Rain to Sea

3. Becoming a part of Off's household

"I'm really sorry. That's a bit of an unfortunate situation we had to face early in the morning. Would you like to have  some coffee?'' The tall man with an expressive face starts sugarcoating immediately. Seriously what was that? 

"Actually I was...'' Gun starts but couldn't finish whatever he wants to say. What is it that he wanted? He came here purely on a whim just to catch a glimpse of his sister's crush. From the moment he had managed to get the details from Emma's childhood friend, he just wanted to see Off. 

 She had a crush on Off but never managed to say it to him. 
Those words that her friend uttered still ring in his ears. 

Anxiety is starting to consume him. It's not like he had a solid plan by barging into a small totally unpopular cafe in his home town to visit her sister's teenage crush. 

"Coffee would do.'' Finally he manages to scramble some words. 

According to the information he gathered from Emma's friend, Off has been famous in this town as a jovial and good hearted person running a coffee house business with his childhood sweetheart. The picture he had created on the basis of such sweet words totally crumbled when he entered into this sorrow-ridden unfriendly disaster of a place. 

The owner is far from jovial and good hearted, as soon as Gun stepped in he saw Off leaving like a hurricane in rage despite the calling of the other two men who Gun guessed to be his friends. 

He shouldn't eavesdrop. He warns himself while stirring the coffee which has already gone too cold. But it's impossible when the two men in the cafe are too loud as if they are not quite used to having customers around for a long time. 

I wish Off stands for himself. 

It isn't his fault that Rin died.

It's wrong for Dim to accuse like that. 

But Off loves her still, he wouldn't hurt her brother. 

Gun gathers snippets of their conversation despite his resolve of not eavesdropping. 

That pushes him to take another decision purely on his whim. Again! 

"Do you know a place where I could stay for a few days? A guest house or something?'' Gun probes the unsuspecting gentlemen who are deeply involved in their own conversation. 

Because why not? He has already resigned from his mentally demanding job, broken up with his girlfriend and is caught in a fragile relationship with his mother. A few days in his hometown where he didn't get to spend his childhood won't be that bad. 

He expects someone in this coffee house to be sensible enough to direct him to a comfortable guest house but to his greatest dismay no one seems sensible here including himself. 

"Why don't you stay with us here? Don't worry about money. We can give you a discount.'' The talkative one proposes with interestingly wide eyes. Probably this coffee house's  state of affairs has hit rock bottom that they are forced to turn it into a guest house all of a sudden. Gun thinks.  The pleading looks directed at him by the two men standing in front of him make it difficult to refuse. 

For some reason unknown to him, he keeps looking at the staircase expecting Off to make an appearance and save him from his friends. It doesn't happen so he helplessly accepts the proposal. 

But Gun has this feeling that he is played by these two smart looking men when he sees them wearing an identical smug face and looking all satisfied.