Necklace In The Path

Chapter 3: The Club Owner

Most of my shifts at Cherī cherī should have only been an hour or two of work, but instead, I worked from 4:30 to 9:00 PM. Todoroki had said that if there was a mishap with the makeup or hair, he would rather have me there so that I could fix it quickly. However, it rarely happened, so most of the time, I ended up cleaning the backroom or vaping in the alleyway behind the club.

One day, while I was sitting outside on an abandoned drink crate, vaping and scrolling through my phone, I heard the back door open. I thought it might be one of the hostesses looking for me, so I sat up to see what they needed, but it was a man I had never met before.

Thinking he might be a lost customer, I asked if he needed help. He responded with a cool casual tone, saying no. As I was about to leave, he asked if I spoke English.

"Yes, I do," I replied.

"Ah, you must be the makeup artist Todo hired," he said.

"Yes, my name is Tabi," I said.

"Tabi must be short for something else. What's your actual name?" he asked.

"Tabitha," I said.

"Nice to meet you, Tabitha. My name is Hinata," he said.

I bowed ungracefully and muttered, "Nice to meet you, Hinata." I wondered who he was and why he was talking to me so casually. The alleyway was poorly lit, so I could barely make out his face, only the silhouette of his frame.

"Oh, that's right! I just realized you probably don't even know who I am!" he said, laughing. "I probably just seem like a pervert right now." I couldn't agree more.

"I'm sorry, Tabitha. I'm the club owner," he said.

"Oh! I thought Todoroki was the club owner," I said.

"Todoroki just helps me look after the place while I'm gone and gives me updates. I was actually on a business trip in America for the past month, and after Todoroki told me he had hired an American girl, I wanted to come and formally introduce myself," he explained.

He was very gentleman-like, and I wasn't sure how to handle it. His English was good, and he talked with confidence. His English might even be better than mine.

"Well, I hope I'm doing good work. Thank you for having me here!" I bowed my head again, this time a little better.

"You are doing really good work. I've noticed all the girls look more unique and not so bland. So thank you, and you don't have to be so formal with me either," he said.

Suddenly, the back door swung open again, and one of the hostesses poked her head outside.

"Tabi-san! I need he- Oh! Nakao-san, anata ga ryokō kara modottekita to wa shirimasendeshita!" she said, frantically bowing her head.

As I looked over at the hostess bowing her head, I saw that Hinata wasn't looking at her, but at me. This time, it wasn't just the tall black silhouette I could see. The light from inside was shining on Hinata's face.

He had a grin on his face, which created a cute eye smile. From his eye smile, I could see that he had wrinkles, so my guess was that Hinata was in his late 30s. His hair wasn't naturally straight like most Asians, but instead, he had a bit of waviness that formed loose locks, and it looked like he might have curled his hair. He had a bit of a mustache growing with a goatee. His nose was rather flat, but he had a very defined jawline, giving him model-like features. He looked tall from the silhouette, but with the indoor light shining on him now, he looked even taller, probably close to 6 ft.

I probably looked like I was gawking at Hinata because all of a sudden, I felt a tug on my hand."Tabi-san!"

"Mōshiwakearimasen!" I apologized, feeling my cheeks burning. 

How long had I been focused on him? I quickly turned around and ran inside, dragging the hostess along with me, without saying another word to Hinata. I think I heard a faint "See you later, Tab-" before the backdoor slammed shut.

Author Notes

Nakao-san, anata ga ryokō kara modottekita to wa shirimasendeshita! = Nakao-san, I didn't know you had returned from your trip! 

Mōshiwakearimasen! = "I'm sorry!" or "Excuse me!"