fic for nicefinalbeam!

[nino_mod]

For: nicefinalbeam
From: :3.

Title: An Instagram story romance
Pairing/Focus: Nino/Jun
Rating: PG
Word count: 16,200 +
Warnings: none
Summary: In which Nino had a god’s tongue, someone who could replicate any dish he had tasted before, and who had grown a certain fondness and addiction for someone’s daily Instagram story update. In which Jun had a heightened sense of smell – physiologically and figuratively.
Notes: Thank you for the interesting prompts! I tried my best to stick to your preferences; I hope this lives up to your expectations. Also, thank you mod for continuing this! I hope we will still have something like this in the years to come. 😊


-=-

The usual lunch rush was over so Nino, the cook, had some minutes to spare to rest. He just came back from creating spring rolls for a millionaire with a terminal illness the day prior.

Nino discovered it when he was in his teens – the unique ability to recreate dishes, a so-called god’s tongue. Once he tasted a dish, he could pinpoint the ingredients and replicate it with exactly the same taste. He has been fending for himself since he was young since his parents weren’t as reliable as they should be, so cooking was a life skill he acquired even then. When he got older, he started using such a convenient skill to earn money to pay for his parent’s debts. His clients were the rich and prominent figures in society who had money to spare for their sentimental whims.

“I really don’t get you sometimes, Nino. With your gift, you can set up your own restaurant! You can advance in the culinary world!” Aiba, the waiter, said as he was mindlessly browsing through Instagram. “And yet you still choose to stay here.”

Nino didn’t bother to respond. They have already talked about this countless times before.

He just leaned against Aiba’s shoulder, with leftover exhaustion from the travel the day before. After browsing through the Instagram posts, Aiba checked out the IG stories next. There were a variety of dogs and cats – some with costumes, some with a video of them doing tricks, some just simply being cute.

Aiba was a waiter in the café, and they have been working together for almost five years. He was also a volunteer in a nearby animal shelter. He once wanted to be a veterinarian, but he realized after an observership stint that the mere sight of blood made him cringe. He didn’t want to see animals being hurt and he feared that he would just end up crying instead of tending to them. He chose to work in an animal shelter instead. Let those more mentally strong be the veterinarian he couldn’t be, he thought.

As Nino was about to get up, sated with his daily fill of things animal-related, he caught a glimpse of an IG story featuring the back of the head of someone with strikingly blond highlights on black hair. It had a caption which said, “All I can see is a cornfield.” There was a large sweatdrop emoji beside the caption.

Then the next IG story was a young lad in his twenties reading a picture storybook to a tiger cub that he was hugging.

Nino was looking but not really seeing, thoughts filled by that cornfield IG story from earlier.

It could be anyone. It could be the owner of that account, or it could be someone else the owner was making fun of. Nino believed it was the former. And he felt that it took a lot of humanity for one’s sense of humor to involve making fun of oneself. It wasn’t self-deprecation; it was strength of character. Maybe he was just too exhausted that weird ideas came to his head. Maybe he was just being suddenly philosophical after cooking for a man who had death reflected in his eyes.

Nino was awakened from his reverie by the motion of Aiba springing up from the couch after being called by the boss. It must have been past his allotted breaktime already and time just flew past them. Seeing some light from the couch, Nino spotted Aiba’s phone which was left behind in hot haste.

A video of a squirrel munching on a branch of a plant was what was shown on the screen. Nino rewinded several panels back and saw again the so-called cornfield of a hair of a man.

He noted the username and quickly inputted it into his brain. Bringing out his phone, he typed it into his reminders for good measure lest he forget.

MJmemoirs830.

-

It had become a source of entertainment for Nino.

Every day, there was an Instagram story from MJ without fail. Nino decided to call him MJ given the username. And he assumed that 830 pertained to a significant date, possibly the account owner’s birthday. What a classic way of naming an account.

Nino fondly referred to the cornfield photo as Day 1.

-

Day 2: A succulent that looked dry, and beside it was his thumb included in the picture. The caption stated, “NO GREEN THUMB” – all capital letters in green font.

-

Day 3: Two plates of soft tacos on top of a tray. There was ground beef, ground pork, chopped onion, lettuce and tomato with sauce on the side. On the lower right showed #mexicanihon. After a little Google search, Nino confirmed that it was the name of the restaurant that was serving those tacos. It was located in Osaka though, and Nino was curious if it was a dish that MJ wanted to eat. Or perhaps it was something that he had eaten before and was craving then?

-

Day 4: A blurred picture of a moon. For someone who seemed to be an expert at taking professional level photos, such a picture would pique one’s curiosity. Maybe he didn’t have his high-class camera at that time. Nino drew the curtains in his apartment and discovered that it was indeed a full moon then. So the photo must have been taken in the same night. Feeling the night breeze brush through his cheeks, he felt that MJ and him were somehow under the same sky. Nino noticed that there was another IG notification from his phone. Opening it, he found another panel with no picture but just text that said: “Let this be an inspiration for me to buy a new phone.” Nino snorted in unconcealed fondness.

-

Day 5: A pot of Nikujaga. The potatoes were golden brown, and the carrot seemed appetizing, with smoke from the steam floating just above it. On the lower right showed #ohana. Below it, “Ohana means family.” Another Google search revealed that there was a diner located in Kyoto named Ohana serving home-cooked meals. MJ must be from Osaka or Kyoto to be familiar with such establishments, Nino thought despite the limited evidence.

-

Day 6: One Piece Manga. Nino had been a fan of Shounen Jump since middle school, and of course One Piece was a subject of discussion with his peers back in high school. Knowing that MJ was a manga fan was a reassuring thought for Nino. A manga fan could never be a bad guy, he thought. The page that was featured was the nakama pose, with the left arm raised up, fist clenched. It was iconic.

-

Day 7: A picture of the backs of a boy and a girl under a canopy of leaves, a meter distance between the two, but seemingly in a lively discussion. Nonverbal cues. Gestures. It took timing and skill to capture those, Nino thought.

He felt melancholic as he started brewing coffee. It was a Sunday morning and he had hours to spare to take things slow before he had to go on night shift.

Fiddling with his phone, a coffee mug in one hand, before he knew it, his phone photo gallery was filled with screenshots from MJ’s IG stories. There were no pictures of his face in his Instagram account; even in the IG stories, only the hair was shown. Nino didn’t even know if that belonged to MJ-san or someone else.

It was strange. He hadn’t met him. He didn’t even know how MJ looked like and yet he was strangely drawn to him. Nino didn’t want to give deeper meaning to his actions. He was just a fan of MJ’s flair for story-telling, he told himself. Don’t people get a lot of followers on Instagram because people get impressed by the photos they post?

After a week of checking out the IG stories, Nino began to inspect the other photos that were uploaded on Instagram. All of them had watermark of MJ at the lower right-hand side. Nino noticed that the last one was still from a year ago. For someone who posted IG stories daily like clockwork, it was strange that he never uploaded a new photo for a year.

-

Day 8: A picture of crab cream croquette as foreground while the background was the giant crab along Dohtonbori. It was as if the one who took the picture was glorifying the croquette. Gold lines were added, radiating from the croquette for added drama. The caption was “Choooouuu oishiii.” It must have been his favorite food, Nino thought. There was no caption though to indicate where it was bought. Nino’s ever reliable Google search after he typed in “crab cream croquette” and “Dohtonbori” revealed two restaurants which he bookmarked for future reference.

-

Day 9: A kabuki painting. The caption was “A beautiful art from a wonderful friend.”

-

Day 10: For the first time, the update wasn’t a simple picture but rather a video; Nino was thrilled. It featured children playing all over the playground. After inspecting closely and replaying it multiple times, he noted that it was similar to the playground in his neighborhood that he was passing through every day on the way to the train station. Considering the number of playgrounds all over Japan, it was highly possible that 2 playgrounds would appear similar in layout. Nino felt that it was too much of a coincidence if MJ-san was actually living in his neighborhood. He doubted that his life could be too serendipitous like that.

-

Day 11: MJ-san still had a lot of tricks up his sleeve, Nino thought. Again, for the first time, his IG story was neither a picture nor a video, but rather a drawing. A stick drawing at that.

With violet ink, it was a stick drawing of a boy running away while being chased down by a monster named “Deadlines”. In the next panel, the boy stumbled and was on his knees, hands wiping his eyes and wailing as the monster closed the distance between them.

Nino smiled. MJ-san must be having a tough time with his work. Nino pictured what kind of job MJ must have. His IG stories didn’t give that much of a hint as they were all over the place: from the constant food, to hobbies, to melancholic pictures, to dramatic stories. Maybe he was actually a photographer given the watermarks in his photos. But then again, it could be just a hobby. Perhaps he was a salaryman with a boring desk job that was why he turned to IG stories for entertainment. Nino wasn’t even sure if MJ-san was a “he.”

As Nino was about to pocket his phone, there was another notification in Instagram. The story wasn’t over yet!

In the third panel, the boy stood up and faced the monster, one hand on his waist and the other pointing at the monster as if scolding him. There was no dialog box but the facial expression was intense with thick eyebrows so Nino figured that he was in an angry stance. Few seconds passed until another update came. In the fourth and fifth panel, the monster was thrown to the air and then tackled. The stick figure of a boy suddenly had prominent muscles in his arms. In the fifth panel, the stick boy was showing off his muscles while one foot was on top of the trunk of the monster lying on the ground – a manifestation of victory.

“Such drama and suspense!” Nino whispered to himself in awe, as he hid his laughter in the crook of his elbow. ‘Are you a mangaka , MJ-san? If not, you can give a mangaka a run for his money. Such suspense and character building!’ Nino thought.

It didn’t show, though, what happened why the boy suddenly became stronger. There was no such thing as a spinach like Popeye. Nino scrolled through the frames again to check if he missed something, but it was as he saw the first time. Could the pause have something to do with it? The time lapse between the second and third panel probably was intended to convey that time could heal people and make them stronger – a pause, a break, a time to rest. But what about those who viewed the IG story later on? They wouldn’t – couldn’t – have the same experience and enjoyment as he did.

