When someone taps her shoulder, she looks up at the man. Her eyes meet the familiar dark smiling eyes. That kind of smile raises gooseb.u.mps on her spine. Before she can open her mouth, Takes.h.i.+ bends down and kisses her on the spot that is a little too close to the corner of her lips. She tenses her shoulders when a wild current flows through her nerves. She stares at him with a baffled expression.
"Iori, I didn"t expect to see you here." Takes.h.i.+ places his hand on her nape. His smile becomes darker. "You are all dressed up. What is the occasion?"
Can"t he guess what"s the occasion? She straightens her back when she feels the heat of his palm. What"s wrong with this man? Why did he kiss her cheek? Did he eat some wrong medicines? She wants to beat the c.r.a.p out of him for kissing her like this, but there are many people. She doesn"t want Kohei to see her other side. "Takes.h.i.+, what are you doing here?"
"Kawamoto-san was nagging me to take him out for dinner." He glances in the direction where Ren is pouring himself wine and watching the drama. "If you don"t mind, shall we join you?"
Kohei"s eyes are on her. She"s on a date with another man and her old love is here. Iori minds this a lot. "I --"
"I knew that you won"t mind." Takechi pinches her cheek before she can deny. He sits on the empty s.p.a.ce beside her. s.p.a.ce is not enough to accompany one more person. She has to s.h.i.+ft toward her cousin to accommodate him. Yamas.h.i.+na Chiyo rolls her eyes and s.h.i.+fts away.
Takes.h.i.+ waves at Ren, signalling him to come.
He shakes his head. Ren doesn"t want to go. He would rather eat alone. Takes.h.i.+"s eyes narrow down. He types a message on his phone. When Ren sees the text on his phone, his face turns pale.
[Help me or pay for the dinner by yourself.]
d.a.m.n him! Ren knows that he can"t pay for dinner. He comes to the table with a scowl on his face. There"s no empty seat beside Takes.h.i.+ and the man sitting across Takes.h.i.+ doesn"t seem to have any intention to move. He walks around the table and takes a seat beside Takeda Ryosei. The cold lady regards him with amused eyes. He shrugs. Why is she looking at him like that? Their dates are already ruined. No, he"s not to be blamed. Takes.h.i.+ would have done something even if he didn"t instigate him. He doesn"t care anymore. He"s only here to eat until he feels nothing. Who says that food can"t take grief away?
Yamas.h.i.+na Chiyo looks like a regal queen who is contemplating with an unreadable expression. "You can take the corpse tomorrow"
The man beside him spits out the wine and coughs when he hears Yamas.h.i.+na Chiyo"s penetrating voice. "Yamas.h.i.+nsan, what do you mean?"
"I am a coroner," She answers Takeda Ryosei, but her eyes are on Kawamoto Ren who seems glum. There"s a little satisfaction in her heart to see him like that. "I dissected his lover today."
The other five people become quiet. Talking about human dissection during dinner is kind of... unsettling. However, Ren gets out of his stupor after a few seconds. Only a few people in the world can get on his bad side. This woman is one of them. She"s picking on him for no reasons. "For your information, she wasn"t my lover."
"That"s what they say after the girlfriends die." Chiyo takes the last sip of her wine. She might be a little drunk. She might not be a little drunk. She might be drunk if she"s wondering whether she"s drunk or not. She admits that she"s a little drunk. The man in front of her is more appealing to her than her date. Though, it shouldn"t be like this. Takeda Ryosei has the ideal background -- high-paying job, good family background, and good looking. The red-headed man has no secure job. He"s an ex-convict and he dyes his hair red at the age of thirty-three. Still, she finds him attractive and annoying at the same time. Maybe she"s too drunk.
"She was my friend." The grimace on his face reminds her of an angry hedgehog. "I would appreciate if you don"t talk about her right now. This is not professional behaviour."
Chiyo stares at him. Is he professional? Among all the six people on the table, he"s the man who is dressed like a twenty-something college student. "It"s not a decent behaviour to disturb a marriage date and pretend to not know anything."
Her cousin is so direct. Iori coughs and looks away. She wants to disappear right now.
"Oh, it"s a marriage date?" Takes.h.i.+ asks with a crinkled forehead as if he didn"t come to this restaurant after finding out the location of the blind date. The things that secretaries have to do for their bosses often question their morality. "You should have told me. By the way, why are you eating beef? Don"t you hate it?"
It"s Kohei who ordered the meal. She didn"t say anything. Though it"s comfortable to talk to Kohei, they are meeting for the first time and she"s trying to maintain the atmosphere because her cousin is trying to scare both men to death. "Takes.h.i.+, when did I ever say that I hate beef?"
"You always complained when you had beef for dinner at home." Takes.h.i.+ frowns at her. "I remember you saying that you fart a lot after eating beef."
"..." Can she get away from a murder? He"s testing her patience. Does he have to mention these things now? Even if it"s true, he shouldn"t be saying that in front of her date.
Iori"s date has been watching Takes.h.i.+ since he appeared. The man can tell that Takes.h.i.+ is in love with Iori. However, Kohei also finds Iori interesting. He clears his throat. "Iori, you haven"t introduced us."
"That, yes…" Iori"s eyes become big when "someone" pinches her waist. She grabs the "hand" to stop it from pinching her without mercy.
Takes.h.i.+ squeezes her hand hard, making her wince. He smiles at the man in front of him. "I am Kamiyama Takes.h.i.+. Iori and I are childhood friends. We are close enough to bathe together."
Kamiyama Takes.h.i.+? Kohei narrows his eyes. Where did he hear that name?
What the h.e.l.l! Iori gawks at Takes.h.i.+. Yes, they did have a bath together once. "Hey, we did it when we were five."
She didn"t need to say that. Takes.h.i.+ glances at her with a glum expression. "But, we did it many times."
"We were in playschool." Iori is about to lose the last bit of control. She raises her voice. "Tezuksan, my childhood friend likes to joke around. Don"t take his words seriously."
"I understand." Tezuka Kohei chuckles and looks at Takes.h.i.+, "She used to follow me around like a puppy. I moved away from the city when I was young. You must have met her after I left."
"Yes, I met him and Haru at the playschool," Iori explains with a frantic tone. "Three of us went to the same school and university. We are old friends."
When he hears her emphasizing the word "friend", the corner of Takes.h.i.+"s lips curls downward. Vexed, he pinches her thigh to punish her. She jumps and glowers at him. He shoves a large piece of beef into her mouth. It"s better if she keeps her mouth shut. He doesn"t know what he will do if he keeps seeing her flirting with other men right in front of him.
"Interesting," Kohei leans forward. "It"s a pleasure to meet you, Kamiyama Takes.h.i.+. I have a feeling that we will get to know each other frequently in the future."
"I have the same feeling," Takes.h.i.+ speaks to him in the same tone. "I look forward to our acquaintance."
The thick tension in the atmosphere can be sliced by the knife alone. Both men are smiling. Everyone other than Iori can sense the animosity between Takes.h.i.+ and Kohei. Distressed, Ren fills his mouth with the food. He hasn"t expected Takes.h.i.+ to be like this. He used to think that Takes.h.i.+ was a mild person. But the raging tsunami in the boy"s eyes vocalises the truth.