Not for Sale - Part 5
“How is the burger?”
“It is not that bad,” answered Nino, refusing to admit that the burger that Ohno made for him was one of the best he ever had. It was everything that Nino loved in a burger. The meat was not overly seasoned, the bun was soft inside and crunchy outside, the molten cheese, the balance between the condiments… Well, what can he say? Everything was just perfect for him.
Truth be told, Nino hadn’t decided if he wanted to befriend Ohno. He was starving and that’s why he decided to come out of his room. But, if Ohno could make him something delicious like this every day, maybe it wasn’t a bad idea.
“So… Did you make this yourself?” Asked Nino. He didn’t mean to doubt Ohno. Indeed, the two of them were locked inside the house. So, Ohno couldn’t go out to buy the burger for him. But, maybe the man brought it with him when he came earlier. Nino was too enraged with Jun at that time. Nino tried to recall if Ohno brought anything with him when he entered Nino’s house. But, if memory serves, the man came inside empty-handed.
“Un!” answered Ohno enthusiastically. If the man was offended because Nino doubted him, he didn’t show it. Or, maybe he was too stupid to realize Nino was doubting him.
“Are you a friend of Sakurai-san?” asked Nino, changing the topic.
“He works with me… Like Aiba-san,” answered Ohno. Nino could sense the man was unhappy with the sudden shift in their conversation.
“But he calls you Satoshi,”
“We have known each other for a long time,” explained Ohno. “He is my first employee,”
“Oh…” Nino tapped his chin. “So, is he still single?”
“Why are you asking? Are you interested in him?” Ohno didn’t bother to hide the bitterness in his voice.
“Yes,” answered Nino. He enjoyed the disappointed look on Ohno’s face. “But not for me, of course,”
“What do you mean?” The man raised his eyebrows, curious.
Nino simply smirked, choosing not to answer the question. Instead, he pretended to be more interested in the burger he was eating. From the corner of his eyes, he could see how Ohno fidgeted on the seat, looking uncomfortable.
“Actually… Sho-chan likes someone,” Ohno finally spoke.
“Is it Aiba-chan?” Nino shamelessly asked and smiled when he saw the surprised look on Ohno’s face.
“How did you know?” the man asked, almost mumbling.
“Because it’s obvious,” stated Nino. “What? You didn’t notice?”
"Only recently," answered Ohno, blushing. "I notice in the meeting that Sho-chan always smiles softly at Aiba-san. Especially when Aiba-san makes a mistake during a presentation. That's why I put them in the same team for the new project. Maybe they could interact more,"
Hmm, classic move, Nino thought. Using work to help people get together.
“And it seems to work,” Ohno continued. “They are going out together, right? Perhaps they went for a date,”
Nino shook his head, remembering the conversation between Aiba and Sakurai before Ohno showed up. “There is an emergency at work so they go to fix the problem,”
“Really?”
Seemed like Ohno didn’t believe him. Fine.
“Well… they will have a meeting with the client tomorrow,” explained Ohno. “And, I asked for the progress yesterday and Sho-chan said everything goes according to plan. Well, there is a little problem but they already fixed it,”
“Maybe they just discovered the problem today,” responded Nino. But, he started to think of this matter from a different perspective. What if the conversation that Aiba had with Sho about the work emergency was just a distraction so that Nino won’t know he’s going on a date?
Nah! Aiba won’t be able to hide it from him.
But, if the project was going well as Ohno had claimed, Nino could think of another explanation. Sho was tricking Aiba into going out with him. Oh my… he likes this possibility!
“I’m going out to spy on them,” announced Nino, earning a frown from Ohno.
“But, we are stuck in this house,”
Oops! Nino almost forgot about that. Stupid Jun.
Cursing, Nino grabbed his phone on the table and dialled his stupid roommate’s number. Jun didn’t pick up the call. So, he tried again. Once again, Jun ignored the call. So, one more attempt. Still no answer. Urgh, this man! Why was he avoiding Nino’s call? Was he afraid of Nino’s wrath?
Still, Nino refused to give up. He would continue to call until Jun picked up his call. And after trying ten times, Jun finally answered his call.
“Brat!” Jun sounded angry. “Why are you calling me? I am busy right now,”
“Junny, open the gate,” Nino demanded. “I want to go out,”
“You? Going out? Don’t lie,” said Jun, snickering. “Just stay at home with Ohno-san. I will be home after I’m done spying,”
“Spying?” Nino raised his eyebrow, curious to know more. “Who are you spying on, pervert?”
“Aiba-chan!” Jun announced happily. “He is on a date with the guy who comes to our house earlier,”
Ah! Nino felt annoyed once again. It should be him who spy on Aiba on his date. But, because of Jun, he couldn’t do that.
“Aiba-chan told me that he had work to do,” continued Jun. “But, around 15 minutes ago, I saw him in the mall with that guy. And, they were holding hands like a couple! So adorable, you know!”
“I want to see that too!”
“I will send you a picture,”
“I don’t want a picture. I want to see it with my eyes,” Nino finally lashed out at his friend who had made his life miserable since yesterday. “Why do you keep bullying me? First, you sold me. Then, you went to the cafe behind my back and brought Ohno-san home before you locked me in the house with him. This is too much, Junny! I hate you!”
And, he ended the call before Jun could say anything. Perhaps Jun thought he wasn’t angry and that’s why he kept doing things that annoyed Nino. But, enough is enough. He won’t let Jun bully him again!
“Ninomiya-san,”
A soft, nervous voice called him. Nino lifted his face, glaring at the man who was sitting across him on the table. Ohno should also be blamed for this. But, it was hard for him to be angry at the man. Ohno was desperate to find him and that’s why he bought Nino when he saw the post. Jun, on the other hand, was a different story. He started this war by selling Nino.
