17 Going to stand there all day?

"welcome to fresh bite." the cafe boy beams at me.

i play the recording on my phone.

[medium, non-fat with caramel drizzle. and an orange burst.]

[grande, quad, nonfat, whip free, mocha with a touch of cream.]

[hazelnut macchiato, sugar free, whip free, extra shot, iced.]

[venti, half caff, large, soy latte with cinnamon. get me two mango tango]

[skim, extra shot, extra-hot, extra-whip, extra sugar, caramel macchiato.]

[tall low fat soy frappuccino with extra chocolate, expresso shot and extra whipped cream.]

the cafe boy is surprised after hearing their voices in the recording. he notes down the order. "you are the new errand girl of the fashion department?"

i give him a nod.

"your predecessors never got it right in the first time." he looks at me with pity. "do you want to order something for yourself?"

i look at the list of items on the wall behind him. i don't understand half the words. "i want a something liquid that can help me deal with people without committing murder."

"i know what to get you." he grins. "your order will be ready in ten minutes."

i sit at the corner table. this small cafe is twenty minutes away from the kamiyama groups' building. it's not crowded. i see some office goers running out of the cafe after getting their coffees. people must really like this place.

"the fashion department!" the same cafe boy yells. "your order is ready."

feeling sluggish, i get up and go to get the order. "how much?"

"it's on the tab." he points at the packages. "i have written their names on their orders. so, don't worry about mix-ups. what's your name?"

"errand girl." i pick up the order. "thanks, i will pay for my coffee."

"fine, i will write errand girl here." he scribbles on the coffee cup. "it's black iced coffee. it will give you the necessary boost to survive the day."

i take a sip of the black iced coffee. this boy knows his job.

when i get out of the cafe, i find that eichi guy in black shirt standing there. he is leaning against his red polished car and smoking a cigarette. i decide that it is best if i ignore him.

"takeuchi." he calls for me when i turn away from him. "where are you going? come with me."

"do you have some business with me?" i am holding the orders with my one hand and my black iced coffee with my other hand. i already feel tired of this errand girl's job. i have no time or interest to deal with someone like him.

"yes." he grabs the packages away from me. "let's go."

"hey, give those back." i try to get them back, but he lifts his hand up. because of my short height, i can't reach for it. i hate tall people.

corners of his lips curl up. he opens the car door and puts them on the seat.

"what the hell!" i want to punch this guy. i hold it in and take a sip of my black iced coffee. "what are you doing?"

he ignores my question and gets into the car.

"are you going to stand there all day?" he asks me.

i am meeting a lot of frustrating men these days. i feel like my life is shortening because i have to handle these men who are used to do what they want to do.

i sit on the passenger seat. this eichi guy has a lean body. he is a few inches taller than that kamiyama bastard. his skin is tanned. i guess he spends a lot of time outside.

he is taking me back to the workplace. what was he doing in front of the cafe? did he follow me? he seems to be waiting for me there. is he interested in me because of my relationship with the kamiyama family? in any case, he has dubious intentions.

"my name is takashima eichi." he gives me a mysterious smile. "i am kamiyama's childhood friend and the cfo of the kamiyama groups."

"you know me." i take a sip of my black iced coffee.

"kamiyama's sister." his eyes are fixed on the road. i am glad that he is not a reckless driver. "you are different from my expectations."

i don't reply and look out of the window.

"how is your first day at work?" he asks me with a pleasant tone.

"crappy so far." i am meeting people like you. how can i have a good day?

"if it is difficult, i will ask kamiyama to send you to work as my personal assistant." he doesn't seem to get the hint. i don't think that he wants to get the hint.

"that would be crappier." i will kill him if he does that to me. being an errand girl is bad, but being this two-faced guy's assistant would be worse.

he stops his car inside the desolate parking lot. i can't see anyone there other than us. seriously?

"i want a sip." he suddenly reaches my black iced coffee. in the next instant, it slips from his hand and falls on my clothes. seriously?

"did you get burn?" he shouts with worry and lifts up the edge of my hoodie. seriously?

his dark eyes linger on my exposed stomach like a predator. before he could lay his fingers on me to check on the 'burns', i poke his two eyes with my fingers.

"ow!" he screams and lets go of my hoodie. i get out of the car and open the car door of the passenger seat. i pick up the coffees and donuts. when i leave the parking lot, i could still hear his painful cries.

i hope that he goes blind.

***

in front of the cafe, kiyohira has seen her get into eichi's car. he couldn't believe his eyes at that moment. that woman didn't get into his car. she is never friendly to him. she refuses to eat with him or his family. she is sitting beside him in eichi's car and drinking coffee. he gnashes his teeth in anger and follows them. he doesn't realize that he is stalking them.

he sees them going inside the company's parking lot. he sees eichi leaning toward her. his restraint is finally broken. he steps out of the car to beat up his close friend. at that same time, he hears a scream. he stops his feet and frowns.

it's not that woman who is screaming. eichi is screaming? what's going on here?

when he sees her getting out of eichi's car, he hides. then, he wonders why he is hiding. is it abnormal for the ceo to park his car in his company's parking lot?

but, he doesn't come out from his hiding place until she disappears from the parking lot.

"how long are you going to watch?" eichi roars. "come here and help me out."

kiyohira is surprised to hear that. since he is caught, he decides that there is no point in hiding. he is also curious about what happened between them. he finds eichi pressing his palms against his eyes.

"what happened?" he asks quietly.

"your sister poked my eyes." eichi doesn't remove his hands or look at him. "take me to hospital. it hurts a lot"

"..." kiyohira recalls how she slapped him and tried to kill him. she has little strength. he doesn't know how hard she poked eichi's eyes. instead of feeling pity for his poor friend, he is pleased by her actions and mentally gives her a thumbs up.

"are you taking me or not?" eichi snaps.

"i will." eichi hears him say. he can't see kiyohira's smile, but he can sense that his friend is happy to see him like that. if he has friends like kiyohira, he doesn't need enemies.

"you have to tell me what happened." kiyohira puts forward his condition smugly.

"can't i say it after i get treatment?" eichi is too hurt to punch this guy.

"that will do." kiyohira helps him get out of the driver seat. he drives him to the nearest hospital. the doctor is surprised to see eichi's eyes. luckily, his eyes are not damaged. he will be fine after a few days of rest. he needs to use an eye drop to reduce the redness and irritation for a few days.

kiyohira drives eichi back to his house. for the next few days, eichi won't be able to come to the office. kiyohira is satisfied with this outcome.

"what happened between you two?" kiyohira inquires after eichi sits on the couch.

"i spill some coffee on her."

"just for spilling coffee?" kiyohira is dumbfounded. he has broken down her house. she didn't try to blind him back then. she did try to kill him because of a misunderstanding, but it was resolved in the end. would she poke someone's eyes for spill coffee?

"i may have done it on purpose. i lifted her shirt and tried to touch in the pretense of checking up her burns." eichi's voice is low. it's not guilty in any case. there is no anger either. "she is smart. it normally works on other women."

kiyohira knocks the back of eichi's head hard.

"kiyohira, do you want to kill me?" eichi shields his head when kiyohira doesn't stop. "you told me that you don't have any interest."

"it doesn't mean that you can sexually harass her." kiyohira kicks his butt. "she is still related to the kamiyama family. she is also my employee."

"kiyohira, stop. my eyes are still in pain." eichi's painful wails have no effect on kiyohira.