Not for Sale - Part 2
“Someone already purchased you,”
Jun repeated when both Nino and Aiba asked for confirmation for what he had said earlier. Hearing the same thing again, no one said anything as they tried to digest information. Someone had bought him? Was Jun telling the truth? Or, was it just a bluff? Frankly, Nino had no idea. The disbelief look on Jun’s face showed that his roommate wasn’t lying. But, Jun was great at tricking people and Nino had become, even though it seldom happened, a victim of his prank. So, he didn’t know if he could trust his friend or not.
“Matsujun…” Aiba was the first to break the silence. “Are you serious?”
Jun rolled his eyes, not bothering to hide how offended he was.
“If you don’t believe me, try refreshing the page and you will see it’s already sold out,” instructed Jun and without thinking, Nino did as he was told. And, Jun was right. The product was no longer available because it had been sold.
“I can’t believe this! Someone really bought you,” said Jun. He was once again staring at his phone, looking puzzled. “I put a note at the bottom of the description… telling people that this was just a joke… I thought no one would buy it… I mean, who would do it, right? Even without my note, people should know it’s just a joke. So, who would be so stupid to buy you?”
The man then had his attention on Nino, looking guilty. “I’m sorry, Nino. I don’t think it will turn out to be like this… seriously… I honestly planned to remove it once you notice the post. It wasn’t up for an hour yet and I don’t expect…”
“Who bought me?” Asked Nino, interrupting Jun from explaining. There was no use to apologize. Right now, it was more important to find a way to solve this problem. And, perhaps, the buyer was someone he knew. Someone who wants to mess with him, just like Jun did.
“Wait for a second…” said Jun, looking at his phone again. Nino stayed silent, letting Jun do whatever necessary to find the identity of the buyer. “It’s Ohno Satoshi… Do you know him?”
Nino frowned. The name sounded familiar to him but he cannot put a face to that name, which was weird. Did he know anyone named Ohno Satoshi? His client, perhaps? But, why would a client want to buy him? He barely interacted with them outside of work.
“Ohno Satoshi?” Aiba repeated the name, scratching his head. “Eh? Why would Ohno-san want to buy Nino?”
Aiba’s reaction earned a confused look from both Nino and Jun. So, Aiba knew this Ohno Satoshi. That would explain why the name was familiar. Was Ohno his friend? Nino tried to remember anything that would remind him of Ohno.
“Who is he?” Asked Jun. “I think I’ve heard the name before but I cannot remember,”
“The CEO at the company I work for,” answered Aiba.
Oh, that’s why the name was familiar. Both Nino and Jun nodded their heads, slowly remembering that Aiba had once told them about his CEO. According to Aiba, almost everyone in his company would mistake Ohno as a nobody when they bumped into him in the lobby, including Aiba. This happened because Ohno usually came to work wearing a t-shirt and jeans unless he had a meeting with an important client. When he first heard about it from Aiba, Nino found the story to be ridiculous. The staff at Aiba’s company was not observant enough and that’s why they made that mistake. How could they not recognize their CEO? It’s absurd, right? Regardless of what he wore, every CEO would have an aura of pompous which made them stand out.
Eh? A thought suddenly crossed his mind. A t-shirt and jeans… didn’t he meet someone like that at Aiba’s office a week ago? He tried to recall the event. On that day, Aiba had forgotten to bring his laptop to work. So, Nino had dropped by to give him the laptop. On his way out, Nino bumped into a man dressed casually in a t-shirt and jeans. The man brought a cup of coffee with him and when they bumped, the coffee was splashed into both their outfits. As Nino had to hurry to his office, he quickly apologized and then left after helping the man up. It didn’t occur to him that the person he bumped into might be Aiba’s CEO. Not until now.
“Oh, the CEO who always wears a t-shirt and jeans to work?” said Jun and Aiba nodded. “But, why would he buy Nino, though?”
“I don’t know,” Aiba shrugged him off. “I never talk to him because he is a big boss,”
“How does he look?” Asked Nino. If Ohno was indeed the man he bumped into, he could think of a reason why Ohno bought him. Maybe the CEO was looking for him to replace his expensive t-shirt that Nino ruined. But, as Nino wasn’t working at his company, his search had been unfruitful until he found Jun’s posting. And, to meet Nino, the CEO purchased him. Yes, that seemed possible.
Aiba took his phone on the table. After tapping and typing on his phone for a while, he handed it to Nino. On the screen was, as Nino thought, the man he bumped into last week. True, he didn’t look at the man properly when they bumped but Nino still remembered the man’s dark skin and chubby cheeks. And upon further inspection of the picture that Aiba gave, Ohno is cute, thought Nino.
“Why do you have a creepy smile on your face?” Asked Jun, making Nino take his eyes off the phone. “Don’t tell me… do you want to make him your sugar daddy because he is rich?”
Feeling offended, Nino smacked the man’s head. Ah, Jun kept making him angry today. First, he sold Nino on a website. Now, he accused Nino of wanting a sugar daddy! Yes, Nino loves money but he won’t stoop that low for an allowance. He had his pride and dignity.
Sensing that both Nino and Jun would start another round of bickering, Aiba quickly stepped between the two of them before Jun could do anything to Nino. The tallest man set his face to look serious so that no one would dare to defy him. But, unlike a few minutes ago, the expression didn’t look natural on him. So, instead of making Nino and Jun scared of him, Aiba ended up becoming a laughing stock.
“You look funny when you try to look angry,” remarked Nino and Jun hummed in agreement.
