Haru knew that Kiyoshi was talking about Cafe Ai's owner, Saotome Kyoko. Kiyosho and Kyoko are close friends, but often bicker like a cat and a dog ever since college. He even thought the two would become lovers, but like what others say, cats and dogs will not and will never get along well. "Didn't hear a word from Kyoko."
"Of course, she wouldn't let her favorite do the hard work," Kiyoshi smirked and took a cigarette stick with his lips.
Haru didn't like being considered as someone's favorite, especially by the owner, but since he was teased by him a while ago, he commented, "Are you really getting annoyed because Kyoko favors me more?"
With the stick in the corner of Kiyoshi's mouth, he shook his head, "Like I give a f*ck about that." He lit it with his lighter and puffed some smoke before speaking again, "I am just annoyed cos Kyoko only contacted me early this morning about the upcoming meeting next Friday when she could have told me about it last weekend."
"You know how busy she is-"
"It's not just about Kyoko," Kiyoshi stood by the railing and leaned his back against it. "Mei kept saying she has a surprise for me and has been spoiling me about it since last week. It turns out, it's about the meeting."
"We still have a week to prepare-"
"We're still gonna cram everything for f*ck's sake," the other man said displeased whilst throwing his hands in the air.
"Yo, you gotta chill. Think of it as if cramming's like getting a quickie."
Kiyoshi choked on his smoke and coughed vehemently. He couldn't believe someone as innocent as Haru, perhaps not so innocent, would mention something indecent with a straight face. He cleared his throat as he looked at him. "What... did… you.. just say?"
"Don't you always 'cram' whenever Mei's here-"
Kiyoshi's brows twitched and finally accepted his defeat. It was his fault for not disclosing the job to his colleague right ahead, but he wanted to reveal it later once her girlfriend and her new friend joined them for early dinner. "My girlfriend's gonna be here in a minute. Let's not talk about-"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to say that. What I'm just trying to let you realize is that…" Haru glanced at his friend. "You could still get the work done even when cramming, and it's not like you're gonna do it alone, Kiyoshi."
The other barista blew smoke out of his mouth and held the cigarette stick in between his index and middle fingers. Haru was right, but the task given to him wouldn't be that easy. He massaged his temples with his free hand and decided to change the topic. "By the way, do you know who else works at Ralme?"
"Your girlfriend?"
"I said who else, dumbass."
Haru only shrugged his shoulders, not really sure who he's talking about.
The balcony door opened.
"Are you f*cking serious?" Kiyoshi's brows raised. "You were just with her last weekend."
A girl, with an hourglass figure and was wearing a mini purple dress paired with white blazer and heels, dashed right into Kiyoshi's arms. "Yoshiiiiiiiiiii! Why are you getting mad at Haru?"
Hashimoto Mei, Kiyoshi's girlfriend for three years and a stylist at Ralme, has a long and wavy milk beige hair color with sheer bangs, round puppy eyes, and full lips. She planted a soft kiss on her lover's jaw as soon as he embraced her tight in his arms.
"I'm not mad," Kiyoshi answered, resting his smoking hand on the railing while the other rested on his girlfriend's back. "I just thought he already knows that you're colleagues with Sakura."
"Sakura...?" Haru's brows creased and then stared steadily at the pink haired woman who just passed through the door.
Sakura smiled brightly as she approached the three. She was wearing a gray cropped cardigan and wide leg jeans paired with sneakers, "I intentionally didn't tell him that I am working at Ralme to surprise him, but Mei told me to go with her today so…" she looked at the man staring at her and waved her hand, "Hi, Haru!"
"What's with these surprises, huh?" Haru kept staring at Sakura before giving her a warm smile.
Kiyoshi peeped at the two and a sly smile formed on his lips. "Sorry to interrupt you, but let's go grab something. I'm hungry."
The four then drove to a newly opened rooftop terrace beer garden near Shibuya station, wherein customers could enjoy the panoramic sight of the city and enjoy the breathtaking views of Tokyo at night time. They ordered BBQ, which included beef, pork, chicken, sausage, and shrimp and scallops, and sides, such as edamame, yakisoba, cabbage and walnut coleslaw, and fries.
While waiting…
"Yoshi, is something wrong? You've been silent on our way here," Mei held his hand and rubbed her thumb on his. "Do you want me to drive later?"
"You should have told me about your upcoming meeting next week instead of spoiling me about this," Kiyoshi glanced at his girlfriend who was sitting beside him.
"Mm?" Mei tilted her head to the side. "It's not like you're the one who's going to organize it-"
"Kyoko asked me to take over the Manager's position for the meantime since he's on indefinite leave for weeks now."
"Wait. What?!" Haru and Mei asked in unison. Haru thought Kiyoshi was just assigned to do something easy and now, he finally knew why his friend was getting all cranky that afternoon.
"Oh no. What happened to him?" Sakura asked worriedly.
"He's back to the countryside to take care of his sick father, but he only let Kyoko know about his situation last Friday when Mei contacted him."
"Oh... that's why he sounded so unlively when we talked and just said he'll forward the matter to the owner," Mei pursed her lips.
"And he probably didn't let us know cause he doesn't want us to worry. Still, he should have told us so that we could at least help him," Haru added, concerned about the Manager's current situation.
"You know the old man. Anyways... we can contact him this week," Kiyoshi placed the menu paper in front of Haru who was sitting across from him. "For now, Haru will help me with the sakura themed menu, and we'll let you know once it's finalized," he then glanced at the pink haired lady who was sitting beside his friend. "You suggested this theme, didn't you?"