(A/N Notes: Well, I wasn't expecting to write this so soon, but well... Situations where I'm away from my computer and thus away from all of the other docs for the other stories that I always need to check for writing follow up chapters, led me to write this 3rd rewrite for this story, and hopefully the last rewrite
Technically this is the 4th or 5th, maybe 6th rewrite I changed this prologue quite a few times in the draft phase
Anyways, let's once again start this story a third time, because third-time the charm! And this time make the characters more interesting without making them overly weird)
"... He's late..."
Kogane Sakurako was looking at the hours on her wristwatch, it had long passed past the agreed time for her fiancé to arrive. They had agreed to meet at 14 o'clock in a certain park for a date, but it was now 16:30, and she had been waiting for him all this time
"Achoo! *Rubs nose* I better call him"
Sakurako had sneezed from the cold weather of January, she picked up her cellphone and called her fiancé's number
"..."
She waited in silence as she looked at the darkening cloudy sky as the sound of her phone indicated the attempt to get a line with her fiancé, and after a long wait, an annoyed voice came from the other end of the line
"What do you want, woman?"
"You're late, Hasegawa-san"
"Haaa? What the hell are you talking about?"
"Our date, we agreed to have a date in the afternoon today"
"Wait... don't tell me you have been waiting for me all this time?"
"Yes, I did"
Then a burst of loud and scummy laughter came from the man's voice
"Kahaha! Are you an idiot??? How many times do I have to tell you, that I don't give a single shit about the engagement with you that our parents forced on me? I can't believe you really thought I would go on that date with you"
"..."
"Now leave me alone! I want to enjoy my date with the girl I actually like, so... fuck off!" (A/N Notes: Yes, dear readers. Hate him. Hate him with everything your soul can muster, hate him! HATE HIM!!!)
And the bastard hung up the call on Sakurako's face, she put her phone back into her bag and just stood there in the middle of the park looking at the sky. Her expression was blank and not a single trace of tears or sadness could be seen on her face, just a blank expression devoid of any emotion
"I should go back home... Hm?"
Sakurako noticed that it began snowing, and a snowflake was coming right toward her, it slowly descended until it landed on her nose
"Achoo! *Rubs nose* ... Hm?"
Sakurako noticed that a shadow was cast over her and that someone was standing beside her, it was a boy. The boy had a gentle smile on his face as he held an umbrella above her
"Did something happen?"
"... My fiancé hanged up after saying he was cheating with another woman, and calling me an idiot for waiting for him to come at the agreed time to go on a date..."
"I see... Well, all I can offer you in these trying times, is a steaming hot meat bun"
The boy showed her the inside of the paper bag he was carrying, which had two meat buns inside. Sakurako looked at the meat buns and then at the boy's face before she put one of her hands inside the paper bag and picked up a meat bun
"Thank you"
"You're welcome, by the way, what're you going to do now?"
"I'll call my parents to send a car to pick me up"
"I see, then do you want to wait at my place? It's a cafe. At least, it's better than waiting outside in the cold"
"... Thank you, I'll take on your offer"
"Great. Then follow me"
"Hm *nods*"
Sakurako and the boy then made their way to his place, they walked side by side as they ate the hot meat buns. They walked for some minutes and entered a side road, that mainly had houses, but then on the corner of one of the roads, a different building could be seen
"That's my place. Now please come in"
"Hm *Nods*"
The boy unlocked the front door with a key he had with him and he opened the door for Sakurako to enter, which she did so, while he closed his umbrella before entering inside. The cafe was empty, mainly due to time, as he made his way to the counter, he spoke to Sakurako
"You can just sit wherever you want, I'll take your order after I finish preparing everything, okay?"
"Sure"
The boy then went behind the counter, turned on the lights and the AC in warm mode, then he entered a separate room, before coming out shortly after changing to a simple waiter uniform. He then went towards Sakurako, who had just finished talking to someone over the phone, as she sat on one of the tables near the window
The boy walked toward Sakurako and asked her as he handed her a menu
"Here's the menu or do you already want to order?"
