.
Just like Ohno said, things get busy at work because of the project. He barely had time for himself but he didn’t use that as the reason to neglect his other duty to Ohno. He had to ensure Ohno eats properly as he had promised Ohno’s mom. Thankfully, Ohno had been understanding about this. He didn’t ask Nino to make bento for lunch anymore and if Nino didn’t have time to prepare dinner, he will order delivery food for them or brought Nino to a restaurant. In fact, he found their role to be reversed as Ohno was even more concerned with his well-being.
Ohno would also accompany him in the office if he needed to work overtime or if he had appointment outside of the office. If he cannot go with Nino to the appointment, he would ensure someone will go with Nino. Usually he will send Aiba to go with Nino even though Aiba’s work has nothing to do with the project. No matter what, he wouldn’t allow Nino to go anywhere alone and that makes Nino interested to know why he was so protective of him. He cannot deny, he enjoyed the attention from Ohno and he wonders if Ohno had any feeling for him.
Another thing that made him curious about Ohno was Ohno’s secret activity in the third bedroom every weekend. Ohno would sleep on that bedroom every Friday night and spend the rest of the weekend in the room. He asked Sho about it and Sho told him that most probably Ohno was drawing and he kept most of his drawing and sketch there. If it was true, Nino really wanted to enter the room to look at the arts created by Ohno.
The sound of the alarm clock woke him up from his sleep. It was Saturday morning and Nino wanted to go to the office after breakfast. He had to finish a progress report which will be submitted to the client on Tuesday. He wanted to finish it as soon as possible so he will have time to re-check the report.
However, he had a terrible headache and he couldn’t even stand up properly. He forced himself to stand, convince himself that he would get better after taking a shower. But, before he could even get to the door, everything around him was spinning and everything becomes dark.
Nino groaned in pain when he opened his eyes. He still had the headache but it wasn't severe like before. There was a wet towel on his forehead but before he could took it off him, a hand stopped him followed by a soft voice that he recognized belongs to Ohno.
“You should rest. Your fever is quite bad,” said Ohno.
Nino tried to sit but once again, he was stopped by Ohno. Instead Ohno adjust his pillow properly before helping him to sit comfortably on the bed.
“What time is it now?” Asked Nino. He felt dizzy.
“Almost 12. I made porridge for you. Do you want to eat now?”
Nino shook his head.
“What happened, Ohchan?”
“Well… I was in the kitchen when I heard a loud noise from your room. I knocked but you didn’t answer so I was afraid something happened to you. That’s why I entered your room without permission. Sorry,”
“Don’t be sorry. I should thank you for taking care of me,”
He suddenly thought of the report that he needed to do. Would Ohno allow him to go to office if he told him what he wanted to do?
“I have a report to finish,”
“Nino…” As expected, Ohno sighed when he said that. “You should rest properly. You get sick because you didn’t get enough rest. Do the report when you get better or ask Matsumoto to do it,”
“Matsumoto is my superior. I cannot ask him to do my work,”
“I’m the president. I order you to ask him to do the report,”
Nino laughed to hear that. Having a president as his roommate is a good thing, right?
“I’ll do the report when I feel better,”
Ohno smiled at him and then caressed his cheeks softly. Then he looked at his watch before sighing once again.
“I will bring the porridge for you,” said Ohno and he left before Nino could stop him. Nino don’t have appetite to eat but he knew Ohno was right. He needs to eat to replenish his energy.
A few minutes later, Ohno came to his room, bringing a tray with a bowl of porridge and a glass of water.
“I don’t know how it taste,” said Ohno as he sat down once again. He stirred the porridge then started to feed Nino. It was tasteless but Nino didn’t say anything, just continue to eat from Ohno.
“I think our role was reversed now,” Nino told Ohno once he finished eating. “Your mom wants me to take care of you but you were the one who take care of me,”
“I don’t think so. I think both of us take care of each other,” Ohno response with a smile before he went out of the room, carrying the dirty dishes with him. He came back to Nino’s room about fifteen minutes later, wearing a different outfit than before.
“I need to go out with Sho chan,” Ohno informed him. Though he was disappointed to hear that, he only smiled at him. He thought he could spend the entire day with Ohno. “It might take a while. You just get some rest. Aiba chan and Matsumoto will come to look after you later. They were busy with something right now. Do you think you could take care of yourself before they get here?”
Nino nodded his head. “I’m an adult, Ohchan,”
“Okay. Don’t open the door for stranger,” added Ohno as he adjusted the pillow once again to let Nino lie down properly. “Get some sleep. I will leave the key to Aiba chan so you don’t have to open the door for him,”
Once again, Nino nodded his head. Ohno looked like he wanted to add more but he didn’t. Instead, he placed a soft kiss on Nino’s forehead. Nino blushed the moment Ohno’s soft lips touched his skin, he wondered how it would feel to have those lips against his.
“Bye,” said Ohno awkwardly before closing the door. Nino then let sleep claimed him as he closed his eyes.
Part 2