215 What about your taste in women?

she cannot bear this anymore. iori leans closer to takeshi and whispers, "will you stop doing that?" 

"what did i do?" takeshi looks at her with a blank face. 

even the top actors of this country would be ashamed of their acting skills in front of this man-child. why is this man doing this to her? how did she offend him this time? is he just having fun? she scratches his wrist hard. "is this not your hand?"

"is it?" he doesn't show any sign of pain. she can scratch him like a cat to her heart's content as long as she keeps her attention on him. 

"we're not kids anymore." she scowls at him and presses her nails harder into his flesh. "don't pick a fight with me."

"if i don't pick a fight with my 'childhood friend', who will i fight with?" takeshi huffs at her. "your taste in men is still horrible."

"tsk!" she clicks her tongue. she agrees with him. her taste in men is so horrible. otherwise, why would she like him? "what about your taste in women? i haven't seen your girlfriend yet. i'm curious to see what kind of woman you have chosen for yourself."

"i don't have a girlfriend," takeshi whispers close to her ear with a low sultry voice. he resists the urge to bite her earlobe. "the position is empty and is still waiting for a certain person's application."

huh? no girlfriend? why? iori peers at him. who is that 'certain' person? she bites her lower lip. does he already have someone he likes? then, why is he bothering her? is he here to show off because she rejected him once? 

hmph! she should get married before he gets married.

if takeshi could guess what's going inside her head, he would not have resisted biting that earlobe.

kohei sees the man and woman in front of him whisper to each other. he pinches his lips together. it is annoying to see them like that. "iori, do you mind if we go out for a walk? i have a lot of things to talk to you."

determined to show takeshi that she's wanted and she can get married anytime, iori nods to kohei. she slaps takeshi's hand that tried to pinch her again. "tezuka-san, let's go to the r-park."

r-park is a famous location for lovers who want to take a late-night walk under the moon and the stars. it's not far from the restaurant. 

she peeks at takeshi to see his reaction. he looks like he isn't bothered at all. instead, he takes back his hand and moves away to give her a path, "i'm sorry for disturbing your date. i hope that you have a good time at r-park."

he's behaving well so suddenly? maybe he has lost his interest. iori scoffs at him and stands up. kohei raises his arm to take her hand. since takeshi is watching, she slips her hand into his and gives him a bright smile.

"yamashina-san, do you want to take a walk in r-park?" takeda ryosei makes a last attempt. they haven't spoken much on marriage matters. though her personality is a little off, he's attracted to her physically. women like her might have a cold exterior, but they are often good in bed. she's been drinking a lot. if she's interested, he wouldn't mind taking her to a hotel tonight.

"i don't mind." yamashina chiyo would have said no if she was a little sober. she is somewhat annoyed by the fact that the red-headed man glares back at her when she stares at him. what did she do? can't she stare a little? she is just observing him. "r-park, is it? let's go. i want to see the moon tonight."

oh, this woman is drunk! but it's not his business. ren ignores her blabber and drinks a glass of water. his eyes are on takeshi. what will he do? he has so much gossip for rie-chan. chiyo and others walk out of the restaurant while takeshi and ren stay back.  

"are you not going to follow iori?" ren asks him with curiosity.

"why should i?" takeshi pours himself some wine. he has high-tolerance. iori didn't drink during dinner because her cousin got drunk. he smiles at ren. "are you full tonight, kawamoto-san?"

"i am ." ren senses that something isn't right with takeshi. "what are you planning?"

"since you had countless free meals at my place, it's time you pay me back a little." takeshi drinks from the same glass that iori used. "i saw that yamashina chiyo doesn't like you."

"i don't like her either." ren's face turns sour. the woman's heart is like a corpse. that's why she keeps singing corpse everyone they meet. 

"good." it's been five minutes since they left. takeshi gets up. since she wants to go to the r-park, he will take her to r-park. "let's go to r-park."

***

"what did you say?" tezuka kohei does his best to sound calm. "what happened to my car?"

"i am really sorry." the valet bends down on his knees and bows to him. "someone vandalized the car. we are trying to find the culprit."

iori glances at the car. the glasses are broken and the tires are flat. the car has scratches all over it. she frowns a bit. doing something like this at a parking space of a popular restaurant? "did the surveillance cameras catch the person?"  

"about that…" the manager of the restaurant hesitates before he says, "the cameras have been hacked by someone. i think that this is a prank."

hacked… iori rubs her forehead. she doesn't even have to guess who is behind this. did ren hack this? no, he was busy eating. she's sure that he doesn't have four hands.

"prank?" takeda ryosei roars at the manager. even his car has been damaged by the pranksters. "how are you going to compensate us? this was the latest model imported from country u."

he has saved up for six months to buy the latest model of the car. he kept it inside his garage and cared for the car more than his life. he would wake up and go to the car to give it a hug in the morning. today, he drove it for the first time to impress yamashina chiyo. he saw her photograph. so, he wanted to bed her as soon as possible. nobody in this world can understand the pain that he's feeling right now. he wants to find that prankster and kill him right now.

"mr takeda, we are extremely sorry." the restaurant manager apologizes with tears in his eyes. he is going to lose his job. even if he spends the rest of his life working, he can't pay for the damaged cars. the valet and the guards aren't doing any better. iori gnashes her teeth. takeshi is so cruel. these people will suffer because of him.

"call the cops," yamashina chiyo says and sighs. "i wonder why you haven't called them yet."

if the restaurant manager calls the cops, it will cause damage to the restaurant's reputation. his boss will bury him in a grave. "we apologize for what happened. please give us a chance. we will catch the culprit and compensate for the damage."

"compensate?" takeda ryosei scoffs. "i want the cops to come and investigate this. that prankster must get what he deserves."

if the cops come, takeshi's involvement might get exposed. iori shakes her head. "we shouldn't call the cops. let's give a chance to the restaurant to rectify their mistakes."

tezuka kohei also wants to call the cops, but he is against it after hearing iori's words. "fine, i will give a chance to the restaurant. you better capture the culprit."

however, takeda ryosei isn't sharing the same sentiment. "i don't agree with this. i want the officers to be here and investigate this properly. this is not about money. do you know how important that car was to me?"

it's just another car for him. kohei shrugs. he has ten latest models cars that are not even released in the market at his home.

"mr takeda, please go easy on us." the manager implores the man whose face becomes red and purple with rage. he kowtows to takeda ryosei. "my life will be destroyed if cops are called."

meanwhile, drunken yamashina chiyo touches the scratches on the car. "this..."