"Why didn't you bring an umbrella on your way here?" Sakura told Haru as she waited for him to step inside her apartment. "Look at you, you're now wet."
Haru's pulse also increased as soon as the elevator opened, and even after entering her unit, his nervousness had not yet subsided. He couldn't believe he'd be this anxious in front of her when he just went there to deliver her food. Or was he nervous because he's seeing his first kiss?
"I didn't think it would rain though," he told her, avoiding her gaze.
She took the paper bag and cup of sakura milk latte from his hands and placed these on top of her circular dining table. She then took the box of tissue paper, but her brow raised when she saw him only standing behind the door. "Haru? Why are you just standing there? Come sit here."
Like a broken robot wearing a button down striped light blue shirt and dark blue pants, he moved his body to the left and right, which made her laugh so much.
She tried to stop herself from laughing and composed herself first before asking him, "What are you doing?" but there was no response from him. "Haru?" she called him once more.
"Ah," he finally snapped into his senses, but he still couldn't look straight at her, "Are you saying something? What is it again?"
"I said," Sakura patted the empty chair next to her, "Sit down here. I'll get you a towel."
Haru only obeyed her command. He took some tissue paper from the box and wiped his face and clothing dry. When he was about to dry his hair, Sakura already placed a new laundried towel on top of his head.
"I don't know why you seem so embarrassed, but you really look cute right now," she giggled as she sat across from him.
"I am not-"
"Oh yes you are," she playfully rolled her eyes before bringing the cup close to her mouth and getting a whiff of the sweet smelling drink delivered by the handsome man in front of her. "You're probably embarrassed because of your reply to me, aren't you?"
He covered his face with the towel as he continued drying up his hair.
"Got ya," she grinned.
"It's lame, is it not?" he removed the towel from his face and gazed at her, gauging what Sakura's response would be. If she thought he was just joking, then he'd ride with it, but if she'd insist what it really meant, then he'd just do his best to explain his way out of this situation.
"To be honest… mm.. kinda," she stifled her laughter, "But no worries, it really made my day!" a happy smile appeared on her doll face.
"It's actually a sleep typing habit of mine," Haru tried cracking a joke with a deadpan expression on his face.
With the ongoing conversation, Haru presumed that Sakura doesn't recall what happened when she got drunk, which was in his favor because he did not know what he would do if she ever remembered their kiss. Just like a while ago, he looked like a fool as he stood behind the door, so he did not want to act stupid again, especially in front of her.
"For real?" her brows rose. "You mean… like sleepwalking?"
He only nodded in response.
"Sleep typing… but without keyboard smashing… spelling and capitalization mistakes… hmm," she thought while she sipped on her latte.
"Nah, I was kidding," he chuckled, his dimples showing on his cheeks, and ran a hand through his almost damp hair.
Sakura, who was taking a sip of her drink, almost spilled her latte. "Oh my god! I can't with you, Haru!" she playfully poked his hand on the table repeatedly, until she also accidentally hit the tissue box, so it fell to the floor. "Sorry!"
Both of them reached for the box, and when their fingertips touched, they looked up and gazed at each other's eyes. With their faces almost an inch close, they held each other's stares and felt the warm breaths against their lips. When Haru lowered his gaze down her heart-shaped lips, Sakura's eyes suddenly widened, her cheeks turning rosy. She quickly pulled her hand away and stood up, not believing the series of images that flashed in her mind.
Sakura's phone suddenly rang, so she dashed to the living area and answered the call. He tilted his head in wonder as to why she acted like that, but he thought it must be because of the call she must have been waiting for.
After a couple of minutes, Sakura walked back to Haru, who was already standing behind the door, "Sorry about that. My boss just called, and we have an emergency meeting in two hours."
"No worries. I'll see you around, then," he bowed his head a little and gave her a gentle smile. She waved goodbye, and he only left once she closed the door.
Haru's mind was filled with thoughts as he headed back to Café Ai. Everything was a first for him – he had never been kissed, and he had never felt so many butterflies in his stomach all at once. Despite feeling these emotions unanticipatedly and knowing that Sakura doesn't remember anything at all, his chest somehow felt lighter.
However, there still seemed to be something wrong; something that he should have done instead of sleep-texting his reply. He clicked his tongue and sighed so deeply that the person walking next to him got surprised.
'I should definitely talk to her in her free time,' he thought.
However, that late morning, Sakura was reassigned to a different team for the meantime because of an upcoming photoshoot, making her sched tight that entire week. Due to that, they weren't able to talk as often as they used to, making him feel as if something was lacking.
That's when he realized that he now somewhat craved for her attention, like how one craved for their coffee in the morning.