‘But why am I being all philosophical about this?’ Nino thought as he facepalmed himself. He was able to keep his phone just in time before the next order for the House Special for the Day came up.

-

Day 12: A picture of a pot of curry with half an apple on a chopping board, the other half already grated. Unlike the previous photos of food, this one seemed to be taken at home. The caption was “Curry without apple is a major sin.” Nino was more of a chocolate-on-curry type of person and he rarely uses apple unless it was explicitly requested. He examined the photo further: the tiles on the wall with intricate design of vines upon closer inspection, the kind of pot used, the brand of stove, the color of –. Nino stopped himself before proceeding any further. He was turning into a creep and it was unsettling. He screencapped the IG story and hid his phone. He vowed to himself that he would not open the photo again anytime soon to dispel thoughts of buying the same kinds of appliances just to establish a connection.

-

Day 13: “Apple strudel with vanilla sauce” was what was written in the caption. Strudel. What a fancy name. If it were Nino, he would just call it apple pie. This time, it wasn’t just the food that was on the picture but the restaurant as well – its whole ambience and feel – high ceiling, well-lit room with chandeliers. ‘MJ must be a refined person to be drawn to places such as this. It must have been one expensive dessert,’ Nino thought.

There was a #RinGoGoGo at the lower right – a hashtag description just like the previous food photos. Nino snickered at the name; it was cognitive dissonance if the high-class restaurant dessert had such a crude name. A quick search through trusty Google didn’t reveal any dish or restaurant named RinGoGoGo. Nino tried other variations. RinGoGo. RinGoGoGoGo. RinGooooo. But there was none. Thinking that he must have missed something, he examined the picture once again, harnessing his detective skills, zooming in here and there. Alas, at the drinks counter captured in the picture was the name “Café Fleur.” Nino found that it was a café in downtown Kyoto, near the river. It brought back memories. There was a time he stayed there for a while to visit his good friend who owned a bakery. Maybe he could pay him a visit one of these days and they could visit the café together, he thought.

Nino concluded that RinGoGoGo was just a caption that MJ-san came up with on his own. ‘What a dork,’ Nino thought.

-

Day 14: A golden maple tree leaf being held on its stem in the foreground and a lantern with the autumn landscape in the background. Nino knew it was an old picture since it was summer then. It had a haiku for a caption.

Aki no iro
Minna atsumete
Ii keshiki

(Colors of autumn
People gathering around
Lovely scenery)

Browsing through the screenshots in his gallery, MJ-san didn’t seem to have a pattern with the way he posted his stories. However, Nino noticed that both Sunday uploads were quite melancholic. It could mean that it was a downtime for MJ – Sunday as a day to relax and aimlessly browse through his old photos until he would stumble upon one that would incite a memory. Nino didn’t claim to be an expert in Psychology, but he treated figuring out MJ-san as a little game – a mystery game. Just the process already made him feel like a winner.

-

Day 15: It was a picture of a box of cereals in the left, a container of milk in the right, and a bowl with a spoon in the foreground. The caption was “For cereals, do you put milk first or cereals first? Chouuu American!”

Nino snickered. He wasn’t a cereals type of person and it was indeed quite American of MJ to be indulging with cereals.

When he saw Aiba approaching him, Nino quickly pocketed his phone.

“You seem happier lately,” Aiba commented as he sat on a chair in their breakroom and took a bite from his onigiri.

“I have always been like this,” Nino said nonchalantly.

Aiba was once again browsing through Instagram. He just posted an IG story about the nasal cleanser that he bought. He was showing it to Nino, happy that it was improving his allergic symptoms significantly.

“As expected of Kazama-pon. He’s really quick in viewing my IG stories.”

“Eh?” Nino said, alarmed. “You can know who views your stories?”

“Yes, it’s there in the lower left. See?” Aiba said as he demonstrated it to Nino.

“Ehhh… Why do you look so terrified Nino-chan? Are you stalking someone?”

Nino just snorted and refused to grace Aiba with a response. Nino schooled his features to that of impassiveness even though he was sure that his reaction earlier was a huge slip.

“He must have a lot of free time,” Nino commented instead. Kazama-pon was Aiba’s childhood friend. Nino used to hang out with Aiba and Kazama a couple of times in the past.

“He must be babysitting today at home so he’s bored,” Aiba commented, his teasing of Nino momentarily forgotten.

Nino was filled with dread.

The person who posted can track who were able to see his stories.

The account owner could track who were able to his stories.

MJ could track who were able to see his stories right after they were posted.

‘He might think I'm stalking him,’ Nino thought. He recalled that time with the stick figures. He viewed the succeeding panels of the story mere seconds after it was posted. As for some of the stories, there were times when he found himself fiddling with his game while waiting for an update for the day so it must have been mere minutes after the IG stories were posted when he viewed them. But MJ had a lot of followers, right? Surely there were other people who viewed the stories earlier than him. Surely Nino’s profile pic and username – the trace of his presence – were pushed down, down the list until unnoticeable. Surely MJ wasn’t such a maniac who posts something and then eagerly waits who would be viewing his story. Right?

However, if there’s a one in a million chance that MJ was indeed monitoring his IG stories, Nino decided that he must take precautions. He promised himself that when there was a notification for an IG story, he would restrain from tapping right away, lest he appear desperate – or worse, a stalker. He would wait for an hour, or a few minutes at least.

Nino was too absorbed with his thoughts that he didn’t notice Aiba giving a cursory glance at his phone screen that happened to show his photo gallery at that very moment.

-

Day 16: It was already late afternoon and there was still no IG story update. Nino refreshed the page several times for good measure but there was none.

Nino had been one of the cooks at Café Aozora for five years. It was primarily a coffee shop, but the manager decided to expand and offer meals during lunch and dinner.

It was busy for a Tuesday. To top it off, one of the waitresses got sick with diarrhea so it was definitely a no-no to have her report for duty – sanitation regulation considered. Nino was tasked to be a waiter in the meantime to augment the staffing.

As he was freshening up in the dressing room after being exposed to smoke the whole afternoon, he checked his Instagram one last time and found a notification. He tapped on it right away despite not knowing what time it was posted – his self-imposed rules on not opening IG stories right away be damned.

What he saw was something he never expected. He had daydreams on what MJ could be posting next, but never that. The IG story showed their café. Based on the angle, the seat MJ must have taken was that on the corner near the window. It was strange to say the least. Could he be finally meeting MJ-san that night? He knew that IG stories didn’t necessarily mean that it was happening right at that very moment. For all he knew, it could be an old picture. But he had only one way to find out. He stowed his phone back in the locker and headed out to substitute as a waiter.

He took a beeline to the counter where the corner of the café was most visible, but the seat seemed unoccupied. ‘Strange,’ Nino thought.

A man entered wearing a white shirt with a zigzag pattern adorned breast pocket. Geared with eyeglasses, a mask, and a black cap, he proceeded to the corner table – the one Nino suspected MJ was seated. Just as Nino was about to approach the table to take the newcomer’s order, he saw someone with blond highlights from the corner of his eye, coming from the restroom walking towards said corner table.

The cornfield of a hair! Nino was stunned.

In his head, he decided to call him Cornfield Guy since he didn’t know if he was indeed MJ or just a subject of his photos.

“Matsujun!”

“Sho-kun, how are you?”

Nino heard them greet each other as he handed them the menus.

Matsujun. Sho-kun. The names were ringing on repeat in Nino’s ears.

Matsujun. Sho-kun.

Matsujun.

MJ?

Nino was taken back from his reverie by the image of Cornfield Guy sniffing. Nino looked at him curiously then looked at so-called Sho-kun who just shrugged. He wished the latter took off his eyeglasses so he could get more cues.

“Are you short-staffed right now?” Cornfield Guy asked suddenly.

Nino was taken aback. It was asked in a curious manner, by no way demanding or condescending, and yet Nino felt like he had to defend the honor of their café.

“One of our waitresses just got sick, but we will serve you with the best of our abilities,” Nino replied with a deep bow.

‘What was the sniffing all about anyway? Was he like a dog or something?’ Nino wondered as he waited for their orders.

-=-

The moment Matsumoto Jun entered Café Aozora, he felt calmed. The olive green walls, the minimalist wooden furniture, the lights with a wooden encasing and finish – they added to the sophisticated feel of the place. Being a photographer, he was also fond of architecture and owned a lot of Interior Design magazines.

He picked the table in the corner with a large window view. It seemed like the best seat and he felt lucky that it was unoccupied despite the evening rush of customers. He snapped a shot and sent that picture to inform his friend Sho that he had already arrived.

After leaving the restroom, he found Sho already seated. He trusted his friend – braniac that he was – that he could locate the table with just a mere picture.

When he approached the table, a waiter was already there, and Matsumoto Jun’s senses were barraged by a lot of stimulants.

Garlic. Ginger. Charcoal. Fennel.

The closer he approached the waiter, the more his senses were pushed to overdrive.

Matsumoto Jun had a secret ability only few people knew – one of those few being Sakurai Sho.

Matsumoto Jun had a distinct sense of smell.

He could tell what people had for lunch especially if they were talking face to face. Through the years, he had learned to suppress his ability so as not to be a hindrance in his daily life. He figured that he would get easily distracted if he were talking to someone and all he could think about were the spices that were used in the dish that he/she ate for his/her meal.

At times though, he would just use his abilities for entertainment. If he was undecided on what to eat, he would just smell people discreetly and decide by himself after sampling the choices.

He could smell people discreetly if he focused his energy on the task. However, at that moment, in the restaurant, he was openly sniffing, driven by confusion.

Garlic. Ginger. Charcoal. Fennel.

It was curry, he guessed.