"Black coffee, pure and of the best brand you have"
She had a very serious tone when she mentioned how she wanted her coffee to be like
"Got it, should I make it big?"
"Yes"
"Understood, enjoy your time here then"
"Thank you"
"You're welcome"
Having finished receiving Sakurako's order, the boy walked away and towards the counter. He went behind it and picked up a series of utensils to begin making the coffee Sakurako asked
"..."
Meanwhile, Sakurako looked outside as it snowed, her face was still blank with no signs that she was feeling sad from being dumped by her fiancé
"... I guess, I'm going to tell dad to break the engagement. Since Hasegawa-san hated it so much and is going out with someone else... Yes, let's do that once I get home"
Sakurako talked to herself as she enjoyed the warm interior of the cafe, after a few minutes, the boy came back with a mug of black coffee
"Here's your order"
"*Nods* Thanks"
"No worries, if you need anything else, just raise your hand"
"Okay"
And once again, Ichiro walked away from Sakurako's table, then Sakurako picked up the mug, feeling the warmth of the freshly brewed coffee on her hands
"... Such a nice fragrance..."
The nice scent of the coffee already pleased her, even more so, when she was a coffee addict herself. Then she moved the mug close to her lips and took a sip
"!"
The moment she tasted the coffee, her eyes immediately showed a surprised look, then she blew off the coffee before taking another sip. Sakurako's face and atmosphere that were blank moments ago, easily melted into a delighted expression and atmosphere around her as she drank the bitter black coffee in her hands
"Fuaaah..."
Not long after, Sakurako finished drinking her coffee, showing a small happy and satisfied smile while her eyes were closed. Then when she looked at her empty mug, without a single hint of hesitation, she lift her hand in the air. And the boy, who noticed it, went towards her again
"How can I help you?"
"I want another coffee"
"Same way as before?"
"Yes"
"Got it, if you excuse me"
The boy picked up her empty mug and turned to walk away, and as he did so, a notification popped up on Sakurako's phone
"Ah! Wait!"
When Sakurako saw the notification she called for the boy again
"Hm? What is it?"
"Can you make the coffee to be to go and close the bill?"
"Of course"
"Thanks"
"No worries"
The boy had received Sakurako's order, moved away, put the mug on the sink, and began brewing another coffee for Sakurako. As he did so, Sakurako saw a familiar luxurious car parking outside, as she looked at the car, the boy came back with her coffee and the bill in his hands
"Here's your order and bill"
"Thanks"
Sakurako paid the bill in cash and prepared to take her leave
"Ah! Can I ask you one last thing before leaving?"
"Sure"
"Then what's your name?"
"It's Hirano Ichiro"
"I see, mine is Kogane Sakurako"
"Got it, then see you, Kogane-san"
"Nn *nods* See you too, Hirano-san"
After giving each other farewells, Sakurako left the cafe and headed toward the parked car. After she entered the car and the car began moving, Ichiro turned and went toward the counter
Inside the car
"..."
Sakurako was taking small sips of her coffee, and making a blissful expression with each sip
"..." <Hmm... Would I get to drink this coffee every day if I got engaged to Hirano-san?... Well, I can always go to that cafe to buy this coffee>
Sakurako had such a thought as she looked at the snowy scenery outside the moving car as she was brought back home
Some time later
"... And that's what happened"
"I see. Thank you for telling me, Sacchan"
"Nn *nods*"
Sakurako was having dinner with her parents, and she had just told them everything that happened to her
"I can't believe there's a guy who would do all that to our cute daughter"
"Me neither, but it appears I'll have a 'civilized' talk with the Hasegawa family"
"My... Would you mind, if I came with you, dear?"
"No, in fact, I would be very delighted if you came with me"
" "Fufufufufu" "
Both her father and mother had very intimidating expressions, but even that was unable to make Sakurako change her blank face as she kept eating her dinner unfazed
"Ah! That's right, Sacchan. Do you you know the name of the boy that helped you today?"
"Hm? Yes, I do. It's..."
Sakurako looked away from her mother as she tried to remember the name of the boy who helped her
"Hi-... Ah! It was Hirano Ichiro *nodding* Yup, that's his name"
"Hirano Ichiro?... Dear, didn't we meet someone with that name before?"
