The Encounter

CHAPTER SEVEN

What made you pave your way here? Himari winced as she tossed and turned on her bed feeling stupid about asking such frivolous question. Why on earth did I even ask him that? Obviously, he has a car and he can do whatever he wants to do with it and go wherever he wants it. Fool! She castigated herself from such humiliation. 'I hate to cause a scene from a movie that's not mine.' What did he mean by that? She had the time to wonder about that? Really? Why would she? It was... timely of him to catch both Henry and her on the side street. It's not like she was torn. Henry was easy to fall for - smart, smooth, familiar. He was a friend and she was not yet ready to go to the next level of their friendship. She was neither desperate nor fake about being cared by a man but just because they shared a fraction of themselves in the past did not mean they could patch everything together now as if they fit like a puzzle by default. In addition, she was too appalled as Henry advanced for a kiss and as unprepared as she was she reclined onto the car in defense. Henry must have been disappointed by such mechanism but she would not want to disappoint herself either.

It had been just days since her arrival in SG but for her it felt like forever. Dismissing the commotion from her mind, Himari reached for tea from her little thermos. She had this habit of storing hot liquid in case she felt tension just like how everything today made her feel so. The disarranged luggage she did not bother to sort out waved at her as if it needed to show her something. How could she forget something as trivial as Shintaro's coat and chef uniform? For some reason, she missed to point out, they were both a charm and a curse. She smiled knowing she would see Shintaro once more. She abruptly shook her head in self-disgust. Really? Am I really fantasizing of running into him one of these days again? Really?! No. I will give these items back to him sooner or later - without crease and intimidation. Yes. I'll do that. She was surprised how she talked to herself like this. She chuckled and finished her tea. She caught a glimpse of the box that held a rather vintage-looking wristwatch and examined it. She surmised the body case was around 37mm and its dial points were written in kanji and katakana like it was especially engraved. The not so worn-out brown strap was still wearable and bore Y.S. She did not think so much about it. "What am I gonna do with you? Build a museum for you?" She spoke to the object in her hand as if it understood what she was saying.

Her business days went on smoothly for a while and she couldn't be more unconstrained. She had adjusted well - as expected of her in the workplace. Once she was complimented by Aoki-san about how note-worthy their sales up due to her hard work and leadership. She thought those were her strengths. Having thought of Erina, this was the perfect pair for Shintaro - tall, posh, and no-nonsense - who was completely out of her league. What now Himari, are you seriously comparing yourself to someone whose status was beyond compare? Dream on. She reprimanded herself once again. It's sad. Where the hell did that 'sad' thing come from? Come on, Himari! She absentmindedly rolled her eyes to herself.

"You leave me the impression of a daydreamer who is likely to commit a mistake anytime sooner." Himari was surprised by how Shintaro was too close to her ear at the counter. She must have been in another dimension not to notice him coming in. On top of that, he looked dashing even with his white cotton shirt and ripped blue denim jeans paired with Darthmouth-colored loafers. Really Himari?! Stop thinking about his physical looks already!

"Ohayou gozaimasu, Yamamoto-san! I'm sorry sir, I didn't notice you --"

"I hope I'm not the last customer you tell those words to. I wonder why you were not fired for daydreaming - is it everyday?" There were already a handful of customers so he lowered his voice to avoid misunderstanding.

She was agitated by this remark but he was right, fine. So, she humbled herself by keeping silent and counted one to three. "How can I help you today?" She faked a smile.