𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐋, 𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢

𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲

You're once again met with the excruciatingly bright rays of the sun that dare peer through your curtains and the harsh blaring of the alarm right next to your ear.

This morning is different though. You wake up feeling energized, excited for what's to come. You decide that maybe, just this once, you should research the client you'll be seeing later today.

No Instagram? Alright fine, it makes a little sense. I'll give him that. No TikTok. Yeah, expected that one. No Twitter??? How does this man get by. Did I misspell it? No? This dude is off the grid on social media.

You feel like a stalker, but at this point it's a hunt to find at least ONE page the businessman could have. After minutes of searching to no avail, you give it a rest.

I have, what.. a couple hours before I have to leave? Might as well get ready now. Being a few minutes early won't hurt.

* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ * 。° 。 • ˚

You step out of the taxi in front of the café you're coincidentally a regular at. ....At least I know the place?

When he sent you the location for the date, you were a bit nervous that the employees would recognize you, but you realized the staff you usually see work the late shift.

You walk towards the door of the establishment and see him. He's dressed casually in a beige sweater and dark grey slacks. You can't help but stare.

He notices you walking in and raises a stiff hand to catch your attention and notify you of where he's seated.

I so hope he did not just catch me staring. But hey! We're matching! You're wearing a white blouse and beige pencil skirt, hoping to look like you just came from an office setting.

He watches you in awe as you saunter over. As you get closer, you see his shoes and snort.

Woooow, he's got them church-going grandfather clogs on. If only he had taste in shoes, you thought as you wipe a fake tear from your eye subtly.

He pulls your chair out for you and as you sit down it's pushed back in. You look and seated across the table are his parents, smiling ear-to-ear.

"Hello there, dear! You must be our son's girlfriend! We're so happy to meet you," Mrs. Nanami gushes.

"You know, our little Kento here barely ever talks about his relationships! But all of a sudden, he told us that he wanted to meet us out here to meet you. It brought tears to my eye to hear him say that!" she looks at you, big-eyed with excitement.

"Took him long enough. We've been asking about it for years," his father relays grumpily. You look to the side and see Nanami's jaw tighten. He must hate all the relationship talk.

You sat there smiling, listening to his mother talk about her son for at least half an hour.

How he was top of his class, how he used to style his hair all "emo" and looked so "moody" in his teens (which Nanami stopped her from elaborating on), and how he doesn't have that many friends besides a boy with "mesmerizing blue eyes" (which Nanami also stopped her from talking about).

All the while his father sat there with a stern look on his face, causing your date to straighten his posture every time he was looked at by the man.

Mrs. Nanami eventually ran out of embarrassing things to say about "her little Kento!" It was a great break from a stressful week. You were constantly laughing with his mom, and once the conversation died down, his father decided to speak.

"So what do you do? Your job?"

You're caught off-guard. Usually, dates where you meet the parents are easy because they never ask you anything too personal. They're always too absorbed in the fact that their child has a significant other.