"Well, I did meet with someone with the name Hirano recently, a small businessman"
"*Nods* I see, I see... Say, Sacchan would you mind getting engaged to Ichiro-kun, after we deal with your engagement to that bastard?"
"Hmmm..."
Sakurako made a thinking face as she thought about her mother's idea
"No, I don't. Especially because that would mean I will get to drink his coffee every day, isn't that right?"
"Considering how much you love coffee. It's exactly as you say"
"Then I don't mind getting engaged to Hirano-san if I can have his coffee every day... And also, he doesn't appear to be a bad person either"
"I see, then dear, what do you think?"
"If Sacchan doesn't mind, then I'm fine with it"
"Great!"
The three would eventually finish their dinner shortly after, Sakurako did her own things before going to sleep
Next day
It was after school and Sakurako was walking through a familiar street that she had seen yesterday, then near an intersection, she saw the cafe from yesterday
She crossed the street and entered the cafe, which once again was mostly empty
"Welcome!"
And she was greeted by a woman, Sakurako looked around, but she didn't see Ichiro anywhere, so she looked back at the woman and approached her
"Hm... Where's Hirano Ichiro-san?"
"Huh? Ah! Do you mean Ichiro? He's at school, he has club activities today... By the way, how do you know my son?"
"He helped me yesterday"
"Oh! So did you come to see him?"
The woman, who was Ichiro's mother, made a funny smile as she said that with a lot of interest
"No, I came to have his coffee"
"Oh... I see..."
But after hearing Sakurako's instant reply, the woman lost all of her excitement
"Then you'll need to come at a later hour or on another day. If you still want coffee, it'll be the one from the machine"
"Oh... I see..."
Although her face didn't really change, Sakurako was clearly showing that she was feeling dejected after hearing her options
"W-well, usually he doesn't have club activities on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so you can come on those days, or during the weekend if you can't"
"I'm busy this weekend"
"Oh... I see..."
And so, without any other option, Sakurako decided to leave the cafe, not before buying a coffee to go, of course. When she went outside, a luxurious black car appeared and she entered it
"... That's some luxurious car..."
That was all that Ichiro's mother could say as looked at the car moving away
Inside the car
"..."
Sakurako was silent as she drank the coffee as looked outside the car window while thinking about something
"... Alright... Getting engaged to Hirano-san is the only option for having delicious coffee every day"
And with her coffee addiction, Sakurako decided to get betrothed to Ichiro was her only option now
Meanwhile
"Achoo!"
"Bless you, do you have a cold, president?"
"I don't. And it should be enough time already"
Ichiro picked up the glass gaiwan and carefully used the lid to hold the tea leaves in the glass gaiwan as he poured the tea into the tea pitcher, after making sure all of the tea water had been poured into the tea pitcher, he put back the glass gaiwan on its plate
Then he picked up the tea pitcher and distributed the tea between the tea cups, then he distributed the tea cups to his club members which were few
"Now feel the scent of the tea and its essence"
They all deeply breathed in with their noses close to the tea cups, allowing them to smell the nice fragrance from the tea in their hands
<Beautiful> "Now you can drink it"
And they all took a sip of the tea
<Perfect, the way I like it>
"This is delicious, president!!!"
"..." *Bonk*
Ichiro bonked the club member who shouted with a wooden stick as he had calm eyes and a serene smile on his face while doing so
"Did you forget what I said? No shouting. I won't allow anyone to disturb this ceremony"
"S-sorry, I understand it"
"Then please show me that you understood it by brewing us a tea"
"Huh!? M-me!? I !... I-I understand"
Ichiro threatened him with the wooden stick, and his club member agreed to it. His tea was decent, but it could still be improved, that's what Ichiro said to the club member who made the tea
(A/N Notes: Well, this became closer to the cliched style of "poor boy gets engaged to rich perfect girl" and other similar tropes, but! The male lead is not a boring maidenless virgin, he's just maidenless, heh
Only a few things remained from the previous versions, but overall I think the changes will make the characters more enjoyable to follow)