Once Again... I'm in Love with You - Chapter 1
Pairing: OhMiya
Summary: It started with an innocent meeting with a cute barista, who resembled his teacher.
"~Satoshi~"
Ohno lifted his face to look at the person who called him as he packed his stuff.
"Bye-bye." said the other person. Ohno didn't say anything.
"Satoshi Kun, bye-bye." the person said again. Feeling annoyed, Ohno glared at him before saying the same thing to the person. He knew that if he didn't say goodbye, the person will keep bothering him.
The person was his teacher at the cram school. His name was Ninomiya Kazunari. He was annoying and Ohno disliked him. He had disturbed Ohno’s peaceful days at the cram school with his attempt to make Ohno talk. Okay, Ohno would admit that he was indeed the best teacher he ever had. That’s why he was the most favourite teacher in school. But, it would be better if the teacher stops bothering him.
Sometimes, Ohno didn't have the mood to go to his cram school. He didn't want to be bothered by the teacher. It was useless to hope that the teacher will be absent. He was always there, even when he was sick.
However, he was absent one day. Ohno couldn't help but feel happy as he finally had a peaceful day.
And then he was absent again the next day.
And the next.
And the next.
Until Ohno finally realized that he won't see the teacher anymore. At first, he felt happy with the teacher gone. But, the happiness was replaced by a longing to see the teacher again. He didn't want to admit it but he missed the teacher. He missed the teacher so much. He wished to see the teacher again.
And his wish was finally granted.
Twenty years later.
"Large French vanilla." Ohno sighed in relief when the barista finally put his drink on the counter. He was almost late to work. At first, he didn't want to go to the shop. But, he was too sleepy so he had to get a cup of coffee first. "Bye-bye."
Usually, he will take his coffee and immediately leave. But, this time, he couldn't help but look at the person who made his coffee. The way he said 'bye-bye' was oddly familiar. It brought back memories of a person.
"You better hurry up and take your coffee." said the barista as Ohno stood on the counter without taking his coffee. He immediately apologized and took the coffee. Before he left the coffee shop, he turned to look at the barista again.
He couldn't see the face properly. But, something told him that he was the person he had been wishing to meet. Someone that he hadn't met for a long time.
Ohno turned off the alarm. It's time to go to school but he was too sleepy. He didn't want to go to school. He didn't like going there. No one liked him there. He was a quiet student, he didn't like to talk. He was too shy and people misinterpret that as arrogant. As a result, no one wanted to be his friend.
"Satoshi, wake up." His mother knocked on the door before she entered the room. Noticing he was still in the bed, she smiled softly. He loved his mother. She is the only person who cares about him. His father, on the other hand, kept trying to find his fault. He didn't understand why his father hated him so much. Maybe because he was too stupid. That's why he signed him up for a cram school.
"Still sleepy?" His mother asked. He nodded his head.
"Can I skip school today?" He asked. He knew what the answer's going to be but it’s worth a shot.
"Your father will be angry if you skip school, Satoshi." His mother said. Ohno smiled weakly.
"Just kidding, mama. I'll take a quick shower." Said Ohno. His mother nodded his head and then left the room. With a sigh, Ohno prepared himself for school just like he promised.
The school was boring, as usual. When the bell rang to signal the end of the class, everyone left the classroom happily, including Ohno. He still had to go to his cram school but it's okay. He loved the cram school. It promoted self-learning so he was pretty much being left alone to study. He only had to do his worksheet, submit, do the correction and then leave. The communication with the teacher was minimal so he enjoyed being there.
There was a new male teacher, Ohno noted, as he entered the classroom. He must be replacing Maeda sensei, who he hadn't seen for a while now. The teacher didn't notice him as he entered the class. He was helping one of the naughty boys that Ohno didn't know his name with his work.
Ohno took his seat, which was behind the naughty boy. The teacher lifted his face to look at him. He smiled at Ohno and informed him what he had to do. He stayed silent and looked at his worksheet that has been in his book. A new topic, it seemed.
Ohno scanned the worksheet. It looked difficult. What if he needed help to finish the worksheet? He didn't think he could bring himself to ask the teacher. But... whatever. He should start his work now. Maybe if he studied the examples carefully, he could answer the question.
Ohno did his worksheet in silence. The teacher didn't really pay attention to him and he didn't mind that. A lot of students surrounded the new teacher, asking for help with their work. Ohno, on the other hand, sat in silence when he finished his work. There were a few questions he couldn't answer. But, he was too shy to ask the teacher who seemed busy attending to the other students. So, instead of asking, he resorted to staring at the questions.
