Early Morning Talks

As if his heart would jump out of his chest, Haru quickly straightened up and took a final glance at Sakura's sleeping face before turning off the lights and leaving the two in his room. He decided to stay in the living room instead, where Kiyoshi and Mei were cuddling each other as they dozed off on the futon laid on the floor.

After he settled himself on the khaki colored mid century couch, his heart also slowed down. The tiredness from the long day was finally felt by his body, but not his mind. He kept on turning and tossing around, and still couldn't help himself to sleep. For so long, he laid wide awake until he heard someone going downstairs. He opened his eyes and craned his neck to see who it was.

"Ohayou," Ayaka, whose eyes were still sleepy, greeted him discreetly before smiling at him. "I'll head out first. I almost forgot that I should be up earlier than Nana," she let out a quiet laugh.

Haru checked his phone on top of the table, seeing that it was only five thirty in the morning. "Would you like to drink coffee first?" he asked as he got up from the couch. He ran a hand through his hair, his head throbbing from lack of sleep.

She gestured her hands in refusal, "Thanks, but I really need to get going. I still have to rearrange the tables and all."

Haru nodded and led her to the front door.

"Thanks for the good food as always," she wore her shoes at the genkan, "I'll see you on Monday."

The dainty lady waved her hand and quietly headed out of the house. Since Haru could no longer sleep, he cleaned up the things and washed the glasses, the plates, and the utensils they used the night before. Afterward, he prepared the toppings for the ochazuke, a popular Japanese comfort or hangover food, which included nori, grilled mackerel, and thinly sliced tamago. While cooking rice, he also cooked dashi broth to be poured around the edge of the bowl.

"Ohayou," Nana greeted him as she stood by the counter. She had already taken a bath and was now wearing a new set of clothing - a black bucket hat, a black long-sleeve top tucked in a faded black midi denim skirt, and white shoes paired with black socks. "What are you cooking?"

He glanced over his shoulder, "Ochazuke. Are you leaving now? Isn't it too early?"

"Eh?" she almost laughed out loud, but she was quick to cover her mouth with her hands. "It's quarter to 7. I have classes at 8. Have you forgotten about it?"

He shook his head and washed his hands, "Eat up before you go. Let me wake Kiyoshi up since Kyoko really got drunk last night."

When he passed by the counter, she grabbed his arm, "No need.. I'll just take the train. They were really early yesterday at the café to set up and all, so let him sleep more."

"Who said I'm asleep?" Kiyoshi was already nearing them when they turned their heads toward him. "Let's eat first before going out."

And so, the three enjoyed the rice bowl with hot dashi broth and toppings early that morning and drove Nana to her university later on. As the sun poured through the car's windows, Haru watched the birds flying in the light blue sky filled with white scattered clouds.

"Ayaka can really handle her liquor, huh? What time did she leave?" Kiyoshi asked while they waited for the red light to turn green.

"At 5.30," Haru replied.

"Kyoko and Sakura really got drunk, by the way," the other man opened up to Nana.

"It's obvious nee-chan would get drunk sooner, but I didn't expect Sakura would get drunk easily," Nana wondered as she applied her red lipstick.

"It was her unlucky night last night, and Haru had to take care of her."

"Just like what he did on their first-ever meeting?" Nana teased and looked at the back view of Haru.

"What's up with you and Sakura?" Kiyoshi asked as he glanced at him.

"What's with the change of topic?" Haru's sight was fixed on the lane.

"Well, you two were just stealing glances at each other yesterday. You think I wouldn't notice?" a smirk escaped from the driver's lips, which made Nana do the 'ooh' gesture. He noticed her through the rearview mirror, "Right… you were interviewed by Ralmé that time."

"I was just checking if she liked the food," Haru answered truthfully even though there was another reason why he kept on looking at her yesterday.

"Checking her out every now and then even if she wasn't eating anything?" Kiyoshi cocked a brow, accelerating the auto once the light turned green. "Make it make sense, man."

"I really just wanted to know since it was a special themed-."

"Oh… your dream!" Nana blurted as if a sudden idea popped into her head. "Did you perhaps dream of kissing-"

"Nana," Haru turned his body to the side as he called her name.

The woman with long black hair with full bangs and silver streaks underneath widened her eyes, "Was it supposed to be a secret?"

Haru's ears had gotten red with her remark and he couldn't help himself but just sigh in disbelief.

"Well… I wouldn't be surprised if you two kissed last night anyway," Kiyoshi said directly as if he was there in the room watching them.

Haru pulled the bonnet down to cover his reddened ears while Nana, who found him cute for being shy, tried to suppress her laughter.

Kiyoshi chuckled upon seeing his friend's reaction from his peripheral view. "Anyways, I just noticed you two are really getting close. Isn't that a good thing though?"

Nana nodded, "I'm pretty sure it started when she visited you, Haru. Do you remember the time she posted the bento she made for us on her IG story?"

"Oh, I remember that. She also did the same about the ice cream with fruits and our group picture at the beer garden. But of course, he wouldn't know that because he doesn't have an account," Kiyoshi commented, steering the wheel to the left.

"I think she's really grateful to meet you, Haru. I'm also happy that she became my friend because of you," she smiled.

"And even if she became friends with Mei Mei first, nothing can change the fact that you're still the first ever person she met here."

"It's the first time I heard something good from that mouth of yours, Kiyoshi."

Haru jokingly remarked as he shifted his gaze outside to hide the dimpled smile on his face. Even though posting pictures was a normal thing to do, he didn't know why but he felt his heart skip a beat when they mentioned Sakura posting stories of the bento and the ice cream he made for her.

As the three listened to "A GIRL IN THE CITY" by I Don't Like Mondays, he continued viewing the cherry blossom trees lined up along the river and reminisced about their first encounter; her hair was long, which color was as pink as the cherry blossom petals that were falling that day. He couldn't forget how brittle her voice was and how her tears trickled down her cheeks as if they were raindrops, which poured later that night.

Spring would be ending soon, and with summer just around the corner, Haru hoped that those tears would finally be replaced with cheerful eyes and sweet smiles.