Chapter 2 - Ozeki Supermarket

"...hey, Gin. It's that woman from earlier, right?" Hiroaki nudged as he looked at the elevator that started running down.

"Yeah. I think she's new from the neighbourhood." Gin answered and sat on the bench. "Arisu mentioned her too."

"Seems a nice person..." Hiroaki stated. "But just now, when she passed by, she reeked of cigarette and alcohol, right?"

Gin chuckled. Every small detail of fragrance can't really escape Hiroaki's nose.

Sho, on the other hand, was still silent, and his gaze was still focused on the direction of the elevator. His mind remembered clearly that woman's face earlier when they encountered at the elevator, and now they encountered again. 

Sho smirked at his realization. "She must be those kinds of girls who go to the bar every night."

Hiroaki glanced at Sho and frowned. "I don't think so."

Sho laughed loudly and glanced again at the direction of the elevator. "Why so? She went here in this rooftop in hopes of finding some handsome rich guy like me."

"Seriously, Sho. Why do you always have malicious thoughts to every woman you met?" Gin sighed and shook his head.

Sho quietly sighed beside them and removed his thoughts from that woman. "Whatever. You guys won't understand. Let's continue our previous conversation." 

𓏲 ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖☁️

It was almost afternoon when Yuka woke up from the last alarm notification in her phone.

The first thing she noticed was her rumbling stomach. It hurts like hell for her. The feeling was like an acid that's slowly eating her remaining organs in her digestive system.

At this rate, my body is really done for.

She tapped her phone continuously to choose a fast food meal, an unhealthy food once again, to be delivered in her condominium.

Waiting for the food to be delivered, she started organizing closets and other things that needed to be arranged. From dresses, to pants, skirts, shorts and tops, she had arranged it perfectly, but surely that 'perfectly arranged' is soon going to turn into a mess after one month of living in her condominium. 

After taking a long bath and wearing a black inner top paired with a checkered dress, someone pressed the doorbell outside her condo. She immediately went outside to get her take out food and thanked the delivery man.

It was exactly five hours after her meal of fast food that she decided to go to the supermarket. She just can't go on and eat a take out food every day for her meals. 

Any leafy green vegetables she saw in the supermarket was placed in her shopping card. Yuka also went to the fruit sections and had taken any delicious looking fruits that could satisfy her sweet buds. She went to the meat section and had picked the cheapest price she could afford since... she's still going to buy a case of beers. 

She unconsciously loudly giggled at her thought.

When Yuka started to fall in line to pay for her items she brought, her curious eyes had started to wander around. Eyeing every person her eyes had met, not until her eyes saw a familiar face.

It was the man from last night and this time he's together with a little girl. The two people were cheerfully talking to each other while choosing out fruits from the fruit section.

Their eyes met. Yuka was stunned. His stare felt like eternity for her. She doesn't know if it was the reason that he's an attractive man, or because she suddenly remembered the commotion she made last night, that was why she fell into daze.

Her eyebrows raised when the man smiled at her. Trying not to be rude, she also smiled at him in return for his gesture.

Yuka had noticed the young girl beside him when she started poking the man. It was the young girl who peeked at her yesterday. The young girl pointed her and opened her mouth like she was asking a question. The man nodded briefly before smiling again at her and bowed as a gesture for goodbye.

The things happened too fast for Yuka that she wasn't able to properly say goodbye. The assistant started punching all the items she had bought, and when she turned around — she saw again the two people that'll be soon part of her life unknowingly.

That grocery journey for Yuka made her badly tired, especially from her feet since she wore her two inches sandals outside, but she didn't mind because she was able to buy all her basic necessities in life.

Since first things first were her motto, she immediately settled all her beers inside her refrigerator. The remaining foods, such as fruits and vegetables, were forcefully settled in the small tray of her refrigerator. The sight of those foods being squashed in a small tray was oddly satisfying for Yuka since her beers were comfortably placed inside the refrigerator.

Her stomach has growled again, so Yuka decided to finally prepare the ingredients she needed for the Japanese style mapo tofu recipe. She started putting first the olive oil, then the chopped garlic and green onion came, until all the remaining ingredients were ready to be saute in the pan, including the pork and the other seasonings.  

For being the couch potato, the recipe for mapo tofu has been the easiest meal to cook. This time, she tried not to make a simple meal and made a side dish, which is an easy Japanese vegetable salad that only includes Japanese mayonnaise, lettuces, and baby tomatoes. And for the drinks, it's none other than her beer.

It's fine to drink, I won't die yet since I'm eating a healthy meal right now~

𓏲 ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖☁️

The next day was Monday. It was another day hell day for Yuka, though every day was really a hell day, to wake up early at exact 6 in the morning since her class starts at 8.

She lazily took a shower to clean herself and tidied her body with a copper rust doll collar blouse with ruffles in its long sleeves, then matched it with her long white translucent laced skirt. She was supposed to wear her two inches sandals, but she changed her mind and instead wore her brown oxford shoes and paired it with white socks. 

After eating her light meal, two toasted breads, and a few slices of strawberry, she unhurriedly applied her light foundation makeup and lip and cheek tint. Satisfied with her look, she took her British style leather backpack and left her condominium. 

When she entered the university grounds, her acquaintances whom she met along her way to the classroom had started greeting her. And those secret longing stares of men at her was something that she's really trying hard to ignore in her everyday life.

Her day had long passed by in the afternoon. She ate her lunch at the cafeteria together with her acquaintances from different departments. She thought her school hours were finally finished when they started to invite her in a group blind date.

Her movements had stopped on that time, her blood circulation felt like its flow had been reversed, and her palms felt sweaty; but her reaction was fast to deny the invitation. Seriously, it has been one month since her last time she went to a group blind date. It always suffocated her whenever strange men always tried to get close with her, and it's literally the distance space between their sitting position.