"Are you okay?" An unfamiliar voice asked. He lifted his face. The teacher looked at him worriedly before he looked at the worksheet he was working on. As if he understood Ohno's problem with the worksheet, he guided him on how to answer the question. Then, before he could leave to attend to the other students, Ohno flipped the worksheet to another page, showing him other questions that he couldn't answer. Seeing that, the teacher only chuckled at him before he helped him with the question.
"Hi, Satoshi!" The teacher greeted him at the next class with a smile. Ohno neither smiled nor greeted the teacher. He simply sat at his place. It's irritating to hear the teacher called him by his first name. Only his parents were allowed to call him Satoshi.
"If you have any problems, tell me, okay." The teacher said as another student asked for his help. As usual, Ohno began by examining his worksheet. It was similar to the one he did before so he had no problem to finish the worksheet. Once he finished, he stood up to submit his work.
Ohno put his book on the teacher's table. Then, he went back to his place. The teacher wasn't at his table at the time because he was helping another student. Ohno continued to watch the teacher in silence.
Once the teacher was done helping the other student, a female student gave her book to the teacher for marking. He marked the student's worksheet at one of the empty places, instead of going back to his place. Then another student came to submit his worksheet while another came to ask a question. The teacher was too small. So, Ohno couldn't look at him properly as he was once again being surrounded by the other students. In the end, Ohno decided to stare at his own desk while waiting for the teacher to notice his book.
"Satoshi, where is your book?"
Ohno blinked when someone asked him a question. It was the teacher. It took him a while to understand what he was talking about. Once he understood, he pointed to the teacher's table. The teacher gave him a puzzled look before he noticed the book on his table. He rolled his eyes at Ohno and then shook his head while laughing softly. Ohno pouted in response. The teacher's reaction offended him. It wasn't his fault the teacher didn't notice the book. The teacher should pay attention to things on his table.
"Here you go. You may go home now." The teacher handed him back his book. "By the way, my name is Ninomiya Kazunari. You may call me Ninomiya sensei when you submit your work next time."
Ohno rolled his eyes. He didn't care about the teacher's name. He quickly packed his stuff, while complaining in his head. If the teacher noticed his book earlier, he should be on his way home now.
"Bye, Satoshi." The teacher waved his hand. He looked at Ninomiya sensei in disbelief. The teacher is too childish, he concluded.
"Bye-bye, Satoshi." Ninomiya sensei said once again. He looked at Ohno with a stupid grin as if he expected something in return. Ohno thought about it for a while before he realized what the teacher wanted.
"Bye." He reluctantly said. The teacher gave him a stupid smile. During the first class, he didn't feel anything when the teacher smiled at him. But, now, it was annoying to see his smile. He wished to wipe the smile from the teacher's face.
"It wasn't hard, right?" Ninomiya sensei said. "And you have a lovely voice."
Ohno glared at Ninomiya sensei as the teacher walked to help another student. He never felt angry at someone. He was even angrier when he heard the student next to him giggled softly.
"Ohno Kun."
Ohno snapped out from the memory when someone greeted him. It was his best friend, Matsumoto Jun. He was the only friend he had. They had been friends since he started working. Jun's father was one of the founders of the game company he worked at. Interestingly, the company didn't have a CEO. Instead, it had two CEOs. Jun was one of them. He managed the company with a guy named Sakurai Sho.
"Good morning, Matsujun." He greeted.
"You seemed distracted," Jun said as he took a seat in front of Ohno. "Something happened?"
"No, I'm not." He objected. "It's the usual me. The usual sleepyhead me. I'm just spacing out like usual."
"No, you're not." Jun shook his head. "You don’t look like that when you spacing out. The look you have just now was different than the usual,”
"Oh really? What's the difference?"
"Well... It looks like you're reminiscing instead of spacing out." Jun explained. Ohno rolled his eyes at the guy. It's annoying that the guy could sometimes read him like an open book.
"You're reminiscing about someone, right? Who is she? A crush from school?" Jun teased him. But, Ohno ignored him. Instead, he pretended to focus on his work. "Hmm, what a delicious coffee you have here!"
Ohno returned his attention to Jun again. Jun was drinking the coffee he bought earlier.
"Who gave you permission to drink my coffee?" He asked, pretending to be angry. Almost immediately, he thought about the guy in the coffee shop. Maybe he should go to the shop again later. He wanted to look at the guy properly.
