Koshiro 0.4

The sudden knock on the door from the waiter made all of us jumped in our seats. We cooked our food and moved on from the morbid topic. Before our desserts came, I excused myself to the restroom and accidentally bumped into Hiro as he went out from one of the other private dining areas.

He was dressed in a casual long-sleeved white shirt and black denim pants. He still had his signature clean look, but the casual clothing changed his image ever so slightly.

"Hey Hir– "

"Shh… not here," he dragged me into the janitor's closet.

"Why are we hiding?"

"Why are you here? Are Michael and Suze here too?"

"Yeah, we came to celebrate our victory at the Alpha house event."

"Dammit. I forgot about that. Is Suze upset?"

"No, we were all concerned of your well-being. I heard about your dad."

"Who told you that?" he searched my eyes, "never mind that. It's much more complicated than you think. And you should probably stop talking about it randomly. I'm afraid most of my surrounding had been bugged."

"By your un– "

"Not a peep about that, please," he covered my mouth.

I nodded as he released his hand.

"Don't tell them I was here. Go back in there like nothing happened. Look for my car after you're done eating with them," he pushed me out.

What just happened? What did I get myself into? Questions upon questions shrouded my mind as I strolled back to our room. My appetite had gone away as the frightening idea of potential malice arose in my mind.

I spent the rest of the meal in silence as Clause and Suze shamelessly made out with each other. Michael and Claudia were no better. They managed to disappear and sent a text saying that we shouldn't wait for them.

"I think I'll go home now. I have a biochemistry essay due tomorrow," I uttered.

No one seemed to be bothered by my absence. I walked towards the cashier, she nodded and said that it had been taken care of by Master Hiro. I toured the packed parking lot for his Jaguar when I spotted the back of his head. He was pacing up and down the lot next to his expensive ride.

"There you are, I was getting worried. Get in, I'll explain on the way," he started the car.

"On the way where?" I put the seat belt on.

"Drive-in cinema," he smiled at last.

*****

The drive-in cinema was set up in an old empty parking lot with a huge billboard as a projector and people would pay tickets for a parking spot. There was a drive-thru snack and drink bar on the left side of the lot.

Hiro bought two cups of soda and parked at our spot as we waited for the movie to start. The movie playing tonight was "Kiki's Delivery Service". I got too excited about the experience that I had forgotten about the main reason we were there.

"Sorry to drag you into this whole mess, but I think you are the only person that I can talk to right now," he handed me a blanket from the back seat.

"But what about your other friends? We barely knew each other," I took a sip of my soda.

"Well, they would be too opinionated and emotionally involved. Besides, they would annoy me."

"So, what is this all about?"

"Have you noticed anyone following you today? Or even touched you accidentally?"

"What? Not to my knowledge," I awkwardly fidgeted my straw.

"Sorry, I'm just being really cautious and paranoid. I need to make sure we're not bugged," he peered at his rear-view mirror.

"Excuse me?"

"As you already know, my dad's not in the best health condition. Who knows how long he's got? My uncle had just landed in Shang-Francisco for the first time since my grandpa died. I know he's planning something to inherit the company from my father."

"What about your brothers?"

'I just had a meeting with them. My oldest brother has our father's official will, my middle brother is in charge of the family security system, and I am in charge of minimizing activities that may support my uncle from acquiring the company if he challenged the will," he sipped on his soda.

"Wait, that still doesn't explain why you're telling me all this," I covered myself with the blanket.

"I hired a PI to follow you around and track your activity. You seemed to be innocent and good-willed."

"Thanks?"

"I believe that you're a trustworthy person and you're resourceful. I've personally witnessed it during our debate session. So, I need your help."

"My help? This sounds serious. You're an experienced litigator. I'm a biochemistry major," I turned to face him.

"Exactly, you're the perfect decoy. If you accept my offer to help me win this case, I will refer you to any company you're interested to work for," Hiro gave an unsparing stare.

"Um… what?" my head was spinning as the movie started to play in the background.

"If you agree to pretend to date me for a specified time period to help me research materials and evidence that will help my family win the company over my uncle's family, I will help you secure an interview to work at Eijkman."

"How did you– "

"I'll give you time to think it over. A file of the contract is in this USB, delete it after you have read through everything. Meet me in the school carpark by 3 P.M. tomorrow if you have decided to sign it. I'm open to negotiate over the terms and condition of the contract.

"Make sure you're not being followed or bugged. I know you would be smart enough to cover your tracks. Now let's just enjoy the movie," he explained as he stealthily passed me an ice cube-shaped USB under the blanket.

I didn't ask or say anything further. We spent the rest of the movie in silence except for the occasional responses to a scene in the movie. If his uncle's sole purpose of returning was to claim the company, then my short and meaningless interaction with Hiro would have had triggered a reaction. My privacy had been compromised just by being in his car right now. My brain wouldn't stop thinking of the consequences of my potential actions.