Sakura adjusted her glasses, eyebrows creased, mouth slightly open as she scrutinized Kyle.
"It was you, wasn't it?" she mouthed, so that Tsumi would not hear her.
Kyle placed his hands on his chest, then mouthed back, "I don't know what you're talking about…"
Sakura frowned and Kyle smiled in response. He was about to go back to the kitchen when someone called out to him.
"Master Kyle, long time no see."
Kyle turned to face the man, his eyebrows furrowed. 'He must work for Tsumi.'
He had entered the moment Tsumi arrived, but Kyle was too busy trying to breathe to take a good look at the man.
From the way he looked, he was probably a few years older than Kyle, at least old enough to have graduated college.
But his dressing spoke little of his age; he was in a spotless black suit and a dark tie that gave him the appearance of a strict bank worker.
His brown hair was styled backward, each strand forced into submission through the help of a little hair gel.
"You may act like you finally have your life in check now, but I can see through your true perverted nature…"
He adjusted his glasses, his face stern as he spoke.
"A shop with only female workers? It is clear what your true intentions are. How disgusting."
'What the hell is wrong with this guy?'
Kyle frowned and massaged his temples before he suddenly looked back at the man. "Wait, don't tell me you're gay?"
"W-what is that supposed to mean?!" he breathed out angrily, his face already turning red from anger.
"It was just a guess… no need to get so worked up about it…"
The man frowned and straightened his posture. "It seems you are as vile as ever. No wonder your café is so—"
Kyle interrupted him before he could finish. "Sorry, but who even are you?"
It was as though a spear had been passed through the man's heart, and then his heart removed only to be frozen,
then shattered into a thousand pieces.
"Y-you… must think… such cheap jokes are funny," he said, practically trembling with rage.
Kyle raised a brow. "Umm, not really, I really can't remember who you are."
"I'm Haru! Your sister's assistant!"
Kyle scratched his head, laughing nervously. "Ohhh, Haru…"
Haru smirked proudly. "As I expected, it is impossible to forget a man of my calibre—"
"Doesn't ring a bell."
Kyle tapped his shoulder and smiled. "You can sit over there, I'll get you the menu…"
Before he could even say a word of retort, Kyle had already turned and was walking toward the counter.
'That bastard!!!!' Haru could feel his blood boiling.
'Does he think he can embarrass me and get away with it?'
His hatred for Kyle stemmed from the many repeated years of abuse he had suffered at his hands.
Back then, he was a rookie at the company, a fresh graduate trying to find his way in the world. Due to his talent, Tsumi spotted him and gave him the chance to spread his wings.
But then on one fateful day, he met her brother, Kyle…
Back then, Haru was actually anticipating their meeting. If Tsumi was such an amazing person, then her brother would be too, right?
Wrong.
Kyle was a demon in human flesh, the reincarnation of evil, an oni!
At first, it was simple errands, nothing too severe. Haru did not work for Kyle, but he obliged at first, since he was his boss's brother.
But Kyle took it too far. It went from minor tasks to Kyle handing all his work to him. He had practically become a slave, and there was no way to speak out… Tsumi loved her brother far too much.
And then the verbal abuse began…
"How dumb can you be? Don't you know the difference between diamonds and moissanite, four eyes?"
"I told you to convince Tsumi to invest more in my café! Are you so useless that you can't even get that done?"
"You know, Haru, the reason you have no bit*ches is because of that stupid haircut you have! Hehehe, I mean… does your mom style your hair?"
Haru remembered how he felt back then… his mother indeed styled his hair…
'I'll pay you back a hundredfold, Kyle!'
He had purposely followed Tsumi here today for that very purpose.
From what Tsumi said, Kyle bragged about more than doubling the café's sales in just the space of a few weeks.
'Bullshit!'
Even the most experienced entrepreneurs would struggle to pull off such a feat, and Kyle, a lazy good-for-nothing, sister-leeching scumbag, was claiming to do so?
He chuckled darkly.
'First, I'll reveal how much of a fraud you are to your dear sister…'
'And then I'll advise her to withdraw her investment from this miserable place!'
Tsumi finished talking to one of the staff and looked to where he stood.
"Haru? What are you doing over there? Let's eat!"
"I'm coming, Miss Kato!"
•••
Kyle walked over to where Tsumi and Haru sat, holding the menu in his hand. Without even looking at Haru, he passed the menu to him and his attention moved to Tsumi.
He placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Don't bother going through the menu, Tsumi, I already know what you like."
Tsumi smiled back at him and crossed her legs. "Alright then, I'll be waiting."
Meanwhile, Haru's eyes were locked on Kyle's arm. 'Get your hands off her, you degenerate! How dare you call Miss Kato by her first name?!'
Haru was steaming with rage, his fingers tightening on the menu to the point that the paper creased.
Kyle glanced at him and frowned. 'What the hell is wrong with this guy?'
Then he moved his hand to Tsumi's hair to undo her ponytail. The damn thing looked so tight that it was bound to hurt.
"You should relax while in my café; Sakura can help you redo it when you get back."
He undid the ponytail, feeling her soft hair flow past his fingers as he soothed it down.
"Mmhm," Tsumi replied while scrolling through her phone.
As for Haru, his face was raw red as a tomato, and Kyle could see little tears forming in his eyes.
Kyle raised a brow. "Umm, are you okay?"
Tsumi looked up from her phone as well. "You don't look so good, Haru. Do you want to go back to the office?"
Haru shook his head and cleared his throat. "I'm fine… it's just allergies."
Kyle stared at him for a second longer… the moment he took his hands off his sister, Haru seemed to relax a little.
'Huh?'
He placed his hands back on her shoulders and noticed how he straightened like a pencil, biting his lips like he was about to explode.
'Don't tell me…'
Kyle smiled darkly.
'Does this guy actually like Tsumi?'