A Familiar Stranger - Part 1
Read the prologue here
“Hey, beautiful, can I sit here?”
Nino regarded the man who approached him with a shake. He wasn’t in the mood to talk with anyone. He just wanted to be alone.
However, the man ignored his answer as he sat next to Nino and asked for a glass of whiskey. Nino responded with a glare. But, fine, he could stay here as long as he didn’t bother Nino.
Turned out, it was Nino who couldn’t take his eyes off the stranger. The man may look sleepy but he was kinda cute. So, it’s a feast for his eyes.
“Are you enjoying the view, beautiful?”
Nino could only gulp when the stranger suddenly turned to look at him. It was embarrassing to be caught staring. Didn’t know what to do, he looked back at his drink, pretending that nothing happened before. However, from the corner of his eyes, he knew the man was staring at him and it made him uncomfortable.
“Look somewhere else, please. I don’t like when people stare at me,” He told the man who only chuckled in response.
“But, I like looking at beautiful things. And you are the most beautiful thing here. In fact, you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,”
“Sweet talker, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m just telling the truth,” said the man, shamelessly caressing Nino’s cheeks. But, what’s weird, Nino didn’t push him away. “Hey, how about we go somewhere else to have fun, beautiful?”
Did he say yes? Nino couldn’t remember. A week had passed but he kept thinking about the stranger that he met in the pub last Friday. Who is that man? Ah, maybe he shouldn’t leave the man without saying goodbye that morning. But, what to do? He was too shocked and couldn’t think straight when he found out what had happened between them.
Ah, whatever. It’s time to go to work. Maybe, he should go to the same pub again tonight. Who knows, maybe he will meet the man again.
“Nino-chan, I made breakfast. Let’s eat together,”
The invitation from Aiba to have breakfast together halted Nino from dashing out. His cousin smiled widely at him from the table, making it hard for him to refuse. Besides, the French toast that Aiba prepared was also mouth-watering. He glanced at the clock. It was still early. So, he nodded his head and joined Aiba at the table.
“You are not working today?” Asked Nino as he sat. Usually, Aiba would already be in the coffee shop where he worked as a barista around this time. That’s where he and his fiance, Sho met. Sho was a regular customer at the coffee shop and after months of admiring the man from afar, Aiba finally mustered up the courage to ask Sho out. It went well. Apparently, Sho frequented the shop because he was interested in Aiba but he was too shy to ask the other man out.
“I’m taking a day-off,” informed Aiba. “Sho-chan and I are going hunting today,”
“Hunting? What do you want to hunt?”
“The wedding venue, of course,”
“Eh?” Nino was surprised. “Isn’t it too early to look for a wedding venue? The wedding will be in three months, right?”
Aiba rolled his eyes as if he had just said something stupid. What? Was what he said wrong?
“People usually book the venue a year before the wedding, you know,” Aiba explained. Nino listened to it half-heartedly. “But, because Sho-chan had only proposed to me a few weeks ago and he is busy with works, we only have time to do it today,”
“Ohh…” Nino feigned interest in the subject. “How should I know? I never get married,”
“I’m worried, Nino-chan! What if we don’t get a good place for our wedding?”
“Postpone the wedding?” suggested Nino. If they did, Nino would be the happiest person ever. It was selfish of him to wish for that but that would give him more time to decide what to do about the apartment.
As expected, Aiba wasn’t happy with the suggestion. Nino received a smack on his head because of what he said.
“I don’t want to postpone the wedding. I want to live with Sho-chan. You know how traditional his parents are. We’re not allowed to live together until we get married,”
“Ah, so you’re eager to leave me alone,”
“That’s not what I mean,” Aiba quickly countered. “I’m sorry, Nino-chan. I don’t want to leave you. But, I also want to live with Sho-chan,”
Nino let out a sigh. He felt bad. It wasn’t his intention to make Aiba feel guilty. But, sometimes, it was hard for him to pretend to be happy when he knew things wouldn’t be the same after this.
“Don’t worry about it, Aiba-chan. I’m okay,”
Aiba narrowed his eyes as he looked at Nino, perhaps thinking whether Nino was lying or not.
“Have you thought about what I suggested before?”
Nino shrugged him off. Aiba had presented him with a solution for his apartment problem. Apparently, Sho also lives with a friend. And, as Sho and Aiba would be living together after the wedding, the friend would also need to find a new apartment. That’s why Aiba had suggested that Nino and the friend live together in their current apartment. But, Nino wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. He knew nothing about the man.
His lack of enthusiasm for the subject, as expected, made Aiba unhappy.
“Nino-chan!” Aiba suddenly looked stern, something that he rarely did. And, this meant that he would start nagging. “I know you’re not happy because of the change. You don’t want to live with a stranger and you don’t want to find a cheaper apartment because you love this place. But, how about trying to get to know Sho’s friend first before you decide? We will have dinner together today and I don’t care. You have to come! No excuse!”
