Cupid - Part 2
The room was surrounded by an awkward silence. Nino didn’t dare to say anything, afraid that he misinterpreted what Ohno had said. The businessman seemed to imply that he wanted to date Nino. But, that’s impossible, right?
However, Ohno seemed to wait for an answer by looking straight at him. Nino started to get fidgeted, feeling restless with the way Ohno was staring at him. Was Ohno serious about being interested in him? Or maybe he asked Nino a question and was waiting for an answer? But, Ohno didn't say anything, right? He only said he was interested in someone and pointed at Nino.
He glanced at both Jun and Sho. Seemed like the two of them were also confused with the situation.
"So…" Ohno cleared his throat after being silent for a while. "What do you say?"
"Hmmm… Ohno san, what exactly are you saying?" Nino asked. It's better to confirm. He didn't want to be embarrassed if he misunderstood what Ohno meant.
"Well…hmm… I am interested in you…" Ohno's face turned red and Nino couldn't catch what he said next because he was mumbling.
"What did you say?"
Ohno took a deep breath, appearing to be mustering his courage to do something embarrassing. Then, he looked straight at Nino and said as loudly as he could. "Ninomiya san, would you like to go on a date with me?"
There. Ohno finally said it properly. Nino was glad he was sitting on the chair. At least, by sitting down, it was easier for him to react and recollect his thoughts as Ohno confirmed what he thought. But, the businessman was not serious about this, right?
"Is this a joke?" Nino asked, saying the first thing that was in his mind. "This is not why I am here… I mean… You want to use our service to find a girlfriend. But, why are you asking me out for a date?"
Did he sound rude? Urgh, he didn’t want to care about that right now.
If Ohno was offended by what Nino said, he didn't show it. He only smiled softly at Nino. And when Nino saw the smile, he felt weird. But, it's not in a bad way. And, it made him feel bad for being rude earlier.
"Sho chan," Ohno called his assistant softly, reminding Nino that they weren't alone in this room. The two of them were too quiet and he almost forgot about them. Jun must be in too much shock to respond, he guessed.
“Can both you and Matsumoto san wait outside?" Ohno continued. "I want to talk with Little Cupid… ah…” Nino frowned to hear that. Little Cupid? Was he talking about Nino? “I mean… I want to talk with Ninomiya san in private,”
“Certainly, Ohno sama,” Sho nodded his head, readily oblige the order. Jun, on the other hand, looked at Nino weirdly. Maybe he was worried to leave Nino alone with Ohno.
“I will be okay,” Nino assured his boss. Jun thought about it for a while before he nodded his head and then followed Sho out of the room.
Now that they were alone in the room, Nino waited for the businessman to start talking first. But, Ohno simply stared at him without saying anything. And, even though he should be annoyed by Ohno, he didn’t feel that way. Ohno looked so soft and adorable. Nino found it hard to be angry at him.
"You call me Little Cupid?" Nino suddenly said as he remembered how Ohno had addressed him earlier. "Why?"
"Because you are a matchmaker," Answered Ohno. Urgh, why did he bother to ask? Of course, that would be the reason to call him Little Cupid. "So, I think it's cute to call you Cupid. But, it's short so I add Little because you are small,"
"We are about the same size," Nino retorted.
"Should I call you Cutie Cupid then?"
Nino rolled his eyes. Why were they wasting their time talking about this? They should talk about what Ohno had said earlier!
"Just call me Ninomiya," Nino decided. "About what you said earlier… are you serious?"
"About asking you out?" Ohno frowned. "Of course, I am serious. Isn't it obvious that I am interested in you and not them? I mean… I asked about you, not them," Ohno pointed at the pictures on the table. "Besides… hmm… you sort of… hmm… showing that you want me to… hmm… you know…"
"Huh?" Nino didn't understand what Ohno was trying to say. The businessman was weird, Nino concluded. No wonder Sho always acted as his spokesperson in the interview. Ohno was not good at talking at all.
"You sort of lead me on,"
"I lead you on?" Nino frowned. When did he do so?
However, Ohno didn't explain anything. Instead, he took a deep breath and then said in a sad, sorrowful voice.
"I'm sorry, Ninomiya san," said Ohno, looking dejected. "I didn't mean to make it awkward. But…" Once again, Ohno took a deep breath. His expression changed quickly, which surprised Nino. Ohno looked determined this time with no hint of sadness at all. "Can you give us a chance?"
"So… you still want to ask me out on a date?"
Ohno nodded his head, looking hopeful. Nino looked around awkwardly. Truthfully, he didn't know what to do. He was never in this kind of situation before. And, the thought of dating had never crossed his mind. Not after… he shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking about that.
"Hmm…" Nino didn't want to break Ohno's heart. The businessman may seem a little weird but he looked nice. And maybe it would benefit Nino if he dated someone like Ohno. His mother would stop nagging him to find a partner if he introduced Ohno to her. Ohno was the kind of person she would love to have as a son-in-law.
Still... it didn't justify why Nino should give Ohno a chance. And, he didn't think it was professional to date someone who should be his client. Well, the answer was obvious then...
"I'm sorry, Ohno san,"
"Nino!" Jun shouted. "In my office, now!"
This was the moment he dreaded the most since he left Ohno's office. Afraid that he would change his mind if he stayed, he quickly excused himself to get out. When he went out, his mind went blank. He only thought of getting back to the matchmaking agency where he worked, forgetting that he went to Ohno's office with Jun.
Once he arrived at his office and his mind became clear, he remembered about his boss. Of course, Nino tried to call Jun but the call went unanswered. He didn't know what to think of this situation. Was Jun angry at him? From his tone earlier, he seemed angry even though Nino couldn't understand why.