What he found strange was that a waiter would exhibit such odors so strongly when waiters do not stay too long inside the kitchen. Was this guy slacking and staying too long in the kitchen? Or a more likely explanation was that one of the kitchen personnel was pulled out due to a staff shortage. It was dinnertime rush and it was a sound conclusion.

He was sniffing absent-mindedly as he thought about the possible explanation.

“Matsujun!”

Matsujun was startled at Sho’s voice and proceeded to look at the waiter. He had been used to paying attention to the nameplates of his servers in the restaurants he went to, addressing them directly by their name. He found it strange that the waiter assigned to them wasn’t wearing any. He must be a newbie, he thought.

“Are you short-staffed right now?” He asked before he could help it.

The waiter was taken aback with the question. For a second he seemed offended, but the next second he was politely explaining that they were indeed short-staffed.

“One of our waitresses just got sick, but we will do the best of our abilities to serve you,” the waiter said with a deep bow as if mocking him.

He didn’t mean to offend the guy. He was just genuinely curious, yet it came out wrong. He knew that he could be awkward at times. Matsujun was slightly fidgeting in panic – a habit that Sho was aware of and noticed, which made the latter take control of the situation.

“What is the House Special for the Day?” Sho asked as he flipped through the pages of the menu to divert the waiter’s attention away from Matsujun.

“It’s curry rice today,” Nino replied politely.

Sho gave Jun a cursory glance and said, “Two orders please. That would be all for now.”

“Are you okay?” Sho asked when the waiter was out of earshot. “You seem out of it.”

“I’m okay. So curry, huh? I wonder if it would go well with coffee,” Jun said, leaning on the backrest of his seat to dispel the tension from earlier.

When Jun smelled the waiter earlier, he smelled curry, with no hint of apple. ‘Curry without apple is a major sin,’ Jun thought, but he would have to live with it since he was distracted from making the right choice earlier and left his fate to Sakurai Sho – a human being who found everything delicious.

They were classmates back in high school. Sakurai and Matsumoto. After graduation, Sakurai pursued acting and music, while Matsumoto pursued photography. Matsumoto Jun was the obvious choice for Sakurai Sho for his photoshoots. They hang out occasionally if Sho’s schedule allowed it.

When the order came, there was an apple flavor in the curry – not so distinct, but just the way Jun liked it. ‘Strange,’ Jun thought. There wasn’t any hint of apple when he smelled the waiter earlier. Were his olfactory senses malfunctioning? Perhaps it was just added as a finishing touch before it was served? Upon tasting the roux, though, Jun was almost sure that the apple was included during cooking. Was the grated apple added when the cook realized that it was him who would be eating the dish? He dismissed the thought right away since it was too far-fetched and self-centered. He found it bizarre. He just posted about the curry he made a few days back and now he was in that kind of situation.

Realizing that he was dwelling on too many thoughts that day, he just decided to enjoy the food.

“Ah! I forgot to take a picture!” Jun realized after eating the last spoonful of curry and rice.

Sho snickered. “You and your addiction with your IG stories.”

Jun pouted. He still took a picture of the empty plate for good measure. He usually relied on natural daylight for his food photography, but it was already nearing 9 o’clock in the evening. Using the interior light of the café, he searched for the right angle before taking the picture.

“I’m sure your followers are entertained by what you keep on posting,” Sho said as he watched Jun being meticulous as always.

“Oh, they have a 20% discount for the bread in the evening,” Sho said as he noticed the signage that was being set up to attract customers.

“Oh, really? Then I would go buy some,” Jun said approaching the counter to check out the selection of bread. Meanwhile, Sho paid for their bill while waiting for Jun to finish his purchase. They parted in front of the restaurant, their homes being on opposite directions.

At the construction site located beside Café Aozora, he took one bread then handed the bag with the rest of the bread he bought to the construction workers there on night shift before heading to his bus stop.

-=-

It was a long and exhausting day for Nino and luckily, he only had one task left: taking out the trash. It felt good to stretch for a while and get a breath of fresh air. It was his first time being a waiter and to be suddenly thrown into something like a fish out of water was physically and mentally taxing. He was lucky that there weren’t many big groups with a variety of orders. From the outset, he treated it like a game of Diner Dash, just so he could cope.

With the downtime, his thoughts drifted back to Cornfield Guy.

First of all, his hair indeed looked like a cornfield in person.

Second of all, Nino felt it was safe to assume that he was MJ, the owner of the Instagram account that he was crazy about. The number of times he heard the name Matsujun coming from the other guy’s lips. Matsu. Jun.

Third of all, Nino thought that Matsujun was a strange guy. He was sniffing him! What was that all about? Nino wondered if he had some sort of special powers like he had with his taste buds. Nino knew that he didn’t mean to offend by his comment, and Matsujun’s awkwardness right after felt like an apology in itself.

Fourth of all, Nino felt lucky that he remembered the caption in MJ’s IG story few days back.
“Curry without apple is a major sin.”

Upon reaching the kitchen earlier after taking their orders, he grabbed a pot, scooped two servings of curry and placed it on the stove. He quickly took an apple from the refrigerator, cut it and took one-fourth, removed the peeling and grated above the opening of the pot so as not to waste time. Nino specified the table number to which those specially made curry was allotted for before going back to the restaurant and resume his role as a waiter.

Judging by the empty plate, Nino was glad that Matsujun enjoyed it.

As he was about to enter the restaurant again, Nino did a double-take, thinking that he saw Matsujun in the nearby construction site. Eyes focusing, he found that it was indeed him, handing a Café Aozora paper bag to the workers there, and then walking away leisurely.

‘What was that all about?’ Nino thought as he walked back to the lockers to get his bag.

As Nino was walking to his train station – the direction opposite of the one Matsujun took – he found another notification.

He tapped on it right away before realizing that he was once again breaking his self-imposed rule of waiting a few minutes to avoid appearing like a mad stalker. His exhaustion had gotten the better of him.

Nino was rewarded by a picture of an empty plate. “Best plate of curry I have eaten in a while,” the caption said. Giddiness blossomed in his chest. He quickly covered his mouth to mask the gasp that had escaped. He surveyed the scene and found the area mostly devoid of people. It was alright to let out a little noise, but he kept on covering his mouth until he reached the train platform. By then he had calmed down a bit.

Looking at Instagram again, he found the update gone. Was it deleted? Was it his exhaustion-addled brain playing tricks on him? Refreshing the page once, twice, Nino frowned. He momentarily diverted his attention to the train timetable since getting home was just as important as the IG story update. There were three minutes left until the arrival of his train. Being late at night, there were less people and more vacant seats. After sitting down, he saw the Instagram icon at the top of the screen and tapped the update right away.

It was deleted for it to be edited. It had the same empty plate. The same caption. But now with an additional: #CaféAozora at the bottom right.

He covered his face with both hands to contain his excitement. It was very, very lucky indeed that there were fewer people around. From an outsider, Nino thought that he must have appeared like a schoolboy being excited about his crush.

After settling on a seat in a mostly vacant train, Nino reflected that he wasn’t as happy when he was cooking for several other people who paid for his services to recreate certain dishes. True, there was money involved then – money used to pay debts, the history of which, Nino was quite bitter about. Why did he have to pay for the debts of his good-for-nothing stepfather?

But all those debts were already settled, and he had no need for his so-called god’s tongue anymore. It was liberating. Nino had almost forgotten the innate joy he felt to cook for someone to bring joy.

He kept the phone in his pocket and looked at the night view outside. Refocusing his eyes, he stared at his reflection through the train window. He remembered what Aiba said that he appeared happier. Was he really?

His home was a block away from the station. After reaching the lobby of his apartment, he saw that MJ-san had another update.

It was a black-and-white photo of a construction site. Nino was almost sure that it was that beside their café. The caption stated: “It must be hard to work so late doing a physically taxing job. Thank you for your hard work everyone.”

Just what kind of a person is MJ-san?

Nino was excited to know more.

-=-

Day 17: A pile of shredded paper. A black and white photo with a caption “This is quite satisfying.”

So, is he a salaryman? An office worker?

The previous waitress had already come back and reported to work so Nino had to stay in the kitchen. For that, Nino was thankful.

-

Day 18: A picture of a balance ball. The caption was “Spirit of Kinnikuman, please come to me.”

-

Day 19: “You weren’t there.” A cup of coffee and an empty seat at Café Aozora.

‘Maybe his date stood him up,’ Nino thought. He was just there three days prior and he was there again. Nino figured that MJ-san’s workplace must be near their café. Perhaps he was already a regular, but Nino had no idea since he was staying inside the kitchen the entire time.

-

Day 20: It was another IG story feature. “Ask me anything” with a space to type in any question.

After Nino first saw Matsujun as a guest in their café, he wanted to cook for him.
He made an itinerary of all the food places MJ posted on Instagram. He was 90% sure that Matsujun was MJ – the pictures in his IG story were a giveaway. Nino felt like he owed him a lot for lifting his spirits every day. He wanted to do something in return.

It was his scheduled leave the next three days to go to Kyoto and visit his friend. It was a generous coincidence that the restaurants MJ posted in Instagram were quite accessible to where he would be staying. Nino was only on half-day duty at work that Saturday to give time to prepare and rest for the next day’s journey.

He had been contemplating all-day what to ask MJ. He searched first if the identity of the person who ask would be revealed to the account owner.

In his mind, he had a list of things that he wanted to ask – some were general, some were personal, and some would definitely identify him as someone from Café Aozora which he wasn’t sure was a smart move.

The most pressing of his questions was: Do you like the food in Café Aozora?

Nino already typed it and contemplated on sending it. It shouldn’t have a deeper meaning, right? It was a sincere question from an employee to a customer – something like a customer satisfaction survey. It shouldn’t mean anything, but it took him hours intermittently staring at the screen, going back to it over and over again. If Instagram had a feature that documented the number of times someone saw an IG story, he would be busted for sure.

