Sounds of the busy cafe resound loudly around me; the clatter of dishes and plates with the chatter of patrons fills the air. The smell of coffee wafts past my nostrils, making me realize how hungry I am.
"Are you ready to order?" A soft voice calls out as a waitress approaches our table—she has brown eyes and long wavy hair that hangs loosely around her face. Her skin is pale with a faint tint of pinkness, and she's dressed in a simple white shirt and black pants.
"Today's special is the beef stew with rice," the waitress states politely as she hands us each a menu card. "What can I get for you two?" she inquires while waiting for our response.
I glance down at the menu cards that were handed to us by the waitress. There are several items written on them; some of which look familiar while others appear completely foreign to me. "Um," I hesitate for a moment before asking tentatively, "what would you recommend?" I ask Yui-san curiously. "Have you visited here before?"
Yui-san chuckles lightly as she looks down at the menu card in her hand. "I've been here many times actually—it's one of my favorite cafes, they have a great selection of food here." She glances up at the waitress with a pleasant expression on her face. "Could you bring us two plates of chicken teriyaki?"
"Are you okay with that?" Yui-san asks me cautiously as the waitress waits patiently by our table. "They make great chicken teriyaki here—it's one of their most popular dishes." She glances over at me as she speaks. "If you prefer something else Hiro, I can order that."
"No, I'm fine," I answer her after thinking about it for a moment. "Chicken teriyaki sounds good, especially since it's your recommendation." I nod my head in agreement. "Thank you very much for suggesting it." I smile at her gratefully.
There is silence for a few moments—Yui-san and the waitress both appear somewhat flustered by my smile. They seem to take a second too long to respond before the waitress finally speaks. "I-I see," she states softly as her eyes flicker between us quickly. "It will be just a minute." She hurries away as quickly as she came.
Tilting my head slightly to one side, I study Yui-san carefully—my curiosity piqued by the sudden change in the atmosphere surrounding us. "Did I say something wrong?" I ask, unable to figure out what could have caused the waitress to act so strangely.
Waving her hands in a flustered motion, she shakes her head. "No, no Hiro," she sighs quietly before chuckling lightly. "Forget about it." She waves her hands again. "It's not important anyway." Her expression softens as she leans forward and lowers her voice. "Let's talk about something else—I want to hear more about you."
Taking a quick glimpse at Yui-san's glasses that rested on the table before me, I nod slowly in agreement. "Okay," I murmur softly, lifting my eyes to meet hers once more. "I don't mind talking about myself. What do you want to know?"
Yui-san smiles gently. "Why did you decide to work as a rental boyfriend? This is, after all, a job that involves spending time alone with a stranger—a woman at that," she continues with a frown. "I mean, I'm not complaining or anything but it does seem like an odd choice to take on such a job." She pauses thoughtfully before speaking again. "You could have worked as a model instead if you were strapped for cash, you know?"
I shrug my shoulders helplessly. "I did think about becoming a model at one point—but I'm not confident enough to pose in front of people wearing skimpy clothes like that," I murmured quietly as I glanced down at my outfit. "Plus, I have studies to worry about too, and being a rental boyfriend seemed like a better option than having to go through an agency and spend money on posing classes and makeup lessons."
"Oh? That's too bad," Yui-san comments sadly. "I would have liked to see that," she adds with a sly grin on her face.
I smile back at Yui-san—my cheeks tinge slightly red as I glance away from her. "Well, I'm not really interested in the fashion world anyway," I add quietly as I run my fingers across the surface of the table. "I'm more into literature and history," I state honestly. "I love books and learning new things."
"Oh?" Yui-san raises an eyebrow in surprise as she tilts her head to the side. "You are a University student—aren't you?" Her tone is gentle as she adds, "Your profile stated your age as nineteen, which means you are only just starting college right now?"
I nod my head silently as I recall the details of my profile that was filled out when I applied. "Yes, I'm currently studying at the University of Tokyo," I answer proudly. "It's my first year there."
As soon as I spoke those words, I realized that I had just told her something I shouldn't have—the name of the university that I attend. The agency had repeatedly warned me that information about my personal life should never be revealed to clients to avoid potential conflicts.
"Um, I mean," I begin awkwardly, trying to cover my mistake. "Uh," I stutter for a moment before continuing. "Not the University of Tokyo itself," I clarify hastily. "I meant a university located in Tokyo," I explain hurriedly.
Yui-san laughs softly at my embarrassingly awkward attempt to make amends. "It's okay, Hiro," she reassures me gently—her eyes twinkling with amusement as she watches me struggle to find the right words. "I'm not crazy enough to stalk you or anything like that," she jokes playfully. "Don't worry about it."
With a pout on my lips, I try to hide my embarrassment behind a forced smile. "I was just following the instructions given to me by the agency," I mutter under my breath as I lower my gaze to the tabletop before me.
