Hiroomi Tosaka: The Chemistry Of Us

CHAPTER #2

The following month, Hiroomi sent her a LINE message, asking her to meet him for dinner. Mizuki almost dropped her phone in surprise, when she saw it. Not believing the invitation, she pinched herself to check if she was just dreaming. When it hurt, another check of the message, confirmed it was real. Taking into consideration his popularity as an idol, she suggested a few low key food stalls, in the area where the bar they'd first gone to was. Her thought was that he must live around the area of that liquor store. He chose the night they'd meet up, one of the locations and a relative time.

Mizuki arrived early, choosing to slam back a few shots of whisky, to calm herself down. She was anxious about meeting him again. Even if he had been just a regular guy and not a star, he was hot enough to make her nervous. Media called him sexy because of his voice, acting and general aesthetic. Sure he had a sharp jaw line and high cheek bones, but it was his eyes, that enraptured her. The whisky kicked in and she switched to a beer, waiting for his arrival. Hiroomi showed up twenty minutes after his suggested meeting time and apologized.

"Do you mind if I order right away? I'm so hungry."

She smiled. "Me too, I just didn't want to be rude and already eating when you showed up." Mizuki waved over the stall cook. "Could I get two orders of your takoyaki and one order of yakitori for myself."

Hiroomi put in his order, which was similar to hers and asked for a Ramune drink. He noticed they were again seated away from the street and to the side of the street stall, which meant she'd chosen that spot because of him. Their eyes met and tonight hers were particularly fascinating. "Mizuki are you half Brazilian?"

"No..why do you ask?"

"Your dad is Japanese, but your eyes aren't brown or black. They are the most exotic green, with flecks of golden brown and the outer part is this dark grey halo. But when we met the first time, they were greenish-blue with the gold and grey. It can't be contacts."

"You're right, I'm mixed race. My middle name is Alkina, which means moon in Australian. Mom was an Aussie."

"Was?"

"She left when I was little. Dad couldn't tame her and tried to break her, so she left and disappeared or maybe she just lives off grid. He's been drinking for as long as I can remember. Whenever I use to ask about mom I would get beaten, so I stopped wondering."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories. You could be a model, so why do you stay behind the camera?"

"That's a long story, but I like how photography lets me show reality in a positive light. Like bringing meaning to the little things most people overlook. Fashion photography pays the bills, but my personal pictures show I'm not afraid of feeling and living. A photo is the art of capturing time, without stopping its movement. Just like how a song can trigger a memory or make us dream of the future. Does that make sense?"

"Yes. Kind of like revealing the truth that most don't see right away or forget. It's the same as how a belt buckle is just as important as the pants."

"Exactly! You probably understand better than most, because of taking photos yourself and also being a model."

He grinned, "I'm good at seeing the bigger picture from the little things."

The street stall they were at, was starting to get busier, so she invited, "would you like to see some of my recent work? I can offer a drink at my place too."

"I can drive us, since I didn't drink." Hiroomi offered, as they finished their food.

"Okay." She got up and paid for her share of the meal. Then followed him to where he'd parked.