It was almost 9 o’clock in the evening when a phone call arrived. It was Nino’s friend Ohno Satoshi, the one he would be visiting in Kyoto, asking what time he would arrive. They didn’t chat much since they would be seeing each other the next day. Besides, Ohno was a man of few words.

After the phone call, as Nino was getting ready to get to bed, he checked again and noted that the IG story expired. Or was it deleted? It wasn’t 24 hours yet. The universe had already decided that it wasn’t meant for him to send in that question.

-

It was around 10 AM when Nino arrived at Ohno’s bakery. The latter was quite busy behind the counter, catering to customers in the morning rush. Nino settled with observing him from afar in the meantime. His friend tanned even further compared to his last visit if that was even possible. There was fluid grace in his movements showing how he had been in that business for years then.

Nino and Ohno were childhood friends. They went to the same middle school with Ohno being two years Nino’s senior and yet they became close. They lived in the same street, so they mostly commuted together. During weekends, they would hang out by the Kamo river, Ohno drawing while Nino playing games. They parted when Nino was about to enter high school since their family had to move to Tokyo for his mother’s job. They maintained communication though, with Nino visiting Ohno from time to time.

Nino was looking forward to two products: melon pan and apple pie. He knew there were products like that in Tokyo. Besides, given his abilities, he could always recreate them on his own, but somehow, he was never quite able to replicate these two products. He tried for a few times then gave up eventually after figuring out the reason. His skills, no matter how perfect and godly they were, wouldn’t compare to the experience of eating those bread products in the calm comforting company of his dear friend.

“Nino!” Ohno called out when he spotted him. He was the owner of the place; he didn’t really need to be working behind the counter since he had employees anyway.

He approached Nino and gave him a huge hug right away.

“I saw the list of the restaurants you wanted to go to,” Ohno said, looking at Nino closely.
“Did you accept another assignment? I thought you already earned enough money to pay off the debts?”

Nino merely shrugged, trying to keep a straight face but failing.

“Ohh,” Ohno said merrily. “It’s different this time, huh?”

“Shut up. Let’s just go,” Nino said dragging Ohno away to the nearest bus stop. He had already researched how to get there while waiting for Ohno.

Nino had 4 destinations in mind. Mexicanihon. Dohtonbori. Café Fleur. Ohana.

The strategy that Nino decided was farthest first, nearest last. They would go to Osaka first, just in time for lunch at Mexicanihon.

The interior of the restaurant was lively with bright-colored drapes adorning the ceiling. The chairs were of various colors – violet, yellow and blue, while paintings of Mexican artists decorated the walls. They were lucky they only had to wait ten minutes to be seated. Families and groups occupied the large tables and they were led to the counter seats.

Nino scanned the menu carefully, noting the descriptions of each dish. He was thankful to the bright minds of the owners for listing the ingredients, but of course – just like most restaurants – they have the notorious “special sauce.” Nino would have to rely on his skills to dissect and identify the ingredients of that.

As Ohno was browsing through the menu, mouth slightly agape in awe, Nino brought out his phone to check the screenshot of MJ’s corresponding IG story – to double-check which dish he ordered.

For Ohno’s unassuming façade, he could be quite keen to details, especially when it came to someone he knew for a long time. He had an inkling what Nino was up to, but he was saving the topic for a different time.

Nino ordered what he was able to identify from the picture: soft tacos, ground beef, ground pork, chopped onion, lettuce and tomato with sauce on the side. He noted that despite the dishes having coriander in them, there was notably no coriander in the Instagram picture. He assumed that MJ meticulously removed each of the tiny bits. Or perhaps he specified to the waiter to remove them – which Nino did. He ordered guacamole as well to satisfy his curiosity even though it wasn’t in the picture. And of course, the notorious special sauce.

“This could be a good subject for a painting,” Ohno said. “All bright colors.” It was quite different from the subdued earth colors of Kyoto.

“And those paintings. You can create figures based on those,” Nino added.

Lunch was a quiet affair. They were used to the silence. It was even calming.

Their next stop was Dohtonbori.

“Ne, Oh-chan, let’s take a picture at Glicoman!” Nino said, dragging Ohno by the arm.

“What? Seriously? You’ve already seen that countless times,” Ohno retorted, but was letting himself be dragged along anyway.

They took a selfie using Nino’s phone, and then Nino made Ohno pose as if growling, with both hands up.

“Let me take a picture of you,” Ohno offered, hands held out to Nino.

Nino refused as he dragged Ohno back to the length of Dohtonbori. “I only wanted a photo of you as keepsake. Nice growl, by the way,” Nino said teasingly.

Their next target was crab cream croquette. Based on Nino’s bookmark, there were two places that served such croquette in the vicinity. They went first to the one nearest the giant crab. It was a little stall in one of the side alleys. Nino ordered only one piece of croquette initially, but the server started eyeing the two of them nastily, so he ordered two, as exchange for having the two of them occupy space. Ohno snorted at him after noticing how uncomfortable he became.

Nino was almost sure that it wasn’t the right restaurant. There was little chance that one would be happy about the food if the server was that mean.

When the order came, it was spherically shaped, served on a small plate, and slightly soggy in appearance. It tasted good but the creaminess was inadequate in Nino’s opinion. He chewed slowly – dissecting the ingredients and the spices used. He made a mental note of each of them even though he would gladly bet that this wasn’t what MJ was raving about on his IG story. He looked at Ohno who seemed satisfied by what he was eating. Leave it up to Ohno to enjoy any food served to him.

“Let’s go to the next one,” Nino said. Ohno merely nodded.

The next one wasn’t a restaurant but a food stall, and there was a line of a little more than ten people.

“You think this is it?” Ohno asked.

“It has to be. Look at that person who just got out of the line and took a bite. He seemed happy,” Nino said, happy with his deduction skills. “They cook in front of you. It’s something a customer would be happy about.”

“Admit it. You were just scared of Ueda-san,” Ohno said teasingly.

“Ueda-san?”

“The server in the restaurant earlier.”

“You know his name?”

“He had a nameplate,” Ohno said simply.

“I’m not scared of him. It’s just that servers shouldn’t leave a bad impression on customers. Even if they serve high-class food, they shouldn’t be arrogant like that,” Nino defended.

“Are you planning to open a restaurant, Nino?” Ohno asked after a few beats.

“No. That’s too much hassle,” Nino answered quickly, as if he had already thought about it before.

“Oh, so you’re just planning on cooking for someone,” Ohno said not questioningly. “Someone important to you.”

Nino tsked and didn’t grace Ohno with an answer. He simply crossed his arms around his chest and inspected the line that was steadily shortening. There were only 3 people in line before them.

“Two orders of crab cream croquette please,” Nino said once it was their turn.

The cook, a middle-aged lady, smiled warmly at Nino in acknowledgement. Nino looked at Ohno excitedly as if proving a point.

She brought out a prepared mixture of crab and cream, made with fresh crabs, if Nino noted correctly. She dipped the mixture into flour, eggs and breadcrumbs, afterwards cooking them until golden brown and crispy. After dabbing the excess oil on a paper napkin, she placed the croquette on a cardboard plate – one for Nino and one for Ohno – then gave them a stash of napkins afterwards.

After paying – or rather after having Ohno pay for their food – Nino jogged to the restaurant with the giant crab sign while blowing on his food to dispel the burning heat in a way. Once he was certain that his fingers could handle the heat, he took the croquette using the napkin and lifted it with the giant crab installation as background, replicating the picture from the IG story.

With Nino’s first bite came a moan of delight. MJ’s caption of “Choooouuu oishiii” really fit the food well. It was worth the price. Nino would even gladly pay more for it.

If Ohno found Nino’s actions weird, he didn’t say anything. Nino had a tendency to be weird if he was excited – he knew that. He just let child-Nino be.

Their next stop was Café Fleur in Kyoto, a café near the Kamo river. They already had their fill with their heavy lunch and snacks. It was a good thing that it was more than an hour’s ride to get there. They at least had time to rest their stomachs. Full and sated, they both fell asleep all throughout the train ride like a pair of teenagers.

Nino was awakened few minutes before their station. He double checked the route and figured that they had to take a short bus ride to get there.

Café Fleur was just how Nino imagined based on the picture – high ceiling, well-lit room with chandeliers. He ordered Apple strudel with vanilla sauce for sharing without even reading through the whole menu – something which Ohno quickly noticed. Throughout the day, Nino’s movements have been direct, with precision – a man with a purpose.

Ohno’s hypothesis was just strengthened, but he settled to observe further. Partly because he didn’t want Nino to be awkward, and partly to give Nino a false sense of security to continue acting naturally. If Nino was indeed planning to prepare food for someone – and it seemed it wasn’t out of obligation by the way Nino’s face was lit up in happiness – then Ohno was immensely glad.

“I still prefer your apple pie, Oh-chan,” Nino said after finishing the whole serving, leaving only a mouthful for Ohno.

“You’re just saying that because I’m letting you stay in my place.”

“And feeding me dinner,” Nino interjected with a grin.

“Of course,” Ohno said. In fact, Ohno already did his groceries the day before. “How does Pork and radish mille feuille sound?”

“You’re the best, Oh-chan! It is with great pleasure that I will help you finish the food you’ll prepare,” Nino said.

In the end, they weren’t able to finish the hotpot that Ohno prepared. Nino wasn’t a voracious eater after all.

It was around 10 PM, with Nino tucked underneath the sheets on Ohno’s spare futon in the living room, when the IG story update came.

Day 21: A picture of a row of PET bottles. The caption was: “Clean up day.”

Nino took a screenshot before falling asleep after a long day.

-

Ohno didn’t have to berate Nino into going out and exploring Kyoto considering the trouble he went to going there and all, most especially considering the cost of the bullet train to and fro. No he didn’t – Ohno knew that staying inside and playing games was Nino’s relaxation method. And besides, Nino used to live there. He didn’t need to be all touristy all of a sudden. Ohno went to the bakery and just left Nino in his house.