"Aha. I know it!"
"What do you know?" He asked Jun confusedly. His friend was too weird sometimes.
"Well, you met the person you're reminiscing about in the coffee shop you went to this morning," Jun explained. Ohno tried to remain expressionless. He didn't want to admit Jun was right. "Where do you buy the coffee? It isn't your usual coffee. I think this one is tastier."
"The coffee shop near the train station. I think it is a new shop because I have never seen it before.”
"Oh. Should we get a cup of coffee from the shop this afternoon? It's really tasty." Jun suggested. Ohno nodded his head in agreement. That's what he had been thinking of doing. When he noticed Jun take another sip of his coffee, he took the cup from him.
"Stingy." Jun teased. He looked at his watch and then sighed. "I better go now. I have a meeting with Sho Kun in 15 minutes. See you at lunch."
Ohno nodded his head and waved his hand dismissively. Once he had been left alone, he automatically thought about the teacher. His annoying teacher. How old is he now, he wondered. When they first met, Ninomiya sensei seemed to be in his early twenties. It had been twenty years, so he should be around forty now. Is he still annoying? Is he still childish? Or is he mature now that he is old?
Ohno shook his head. He had tonnes of work to do. It's better to start working than wasting his time thinking about Ninomiya sensei.
"HAH."
"What the hell!!" Ohno cursed when Jun surprised him from behind. Jun laughed at his reaction, making him even angrier.
"Hahahahahaha. That's funny." Jun remarked.
Ohno looked around the office. A few people tried to avoid looking at him. They stifled a giggle, unlike Jun who openly laughed at him. Ohno was their leader and was known as a serious one, so they didn't dare to laugh at him. It had been a topic of conversation among the staff how both he and Jun can become best friends when they are clearly opposite of each other. Ohno was serious, while Jun was the easygoing one. But, they didn't know that Jun could become deadlier than Ohno if he was angry.
It was a wonder for Ohno too how both of them became friends. Not a lot of people can stand his serious and solemn attitude. Jun was the second person after Ninomiya sensei who had tried to befriend him. He could see a few similarities between the two of them, especially with their gap. They looked cool and professional when doing their work but actually they were kids at heart. Yes, he cannot deny that Ninomiya sensei teased him most of the time. But, when he asked for help in doing his worksheet, Ninomiya sensei was a professional and taught him tenderly.
"Lunchtime, let's go." Jun pulled him from the chair. "Maybe we can get to see your crush again."
Ohno rolled his eyes, too lazy to say anything to entertain Jun. The walk to the shop was filled with Jun telling him about his meeting. As usual, he wasn't really talking about the meeting. Instead, he was complaining about Sho. Apparently, Sho had rejected his ideas again and he was not satisfied with the decision. It wasn't anything new. In fact, it happened quite frequently so Ohno simply pretended to listen to his grumbling.
"You're not listening, aren't you?" Jun said when they'd arrived at the shop.
"It's just the same thing every time. You have an idea, Sakurai san didn't like it. The reason will be the same, it's too daring, it's too reckless. Then, Sakurai san said he will consider it but he never brought it up again. So, I don't really have to listen." Ohno said.
Jun pouted at him, knowing he had been right.
"It will be better if we could find Nino," Jun mumbled softly. But, Ohno could still hear it.
"Who's Nino?" He asked his friend. That was the first time he heard the name. Jun seemed surprised by his question. Seemed like it wasn't something that he wanted to say out loud.
"No one." Said Jun, clearly lying. Ohno decided to dismiss the lie. Jun seemed uncomfortable with the question so he's not going to push him to talk.
"The place looks good," Jun remarked as he scanned the shop. However, he opened his eyes wide when he looked at the counter. Being curious, Ohno did the same to see what caught his friend's attention. He realized Jun was staring at the same barista that served him coffee this morning.
"Nino..." Jun said softly.
And then as if he heard his name being said, the barista looked at their direction.
A/N: So, this is the first chapter for the fic that you have chose earlier. Just in case if you're wondering how this fic was chosen, I asked for opinions in this post after I finished writing Magika.
The interaction between Nino and Ohno in school was based on my own experience. I'd worked as a teacher before for a tuition centre and I wrote Ohno based on one of the boys there. He was too shy and I loved to tease him. He always glared at me whenever I teased him.
To be honest, I've been writing and erasing this chapter countless time. I hope this is okay and comments are very much appreciated :)