"Are you okay, J?" Nino asked as he closed the door.
Jun looked at him with a wide smile. He appeared to be in a good mood, which baffled him. It made him wonder what happened after he left. Maybe Ohno agreed to go out with one of the women and that's why Jun was happy.
"Geez, I thought you're in a bad mood," Nino complained. "You seem angry when you yell my name. But, now you look happy. What happened?"
"I just want to make you feel bad for leaving me. I was worried, you know when you just left,"
Nino felt guilty. It wasn't his intention to make Jun worry but…
"Anyway, I have exciting news to share, Little Cupid," Jun exclaimed.
Nino flinched. "Euw… why did you call me that?"
Jun laughed in return. "Just to annoy you,"
Nino rolled his eyes. Well, at least Jun didn't know about Cutie Cupid. That name was even more embarrassing.
"So, what's the news?" Nino asked, steering the conversation back to their original purpose. "Did Ohno san choose anyone from the lists?"
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jun said. “He likes you a lot. There’s no way he will be interested in anyone else now,” Nino was about to say something but Jun didn’t allow him to interrupt. “But, we will talk about that later,"
"Huh?"
"Okay, about the news…" Jun clasped his hands, ignoring Nino's confused face. "Ohno san offers us a deal,"
"A deal?"
"Un," Jun nodded his head. "If we want to organize a group omiai, they will give us a discount to use the hall. Also, they will offer a ceremony + honeymoon package for our clients who want to get married. See… this is a chance to promote our agency,"
Hmm… that was indeed a great way to promote their small agency. But, it's just too good to be true. Would Ohno's hotel get any benefits by cooperating with the agency? Not that much, right? So why would Ohno offer the deal? Was it because of Nino?
"What's the catch?" Nino asked.
"You have to go on a date with Ohno san,"
As expected. Nino didn't know how to feel about this. He couldn't believe Ohno could stoop this low just to go on a date with him. This was unbelievable. He started to lose respect at Ohno.
"So, you want to sacrifice me for the sake of your company?"
"Yes," Jun nodded his head, acting as if this wasn't a big deal. "Because I think you like Ohno san,"
Nino ended up roaring with laughter. This was the stupidest thing he had ever heard. He likes Ohno? That's ridiculous!
"Little Cupid," Jun called him with that name just to spite him. "Did you realize he wouldn't ask you out if you didn't lead him on?"
"Huh? I didn't lead him on," Nino quickly denied. This was so annoying! Why did both Jun and Ohno keep accusing him?
"Oh yes, you did," Jun retorted. "You were flirting with him during the presentation,"
"I did not," He tried to remember the meeting. What did he do that made people think he was flirting with Ohno? But, nothing came into his mind. "What did I do?"
"Seriously? You don't remember?" Jun rolled his eyes. "You told him you have not found the right person… It seems to me that you were telling him you're still available so please ask you out,"
What? Oh yes, he remembered doing that…
"And you seem to enjoy the attention that he gave you. When I saw that, it feels like you've decided to move on from Aiba…"
"Don't say that name, please," Nino quickly begged. He hadn't said the name for a while. Not after what happened between them.
Jun looked at him. His gaze softened, feeling guilty for saying the name. They had been friends for a long time so he knew what happened.
"Nino…" Jun called his name softly. "I know you are still angry at him for choosing his work over you. But, don't you think it's time to move forward?"
Nino didn't say anything. A long time ago, he had a boyfriend named Aiba. But, after graduating, Aiba decided to go volunteering abroad. As he didn't know if he could commit to Nino, he suggested they ended the relationship. And, Nino resented the decision. He hadn't dated anyone else after that.
"I…" He didn't know what to say.
"Honestly, I don't want to force you," Jun said, trying to justify what he was doing. "But, when I saw you with Ohno san, I saw sparkles in your eyes… something that I hadn't seen for a while. So, I think…"
"I'm not ready yet, J…"
"How long are you going to wait to be ready?" Jun countered. "As I said, this is the first time I've seen you sort of interested in someone. If you don't do anything about it now, you may lose him and I don't want that to happen,"
"But…"
"Just go on one date with him and if you don't enjoy being with him, I will not force you anymore.
Nino stayed silent, thinking about what to do. One date with Ohno. That's all he had to do. It didn't seem difficult. As a matchmaker, he often advised his client to do the same to see if they would be compatible with the person they chose. Maybe it's time to practice what he preached to the others. Still… something about this didn't feel right.
"Ohno san didn't know about the deal," Jun suddenly said as if he already knew what was bothering Nino.
"Huh?" Nino looked at his boss confusedly. "What do you mean?"
"Sakurai's idea," Jun started to explain. "He will agree to proceed with the deal if you go out with Ohno san. He seems to care a lot about his boss. You should see Ohno san's face after you left. He was devastated. That's why Sakurai proposed the deal. So, what do you say?"
"I…"
Poll
A/N: I don't know what to think of this part. Hope it's okay.
I hesitated about making Aiba as Nino's ex-boyfriend. Another idea was to make him as Nino's housemate. That's why I didn't include him in the first part. But, as I wrote this part, I decided to go with the idea of having Aiba as Nino's ex-boyfriend.
FYI, I will close the poll on Tuesday Oct 27th.
And the next update will most likely be Cutie and the Beast.
Anyway, before I forget, daisukedesu3, as you guess correctly for The New Neighbour, do you have any fanfic request? If you have, please let me know.
As always, let me know what you think of this, okay? It will be very much appreciated :)