Even if Nino had tasted the food the day prior, he knew that he had to go to places to buy the ingredients for around 50 people just in case many would order the House Special for the day. Even before, he used to go to Kyoto to replenish his supply of spices. He knew of certain shops that weren’t available in Tokyo. He knew as well that he had errands to do that day. But for that morning, he just wanted to rest and play. He still had another full day anyway before going back to Tokyo, he reasoned to himself.

Come lunchtime, Nino prepared to leave for his next and last food destination. Ohana was located 5 bus stations away from Ohno’s house. Unlike the usual traditional Japanese houses in Kyoto, this one had a slightly Western feel to it. There were several groups on the tables, and upon quick glance, Nino noted that the menu varied with both Japanese and Western food served. He chose the counter seat since he was alone anyway. He momentarily debated between nikujaga and what seemed to be a mouth-watering juicy hamburger, but he knew that he shouldn’t be distracted from his purpose. He chose the smallest serving of nikujaga – a little pot good for one. The potatoes and carrots were perfectly cooked, and the arrangement of colors made Nino feel warm inside. It was indeed like coming home to a family.

-=-

Day 22: A picture of people ice-skating in Central Park in New York. In the next panel was a picture of the GRAMMY museum in Los Angeles.

Jun was on the playground, swinging on the swing, when he posted his update. He wanted to travel again but he knew he had to save money and invest for his future. He had already spent the earlier part of his life traveling. He knew that his priorities should be changing to be able to settle down. Guys in their late thirties should already stop being a nomad.

He didn’t know when exactly, but at some point, he just lost inspiration in his photography. It was just a job to him now – a way to earn a living. There was a time when it was an art for him. There was a time when photography was something that made his spirits soar, made his skin tingle in excitement.

He used to be in the magazines, winning one photography competition after another. He just lost that spark along the way. And he didn’t know how to get back on track.

Sakurai Sho had been a great help. Being a member of a non-profit organization, he used to invite Jun to orphanages and nursing homes, so Jun could be exposed to a variety of people once again and possibly gain inspiration there.

Somehow, it helped Jun. He didn’t view photography as a burden anymore. He wondered if people still know of him. He possibly still had fans waiting for his comeback.

In the meantime, if he couldn’t impress them with his new photos, he would rather entertain them with his IG stories. ‘Do people still view my stories?’ Jun wondered. It was then that Jun explored the list of Instagram account owners who checked his IG stories.

There was one username that made an impression on him since it seemed to appear in all his stories, some even as the first viewer.

“Pazudorachef83”

He opened the account and noted that there were only 2 pictures - both a pyramid in nature. It seemed like a screencap from a game based on the numbers and percentages indicated per section of the pyramid.

He googled “pazudora” and found that it was a game. So he’s a gamer and a chef, Jun figured.

‘What about the 83? It couldn’t possibly be his age. Was that his birthday? August 3? But that was just weeks ago!’ Jun thought. And there was no other clue in the uploaded pictures. A fan of mystery novels, Jun decided that he would be monitoring the movements of this suspicious Pazudorachef83, whoever he may be. Not really meaning to stereotype that gamers were supposed to be guys, Jun just had a feeling that he’s a ‘he.’

-

The following day was a Tuesday – exactly one week after Jun first visited Café Aozora and had that curry rice that left an impression on him. He had already made up his mind that he would be visiting the café that day. There was supposedly a House Special for the Day then. Jun didn’t know if they offered it every day, or if it was changed every day. Logically speaking though, if they had a House Special for the Day on a Tuesday last week then they had to have a House Special for the Day on a Tuesday this week.

He arrived at Café Aozora at around the same time as before, and chose the same corner table with a window view.

After a few minutes of surveillance, he accepted that Mr. Waiter-without-nameplate wasn’t there. It frustrated him that he couldn’t even ask the other staff of said person’s whereabouts since he didn’t know his name.

A waitress in her early twenties approached him. He wasn’t able to detect any strong smell from her, unlike from Mr. Waiter-without-nameplate from a week earlier.

“Don’t you have a daily special?” Jun asked.

“The House Special for the Day, sir?”

“Yes.”

“Our cook who takes care of that is off today, sir,” she replied good-naturedly.

“When will it be available?” Jun asked. Somehow, he knew that what he wanted to ask was when will he be available.

“House Specials are only available when the chef is available, sir,” she replied patiently.

“And what days of the week are those?”

“He does it on random days.”

“I suggest you put up a sign outside when it’s available,” Jun said almost impatiently. He had been wanting to eat something good on such a special day. And the chef shamelessly took the liberty of taking the day off on that day.

“I’ll tell the manager sir,” she replied with a bow, to acknowledge Jun’s suggestion.

“Do you have curry?”

“It’s not in the regular menu sir. If I remember correctly, it was prepared by our chef last week as a House Special, but he’s in Kyoto now”

“The Chef went to Kyoto?” Jun asked, with his tone of voice a little demanding.

“Or was it Osaka? I’m not really sure. Just for a short vacation. He didn’t quit if that’s what you’re worried about, sir. I guess he can still serve curry once again once he comes back,” she said reassuringly.

Jun felt consoled even just for a bit. At least he’ll come back.

“I’ll have Café Americano and a bagel with cream cheese, please,” Jun said forcing a smile on the waitress, disappointed but thankful for the information from her.

He leaned against the back of the chair and stared blankly at the window. It wasn’t the luckiest of days.

He decided to update his IG story then.

Day 23: On a black background, he wrote in freehand. “No glimpse of you.”

He was going for a mysterious aura with his post. There was no way Mr. Waiter-without-nameplate would read it anyway. He just wanted an IG story to remember that day by.

He ate silently when his order came, drinking the coffee right away before it got cold.

Out of the blue, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Abruptly turning his head to the side, he was pricked on the cheek by a finger. With a classic childish trick, Jun knew right away who it was.

“Happy birthday, Jun-kun!” Sho said merrily, handing Jun his little cake - dark chocolate cake with a spike of brandy.

“I knew you’d be here,” Sho said.

“How did you know? Were you stalking me?” Jun said suspiciously.

“I just know,” Sho shrugged as he handed Jun a plate. Jun knew that a part of Sho just wanted to have an excuse to eat cake.

When they were about to leave with the café nearing its closing time, one of the waiters approached Jun.

“Excuse me, my name is Aiba Masaki and I’m a fan of your works, Matsumoto-san!” he said sincerely as Jun offered a handshake.

“Is it okay for me to have your autograph?” Aiba said as he handed Jun a piece of paper and a pen. “And Happy Birthday!”

“Thank you, Aiba-san,” Jun said. The disappointment from earlier faded completely. ‘It wasn’t a bad day after all,’ Jun thought.

-=-

Nino was on a bullet train back to Tokyo when he saw the IG story update.

Day 23: On a black background written in freehand in white strokes. “No glimpse of you.”

He didn’t peg MJ-san as a hopeless romantic melodramatic guy. His previous posts were completely random, bizarre and funny. He previously updated with pictures that incite peaceful melancholy but never of a raw somber tone.

‘Is he alright?’ Nino wondered. Was it a shoutout to the void admitting that he was a lonely guy after all?

With bags of ingredients in tow, he walked the rest of the block back to his apartment. He had a little detour to the convenience store to buy onigiri for his breakfast the following day. It was his first day back and it was bound to be busy.

Around half an hour before midnight, Nino noticed that there was another update. The heading was: “What did the Hubble Space Telescope see on your birthday?” It was a picture in black background featuring cosmic bodies of different shapes and colors shining bright. At the bottom of the picture, there was a caption that said “Hubble Ultra Deep Field Infrared. The faintest and reddest of objects are galaxies that formed 600 million years after the Big Bang.”

“Eh? It’s August 30 today and he posted something like this?” Nino said to himself. “It’s really his birthday today?”

As if to answer Nino’s question, there was another IG story update.

It was a picture of the mini dark chocolate cake that they had in Café Aozora, with a greeting written on an oval white chocolate slab saying, “Happy birthday Matsujun!”

Cornfield guy, MJ-san and Matsujun were indeed one person.

And the 830 in his username was indeed his birthday.

And he was just in Café Aozora a few hours ago to celebrate it there.

And Nino wasn’t there.

He quickly saved a screenshot of the IG stories lest they be deleted. For his personal archiving purposes.

Nino resolved that he would be giving his best in his cooking. It may be a bit narcissistic, but he felt disappointed that he wasn’t there to prepare a delicious meal for MJ-san on his birthday. He felt that he had to make up for it. He already decided what the House Special for the Day would be.

Also, he wondered if he will be tapped for waiter duties in the next days. Would there be another sick waiter or waitress who would need substituting?

-

The first thing Nino noticed when he returned was the chalkboard signage outside the entrance.

“Nino-chan, welcome back!” Aiba said, hugging him upon seeing him.

“What’s with the signage outside?”

“Oh, one of the customers suggested to promote the House Special for the Day to attract more people,” Aiba said. He had a box of colored chalks on his hand and Nino realized that he was assigned by their boss to oversee the design.

“So what will it be today, Nino?”

“It will be soft tacos,” Nino said decisively.

“Oooh. Is that a dish you picked up from your little vacation?” Aiba asked excitedly, eager to try Nino’s new dish as well. He was usually the guinea pig for taste tests, and he was happy with it.

“You can say that,” Nino shrugged as he proceeded to their breakroom.

“Guess what, Nino? I got an autograph from Matsumoto Jun!” Aiba said, digging through his bag to be able to show Nino his little accomplishment.

“Who?”

“Matsumoto Jun! The one you’re following on Instagram,” Aiba said, looking at Nino knowingly.

Nino was busted and he knew it. There was no use denying but he could always downplay or divert to dampen the blow.

“I didn’t know you’re a big fan.”

“I love his photographs!” Aiba said, his enthusiasm undiminished. “Of course you would know how awesome they are since you follow him.”