The sudden change in Aiba caught Nino by surprise, making it hard for him to say no. So, he reluctantly agreed. There goes his plan to go to the pub and hope to meet the sleepy stranger again.
“Good!” Aiba smiled widely, a complete change from what he had been a few minutes ago. Man, his cousin is so weird. “I will tell Sho-chan about it and will text you the details for the dinner later,”
“Okay,” said Nino. He glanced at the clock. Time to go to work. “I need to…”
“Ah, I just remember something!”
Nino was startled when Aiba suddenly gasped. His cousin’s eyes went wide before he smiled sheepishly at Nino. Eh, why did Aiba suddenly behave like this? What did he remember?
“What is it, Aiba-chan? I’m late. Is it important?”
“Of course, it’s important,” retorted Aiba. “You haven’t told me why you didn’t come home last Friday. Where did you go? Did you spend the night with Matsujun? Is that why you don’t want to live with Sho’s friend? Do you want to live with Matsujun?”
“Huh?”
The barrage of questions from Aiba was unexpected and Nino had no idea how to answer those questions. First of all, of course, he knew the answer to the first one. It was the night he spent with a stranger because he was drunk. When he returned home that morning, Aiba had been bombarding him with questions about it. Of course, Nino didn’t tell his cousin anything about the one-night stand. And, because Nino looked super scary on that day, Aiba didn’t push him for answers. A week passed and Aiba never asked him about it. So, why would his stupid cousin suddenly talk about it? Moreover, what was baffling for him right now… why did Aiba mention Jun? He might not remember much about what happened that night. But, from what he remembered, there was only a guy he had spoken with. And, that guy was nothing like Jun. So, the thick eye-brow had nothing to do with what happened last week other than being one of the reasons Nino decided to go for a drink.
“Matsujun?”
“Yes… He is your boss, right?”
Nino nodded brusquely. On Jun’s first day in the office, he had complained to Aiba about it. All three of them went to the same school so Aiba knew about their rivalry. But, that didn't stop Aiba from befriending the thick eyebrow guy, much to Nino's annoyance.
“So, did you go out with Matsujun that night? Did you sleep with him?”
Nino’s eyes grew wide. His jaws dropped. This was the stupidest thing he had ever heard.
“Huh? What are you talking about? Why would I sleep with him?”
Unbelievable! How could Aiba think of something so ridiculous?
“Eh? It wasn’t him? Didn’t you meet him that night?”
“No. What makes you think so?”
“Because he told me that he was with you last Friday,”
“Huh?”
This was a surprise for Nino. First, when did Aiba meet Jun? Secondly, did Nino meet Jun that night? He didn’t remember at all. And if he did, was Jun the person he… no… no… He quickly shook his head, refusing to believe in the possibility. Yes, he left without checking who his one-night stand was. But, it couldn’t be Jun. That would be terrible!
However, Aiba was spared from giving an explanation when his phone rang. It was a call from Sho. And, with a speed of light, the man went to his room before Nino could stop him.
“Damn!” Nino cursed when he noticed he was already late for work. Ah, whatever! When he got home later, he would force Aiba to talk.
“You are late, Ninomiya-san,”
When Nino arrived at the office, Jun was already sitting at his place. The man didn’t lift his face when he talked to Nino. His focus was only on the document in his hand even though it was obvious that he only pretended to read the document. His eyes barely moved.
“I’m sorry, Matsumoto-san,” said Nino. Ah, why was this man his boss?
“Well, you’re only five minutes late and it is your first mistake so I will forgive you,” said Jun. “Hmm, have you finished the report?”
Did the boss check his email? Nino already emailed the report yesterday. Nevertheless, he still nodded his head. “Yes, Matsumoto-san,”
“Good!” Exclaimed Jun. “Meeting room in five minutes. We need to discuss about the website for the bookstore,"
The man stood up and then went ahead to his place. Being childish, Nino stuck his tongue out at Jun when the man wasn’t looking. Of course, it didn’t go unnoticed by the other staff who only giggled when they saw what he did.
“He is great,” said Toma, who sat next to him. Nino fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Why do you hate him?”
“Because he is a pompous brat,”
Toma laughed at his response. “I never thought of him that way,”
“Because you don’t know him,” retorted Nino, taking out the laptop from his bag. “Now, if you excuse me, I will have to go and see the emperor,”
And, so off he went to see the stupid manager, bringing his laptop along. When he entered the meeting room, Jun was already there, sipping a cup of coffee. He signalled for Nino to sit.
Taking a deep breath, Nino sat opposite his boss. He switched on the laptop and waited for Jun to start the meeting.
