Serendipity

Kairi

Zarc really found his dining companions to be very interesting. They were all twenty-four years old, four years younger than him, and Yuto, Yuri, and Yugo were all orphans like him. Yuya still had both of his parents, as well as an army of cats and dogs back home. According to him, his father owned a school for aspiring performers, which had been promised to the young tomato when his father felt he was ready to take over.

All four of the young men were attending university at the moment, and Zarc had finished university a few years ago. Yuto was double majoring in history and art, two subjects that he said he'd always been passionate about. He promised to show them some of his artwork later if they wanted to see it. Yuri was triple majoring in botany, horticulture, and biology. He loved plants, and it was his dream to create a new species of plant with a variety of uses through cross-breeding. Yugo was double majoring in mechanical and computer engineering. He'd built his own motorcycle from scratch when he was a young teen, and showed them photos of it on his phone. And Yuya was doing a whopping quadruple major in drama, theater, performing arts, and acting. Apparently there was a pretty big difference between the four majors, and Zarc had to admit that it made sense for the tomato to study them if he was going to be in charge of a school for performers. Zarc had double majored in business and computer science. He had started his own business in immersive technology, creating augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality technologies as soon as he'd finished college. It was already a booming company.

Yuto, Yuri, Yugo, and Yuya were all also working through college. Yuto was working as a barista in the university coffee shop in the mornings and in a small fast food place nearby in the evenings. Yuri was working in the local hardware store's nursery where the plants were. He would've preferred working as a florist, but the owner of the floral shop had a daughter that he considered to be his archnemesis, so the nursery was his second choice. Yugo was working at a mechanic shop, fixing up cars. And Yuya worked as a stagehand in the local theater. He could've worked at his dad's school, but he wanted to get experience outside of the family business before working there so that people wouldn't say he was only hired because he was the owner's son.

The five young men were so invested in their conversation that they almost forgot the reason they had come to the restaurant. It was only when the hostess came to their table with a woman with long blonde curls and brown eyes that they remembered. They all noticed the woman before she noticed them.

When the woman did notice them, she froze and her eyes went wide. Her face went very pale. Zarc raised an eyebrow and said, "Hello, Kairi. I believe you've already met Yuto, Yuri, Yugo, and Yuya, haven't you?"

"I-I-I—" Kairi stammered. Yuri grinned. "Kairi, you never told me you were married!"

"Yeah, how could you leave out such an important detail, huh?" Yugo asked. Yuto nodded, "Yeah, I mean, if you had said you were married, and your marriage was an open marriage, that would've been fine, but that's obviously not the case!"

"Mhm! And what's worse, you cheated with multiple people!" Yuya agreed. "I'm just really glad that Zarc didn't get mad at us, since we didn't know you were married!"

The five young men were speaking just loud enough that the conversation was getting the attention of the people at the tables around theirs. The people were watching and listening, some not even bothering to try to hide it. Kairi started trying to shush her partners, but they ignored her.

"So, you seem to be a compulsive liar," Yuri said. "I mean, you told Yuya you're a doctor, you told Yuto that your ex cheated on you with your best friend, you told Yugo that you don't drink, and you told me that your parents disowned you for divorcing your abusive ex-husband. And it turns out that all of that, and more, is all a bunch of lies! Plus, you told all of us that you're a lot younger than you really are!"

Now people were subtly recording the scene on their phones. Kairi didn't seem to notice, as Zarc was pulling out some papers and a pen. "Since you think cheating is an appropriate course of action, I think it's high time we got a divorce. Sign here, please."

"No!" Kairi wailed. "I'll break up with them! I promise! I'll never cheat again, I swear! Just please don't divorce me!"

"Once a cheater, always a cheater," Yuya said. Kairi shrieked. "Shut up, Yuya! I only dated you cuz you're going to inherit your dad's business!"

"Oi! Leave Yuya alone!" Yuto snarled. "He did nothing wrong! You're the one in the wrong here! And seriously, dating someone for their inheritance is disgusting!"

"Yeah, and I'm starting to think that you only married me for my money," Zarc said. "I mean seriously, lately all of our interactions involve you asking me for money to buy a new purse, or some jewelry, or shoes, or something else involving my money."

"No, no Zarc!" Kairi pleaded. "I didn't marry you just for your money!"

"Then what else did you marry me for?" Zarc asked, raising an eyebrow. Kairi immediately said, "I like your face! You have a pretty face! And those four have the same face as you! I couldn't help it! It's their fault for having your face!"

"Wait, so you didn't just pick us as your affair partners just so that you could pretend that we were Zarc trying out a new hair color and style if someone saw you with us?" Yugo asked, surprised. To which Kairi scoffed, "Yugo, you're pretty, but I've almost broken up with you so many times cuz of how dumb you are! Do you honestly think anyone would've believed that you were Zarc? Your eyes are blue. And you're clearly shorter than him! Think for once!"

"Oi, leave him alone, he wasn't the only one who thought that!" Yuri snapped. "We all figured that was the reason!"

"I've heard enough from you, Kairi," Zarc said, tapping the divorce papers with his pen. "I've already signed the papers. Now it's your turn. Sign here, please!"

"NO!" Kairi shrieked. "I'm not going to sign! We are NOT getting divorced! I'll fight it in court if I have to!"

"Even if we have to take it to court, we're getting a divorce," Zarc said calmly. "I have more than enough evidence to bury you in. One way or another our marriage is ending."

"Yeah, and I think it's safe to say that the four of us are all breaking up with you too!" Yuri said. Yuto, Yugo, and Yuya all nodded and hummed in agreement.

"Oh, screw you all!" Kairi yelled. She turned and stormed out of the restaurant. The five gentlemen watched her go, and Yuya frowned. "Uhm, if you need us as witnesses in court to get divorced, just say the word."

"I don't know if that will be necessary, since I have screenshots of the texts Kairi sent you all, but if I do need your testimony, I'll let you four know," Zarc said.