Locked in the Cafe with you on my Birthday is Not a Bad Idea - Part 1
“Thank you,” said Ninomiya 'Nino' Kazunari as he handed the balance to the woman standing in front of him. Today, he was on duty as a cashier and it was his favourite position. He didn’t have to move much when he was behind the counter unless the cafe was crowded with customers. But, the busy hour had passed so he could enjoy relaxing himself a bit.
“The food here is so delicious,” said the customer, smiling. She was one of their regulars. “Can you share the recipe with me? I want to try it myself,”
“I will have to ask our chef for the recipe,” answered Nino. “But, if I’m not mistaken, he uses a secret ingredient,”
“Uuuhhh… what is the secret ingredient?”
“I don’t know,” Nino smiled at her. “It’s our chef’s secret. It will not be a secret if he tells me, right?”
“True,” agreed the woman. “You have to let me talk with your chef,”
“I will… when he’s not busy,” responded Nino. “Please come again. You are our precious customer,”
“Of course, I will,” she said. “See you later,”
The customer left and Nino looked around the cafe to see if any of the customers needed their help. Everything was under control. He wouldn't be needed.
A fellow waiter caught his attention. His name was Ohno Satoshi and he had just started working two weeks ago. The waiter was talking to a customer. Well, it shouldn't be a surprise considering their job. But, after two weeks of watching Ohno secretly, he noticed that Ohno wasn't the type to be friendly with their customers. His expression barely changed. But, for the first time, he was smiling while talking to a customer.
"Jealous?"
Nino turned to his right to look at the intruder. It was his friend, Aiba Masaki. The man also worked at the cafe. Ever since Ohno started working, Aiba had been teasing Nino. According to him, Nino spent 90% of the time at the cafe watching Ohno. Aiba had deduced that Nino was attracted to Ohno based on the observation.
That was stupid, obviously. The statistics were wrong. Nino didn't stare at Ohno. He merely looked at the other waiter from time to time to make sure Ohno was doing his job properly. Ohno was new, right? So, it was Nino's responsibility to make sure Ohno didn't make any mistakes.
He decided to ignore Aiba and took his eyes from looking at Ohno and the customer. Aiba, obviously, was still in the mood to tease him. But, a few customers entered the cafe, saving Nino from Aiba's teasing.
It was finally time to go home after a long, busy day. Nino was too exhausted. He just wanted to lie down on his bed.
However, Aiba had a different plan for him.
Before Nino could step out of the cafe, the tall guy pulled his hand. As usual, Aiba was smiling. Nino could never think of a moment when the man didn’t have a smile on his face.
“I want to go drinking,”
“Then, go,”
“Come with me,”
Nino let out a sigh. “I’m tired, Aiba-chan. How about you ask someone else to go with you?”
“I did!” exclaimed Aiba, pouting. “But, only Matsujun wants to come,”
Matsujun’s full name is Matsumoto Jun. He is one of the chefs. The three of them were close as they started working around the same time. Besides, they were about the same age.
Aiba was still waiting for his answer. Glaring at the man, Nino finally agreed. It had been a while since he hang out with his friends.
“You pay,”
Aiba only nodded, too excited to say anything. The two of them waved goodbye to their manager, Maeda-san before heading out of the cafe. Outside, Jun already waited for them. To Nino’s surprise, the chef wasn’t alone. Seeing the person next to Jun, Nino tried to relax. Stupid Aiba! Why didn’t he tell Nino that Ohno would also be joining them? No, don’t get him wrong. He was okay if Ohno come with them. But, why didn’t Aiba mention it right from the start?. Being sneaky like this made it obvious Aiba had a hidden agenda.
“Took you forever to change, brat,” said Jun. That’s his nickname for Nino. And, of course, Nino had an endearing nickname for the diva too. Okay, frankly, he had tonnes of nicknames for Jun. Well, for others too. Everyone he knew except… hmmm… well… Ohno. They didn’t know each other well enough for Nino to give him a nickname. The other guy was just too quiet!
“I was talking to Maeda-san, Jun-pon,” retorted Nino. A second later, he schooled his expression to look serious. “As you know, he has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow and I will be the acting manager. He was just briefing me on what to do tomorrow,” Then, he winked at his friend. “So… if you don’t want to have a hard time tomorrow, you should behave tonight,”
“That’s power harassment, brat,” said Jun, not affected at all by what Nino said because he knew Nino was just joking around. That’s how they usually are. Bickering and bickering and bickering.
