Yane POV:
Today was the day! Valentines day! All the things we planned for today were happening. Kiyoshi asked me out on a date and said that he had something special planned for the evening, and I gladly accepted.
More people joined in on today's fun. "Good afternoon, everyone!!!" Fuka announced through a microphone. "Thank you all for joining us today! First of all, I'd like us to thank our manager, Ms. Aoi for planning these events out. Second of all, I hope you couples today will grow old together and that your love will be never ending. Shall we start today's events?!" She said in an energetic voice.
Everyone started cheering and applauding. Our day went with discounts, events and a lot. Kiyoshi said that he'd pick me up when my shift was over.
But... throughout the day... I could only think of one person. It was the guy with burnt scars everywhere. He just didn't leave my head for some reason. I tried to shake him off my head, but the more I tried the more he came back. I tried to think of Kiyoshi and what he prepared for us today but it didn't work.
The man with scars hasn't shown up at the cafe yet, which I guess kinda disappointed me. I was looking forward to see him and I wanted to see him.
The day was near its end. My shift would be over in a few minutes. I cleaned up the desks with Itsu and Fuka. Then I grabbed the trash bag and headed out the back door to throw it out. I slowly walked towards the trash can and saw a man standing there in the shadows.
"Who's there?" I called out as I threw the trash bag away. The figure didn't respond and just started moving towards me. I stepped back in fear and the figure said, "It's me. The one with scars."
I let out a small sigh of relief and walked towards the man giving him a welcoming hug. He didn't hug back and I just stayed there hugging him. We stayed in that position for a while.
"Why didn't you come today? I was waiting for you." I asked with a frown, still hugging him. He didn't answer the question and just kept silent.
I didn't let go of him. I missed him all day. He was all that I could think about all day. I wasn't planning on letting go anytime soon.
"Yane?" Said a voice from behind. I quickly let go of the man and looked back to see who it was.
When I turned around I say Kiyoshi with pain in his eyes. "How could you?" He said, tears slowly filling his eyes.
I quickly ran to him as he closed the door and walked in. I was at loss of words. I looked at the man with scars and he nodded, knowing exactly what I meant. I ran towards the back door and tried to catch up with him. By the time I came out of the staff's room, he was already at the front door. I ran up to him and gave him a back bear hug. He flinched at my sudden movements.
"I can't believe that you-" I interrupted him by saying, "It's not what it looked like. I promise. I'm sorry." He didn't move a muscle. I slowly let go of him and grabbed his hand.
He turned around and stared me down. Tears filled his eyes, and his eyes were pink and a bit swollen. "I'm sorry..." I apologized again, "There's nothing between us. He's just someone I know and I haven't seen him in a long time. I promise there's nothing happening between us."
He didn't say anything. I grabbed his other hand and lifted it up. "We, are a thing." I said trying to calm him down. He still didn't say anything.
"I'm also sorry." He finally said. I looked at him a bit surprised. "I misunderstood and now we're in this situation..." I just gave him a comforting smile and went in for a hug. He hugged me back tightly and kissed the top of my head.
We stayed in that position until Fuka walked into the cafe and broke us apart. "What are you guys still doing here?" She asked curiously.
"We'll be leaving in a minute." I said before walking back into the staff's room and changing into my regular clothes and locking the back door. I walked back out and Fuka was no longer there. I walked over to Kiyoshi and gave him another warming hug.
"I'm sorry.." I apologized again. He just gently stroked my head again and again before grabbing my hand and heading out. I locked the door behind and walked next to him, our fingers, interlaced.
Kiyoshi reserved a table on a balcony, in a fancy restaurant and we had dinner there. Everything was going smoothly, but... throughout the whole date I could only think about the hug between myself and that man.
Again the man wouldn't leave my head. I missed him. There was a weird connection between us which I treasured. I know that it's too early and I only met him a couple of weeks ago, but I feel attached to him. I know that I'm in a relationship, but he's something else. I feel like a moth drawn to a flame. Quiet literally.
I wanted to know him more. I didn't even know his name.
But, right now I had to focus on my date with Kiyoshi. He seemed to love me and he went through so much to make this date happen. This place looked pretty expensive. I had to make Kiyoshi feel like I enjoyed it. Not that I'm not enjoying the moment, but I just don't think he's the one.
Our date ended with Kiyoshi walking me to my apartment and giving me a goodbye peck on my cheeks. I walked into my apartment, changed into my pajamas and completing my night routine. My phone rang as soon as I got jumped into bed. I picked up and Fuka squealed from the other side, "So? How did the date go? Did you like it? He spent so much time finding the perfect one. You do not imagine how much he went through to get that exact spot for today. It's crazy!"
"It went amazing. The food was amazing and everything went smoothly." I said. I started feeling guilty that I thought about the man with scars instead of paying attention at Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi went through so much for today and I didn't put my all for it.
"Tell me about it." Fuka said exited. Feeling guilty I said, "I'm really tired. I'll tell you at work tomorrow. I'm heading to bed, good night."
"Alright. Good night." Fuka returned my farewells and we hung up. I stayed up pretty late thinking about the date and the man with scars. I couldn't possibly fall asleep.
Am I happy with the relationship? I asked myself over and over again. This question replayed in my head as I thought of the burnt man and Kiyoshi. It was really a hard topic for me. These thoughts gave me a slight headache, and soon I fell asleep.