Challenge Accepted - Part 6
It wasn’t the first time Nino had pushed people away from him. He had done it a few times and not even once had he felt guilty about it. But, why did it feel different this time? He was mad at himself for what he had just done to Ohno. Unlike other people who tried to befriend him before, Ohno seemed sincere.
Urgh, he shouldn’t be bothered by this! It was already late-better sleep than thinking about the stupid man.
But, he couldn’t get any sleep at all. He stayed up all night, wondering if he should apologise to Ohno tomorrow. In case Ohno forgives him, maybe he could befriend his new colleague.
What time he finally dozed off, he had no idea. He had a dream, though. A dream about the person who had made his life miserable. Waking up from the dream, he made up his mind.
No, Ohno can’t be a part of his life. It’s too risky. Ohno will just be a colleague and nothing more.
A bento was on his table when Nino arrived at work. He frowned, wondering whose bento it was. Approaching his table, he noticed a note on it.
Enjoy your meal
Ohno
Nino looked at the man who was sitting next to him. A sigh escaped from his mouth. Why was this man so stubborn? Didn’t Nino already warn him he wasn’t interested? Ohno wasn’t the first person who had tried befriending him. Nino had rudely turned them down as he did to Ohno yesterday. And, all of them gave up immediately. In Ohno’s case, it was the opposite.
“Ohno-san…” He started.
“Ohchan, did you make this?”
Nino ended up trailing off when Aiba interrupted him. His friend was holding a bento which was eerily similar to the one on Nino’s table. Frowning, Nino looked around the office, noticing the same bento was on all the tables in the office.
“Yes,” came Ohno’s cheerful voice. “My roommate helped me prepare the curry,”
“That is nice of you,” said Aiba. “Thank you so much. I hope everybody will appreciate it,”
Nino rolled his eyes. Those words were directed to him.
“It’s nothing,” Ohno shrugged him off. He then looked at Nino. “Ninomiya-san, do you have something to tell me?”
“Huh?” At first, Nino was clueless before remembering what he did prior to Aiba’s interruption. “Err…Ah, thank you for the bento,”
He didn’t know what else to say. At first, he wanted to scold the man for not giving up. But, it didn’t seem appropriate since the man also prepared the meal for the others. Guess the bento didn’t have any special meaning.
“You’re welcome,” responded Ohno. He smiled at Nino before he got back to his work. If he was offended by what Nino told him yesterday, he did a good job concealing it.
Damn, his smile was dazzling, thought Nino.
Mr Honda arrived at work with a big smile. Seeing that, Nino wondered if his boss had any news to share. He was proved correct when Mr Honda approached him, delivering the news that the client for a project they were aiming for had accepted Nino’s proposal. It was just a small project but hey, you should be happy whenever your proposal was accepted, right?
“Really?” Nino asked for confirmation. This felt surreal. The client was from a new bookstore. Nino had submitted a proposal for the marketing of their shop When he met the representatives from the bookstore a few weeks ago, they didn’t seem impressed with his ideas. That’s why it was hard to believe they accepted his proposal.
“I will not joke about this, Ninomiya,” said the boss. “Come into my office so that we can discuss the project,”
Nino nodded, agreeing. He took his notebook, ready to follow the boss. But, to his surprise, Mr Honda suddenly turned to look at Ohno.
“Ohno-san, right?” Asked Mr Honda. Ohno answered with a nod. “Come and join our meeting,”
Both Nino and Ohno turned to look at each other. The surprised expression on Ohno’s face probably matched the look on Nino’s face. However, neither of them said anything. They simply followed their boss.
There could only be one reason why Mr Honda wanted Ohno to join the discussion. Ohno would be a part of the team. Of course, it shouldn’t be a problem. Nino didn’t mind working with others.
But, why did he feel anxious to be working with Ohno?
“Have a seat,” said Mr Honda once they entered the room. Without waiting for them to sit, Mr Honda continued eagerly. “Ohno-san, I guess you must be surprised to join this discussion,”
“Yes, sir,” responded Ohno. He looked hesitant to continue at first. “May I know which project this is?”
“A new bookstore,” Mr Honda briefly explained about the project and ended it with something that Nino already expected. “I want you two to work together on this project,”
Truthfully, Nino was tempted to ask his boss why he had to work with Ohno. But, he wouldn’t look professional for asking such a thing.
“Ninomiya-san,” this time, Mr Honda looked at him. “I understand you’ve been working hard on this proposal and you want to choose your own team. But, as you know, everyone else is working on other projects right now. They are quite busy. Will it be okay if it is just the two of you working on this bookstore project?”
“Yes,” answered Nino. “It shouldn’t be a problem. I’m sure the two of us can manage it,”
Ohno hummed in agreement.
“Great,” exclaimed the boss. “If you two need anything, just let me know. Ninomiya-san, you have the client’s contact information, right?”
“Yes, I have it,” Nino confirmed. “I will contact them to set up an appointment,”
Mr Honda then let them out and Nino took a deep breath as he closed the door behind him. Of course, he was still anxious about working with Ohno but he had no choice. He could only hope it would go well.