“What do you want?” said Nino, keeping his voice level.
“Hmmm… please don’t be mad at Matsumoto-san. I beg him to help me… so that I can see you,”
Nino snorted. Both he and Jun joked all the time, he would admit that. But, Jun crossed the line by selling Nino on the website. They were lucky it was Ohno who bought him. What if someone else bought Nino? Someone creepy… someone dangerous… urgh, he couldn’t imagine what would happen to him if someone like that purchased him.
“He is a jerk, Ohno-san,” said Nino. “I am not for sale! And, only a jerk like him would put a person on sale!”
“Hmm…” Ohno let out a sigh. “I admit he went overboard by selling you. But, he met me to correct it. He didn’t meet me to bring me home to see you. As I said, he brought me home because I begged him,”
“What do you mean?” Asked Nino curiously. “Why did he go to you?”
“Well…”
Ohno was fond of writing about his day in a diary. He had been keeping the diary for a long time since he was small. It might be hard to believe but he already had a diary even before he knew how to write. Back then, his Mom would write for him whenever he had a special day.
And meeting the small adorable boy named Kazu was one of those days. A day before he bumped into Kazu at his office, he went down a memory lane after he found a picture of the boy in his photo album. Thank goodness, there was an entry about the day he met Kazu in his diary. He read the diary and relive the day again.
And, just like a miracle, they met again after more than twenty years. Seeing Kazu standing in front of him at that moment made him wonder if it was just a dream. His brain froze, not knowing what to say. Too bad, Kazu disappeared before he could say anything.
Meeting Kazu in the building he worked at gave him hope that they could again bump into each other. Fate wanted them to meet. That’s why he met Kazu in the building a day after he found the picture of the boy. He just had to be patient and then he could meet Kazu again and hopefully, he would be able to talk to the man this time.
However, it was easier said than done. He got restless each day, waiting for a chance to bump into Kazu again. Nothing happened after a week and he almost gave up.
But, fate was once again on his side. While he was browsing the internet, looking for art supplies, he found Kazu. Someone, presumably his friend, put Kazu up for sale on the website that Ohno used for online shopping. A cute but annoying Nino, that was written on the post. Without wasting any seconds, Ohno immediately purchased the man despite knowing it must be a joke between Kazu and his friend. It was creepy, he knew that. But, this would be the only way to reconnect with Kazu.
Somehow, it worked. Kazu had agreed to meet him. He was now waiting for Kazu in a cafe. They agreed to meet in about an hour. But, because he was too excited to meet Kazu again, he arrived at the cafe way earlier than promised. As he was waiting for Kazu to come, he thought of what to tell the man.
“Ohno-san,”
Ohno was startled when he heard a voice calling his name. Was it Kazu? It sounded different, though.
He lifted his head. A man he had never seen before was standing in front of him.
“I am Matsumoto,” said the man. “I’m the one who sold Nino to you,”
Oh.
“Where is Kazu?” Ohno immediately asked as the man named Matsumoto took a seat. He wondered if he had said something wrong because Matsumoto looked at him with a frown.
“Kazu?”
Ohno gasped, realizing his mistake. He had accidentally called Kazu by his first name. It couldn’t be helped. He had often called the man that way in his mind.
“How did you know Nino’s first name? Are you a stalker?”
“I’m not a st-stalker,” Ohno quickly denied, stuttering. “I know him,”
“How? Nino said he didn’t know you. He only recognized you because he bumped into you last week,”
Ohno sighed, thinking of how to answer the question. There’s only one way, he guessed.
Taking a deep breath, Ohno took out a picture and put it on the table. It was the picture that he found the day before he bumped into Kazu at the office. He planned to show it to Kazu later. It might be impossible but he hoped Kazu would recognize it.
“I’ve seen this before,” exclaimed Matsumoto when he saw the picture. His eyes grew wider. “Nino has the same picture too! How did you get it?”
“Because it’s the picture of Kazu and me,” answered Ohno. “We met when we were kids,”
And he continued by telling Matsumoto about the day he spent with Kazu years ago. Matsumoto listened intently to him. When he heard about how Kazu enjoyed Teletubbies, he had a weird smile on his face. Ohno knew what’s on someone’s mind when they smiled like that. It meant trouble. Perhaps he shouldn’t tell Matsumoto about Teletubbies. Matsumoto might be teasing Kazu because of that.
“Well…” Matsumoto began after Ohno had finished telling him about his past. “I think you’re not lying. You resemble the boy in the picture. Besides, Aiba-chan said you’re not a bad person. I don’t trust him. He thinks everyone is nice. That’s why…”
“Aiba-chan?” Ohno was startled. “Do you mean Aiba Masaki?”
That’s the only Aiba that he knew. Aiba is his employee and Sho’s crush. He had just noticed it. But, why did Matsumoto suddenly mention Aiba? He couldn’t see the connection.
“Yes, he is our roommate,” informed Jun. “Nino went to your company last week because of Aiba,”
Ah, so Kazu wasn’t working at any of the companies in the building. That would explain why he never met Kazu anymore after that.
“Anyway… as I was saying… I come here to warn you,”
A/N: What I post last week was childish. I'm sorry. A day after I posted it, I finished reading a book and somehow, it changed my mind about taking a break from posting. Emotionally, I don't feel good for the past few weeks. That's why I made that post. I felt like I am not needed in this world and even if I disappear, no one would notice. But, after I read the book, well, it encourages me to do what I like. And writing is one of the things that I love. So, I decided to continue.
Anyway, I hope you will be able to enjoy this one. I thought this will be the last part but my mind didn't seem to agree. Let's see what will happen later.