“So, I received an email from Mr Yamada this morning about the website... ” Jun professionally started the meeting. Frankly, Nino admired the way Jun did his job. As a perfectionist, it was hard to please Jun. But, that’s the challenge, right? And, contrary to what people think of him, Nino loves a challenge. “Generally, the layout looks neat but he wants to make a few changes…”
And so, Jun showed him the email that he received from their client. The two of them discussed the client's requirement for about an hour.
"So, is everything clear for you? Do you have any questions?" Asked Jun.
"Hmm, I don't think so," answered Nino. His eyes were still on the laptop.
"That's great. If there is any problem, let me know immediately," said Jun, standing up. "I will take my leave now,"
Nino only raised his hand without looking at the manager. He heard the footsteps walking away from him. But, after a few steps, Jun suddenly stopped. Feeling curious, Nino lifted his face as he wondered if Jun had more to say about the project. However, the manager simply stared at him with an amused smile.
"Did you forget something, Matsumoto-san?"
The manager shook his head. "Nothing. I’m just thinking about our meeting at the club last Friday,”
“Excuse me?”
Jun didn’t wait for Nino to process what he said as he continued. “You are quite interesting when you are drunk, Ninomiya. And, I’m still mad. How could you leave without saying goodbye?”
This was weird. He thought about the conversation he had with Aiba this morning and then tried to make sense of what Jun was saying. And, he only came to a conclusion. A conclusion that he refused to believe.
But, before he could ask Jun to confirm his thoughts, the man continued to speak.
“Oh, I told Aiba-chan about it when we met at a restaurant yesterday. Turns out, his fiance is a close friend of mine,”
Sho is a close friend of Jun? Is he the friend who lives with Sho, then?
And once again, Jun didn’t let him ask anything. The man checked his watch and then, he said. “Ah, I have an appointment. See you later, Ninomiya,”
And just like that, the man left him dumbfounded.
It wasn’t Jun. He didn’t sleep with Jun. That’s impossible. No, it wasn’t Jun. He slept with his sleepy stranger, not Jun.
It was hard for Nino to concentrate on his work for the rest of the day. The words, both from Aiba and Jun, kept ringing in his mind. What they said, especially Jun, seemed to indicate that Nino indeed spent the night with his boss. But, didn’t he sleep with someone else?
A sound from his phone broke his reverie. He took his phone and saw a text from Aiba.
YO! You agree to meet Sho’s housemate tonight, right?
Nino sighed exasperatedly. Frankly, he didn’t want to go. But, Aiba would be sulking if he said no. So, he replied to the text, expressing his willingness to meet the housemate. Not long after that, a reply from Aiba came.
Yeah! Thank you, Nino-chan. We will eat at Sho’s house. His housemate will cook for us. And his food is delicious.
Then, Aiba sent him the address to his fiance’s house. Nino only sent an okay to the man and then thought about his situation again.
Did he say no when the stranger offered to bring him somewhere else? He must be. That would explain why he ended up meeting Jun later that night and somehow, it led to a night spent together with the thick eyebrow. Man, why did it turn out like this? He would rather spend the night with the sleepy stranger than Jun!
Nino stared at the house in front of him. He checked the address that Aiba sent him again and again, wanting to be sure that he was in the right place. And, he was! According to the address, the house in front of him was indeed Sho’s house.
However, he didn’t immediately ring the bell. Instead, he looked around the house, hating the fact that this area was eerily familiar to him.
And, he instantly knew why. He had been here before. The man he slept with last Friday… This was his house. He recognized the surrounding. Yes, he might leave the house in a hurry last week but that didn’t stop him from looking around the area as he walked home. There was no mistake! He was indeed here last week.
And, now, he dreaded what would happen next. He didn’t want to ring the bell, afraid that Jun would be the one who opened the door and thus confirming his suspicion that Jun was his one-night stand. No, he didn’t want that to happen.
But, he couldn’t stay like this forever. So, with a heavy heart, he pressed the bell. And, his eyes grew wide when the door was opened.
It wasn’t Jun.
It was his sleepy stranger.
The man was equally shocked to see him.
“Hey, beautiful,” said the sleepy stranger, being the first one to recover from the shock. “I know you will be back. Hmm, I have a guest coming over to my house today. But, if you don’t mind, let’s join us,”
A/N: First of all, tell me, did I successfully trick you into thinking that Nino slept with Jun? I hope I did. I want the stranger he slept with to be Ohno. But, half-way, I changed my mind and want it to be Jun but Ohmiya will still be the pairing. Then, I decided to just let it be Ohno but I want to trick you first. What do you think? Do you think it was Ohno or Jun as you read this part?
But, to confirm, Nino was with Ohno that night. But, he also met Jun and more details about the night will be revealed later.
Let me know what you think about this okay? It will be very much appreciated :)