Upon hearing this, Junichi was halted from drinking his beer, and the father and son exchanged looks with each other. Yosuke, also a part-time model, is Kyoko's boyfriend of 5 months, and they'd only seen him in the pictures she shared with them.
"But uncle will visit us on Friday, right?" she asked with a forced smile, trying to avoid the awkward silence that was about to build up. She then took a piece of meat with her chopsticks and put it inside her mouth.
"Oh! I'm sorry, but didn't Haru tell you? I'll be going to my sister's house at Takayama that day, and I will be staying there over the weekend," Junichi glanced at her before glancing at his son.
"It's okay, uncle! I just thought you're dropping by that day," she excused. "Should I just come with you to Takayama than attend the meeting?" she jokingly asked.
"Didn't he also inform you about the get-together after the meeting?" he looked at Haru again. "And where's Kiyoshi? Shouldn't he be here eating with us? Don't tell me Haru also forgot to invite Kiyoshi to the party?"
Haru just scrunched his nose with his father's jestings which made Kyoko laugh. He brought the bowl of miso soup close to his mouth and drank some of it, savoring the broth while his father and friend continued talking.
Putting the blame on him as a diversion was successful, but at the same time, he didn't know how to ask Kyoko about her breakup with her ex-boyfriend since he's not the type to pry about a person's private matters. They'd only talked about him once or twice, and he thought everything was still going well between them.
"I already know about the gathering at the end of the week," she answered while watching her friend enjoy his meal, "And Kiyoshi's with his girlfriend. He's accompanying her in buying some stuff for the meeting, but we'll see each other tomorrow morning to do the groceries!" and gave Junichi a subtle smile.
"What are you going to make, by the way?" Junichi asked curiously and drank the remaining beer from the can.
"Secret! If you want to take a bite of it, then drop by the café in the morning before going to aunt."
The three of them shared a hearty laugh after hearing Kyoko's remark. After dinner, Haru preheated the taiyaki bought by his father and ate it while catching up with each other. Kyoko had been drinking wine that night and despite being tipsy, she feigned it and presented to wash the dishes herself. Of course, Haru didn't let her do it on her own and ended up completing the task anyway.
"About pops going to aunt this Friday…" Haru spoke up, rinsing the remaining plates in the sink.
"Hmm?" Kyoko responded softly, wiping her wet hands on the dry towel.
"Sorry, I forgot to tell you-"
She was about to hit his shoulder lightly, but he was quick to avoid it. She then let out a chuckle, "My...my, Haru. Did you take uncle's joke seriously?"
"No, of course not," he darted a glance at the lady with midnight blue hair, which was now tied in a bun. "I mean, I didn't know you're expecting pops to visit us on Friday."
She became silent for a good long minute before sipping wine from the glass, "I just said that to avoid shame."
"Shame?" he knitted his brows together. "What are you ashamed of? You just fell in love... with the wrong person."
"That's why it's shameful because it's the wrong person!" she exclaimed as she handed the wine glass to Haru. She walked towards the fridge to take out a wine bottle and headed to the dining area.
"Isn't that part of being in love? To also fall in love with the wrong person?" he shrugged as she checked her out from the kitchen sink area and saw her chugging from the bottle. "Get a glass and stop drinking from-"
"This is perfectly fine!" her voice was louder this time and proceeded to read the DMs she received. "I've posted an IG story of our dinner, and most of my model friends and some of my followers are asking if you're my new suitor."
Haru smirked, "Are they serious? You just broke up with Yosuke 2 days ago-"
"Anything can happen when you're in love, my dear Haru," she looked at him from the corner of her eyes, "And we're talking about the fashion slash entertainment industry here."
He tilted his head to the side as he dried his hands, following her to the dining table after. "I still don't get it-"
Kyoko cut him off by grabbing his arm and pulling him close to her and making him lower his head near hers for her to cling her arms around his neck. "You're too precious for this world, so it's okay if you don't get it. I'm not going to get mad," she murmured whilst patting his shoulder.
"Huh? Too precious for this world? What the hell are you talking about?" he chuckled and pulled away from her embrace. He looked at her face tinged with red, "It's been a long day, so go to sleep now."
She stared at his alluring face until an idea popped into her head. Noticing the different expression on her face, he pulled the chair and sat beside her, "What are you thinking, huh?"
"Since we're also going to be interviewed by Ralmé... should we take that as an opportunity to boost our sales?"
This piqued Haru's interest, and he was glad that her attention had shifted to her own café. Kyoko's more of a laid-back type of owner, so hearing about business matters from his friend made him more engrossed in her ideas. "Finally, we're talking about business. What's the plan then?"
"I'm already single, so…." Kyoko took a swig from the wine bottle and licked her lips before speaking. "Why don't we pretend to be lovers starting this Friday as part of our marketing strategy?