Those group blind dates she got from her acquaintances and even the invitation of single dates from different men, she had no choice but to accept it since the people around them always push her around to accept the invitations. Though sometimes she wholeheartedly accepts the invitations to feel comfort and enjoy the life since 'you only live once'.

Her acquaintances were trying to persuade her again to join the group blind date. They thought that their persuasion skills was that good since she eventually always agree in the end, but little did they know, Yuka has been always visualizing herself from striking their head with the spanner she always used during her practical test.

Her heart felt so heavy, and it made her want to cry of blood right now.

Yuka still insisted on rejecting the invitation, but in the end, they had forced her again to join their adventurous wooing session with some random guys.

𓏲 ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖☁️

This time, the group blind date was scheduled at the previous karaoke bar they had gone. Yuka's last experience from this karaoke bar was not that good since some college guy tried to forcefully kiss her. Thankfully, her body was fast to react and instantly avoided the kiss with her hand.

She just sighed and tried to remove her thoughts. Since she's already in the group date, why not just have fun with them and enjoy the youth to the fullest extent?

They arrived at the room they rented. Before they entered the room, the woman with long curly hairs, Airi, moved closer to her and whispered, "This blind date today was different from all the previous dates. They're cool and amazing, so be sure to get along with them!"

Airi is  majored in Bachelor of Science in Interior Design. She was ahead of one year to Yuka. Thus, it made her a senior to Yuka. She was also one of the major reasons why Yuka wasn't able to refuse them because Airi has been always a good senior to her, though sometimes she can be wild during times like this.

Her lips parted. "I will, Airi-senpai."

After that, Yuka and Airi heard a soft giggle behind their back. It was a woman with long straight hair. She's Kaori, she belongs to the College of Fine Arts and Design and she majored in Advertising Arts.

Kaori winked at Yuka. "Good luck, my kouhai."

Yuka immediately frowned at her provocation. "Don't tease me, Kaori-senpai!"

Kaori giggled again because of her expression. "You're so cute~"

It was praise to her, but she still felt that she was sarcastic or she was being mocked by her senior since Kaori was really good at teasing and provoking others.

When they entered the room, those men they were supposed to meet were already there. Yuka immediately gulped as she saw six men sitting in the couches. She was really surprised since all of them had good looks!

Why are there six men, when we're only five women?

Airi nudged her to go first in sitting in the couch. Therefore, she was sitting right behind a stranger man! She became nervous even though it was not her first time. The anxious and tense feelings of meeting some stranger are still lingering in her heart.

She noticed that her shoulders were really tense, so she decided to relax it a little bit by leaning on the couch. Her heart sighed.

The conversation was first initiated by Kaori. She was smiling widely when she started introducing Yuka. "Remember the last time we guys met? Yuka wasn't able to join because she had school activities on that time~"

But the truth was, she just escaped their invitation by forcing herself to join her classmates in playing at the arcade after school hours.

The man was smiling too when he nodded. "I see. But now, Yuka is finally here. We're looking forward to meeting you since last time. Thank you for joining us, Yuka."

What the hell is this man doing by pronouncing my name familiarly! 

Yuka immediately used her socializing skills by shyly smiling and shaking her head! "I'm sorry I wasn't able to join previously. And thank you for letting me join now." She maintained eye contact with every man while bowing to each of them.

"This kouhai is polite!" The other man exclaimed. He was eyeing Yuka when he introduced himself, "I'm Akio, and I'm already in my fifth year." He extended his hand, waiting for Yuka to shake her hands with him.

Yuka bewitchingly smiled at him as she shook her hands with him. "I'm Yuka, and I'm at my second year. It's nice meeting you, Akio-senpai."

"Nice meeting you too, Yuka. It's fine to call me casually as Akio."

Her smile has deepened, which showed her dimple at her left side. "Then Akio-san is fine."

The man from before shouted. "It looks like Akio was already bewitched!"

Everyone laughed, though Yuka only chuckled. Her heart was beaming with success as she eyed Akio.

During the times Yuka was joining the group blind date, Yuka earned social skills that can make her alluring in the eyes of men. By observing men from having fun in their conversation, she somehow finally knew how to make men focus their attention at her. Since this is just another blind date with strangers, she's bored and will play around with the feelings of random man.

Everyone started to talk with each other, like catching up with some things they missed from last time till now. Yuka immediately felt like isolated in the overlap questions that were thrown in others. Her mouth would only talk then when she was asked by everyone.

She started opening the bottle of juice when suddenly the man beside her touched her hair. He casually swayed her hair and tucked it behind her ears. Her shoulders suddenly felt stiff. Who dared to touch my hair! I'll break his arm!

Yuka looked beside him. She was first glaring at him, but then her eyes eventually softened and just stared at his eyes. She surprisingly found him attractive because of his brown hazel eyes. The man also stared at him as he smiled gently. He took the bottle of juice and opened it, then served the juice in a cup for Yuka.

"Here." He casually again did it as if he's really used in doing those actions. 

Her eyebrows raised lightly as she accepted the cup. She was dumbfounded at him. She can't find the words to say to him. She doesn't know if she's just really that nervous or she can't say anything because she was really surprised at his actions! I am being hit on, right?

"I'm Teijo." He introduced himself while still keeping eye contact with Yuka. 

With those brown hazel eyes, Yuka felt like her soul was being swallowed by him. His stare was enough to make her body feel numb and made her surroundings stop, and all she's aware of was her constant rapid heartbeat since a while ago. 

... too dangerous.

__________

Author's note: I'm actually thinking of sketching every characters design. What do you think?