“Ah, whatever,” pouted Aiba. “I cannot look stern unless I am angry. And I am not angry yet because you two haven’t started bickering,”
“We can do it if you want to look stern,” suggested Jun. “I mean… I do have a lot of things to say about Nino. For starter…”
“Shut up, Junny,” Nino cut him off. “Your hairstyle is getting weirder. Are you trying to look younger by getting those highlights? It doesn’t suit you at all because you are already thirty years old,”
“You are just jealous because my hairstyle is better than you,” Retorted Jun. “When is the last time you styled your hair? Eh… have you ever done anything with your hair? Never, right? It always looks the same,”
“I don’t care,” Nino stuck his tongue out at Jun. “I have more things to worry about than my hair,”
“Okay, that’s enough,” said Aiba, stopping the two of them from continuing. “This is not the time to fight. We have a situation, right? What should we do about Ohno-san? Are you going to deliver Nino to him?”
“Of course!” Exclaimed Jun. “Your boss already purchased Nino. Tomorrow, I will send him to Ohno. One less annoying roommate. Ah, we should celebrate!”
“You will not take me anywhere!” chided Nino. “I am not yours. And, that’s why you cannot put me up for sale!”
“You cannot stop me from delivering you to my customer. I will drag you away. You are so small, I could easily lift you,”
“Oh… let’s see you try, then,” challenged Nino. Jun stepped forward but Aiba stopped him from getting closer to Nino.
“Guys, be serious, please,” said Aiba, almost whining. “Nino-chan, have you met Ohno-san before?”
“Yes,” answered Nino. “And, I think I know why he bought me. He was looking for me…”
“...So that he can be your sugar daddy?” Jun chipped in, earning a glare from Nino.
“Because I ruined his t-shirt,” continued Nino coolly. “Stop with this sugar daddy thing, Junny. I am not that desperate, okay,”
Before Jun or Aiba could ask him about his previous meeting with Ohno, a beep sound came from Jun’s phone. The man looked at it for a second and then put it away. However, in less than a minute, he took it again, eyes widening, surprised to see whatever was on the phone.
“What’s wrong, Junny?” Asked Nino worriedly.
“I received a DM from Ohno-san,” answered Jun. Just like Jun, both Aiba and Nino were also surprised.
“What did he want?” Asked Nino. Jun didn’t answer him. He was busy reading the DM from Ohno. After a minute or so, he handed the phone to Nino.
“See for yourself,” said Jun.
Nino took the phone and read what was on the screen.
Hello!
I already made the payment.
When will you deliver the item to me? I need to see it quickly. So, if you cannot post it tomorrow, I can pick him up from your place. Just give me the address.
What was this? Nino had no words to describe how he felt. Offended? Obviously! He was not an item for sale! So, he couldn’t tolerate this even if it was just a joke.
He searched for Ohno’s phone number from the order details. Without thinking, he dialled the number.
“What are you doing?” asked Jun when he saw what Nino did.
“I’m calling him,” answered Nino. “He is so rude so I’m teaching him a lesson,”
Jun nodded his head without trying to stop him while Aiba only watched with a frown.
A soft sleepy voice greeted him when the call was connected.
“Sho-chan, I’m sleepy. Can we talk later?”
Nino was taken aback by the response. Sho-chan? What was this man talking about?
“I’m not Sho-chan,” said Nino.
A gasp was what he heard from the other line. Ohno seemed to be taking a few deep breaths based on the noise that Nino heard. Then, the man was back on the line.
“Sorry. I answered the phone without looking,” said Ohno, sounding energetic this time. “Are you Nino?”
Once again, Nino was befuddled by the response from Ohno. How did he know Nino was the one who calls him?
“Hello, are you still there, the cute but annoying Nino?”
Recognizing the tagline from Jun’s posting reminded Nino of the reason for his call.
“How do you know I’m the one who calls you?”
“Because I recognize your voice. We met once, in case you don’t remember. Since then, I’ve been searching for you,”
“Because you want me to pay for your ruined t-shirt? Just tell me the cost. Jun will transfer the money that I owe you. And, he will also return the payment that you made,”
Nino took a second to cast a look at Jun’s direction. His friend was looking at him in dissatisfaction. But, Nino ignored the man.
“My t-shirt?”
“Yes… isn’t that the reason you are looking for me? You want me to replace your t-shirt that was splashed by coffee…”
“Oh…” said the man without letting Nino finish. “Just forget about the t-shirt. I already washed it. It already looks as good as new,”
“So…” Nino was getting confused because of how the conversation turned out to be. “... if it isn’t because of the t-shirt, why are you looking for me?”
“Simple. Because I want to meet you,”
“Why?”
“Hmm…” The man paused for a while. “I’m not sure. It is hard to explain,”
Nino scratched his head. This conversation was making him uncomfortable. Should he end it?
“Come and see me tomorrow?” Pleaded Ohno. “I know the sale is just a joke between you and your friend. But, I really want to see you. And, the opportunity came when I saw the post that your friend made… You don’t have to return the payment… just take it… but, can we meet?”
Eh? What should he do? Of course, he would say no. But, from the way Ohno pleaded, Nino could sense his sincerity, which was weird. So, against his better judgement, he agreed to meet Ohno tomorrow at a cafe near his house.
“Oh my…” said Jun when Nino put down the phone. Aiba, on the other hand, was grinning widely. “You have a date tomorrow. Let’s style your hair properly!”
A/N: Ah, sorry if this is too weird. Ohno already made an appearance even though Ohmiya hadn't met each other again. Next part would be the last, I hope. Let me know what you think of this, okay? It will be very much appreciated :)