Business Days

Old Faces in New Places

Tokyo

Jun decided this morning that he needed a good day out. He spent his entire week working through Mayu's newest improvement ideas and lacked a great deal of sunshine in his life.

A simple stroll is all he needed but as the founding CEO of a major agency it was often difficult for him. He usually left his private loft to drive into work in his heavily tinted car, parked in a private spot linked to his office floor through a high bridge. It was exclusive and extravagant, but necessary after some fans ambushed him outside of his old apartment.

Whenever he wanted to maintain a low profile, Jun donned less flashy clothing, exchanging his sleek suits and designer shoes for a basic graphic design t-shirt (peach today), dark jeans, and his white NMD beaters. The occasional bomber jacket or hoodie is optional. He also switches his usual contact lenses for his at-home rounded glasses. Miyuki always said he looked like a college student whenever he dressed like this.

On his walk, he found a newly opened cat cafe with a cute logo. He was drawn in by the pure and adorable kittens by the glass window.

"Welcome, I'm Asu-nyan. I'll be your waitress today. May I take your order?" A cute girl with a small face and long dark hair approached him. "Ah... I'll have the... Nyancake special with Paw-dered sugar." He couldn't contain his cat-like grin from the puns.

"Certainly. They'll be right out. In the meantime, the kittens are saying "Come check meowt!" So please do." Asunyan made one more cat paw pose and strutted off to deliver Jun's order.

He took the invitation to play with the kittens. He sat in the small room and held a tiny black kitten in his palm.

"Too cute, too cute, too cute." He repeated.

I wonder if Rena-chan likes cats...

As if reading his mind... a voice called out to him.

"Ah, Jun-san..."

He turned to follow the sweet familiar voice to find Rena at the door. Her usual straight hair tied into a messy ponytail. Her business-only-attire fierceness swapped with an aloof, fluffy vibe through her off-white knitted sweater and flowy, flowery black skirt. Instead of her purse, she carried a backpack instead.

"Eh... Rena-san...?"

She smiled, "You look so different! I didn't know you wear glasses."

"Ah... y-yeah! I usually wear contact lenses at work... Rena-san, you look pretty in your casual clothes too."

"Ehhhhhhhhh~" Rena exclaimed as she knelt next to Jun and petted the black kitten in his hand.

"It's my day off after all." She giggled. Jun died. (AN: He didn't die.)

"Oh, your shoes." Rena looked at them with a small frown on her face. "You shouldn't use the R1's as beaters... especially the triple white colorway!" She scolded him but he couldn't help but want to cheer internally.

"Eh? Rena-san, you know about sneakers?" Rena grinned excitedly. "Of course! I buy a new pair every month. My collection is pretty extensive you know." She noted with pride.

This is the most she's talked in months... she's so adorable...!

"How do you keep triple white clean? I tried for the first couple of weeks but I gave up..."

"Excuse me-ow~, your food is ready." Jun thanked Asunyan, and put the kitten down to return to his seat.

"Rena-san, would you like to join me?" Jun held out his hand to help Rena up. She hadn't given her answer but took his hand. Jun felt a special warmth spread from the palm of his hand. "May I?" She asked sweetly, although to be fair, anything she did would be sweet to Jun. He reassured her and led her back to the table where he sat. Asunyan saw that Rena had changed seats and made sure to bring her food to the right table.

During their dinner, Jun learned about Rena's personal collection of sneakers and her various other hobbies.

"You have so many! Are you going to buy more today?" Jun asked before sipping his water.

"Oh, I'm seeing a movie today. Okada-san and Yuiri-san recommended a theatre nearby, and we're meeting there at 5 PM."

"Ah, you should get going soon then." Jun noted sadly. Rena checked her watch, 4:32 PM. "Ah, you're right..."

Jun could have imagined it, but he swore he saw Rena make a small pout. "Well, I have some time before it's 5 PM. I want to go pet the kitten some more." She smiled, Jun grinned in response. "Lets go!" Rena stood from the table and made a small hop towards the kittens. Jun slid a 5000 yen note on the table and waved Asunyan over before following Rena to the kittens. She held a grown striped cat in her arms and pet him gracefully. Jun felt a strange sense of excitement and peace watching her. The impromptu date was a small, but fulfilling moment of perfection for his day.

"Ah, this cat looks like Rena-san!" Jun proclaimed as he lured an adorable white and black cat over to him.

Rena sat next to him with the striped cat still in her arms. "Ehhh? Because of the colors?"

"Because it's extremely cute." He held the cats paws up in the air and waved them around. Rena felt a blush rise to her cheeks. She let the cat down and held its paws up to match Jun. "Thank you, Jun-san." She said as she made bowing hand motions with the cat's paws.

The two laughed at their ridiculousness, and eventually Rena made her way to the theatre leaving a cheesy grin plastered all over Jun's face. The moment she was out of sight, Jun took a deep breath...

"Ahhhh... I'm so blessed! AH! GOD IS ON MY SIDE! THANK YOU, GOD!" He yelled excitedly!

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AKB Theatre

"I may have subconsciously embedded the idea... for Jun-san to go on a walk today."

"What are the chances of them running into each other?"

"Less than 5%."

"So specific."

But it happened!

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Earlier at the Cat Cafe

"Ikuchan... they have such a nice atmosphere... I'm jealous."

"Eh, Asunyan, is he your type?"

"No, but look how cute they are together! They're both so stylish and good-looking."

"That's true... just watching them makes me feel like no one else is in this cafe."

"Ah... I'll go get the check."

...

"They're playing with the cats together! Asunyan, you're missing out! He said the cat looks like her because the cat is cute. CUTE!"

"He's too cute, she's too cute, the cat's too are too cute! This is bad for my heart!"

It's bad for me too, you know.