Aoi and Izumi’s Date 1

Aoi arrived at the coffee shop, wearing formal attire, and discovered there were customers – perhaps, a bit too many in his perception.

As always, he had always liked to sit near the window, and the coffee shop had a wall full of glass as their window, causing the other side to be within everyone inside the shop's view.

Similar to their cake shop, the other side of the glass was brimming with flowers. Without any more reason to refuse sitting on the seat beside the window, Aoi sauntered towards there.

Along the way, he scrutinized each table in the coffee shop, hoping he arrived earlier before Izumi. He was filled with relief to discover she was still not present yet.

He took out his phone, opened the screen, and saw there were still less than ten minutes left before the given time.

Aoi sat on the seat before the circle table, having only two seats facing each other. Aoi stared at the flowers outside and fell into a daze.

He recalled earlier and tried to determine how much time it took him to converse with his mother, as well as take a quick shower and change.

He was a bit surprised it took him twenty minutes.

"That took a bit longer than I thought…" He mumbled.

"What was?"

Suddenly, a familiar feminine voice echoed beside his ear. 

At the same time, the familiar scent, mixed with unknown apparent cologne, assaulted his nostrils, causing his heart to skip a beat.

He quickly turned his head to the right side, seemingly in a hundred and eighty degrees angle, almost breaking his neck.

Thankfully though, there was no cracking noise resonating from his neck.

When he finally had a look at the person who asked him, appearing to be near him, he was in awe.

Izumi was exceptionally beautiful, putting on light makeup and wearing accessories – the necklace lining on her cleavage a bit revealed due to her v-line dress, and lovely, charming piercing on her ears, and the gorgeous, pink bouffant dress.

Her inky black hair, silky and shiny, lay on her shoulder as the rest stayed on her back.

Staring at her, appearing strikingly lovely, he was frozen in shock.

Izumi was embarrassed by Aoi's reaction, lowering her gaze and head while attempting to hide her reddened cheeks.

To avoid feeling awkward further, Izumi took a seat and faced Aoi with a pounding heart.

Aoi finally awakened from his stupor, smiled lightly, and did not forget what he must truthfully compliment.

"You look so gorgeous today, Izumi. Know that."

Izumi was stunned, feeling embarrassed further, causing her to lower her head. Her head boiled in heat. She could even feel her face getting warmer as time passed by.

Aoi smiled in response to her reaction, not wanting to embarrass her anymore, and gestured to call for the waitress, already having her attention on them, seemingly waiting for Aoi to call her.

Through his peripheral vision, Aoi's attention was stolen by the numerous gazes directed at him, and calmly met them one by one.

He was stunned and then feeling smug to feel the envious gazes from men and boys alike, though having their own company of someone they probably love, directed at him. 

He soon shook his head, quickly forgetting about them, as he saw the waiter finally arriving.

Aoi went quiet, waiting for the waiter to bid her greetings.

"Good afternoon, Miss and Mister. You two both look good today," the waiter smiled amicably.

Although Izumi was more embarrassed, she delightfully smiled in response and excitedly nodded. 

Indeed, staring at Aoi wearing formal attire, though appearing to be effortless, he appeared manly and so good-looking.

Furthermore, Aoi appeared to put some effort into their date, his hair was tied… obviously, by her pink ponytail, making him appear neat and even more handsome.

When she realized she had been staring dazedly at Aoi, snapping awake by meeting his gaze, she lowered her gaze and head, and her face turned crimson.

The waiter giggled at their interaction, causing Izumi to feel even more embarrassed, wanting to dig a hole and bury herself in it.

Aoi was sensible, perceiving that Izumi was still uncomfortable due to the extreme awkwardness and it was out of his control, he shifted their attention to him by grabbing the menu from the waitress politely.

The waitress quickly understood Aoi's action as she handed the menu and waited.

She did not want to stare at Izumi anymore, not wanting to put her in a difficult position.

Furthermore, she recognized Izumi as their usual customer. Only that, she was very surprised to see her in a gorgeous dress, obviously having a date with the gentleman before him.

She could not help but cast a curiosity at Aoi, while the latter did not mind being scrutinized by others.

He knew she must be curious, too.

And Aoi was right.

The waitress could not help but question her mind.

'Just who is this gentleman who managed to obtain the heart of the daughter of the Sai Family?'

She was not the type of person who liked to compare and contrast both couples, not by the vast difference between their appearance, background, or whatsoever.

She believed that love could even topple the difference in status of the lovers.

Aoi was not aware of what she was thinking, but he was careless.

At this point, he was seriously studying each coffee that might suit his taste.

"Do you want hot coffee or cold coffee?" Izumi asked.

Aoi glanced at her, still seeing her crimson face, but the desire to help him choose the coffee overcame her bashfulness.

Aoi did not stare at her in silence longer as he glanced above, ruminating.

He replied, "I'll have a hot coffee for now. It's a good cool down after the play earlier."

"Got it!" Izumi nodded seriously.

Aoi was about to give her the menu when Izumi said, not even glancing at it, "Then, I'll recommend the Doubles Espresso. It's strong, bold, and rich in flavor."

Aoi nodded, passing the menu to the waitress, and said, "I'll have that, then. Thank you. How about you?"

Izumi smiled lightly, turned to the waitress, and said, "I'll have the same as him."

The waitress bowed and left.

Finally, Aoi and Izumi had an alone time, where the latter did not feel awkward anymore and even initiated a conversation.

"By the way, have you…"