“Okay, guys, stop it,” said Aiba, finally stepping in. “You guys are making Ohchan uncomfortable,”
At first, Nino wanted to ignore Aiba. However, upon hearing the name that came out of Aiba’s voice, he remembered that someone else would be joining them tonight. He turned to look at Ohno who still had the same blank look as always.
“Okay, brat. We continue our fight some other time,” said Jun. “Ohno-kun said he wants to bring us to a good ramen restaurant,”
“Err…” Ohno shyly spoke. “I don’t know if it’s good or not. But, it’s famous. I want to go there but am too shy to go alone. Thank you for agreeing to come with me,”
Nino frowned. He wanted to protest since it was different from what Aiba had said earlier. But, since he was also hungry, he would let it pass.
“You’ll pay, right?” He stared at Aiba as Ohno and Jun walked ahead of them. Once again, Aiba only nodded in agreement.
Aiba and Jun hastened to the restroom right after they ordered their food, leaving Nino alone with Ohno at the table. Also, they both chose to sit at the same side of the table so the person who sat next to Nino was none other than the blank Ohno Satoshi. Really, dude? They were being so subtle in teasing Nino.
“So… Ohno-san…” Nino broke the silence between them. “Do you like working at the cafe?”
“Yes, I love it,” answered Ohno, smiling shyly. “Everyone is nice,”
“Really? Am I nice to you?”
“Of course, you are. You always watch over me to make sure I don’t make any mistakes,”
Errr… Nino couldn’t think of a response. He didn’t expect Ohno would notice Nino was watching him.
“Maeda-san will be mad at me if you make mistakes,” said Nino. “You’re under my responsibility. So, have you eaten here before?”
“No, this is my first time,”
“How did you find it?”
“From my school group chat. They sometimes talk about this place,”
“Oh… but you never go with them?”
Ohno’s face turned red, looking shy. “I’m not that close with them. I never said a word in the group chat,”
Nino didn’t know how he had this thought. But, when Ohno mentioned his school group chat, it reminded Nino of the person Ohno was talking to in the cafe earlier. Hoping he wouldn’t sound nosy, he was about to open his mouth to ask. However, the man in his mind suddenly materialized right in front of him.
“Satoshi!”
Nino blinked at first, uncertain that he was seeing right. But, yes, he wasn’t wrong. The man who was standing right in front of them was indeed the same guy who came to their cafe earlier. Nino recognized him from his sloping shoulder and his wide smile.
“Sho-chan?”
He heard the response from Ohno. Ah, that must be the man’s name. So, the two of them were on a first-name basis. Great!
“I didn’t expect to see you again so soon,” said Sho. “This could be a sign, you know?”
“A sign?” Asked Ohno, looking confused. Nino, on the other hand, watched the drama unravel in front of him in silence. Ohno might be clueless but Nino knew exactly what Sho meant.
“A sign that we should go on a date,” said Sho, confirming Nino’s thought.
“Ah…”
“I’m free this Friday,” informed Sho without waiting for a response from Ohno. “So, if you want to go out together, let me know. Bye,”
And, just like that, Sho was gone. Wow, what a cool way of asking someone out!
Jun and Aiba chose that moment to return from the restroom. What happened with Sho didn’t go unnoticed by them. In fact, it was the very first thing Aiba asked upon sitting.
“Who is that, Ohchan?”
“Hmm… my friend. His name is Sho-chan,” answered Ohno. “We went to the same school,”
“He was in the cafe, right?” asked Aiba. Ohno simply nodded. “The way he asked you out… that was so cool!”
Nino wanted to express the same opinion, just to show that he wasn’t affected by it. But, Aiba had a different plan.
“Nino, if you want to ask Ohchan out, you have to be direct like Sho-chan,”
“What the…” Nino glared at his friend. “Leave me out…”
“Nino likes Ohno-kun?”
Great! Now, Jun would join the teasing.
“That makes sense,” continued Jun without anyone answering his question.
“What makes sense?” Asked Nino back.
“Nothing,” Jun simply smiled, which annoyed Nino. “It just makes sense,”
“Urgh,” Nino rolled his eyes. “Just ignore them, Ohchan. They don’t know what they’re talking about,”
Ohno didn’t say anything. He just had a weird smile on his face. Perhaps Ohno didn’t pay attention to the conversation. Maybe, he was just thinking about Sho and his invitation for a date.
Nino decided to let it be.