“Yeah,” Nino said as he changed to his chef uniform. “Hey listen, I have to go prepare the food alright?” Nino said barely escaping Aiba.

The lunch rush was a killer. He didn’t expect to have that many orders of the House Special. It was indeed a good marketing strategy to have a signage outside to promote the dish for the day, but it wasn’t good for his back.

When it was lull time, he rested his back for a while in the breakroom as the other cooks were preparing for the dinner rush.

He was beat when he came home – all he wanted to do was take a warm bath and sleep. The first day after the vacation was always the worst. His exhausted eyes and body gave in to deep slumber as soon as his back touched the mattress.

After Nino woke up, he made his way to the kitchen after freshening up. He was having cereals for breakfast – the same brand that Jun posted on his IG story. He realized that it was a convenient breakfast choice – easy to prepare if he didn’t feel like cooking. He decided to start calling him Jun once and for all since he already knew who he was. Of course, he would only call him Jun if he’s by himself.

Nino’s style was putting milk first and then adding the cereals little by little, submerging them further with a spoon and then adding a little more to the brink of almost overflowing. It was his little entertainment in the morning.

Fiddling with his phone, he realized that he wasn’t able to check Instagram the night before. And there it was – the daily IG story that never missed.

It was the picture of his soft tacos from the night before – the reason for his exhaustion.

The caption was:
“This is the most delicious soft tacos I have ever tasted!
The coriander was even properly separated as if the universe knows that I hate coriander.
My birthday has just been extended for another day with this treat!”

There was another caption on the lower right: #CafeAozora.

Elation. Elation was what Nino felt as he read through the caption over and over again. He was glad that Jun considered it as a birthday treat even if it was a day late. It was like Jun was complimenting him indirectly and unknowingly.

He scrolled through his photo gallery to decide on what he would be serving next. What he found was the photo of Ohno growling with Glicoman in the background. Ohno was really a cooperative model, and what a good expressive face that was. Nino posted the picture on his IG story with just the date it was taken as caption.

-=-

Jun saw a notification of an update from Pazudorachef83. It was a first. Or rather it seemed to be a first since he wasn’t paying attention before. His job was not until after lunch so he had a lot of time. Being familiar with the basic rules of stalking, Jun didn’t tap on it right away. He took a bath first, did a quick inventory of his pantry for his grocery trip, checked twitter for a bit and rearranged his desk. Almost half an hour had passed, and he felt it would be safe by then.

He tapped on it and saw a picture who was definitely not Mr. Waiter-without-nameplate. It was a picture of a guy who was just a bit older than him making a growling pose in front of the Glicoman background. It was the eyes that struck Jun. There was a certain glow in those eyes. Perhaps the lighting in the area was good that night, but Jun knew that he had to give credit to the photographer. There seemed to be trust – a connection – between photographer and subject to be able to bring out that light in the eyes. A certain flame inside Jun was lit. It was an inspiration indeed. Jun didn’t peg Pazudorachef83 to be a professional photographer, but he was able to capture the essence of it.

He noticed the date indicated. It was the date the chef of Café Aozora was absent due to his trip to Osaka or Kyoto. And needless to say, Glicoman was in Osaka.

Jun had a good feeling about Pazudorachef83. He had a gut feeling who the account-owner was.

-

Day 24: A picture of a crab cream croquette bathed in twilight glow with the interior of the café as blurred background. The caption was “Yappa choooouuu oishiii!” Gold lines were again added, radiating from the croquette for added drama. In the lower right was the same caption: #CafeAozora.

Jun had been visiting Café Aozora and the moment he saw what was the House Special for the day, he knew that this couldn’t be a mere coincidence. To have the dishes he recently posted on his IG stories be the exact same dishes served at a certain café, and with exactly the same taste as the original, he knew that there was something. Heck, the crab cream croquette was just a snack and they served it like it was a dish just to fit the concept of a House Special.

Jun was deeply intrigued. It was a mystery, and he loved it. He wanted to get to the bottom of it.

-

Day 25: A picture of a pot of nikujaga. There was the usual #CafeAozora on the lower right side. The caption was: “It’s beautifully cooked, and beautifully arranged. The chef must also be beautiful to be able to create something like this.”

Jun was very much satisfied with his IG story update that day.

‘Two can play in this game,’ he thought.

Jun didn’t want to go home just yet. He knew that when he reached home, he would promptly lie on bed, and since he just had a filling meal, he didn’t want that. He was standing outside the construction site, leaning against the railing when the message came from his boss.

His next assignment was for a university entrance exam. One private university wanted to attract students for a fall semester, and he had to take photos for promotion. He found it strange since start of classes had always been in spring.

As he saw Mr. Waiter-without-nameplate emerging from the side door to take out the trash, a rush of inspiration struck Jun.

“Excuse me! Good evening,” Jun called out as he approached him.

The waiter seemed surprised initially but subsequently schooled his features to that of guarded politeness.

“Hi! I’m Matsumoto Jun. I’m a photographer, and I was wondering if you can be a model for my next project,” Jun said hurriedly.

“What?”

“It’s a photoshoot for a university entrance exam.”

“University? University is so long ago, Matsumoto-san. I’m already in my thirties. You better find someone else within the university student age range,” Nino said as he fixed the plastic bags inside the containers.

“But you look fit for the role,” Jun insisted. “You holding a brochure with autumn foliage behind you. It would be perfect!”

Nino took his time fixing the plastic bags without sparing Jun a glance.

“If you agree, I’ll treat you to hamburger!” Jun said, already resorting to bribery in no time.

Nino stared at Jun for a while before giving a curt nod.

-

It was after his nod that Nino was left in awe. It started with a gentle crease in the corners of Jun’s eyes – the light reflected on them made Nino feel like he was swimming in soothing warmth. Next was a slow upturn on the corners of his lips. He seemed friendly and confident - so different from the confused and slightly panicky expression he had the first time they met.

They agreed to meet the next day, which was incidentally Nino’s day-off.

Being too absorbed in his thoughts of their sudden meeting, Nino was only able to check his Instagram after reaching home.

“It’s beautifully cooked, and beautifully arranged. The chef must also be beautiful to be able to create something like this.”

Nino read the caption thrice in quick succession to make sure he was reading it right, before throwing his phone on the couch as if it would burn him.

He was freaking out. He just met Jun earlier after emerging from the side exit door while wearing his freakin’ chef uniform. Upon inspection, he realized that Jun must have posted the IG story even before they met. Was he spying and waiting for the chef to come out? Yet Jun gave no comment on what Nino was wearing, or that he hadn’t seen Nino being a waiter for days. Did it mean that he already knew?

‘That IG story was Jun openly flirting with the chef!’ Nino thought exasperatedly. Nino was clinging to the last ray of hope that perhaps Jun didn’t recognize him as a chef. He was dreading meeting him again the next day. Nino didn’t know how he could hide it any longer.

-

Nino wore a mustard striped T-shirt paired with a mustard light jacket and denim jeans. They agreed to meet outside the entrance of Akiyama Daigaku at 10 o’clock in the morning. They didn’t exchange contact numbers so Nino wasn’t able to ask regarding the prescribed clothing. And messaging via Instagram was certainly out of the option. He just chose the most university student-like of his clothes. He wasn’t really into fashion, and if Jun didn’t like it then so be it. It was Jun’s fault for not being specific about things.

It was a beautiful autumn foliage in that side of Tokyo. The maple trees were in fiery red and orange, and Nino wondered if he should have worn a cool color to contrast the background. Without thinking any further on the topic of clothes, he brought out his phone to play for a while as he waited for Jun.

Nino wasn’t even able to finish the level he was playing when Jun came jogging, with a rather large backpack in tow.

“Hi! Sorry for making you wait,” Jun said as he reached him.

Nino gave a cursory glance at his watch, noting that it was a minute before 10AM. Nino just happened to be early that day.

“Is this okay? You didn’t exactly tell me what clothes to wear, Matsumoto-san,” Nino said as he gestured at his clothes, lightly admonishing Jun.

“You’re perfect,” Jun said, smiling warmly at Nino, before he moved past him and walked towards the university entrance.

He was stunned. Nino knew that Jun was only referring to his outfit that was appropriate for the photoshoot and yet he was shaken. It took a while before he was able to catch up with Jun, and the latter showed no signs of embarrassment whatsoever.

“I remember when I was in high school, before the start of the school year in spring, I would be playing games every waking moment of my day. Mario Brothers. Donkey Kong. Final Fantasy.
Do you play games, Ninomiya-san?” Jun asked to break the ice.

“Yeah.”

“What games do you play?”

“Lately, I’ve been playing Pazudora a lot.” Nino realized that he slipped right after he said it. It was too much of a giveaway and he had to cover it up quickly. “And Pokemon. Sims. There is also something called Animal Crossing that’s popular lately that I’m thinking of trying out.” Nino said in pressured speech. He didn’t notice the smirk that was blooming in the lips of his companion as he was almost afraid to look at Jun. He opted to focus his attention on observing the students in the academic field.

-

However Nino tried to cover it up, Jun was almost 100% sure that he was indeed Pazudorachef83 in the flesh. He was giddy about his discovery as he gave himself an imaginary pat in the back for his detective skills.

“You could really pass for a university student! How old are you, even?”

“36,” Nino replied tersely, as if careful to divulge further incriminating evidence of his true identity.

“We’re the same age!” Jun said excitedly.

1983, Jun figured out was this guy’s birth year. They were of the same age after all.

83.

Pazudorachef83.

When Jun found the perfect slot, he gave Nino the brochure of the university. He got a real copy from the admission’s office earlier that morning before he went to meet up with Nino. He wanted everything about this photoshoot to be perfect after all.

He directed Nino to hold the brochure with both hands while slightly looking up at the sky.

Another pose was Nino sitting on a bench, leaning against the backrest with an arm draped along it, and holding the brochure with the same hand. He faced to one side as he watched the students in the field, with legs crossed.