Our order arrived shortly afterward—two large plates of chicken teriyaki are placed in front of us by the waitress who still refused to meet my eyes. After placing the plates down on the table, she quickly bows her head before scurrying off to serve another customer.
The tantalizing smell of the sweet teriyaki sauce drifts around our table from the steaming dishes that was placed on top of them. Taking a quick glance at the food that was prepared for us, I pick up one of the smaller pieces of chicken with my chopsticks—slicing it open to reveal its contents within.
The chicken meat is tender and succulent, with few slivers of ginger mixed throughout the dish to give it flavor. As I bite into the meat, it melts in my mouth with a delicious sweetness that is reminiscent of honey. The rich taste of the teriyaki sauce mingles with the delicate flavors of the chicken. Gracefully dipping the piece of chicken into the light orange-colored sauce, I savor the delightful blend of tastes.
"This is really delicious Yui-san," I exclaim happily while I take another bite of the chicken teriyaki—my cheeks tinge slightly red as I speak. "I've never tasted a chicken teriyaki this good before."
"I'm glad you are enjoying it," Yui-san responds as she continues to eat her own plate of chicken teriyaki. "It's nice to see you smiling like that," she adds with a warm laugh. "I was worried that you might be too nervous to enjoy yourself today."
"You're exaggerating," I reply with a cheeky smile of my own. "I wasn't really that nervous—maybe a tad bit anxious" I admit sheepishly.
Yui-san chuckles softly as she places her fork down on the edge of her plate. "That's good then," she replies.
It hit me at that moment that I was supposed to act like an actual boyfriend during our date tonight. And all I was doing was sitting there and eating while she was the one taking care of everything. Chiding myself for being so useless, I reach for my glass of water and take a sip before asking Yui-san, "Yui-san, you work as a bank clerk—what do you do exactly?"
The question was asked timidly since I was not sure how to broach the subject without sounding rude. However, it seems like Yui-san was pleasantly surprised that I was trying to start a conversation with her.
She answers my question without any hesitation. "A bank clerk is someone who processes transactions at a bank," she begins, explaining the role of a bank clerk in simple terms. "We keep track of how much money each account has and we also process payments made by customers," she elaborates with a hint of pride in her voice.
Seems like she's happy to talk about herself—good. I'm not very good at talking about myself so it'll be easier for me to listen to her if she talks about herself instead.
"The work may sound easy at first but there's actually quite a bit of paperwork involved," Yui-san explains as she fiddles with the fork resting on her plate. "There's a lot of filing involved too; making sure that every single transaction is properly recorded and stored for future reference."
"Wow, sounds like a very interesting job," I comment as I stare at Yui-san's face—her eyes shining brightly with excitement as she speaks.
Yui-san nods her head enthusiastically. "It is, yes!" The twenty-seven year old woman beams at me. "The pay may be low, but the job is fun and challenging too."
"You must be really good at your job if you can manage to stay enthusiastic about it all day," I remarked appreciatively. "Most people don't even like their jobs—they just do them because they need the money to survive."
"True," Yui-san agrees with a nod of her head. "But for me, it's not about the money." She pauses thoughtfully for a moment before adding, "Sorry, I'm just rambling." Yui-san sighs heavily and shakes her head as she tries to clear her mind. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that working at a bank doesn't feel like work to me," she continues after a few moments of silence.
"I really liked hearing you talk about your job—it was very interesting," I confess shyly. I did like it, in all honesty; listening to Yui-san tell me about her work was enjoyable for me. But it did make me wonder why she decided to rent a boyfriend instead of going out on a date herself. It's not like she lacks social skills as far as I could see from our short interaction so far.
"Haha, thank you." A tinge of pink appears on Yui-san's cheeks for the first time since our conversation began—making me realize that she probably liked my compliment. "It's nice to hear that someone else understands how important my job is to me."
"I think it's great that you have such an interest in what you do," I reply earnestly as I look into Yui-san's eyes. "I wish more people would share that kind of passion for their work."
"Thanks," Yui-san murmurs softly. "I appreciate the encouragement."
Before I could ask her another question, Yui-san gazes at me for a moment—her eyes narrowing slightly as she studies my face intently. "You know, usually the guys that I hire through Love Stop are older than you," she says in a soft voice as she glances over at the other customers seated nearby. "I just got lucky that you happened to be available when I was looking for a date."
"Oh," I reply uncomfortably as I watch Yui-san turn to face me. "Well, you seem like a nice person, so I'm glad that you chose me to accompany you on your date."
Yui-san chuckles softly before responding with an amused grin. "You don't understand how rare it is for me to get a chance to go out with someone like you." She turns away from me again—her expression changing to one of sadness as she continues speaking to herself softly. "Usually, I can only afford to hire men who are well, not as good-looking as you."
