Note: It was a challenge to write this, but, here you go. Hope you like it, AngelMartinez760344. Thank you for requesting and for your patience! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°
Mari Ohara (Aged Up) x Male Reader
"Please, Mom. How many times will I tell you?" Mari almost screams in frustration over the phone as she struggles to keep her politeness, "I don't want to marry a stranger. I will never marry someone through this kind of setup."
Her mother who had found a new candidate for an arranged marriage for her daughter continues, "You made a promise, sweetheart. By the age of 24, if you still have nobody to marry, you'll marry the one that we chose for you. Do you still remember?"
Mari felt a painful throb in her chest as her mother recalled her little promise that she swore when she was nine—her age when she was still young and naive.
In a quiet voice, she replied, "Yes... I remember."
"That's good, sweetheart. I knew you won't disappoint us." Mari can hear the glee in her mother's voice as she continues, "I met just a perfect match for you! He's a rising producer in the entertainment industry—oh! That reminds me, he's staying in our hotel right now. You might see him around, his name is—"
"Mari-chan!" Kanan appeared from her side, catching her in an embrace, but immediately released her and stepped a few feet back when she noticed that Mari is still on a call. She saw how Mari still smiled at her and mouthed 'I'm almost done' after she caught her attention.
When Mari got back to her mother on the phone, she couldn't follow what her mother was talking about—she was disinterested anyway. She looked back at Kanan before saying on the phone, "Mom, I have to go. I have friends waiting for me."
"Alright, darling. I just know you'll accept him. He's still a little busy right now, so, we scheduled lunch with him tomorrow. I'm so excited for both of you to meet!"
Mari sighed in defeat as she could not defy her mother's wants anymore. She politely replied, "Okay, Mom. I'll see you."
"Who was that?" Kanan asked her after Mari got close to her.
"Just my mom, she wanted to have a family lunch tomorrow." She half-lied, she just doesn't have the heart yet to tell her that she'll be meeting her chosen fiancé tomorrow.
"Huh. Well, isn't that sweet," Kanan commented. "Anyway, I received a message from Dia, she told me to meet her in the dress shop."
"What is she doing there? I thought we were supposed to have brunch before shopping?"
"I know. She's with Chika and the others, so, let's go join them."
Mari let Kanan pull her to where their friends are, when they arrived, it was Chika who saw them first and waved energetically at them. Mari smiled and waved back, it helped her to put in the back of her mind what is bound to happen tomorrow.
They all had finished their late lunch and it was Chika who ate the most that they had to take a rest in the hotel lounge. All the girls of Aquors rested their tired feet and engage in conversation about what they will do for the next hour since it was nearly evening.
Chika was silently listening to them when her eyes caught a glance of someone she thinks they know. She squinted her eyes to focus her vision on the man walking across them as he heads to the exit.
"_____-san?" Chika mumbled under her breath. The man was dressed in a casual suit and doesn't seem to be in a hurry, he was carrying a phone in his right hand, and his other hand in his pocket. She was still unsure of his identity but still, she called out louder, "_____-san!!!"