The last pose was Nino lying down on the grass, arms spread out to his sides, eyes closed, and the brochure on his chest.

Jun took the pictures from different angles, taking into consideration the lighting, and giving Nino some instructions here and there. Nino was a natural – a little bit slouched but all the more did that add to the unacclimatized university student aura.

It had been a while since Jun had so much fun and sense of accomplishment in his photos, not even when it was the actor Sakurai Sho who was his subject.

He scanned through the photos in his memory card and felt satisfied. A few minutes passed and it was only then that Jun noticed that Nino wasn’t moving from his position on the grass.

“Don’t you dare sleep on me, Ninomiya-kun,” Jun whined, figuring that Nino was awake after the latter snickered.

Jun too lied down on the grass instead.

“If you were to go back to college, what course would you have taken?” Jun asked.

“Music, I guess.” Nino replied after a few beats.

“You play an instrument?”

“No, I sing.”

“Ohh,” Jun said in awe.

“Just kidding. I play the guitar.”

“That’s great! I was never gifted in that department.”

“How about you?” Nino said, sitting up and brushing away some dried leaves that was stuck on his jacket.

“I guess I would have taken Architecture or Interior Design,” Jun replied, still lying cozily on his bed of grass.

“It’s never too late, Matsumoto-san. They offer it here,” Nino said as he handed the brochure back to Jun before standing up ready to leave.

“Do you have an Instagram account, Ninomiya-kun? So I can tag you in the pictures,” Jun said in haste after he got up as well, a little worried that Nino would be escaping.

“No,” Nino quickly replied – a little too quickly.

“Really?” Jun said as he picked up his bags. “Oh come on, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“I really should be going now,” Nino said, hands in his pockets and almost ready to flee.

“Hey, I promised you hamburger,” Jun offered pleadingly.

“That’s okay,” Nino said harshly.

“Please, come on,” Jun said softly. The distinct sadness and disappointment in his voice broke Nino’s resolve to leave.

-

Jun took Nino to his favorite burger shop. It was incidentally named Jun’s Burger.

“Do you own this place?” Nino asked as he looked around. It had an American feel to it. Nino remembered that Jun previously posted photos of New York and Los Angeles so he must have had an affinity to American places and food.

Jun shook his head, merrily, recalling a fond memory of his first time to eat there. “I just happened to pass by around three years ago and noted a shop that featured my name, so I got curious. I have already tried a dozen of their burger varieties, and my favorite is the bacon cheeseburger. It goes really well with beer.” Jun said as they seated themselves on the couch near the window.

Nino ordered the basic burger with mozzarella sticks and a can of beer.

Nino was mostly silent, only responding when asked, and not taking the lead in the conversation. He was either staring out the window or staring at his food, and barely sparing Jun a glance.

Instead of being appalled, Jun felt sad. Just when he was able to solve the mystery of who Pazudorachef83 was, he at least wanted to get to know more about the guy, yet Nino seemed as closed off as ever. He had a wall so thick, Jun had to strategize in order to figure out how to break it.

Jun thought that honesty could work. There was nothing to lose anyway.

“You know, Aiba-san let slip that a friend of his was following my IG stories,” Jun started, observing Nino’s reaction. The latter merely hummed and continued chewing, pausing to wipe some sauce off his lips.

“Aiba-san also let slip that Café Aozora’s chef had a god’s tongue after I complimented the dinner. He was so excited when I signed the autograph for him, and after that he was always greeting me when I came by,” Jun said, as he watched Nino closely.

“Yeah, Aiba-kun can be really friendly,” Nino said, as he started to slide across the couch – closer and closer to the exit, choosing going to the restroom as an excuse to flee.

Jun continued, “I found it strange that what I post in my IG stories suddenly became the day's special every time I came there. I just happened to put 2 and 2 together. Aiba-san never mentioned your name directly,” Jun said everything in rapid speech to get his thoughts across before Nino would leave – or rather, to stop Nino from leaving.
“Look, I didn’t mean to act like a stalker. I’m sorry,” Nino said softly as he was already on the edge of the couch. “I just thought what you posted look so delicious, so I wanted to include them to our menu.”

“And here I was thinking too highly of myself that you tune it to my IG story updates like a regular TV program because it makes you happy and you want to do something in return for me,” Jun said, trying to lighten up the mood by acting cocky.

Nino stared at him.

“I have no intention of putting you on the spot by inviting you to lunch. Please believe that,” Jun said earnestly.

“What did Aiba tell you?”

“It’s not Aiba-san. It’s Sho.”

“Sho?”

“Sakurai Sho. The one who was with me the first time I visited your café. Sho-kun gave me an idea to check out who follows me on my IG stories. If you wanted to remain anonymous, you shouldn’t have posted things that will be directed back to you,” Jun teased. He regained confidence from Nino not showing signs of leaving anymore.

Nino merely raised his eyebrow.

“Glicoman?” Jun hinted.

“What about it?”

“Alright, long story short, one free day of boredom, I checked if people gave any attention to what I was posting on my IG stories, and I found a recurring username who was viewing my IG stories from the latest one to a few weeks back. Every day. Without fail. Naturally, it piqued my curiosity, so I visited his page and only noted 2 photos of what seemed to be screencaps of a ranking in a game of some sort. I didn’t add him as friend to not draw attention, but I have been checking out his page daily.”

Jun paused and took a bite from his burger, chewing leisurely. It was apparent that he was only doing it to spite Nino and make him wait. He knew Nino wouldn’t leave until he heard the end of it.

“And then one day – the day after my birthday to be exact – I was surprised that he posted an IG story. It was the picture of a man with a stupid growling pose with Glicoman in the background. It was really stupid. Most people would do a Glicoman pose with the Glicoman background. I mean, you can do a growling post anywhere, what’s the point? But the more I stared at the picture, the more I felt warmth. And inspiration. And yearning,” Jun said, his voice getting softer and softer.

Jun brought out his phone and scanned through the photos in his gallery. “I screencapped that photo,” Jun said as he showed it to Nino. He knew right away where to find it since he remembered the date it was posted.

“So that picture… inspired you? How?” Nino asked softly as he stared at the picture of Ohno’s stupid pose.

“Only a photographer with a connection to his subject can bring out such life in those eyes,” Jun said. “I wanted to be someone who could be that kind of photographer again.”

Nino looked straight into Jun’s eyes and realized what he was trying to say.

“MJmemoirs830.”

“Pazudorachef83.”

They both laughed at the situation they were in.

They have been unknowingly supporting each other, it seemed.

“But it’s not fair. You know a lot about me from my IG stories but I don’t know anything about you,” Jun whined as he ate the last bit of his burger.

“How about having dinner at my place one of these days then?” Nino asked.

“Smooth,” Jun swooned teasingly.

Nino merely narrowed his eyes at him.

“Did you really go out of your way to those restaurants to taste the food that I posted to be able to recreate the taste so I can eat it?”

“Shut up,” Nino said in annoyance.

“You're so sweet,” Jun wasn’t giving up in his teasing.

“Shut up! I’m leaving you and you’ll pay for everything,” Nino said.

“I planned to treat you anyway,” Jun said.

Jun had to meet up with his boss in the afternoon to talk about a new project with a client. Meanwhile, it was Nino’s day-off, so he decided to stroll around the neighborhood after he and Jun parted ways.

He passed by the neighborhood playground and immediately remembered Jun’s previous IG story. He hurriedly opened the video file and looked for the vantage point where Jun must have been standing in the video. When he found it, he took the same video while standing on that spot. He planned to save the video and upload it on a random day to surprise Jun.

He went to the market to get some inspiration for his next House Special. He had already prepared Jun’s cravings before, so the next menu was entirely up to him this time.

He passed by the vegetable sections. There were lettuces, cabbages, carrots, tomatoes and mushrooms of good quality. He figured that he could maybe widen their soup options. Not many people would actually go to a café for a meal but something as light as a soup can be eaten with their drinks. He bought some of each of the vegetables to try out the recipe that was brewing in his head. He still had meat and eggs at home so that won’t be a problem.

As he was about to pay, he saw a pack of tomato seeds and examined it. Memories of one of Jun’s IG stories in which a succulent wilted with the caption ‘no green thumb’ filled his mind.
‘I’ll show you a green thumb, Matsumoto Jun!’ Nino thought as he paid for his purchases, excited to go back home to start planting. He still had some spare pots and soil with fertilizer at home so he didn’t have to buy any.

Nino was amazed by how much Jun has influenced his life. In a positive way, of course, but at times to the point of being a maniac in a way.

As he was chopping vegetables for the soup dish that he was trying to make, he saw a notification in Instagram. He didn’t bother waiting for a few moments anymore prior to tapping on it since Jun already knew that he was one avid stalker.

Day 26: A picture of the university brochure from earlier. The caption was, “Maybe I should go back to university.”

Nino rolled his eyes, before he returned to his vegetables.

Upon reaching home, he had already prepared the pots and the soil and planted the tomato seeds. It would be really interesting if he had a vegetable garden at home and all the ingredients he needed were just within reach.

He prepared his rice in the cooker and went to get his phone to set-up the timer. He didn’t trust the timer on his rice cooker, so he had been using the stopwatch feature on his phone instead.

When he swiped on his phone, he found another notification, which he tapped right away.

It was a picture of him lying on the grass, a brochure covering his face. The caption was: “But only if a certain beautiful person would join me and hone his singing skills.”

Nino gulped. He cradled his face in his hands, hiding it, even though there wasn’t anyone other than him around.

He suddenly heard his phone ringing. It couldn’t be Jun, right? They didn’t exchange contact numbers earlier. Now that Nino thought about it, why didn’t they exchange contact numbers?
But that was beside the point.

He checked who was calling and he found out that it was Aiba. Why was Aiba calling him?

“Hello?” Nino said.