Seeing that I didn't exactly grasp what she meant by that, Yui-san sighs lightly before turning to face me once more. "Cute and young means expensive," she explains bluntly. "I'm sorry if I am sharing too much information—I don't mean to sound like an airhead," she apologizes sincerely. "I just wanted to explain why it's unusual for me to have someone as cute and young as you as my date."
Somewhat used to her abrupt praises, I simply smile awkwardly at her response. "Don't worry about it Yui-san," I offer gently. "It's fine if you want to tell me things like that. I'm your date—you can talk to me about anything."
"I'm glad that you're okay with it," Yui-san replies with a relieved sigh of her own. "But please try to stop me if I become too annoying." She gives me a playful wink. "I think this is why I'm still single despite being twenty-seven years old."
"I don't think you're too annoying," I reply honestly. "Guys these days have high expectations when it comes to dating." Recalling how picky some of my friends were, I add with a wry smile, "It's hard for girls to meet those standards—especially if they aren't outright rich."
Yui-san laughs softly before shaking her head dismissively. "I'm not rich either," she confesses with a shrug of her shoulders. "But I have been trying to find some guy to date for a long time now—not the rental one though, but the normal kind."
"Oh, so you have tried online dating sites or stuff like that?" I inquire curiously.
Yui-san nods her head slowly before answering. "Yes, but nothing has worked out so far," she confesses sadly. "My friends say I'm too plain and boring to catch anyone's eye." She pouts slightly as she admits, "They are probably right. I mean, I even work at a bank—how could I possibly be any more ordinary than that?"
I can't help but laugh at her reaction. "Not all boys care about looks or money when it comes to women," I point out reassuringly. "There are plenty of guys who will choose someone based on personality alone."
"I'm aware of that," Yui-san responds with a shake of her head. "But it's hard for me to believe that there are people out there like that." Yui-san takes a deep breath before continuing, "Forget about it—I shouldn't be complaining about this to you."
"It's fine if you want to vent your feelings to me," I reassure her with a gentle smile. "I can't promise that I'll be able to give you advice on how to attract guys, but I can listen if you'd like to talk about it."
"Thanks," Yui-san murmurs gratefully before glancing at the almost empty plate of food sitting on the table between us. "Do you want some desserts too?"
"No thanks—I'm full already." I smile at her as I check the time on my phone. Nearly two hours since the start of our date, Yui-san had reserved me for three whole hours today. Only one hour left until I finish my first ever paid date with a girl.
A nearby waitress approached our table as soon as we've finished eating. Yui-san hands the woman her credit card as she asks for the bill. After paying for both of our meals, the waitress leaves us to continue our conversation.
"So, what should we do next?" Yui-san inquires as she leans forward and places her elbows on the table. "I think we have around an hour left before your time is up." Shaking her head, she adds with a rueful expression, "If I had known how fun you would be, I would have reserved you for longer than this."
"Well, you can always do it next time then," I suggested cheerfully.
Yui-san shakes her head again. "I wish, but the agency only allows me to book you for one date per month—so, unfortunately, we won't be seeing each other for at least another month." Glancing down at her wristwatch, Yui-san sighs disappointedly.
I was surprised to learn that Yui-san wasn't allowed to hire me every week. "Why so?" I ask curiously.
"Because," Yui-san answers me in a tired voice. "There was a case some time ago where a woman became obsessed with her rental boyfriend after she went on multiple dates with him—which ended up getting out of hand." She paused for a moment as she looked at me with an expression of sympathy. "He was kidnapped by the woman and held hostage for nearly two weeks before he was finally rescued by the police."
"That sounds like something out of a movie," I admit with a slight shudder. "What happened to the man afterward?"
"The woman had forced herself on him repeatedly during his stay—he was traumatized by the experience." Yui-san sighs heavily before explaining further. "He killed himself not long after that incident."
I grimaced at hearing that story. Knowing that my job was going to involve spending time with someone who may end up being violent toward me was quite scary.
Noticing my discomfort, Yui-san gave me an understanding smile. "Don't worry; The government made several changes to agencies like Love Stop after that tragedy—one of the new rules was that no one can be hired for more than one date per month." Yui-san shook her head regretfully. "Even if they are willing to pay extra fees for extended periods of time, most agencies will refuse to hire them because of the risk involved."
I nod meekly in response to her explanation. "I guess it's better to be safe than sorry."
"There's a nice park near here," Yui-san suggests trying to change the depressive mood that seemed to have fallen over us. "Why don't we take a walk there?" She points out the window of the cafe where a large green area can be seen outside—a perfect place for a romantic stroll together. "We can sit down on a bench and talk while enjoying the scenery."
"Yeah, sure, I'd love to," I replied enthusiastically.