Hi, Sato-chan! - Part 1
Ninomiya ‘Nino’ Kazunari smiled when he heard the sound from the oven, signaling that the apple strudel that he put earlier was done. To the oven he went and took the strudel out of it. Then, he headed to the front, carrying the pastry with him and put it on display.
“May I fix that?”
Nino turned back to look at his friend, Matsumoto Jun. The man was a perfectionist. He had a particular way of doing things.
“No, I will do it my way,” said Nino, sticking his tongue out at Jun. His friend, in return, simply rolled his eyes. “My pastry, my way,”
“But, the space between each strudel…”
“Nobody cares about that, Junny,”
“I care!” said Jun. “ And, don’t call me Junny,”
“It doesn’t matter. The spacing will be affected each time I take one out. Do you want to adjust the spacing each time?”
“I will!”
“Guys, stop fighting!” His other friend, Aiba Masaki, came between the two of them and pulled Jun from Nino. “We will open soon and we haven’t finished the morning preparation. Nino, get back to the kitchen and check the next batch. Let Matsujun arrange the strudel whichever way he wants,”
Nino wanted to argue but he knew Aiba was right. Being childish, he stuck his tongue out at Jun again and headed to the kitchen to check on the next batch of pastry.
It has been a normal morning for them ever since they opened the cafe two years ago. The three of them had been friends since high school. After college, they decided to open the cafe in which the three of them had specific roles. Nino was in-charge of the kitchen while Aiba was responsible for the servicing. That role suited him because of how easy-going and friendly he was. Jun, on the other hand, was in charge of the management. Despite the role, they helped each other whenever needed.
Their cafe was located at a shopping mall. Jun and Nino had a fight deciding the location of the cafe at first. Jun was afraid that the rent would be too much for them but Nino insisted that this would be the perfect location because of how popular the mall was. Nino won in the end because he got Aiba to agree with him. Surprisingly, the rent was not as high as they thought.
Nino had a reason for insisting on the mall. Jun and Aiba never knew the real reason at first. But, he finally revealed it to them about a year ago. He knew the family who owned the mall. In fact, the son used to be his childhood friend. His mother worked as the maid for the family, allowing Nino to stay in their mansion. The son, Ohno Satoshi, was three years older than Nino. He was a nice and sweet friend, not letting the difference in their status be a barrier. However, when Nino turned 15 years old, he had to move to his grandmother’s house. His grandmother wasn’t doing well so his mother decided to move back to take care of her. Nino and Satoshi had promised to keep in touch through email but neither of them initiated the first contact.
Nino didn’t know what he hoped for by having the cafe in the mall. It wasn’t like Satoshi would come. Even if he comes, would he recognize Nino? Most likely, no. But, the apple strudel in the shop was a family recipe. Nino and Satoshi had been eating it together back then. Perhaps if Ohno comes to the shop, Nino would suggest he try the strudel and who knows, maybe he would remember the taste.
Nino headed back to the front when he heard a sound of someone entering the shop. That must be Sakurai Sho. He always comes at the same time everyday and buys the apple strudel. Nino didn’t know which shop or office he worked at. But, it was always nice to see Sakurai around. Aiba had stars in his eyes whenever he saw Sakurai and Nino enjoyed teasing him after that.
However, when he got to the front, he was surprised to see that Sakurai was not alone. The sleepy face standing next to Sakurai was familiar to him even though he hadn’t seen the guy for a long time. It was Satoshi. Man, was Sakurai working for Satoshi? Or, did they just happen to come to the shop at the same time?
Satoshi looked awkward as he stood in front of Aiba. It seemed like he was about to say something but he had a hard time doing so. He looked around the shop and immediately stopped when he met Nino’s eyes. A smile was instantly formed.
“Hello, Kazunari!”
Nino could barely register what happened. Did Satoshi just wave and cheerfully greet him? It must be, right? Other than his mother, Satoshi was the only one who called him Kazunari.
Nino was at a loss of what to do. What he knew, he was suddenly standing in front of Satoshi, totally speechless.
“Thank you for inviting me here,” said Satoshi. “Sorry, I’m late. I’m busy with work,”
Nino frowned upon hearing that. He had no idea what Satoshi was talking about.
“Hmm, what are you talking about? I invite you here?”
“Yes,” said Satoshi, nodding enthusiastically. “You sent me an email two months ago,”
Nino tried to deny it at first. He never sent an email to Satoshi. However, the memory slowly came to him. It was late at night and he was drunk with Aiba and Jun. The latter dared him to send an email to Satoshi and he did so.
Hi, Sato-chan!
It has been a while. Do you still remember me? I am Ninomiya Kazunari. My mother was a maid in your house. Back then, you often played with me.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter if you don’t remember. I have a shop in your shopping mall. The name is Kaze Cafe. Come here and I will give you a free apple strudel. We always eat it together back then. Maybe you will remember me when you eat it.
See you later.
Your Butler
(Hahaha we used to joke about this. I’ll be your butler when we grow up)