“Nino-chan! I’m so happy for youuu!” Aiba said loudly through the speaker. Oh, so that was why he was calling.

“Shut up and get back to work!” Nino shouted.

“You have to tell me everything tomorrow, Nino!” Aiba said excitedly.

“Get back to work!”

“Love you! Bye!” Aiba said before hanging up. Nino laughed at Aiba’s antics and worried a little that his friend was checking Instagram and making a completely non-emergency call during the evening rush at the café.

He proceeded with his cooking that already had a lot of distractions.

One was a light tomato soup.

One was salted barley soup.

They were both good in Nino’s opinion. One bowl of each and a bowl of hot rice made him full. He would have to make again tomorrow and gain approval from his boss if they would include those soups in the regular menu, unlike the House Special where Nino had free reign to decide.

-

The following day, Nino had an earlier shift in the café, so it also meant that he had an early off. Aiba still managed to drag him to a corner to make him spill even just the gist of it during his breaktime.

The boss approved of his new soup recipes and he had to prepare a list of groceries for the next day for one of their staff to shop.

He mindlessly skimmed through the channels on TV since he wasn’t really in the mood to cook for himself. He planned to just have cup ramen, play with his Nintendo Switch on the couch with the TV on a channel he had no interest in for background sound.

Since he was absorbed in his game, he didn’t notice right away that he received a private message in his Instagram account.

How about that dinner you promised at your place? came the message from MJmemoirs830, which Nino only noticed around half an hour after it was sent.

He didn’t realize earlier that he had Jun’s contact address all along. Hurray for social media.

I didn’t prepare anything and I don’t have ingredients, Nino replied.

Tell me what you’re planning to eat for dinner. I’ll make a quick trip to the grocery to buy the ingredients.

Do you have any request? Nino asked, passing the ball back to Jun’s court. He didn’t want Jun to know that he had just prepared himself a pack of cup ramen which was lying half-finished on the table.

How about pork ginger? I remember this certain restaurant at Ikebukuro.

I couldn’t possibly replicate that since I haven’t tasted it yet.

No need to replicate. I’m curious about your original recipe.

Alright, will be seeing you!

See you!

Nino sent his address thereafter. He quickly finished his cup ramen, and hurriedly threw it away to hide it from Jun, lest he be scolded for his unhealthy eating habits. He did a quick clean-up of his apartment to make it look at least presentable.

Realizing that he hadn’t posted an IG story in a while, he chose his tomato seedlings even if the picture was just after he had planted them, so it was just mostly soil on a pot.

His caption was:
“From here will rise a lovely tomato plant – my baby.
Green thumb *thumbs up sign emoji* unlike other people.”

A few seconds after, Nino was notified that someone named SakuSho125 started following him. Opening the person’s account, he figured that it was Sakurai Sho, Jun’s actor friend who also visited Café Aozora. Jun must have informed Sakurai Sho about the developments between them.

What were they exactly anyway? Jun and Nino. Stalkers turned friends? Nino was content with that. He learned a lot about Jun based on his IG stories, but Nino knew that there was so much more to learn.

Then came another notification. It was Ohno with a reply to his IG story with heart eyes. Nino knew that Ohno knew there was something going on, the latter just chose to be mum about it to give him space. He planned to visit Ohno again the next month, possibly with Jun this time if he would agree.

The doorbell rang a few minutes after. There was Jun with 2 bags of groceries, one on each hand.

“Hi!” Jun greeted.

“Hi!” Nino said taking one of the bags and inspecting the contents.

“Didn’t know you have a baby now,” Jun said smirking as he placed the bag he was carrying on the kitchen table.

“What?” Nino said distractedly.

Jun was already making his way to the veranda as if he owned the place.

“Oh, my baby tomatoes!” Nino said as he followed Jun. “I’ll show you that I can make them grow unlike someone I know who has no green thumb,” he said snarkily.

“How long have you been following my posts?” Jun looked at Nino with narrowed eyes.

“I wasn’t really counting,” Nino immediately replied.

“Oh really?” Jun said as he came closer, closing the distance between them even further, using his height to his advantage. “I remember quite vividly that my succulent died a little more than three weeks ago. I had a funeral for it.”

“You had a… funeral? For a succulent that wilted? By your own lack of green thumb?” Nino said, gaining the upperhand.

“Do you have a problem with that? Midori-chan was a good plant. She kept me company a lot,” Jun said without batting an eyelash.

Nino was impressed. Jun just gained extra points in his adorableness meter if that was even possible.

“You are one adorable human being, Matsumoto Jun,” Nino said in awe.

Jun was so taken aback by such directness that he slowly backpedaled.

“Tonight, we’ll be having pork ginger with rice,” Jun said, changing the subject, and bringing out the ingredients from the bag.

While Nino was cooking, Jun took a picture of his back in apron.

Day 27: A cropped picture of Nino’s back – hair not included. The caption that he indicated was “domestic life.” Beside it was a smiling emoji with 3 hearts surrounding it.

After preparing food, Nino noticed that there was a notification. He ignored and just quietly set the table.

“Come on, I'm sure you're curious,” Jun said, urging Nino to check his post before anything else.

Nino replied to the story with an emoji with eye hearts.

“I have always wanted to do that,” Nino said after sending, keenly observing Jun’s reaction to his reply.

“What, to reply to my stories or live a domestic life with me?” Jun said.

“Smooth,” Nino said as he handed a bowl of white rice to Jun.

“Are you not having rice?”

“I’m not so hungry. I’ll just be eating these pork slices.”

“You really shouldn’t be eating cup ramen before dinner.”

“H-How did you know?” Nino asked. He hid the empty cup ramen package in his bedroom since he had an inkling that Jun wouldn’t approve of his choices.

“Well if you are gifted with an extraordinary sense of taste, mine is an extraordinary sense of smell. I knew it when I came close to you and smelled your breath,” Jun said before a huge slice of pork into his mouth.

“So that’s why you were sniffing me when I first saw you,” Nino concluded.

“I found it strange that a waiter would smell strongly of spices,” Jun said. He suddenly remembered something he was curious about with regards to that day. “Was it you the one who added apples to the curry roux before it was served since you noted my IG story?”

“Busted,” Nino said merrily. He had already given up hiding his stalking escapades. He would even gladly show his collection of screencaps of Jun’s IG stories should the man ask.

-

“It’s not fair that you know a lot about me, but I don’t know a lot about you,” Jun whined. “All I know is that you’re a chef with a god’s tongue. You like to play games based on the number of gaming consoles you have in the living room. You have exceptional farming skills – I’ll take your word for it, but to see is to believe. You have a friend in Osaka who indulges you with your requests of random poses.”

“It’s Kyoto,” Nino said. “His name is Ohno Satoshi and he lives in Kyoto. He owns a bakery there. I was planning to go there again next month, and I was wondering if you wanted to come.”

“Sure! And can I have another serving of rice?” He said sheepishly.

“This is actually a little bit too salty, that’s why I needed more rice to neutralize the taste,” Jun teased, pointing his chopsticks on the meat.

“No, it isn’t,” Nino said confidently. “You just wanted more rice because the dish is really good.”

Jun snickered before he gulped down his beer. Nino stood up to fetch another can of beer for each of them.

‘You are one self-confident brat, Ninomiya Kazunari,’ Jun thought as he stared at Nino’s back. ‘And I’m absolutely willing to know more.’

Comments

[nicefinalbeam]

Ahhh, I am so pleased that my prompts/requests could inspire you to create such a cute and unique story! The timing on this couldn't be more perfect, since we're all sort of missing the instagram updates now ♥

I love that we were able to get an idea of who Jun is from the posts you created for him. His adventurous side, his love of food, maybe a bit of a picky nature, his moments of melancholy. I especially liked the nod to how he occasionally deletes posts and then redoes them to fix something LOL Given how much we all fall more in love with him as he posts, I'm not surprised Nino fell in love with him that way too!!

You incorporated the friendships into the story so nicely. Aiba teasing but supportive, Sho good company for Jun (and showed up in his Cloudy shirt! lol), and Ohno willing to go with the flow and be Nino's right hand man for his mission. I also liked how Nino was both aware enough of technology to use instagram and follow Jun, but lacking familiarity enough that he had no idea he would be seen viewing the stories LOL Adorable! It felt like he and Jun both got some mysteries to solve through interacting distantly and only catching glimpses and insights into who the other was, which was really fun!

Nino is DEFINITELY the type of man who would do something sweet, a big gesture for the person he likes. We've kind of heard indirectly as much ;) So I appreciated his wanting to make special meals for Jun, just to bring him happiness. That's romance right there! Glad it reached Jun's heart &heart; And Jun is right - Nino's very pretty!!

Thanks again for such an adorable, warm, sweet romantic story. I really enjoyed reading it!

[reveetoile]

This was totally adorable. I loved the description of the Instagram stories Jun posted and how they got closer to each other and are now definitely ready to start something new :D hopefully Nino's babies will survive ;)

I have to confess that until the end I thought there would be banter about how curry is better with either chocolate or apple since it seems that they have different favourites XD But I just love how much they take in about the others.

[mikunicchi]

Dear anon, this was a lovely and very warm story! I love how Jun and Nino got to know each other through the Instagram stories! It's so lovely and it made me smile through the whole story :")

It was unique but I love how uncomplicated their relationship is. They were so lovely towards each other really... I also love the other members' cameos too!


Thank you for writing this lovely story! I loved every minute of it! <3

[satoyan]

What a fun story! The instagram premise is really interesting and gives us so many chances to learn more about Jun and also about what Nino likes about Jun. I was glad to see Nino start to post more himself so we could get that about him, too! Nino and Jun are obviously the stars here, and they are awesome, and I also love Aiba, Sho, and Ohno, all of whom were good friends and delightful human beings. It was so great how Jun found Nino and how they began to be friends or more! They really seem to get along and inspire each other. Thank you for sharing! ♥

[jkc80]

Subtle stalker-ish flirting lol