POV (Point of View)

Chapter 12: The Man at the End of the Staircase

"Eh??! You own hotels and clubs here in Tokyo?!"

"Yes."

"Wow~ Asami-chan will be so lucky with you! Here~ Drink some more~"

"Thank you, Sir."

"Oh come on, boy. Just call me 'Uncle or 'Pops'. But Pops is even more okay~"

"I think Uncle would be more appropriate." 

As if the brown-haired older man didn't swing his hammer on the compliant Rindou Haitani, the two males are now having a drinking session in the living room for several hours now. Sarina has long went to her room and called it a night. It is 12 o'clock in midnight and they are surrounded with bottles of liquor around them. Saburo, Sarina's father is pouring beer on the younger male's glass...who is clearly more sober and has no plans on getting drunk for the night. 

"If I may not be rude to ask, how long have you known my Sarina?" His pair of purple met the man's brown orbs, who is looking at him a bit seriously despite his drunkenness.

"Not for long, Uncle. We met in..."

...the club and she asked me to kiss her.

"...the most normal way possible." He stated sarcastically and sipped his drink. This only made the old man laugh.

"Keeping it to yourself, I see. Drink some more." The father said and poured him another glass. And just as he is drinking, his eyes went to the lower cabinet of the sofa. Seeing him eyeing something, Saburo also turned to the direction he is looking at. Perhaps he overlooked this so he didn't saw it last time he was in this place.

"Oh. That's Sarina and Asami-chan's high school yearbook. Let me go get it." The older man then took it and carefully wiped the dust away.  Though Rindou paid no mind to it since he quite anticipated its content. 

"Those two became best friends and became inseparable in high school." Saburo continued and opened the book. Then, he showed a certain page to their guest.

"That's Fou—I mean, Sarina Samidori?!" Rindou exclaimed upon seeing the high school Sarina without eyeglasses and shyly smiling to the camera.

"That's right." As he heard that, he looked more intently at the photo with an unexplainable frown. There, Sarina has her long straight hair behind her ears while revealing her forehead and eyebrows, neatly showing her face structure. Unlike now, she has her bangs messily covering most of her forehead. A glow down, is what it is. The sight unconsciously made Rindou grin and snicker sarcastically.

"I knew it. She's prettier without her glasses."

When he realized what he just said, his expression became blank before turning to the old man who is looking at him. He gulped with the realization that he openly complimented this person's daughter.

"I mean that honestly." He added. But the man still didn't break eye contact, making the younger man feel even more awkward.

And so, he decided to change the subject.

"W-What about Asami? She's here, too, right?" He asked and flipped the pages himself. And only after one flip, he found her. There, she looks just as cute and pretty. Just, with her braces on.