Chapter 11: Rare Sight

"Are you interested in me?"

"WHAT THE HELL?!" I stopped and looked at him, obviously surprised.

"I just asked if you're curious about me. What are you thinking?" I immediately looked away from his questioning glare. How silly of me to think that he's asking if I 'like' him. But anyone can misunderstand that, right?

"Nothing. It's nothing."

"Then why are you acting like I said something embarrassing? Unless... are you thinking that—"

"It's not that I like you or anything okay?!" I immediately shut my mouth when I realized my words. Damn it!

"I'm not about to say that, but okay~" he replied, giving me a victorious smile. I remained silent, embarrassed because of what I said. Someone, please remind me to slap my mouth later for being too defensive. It's not even convincing! Me? Liking Aki? I never entertained such a thought, not even once. So why am I acting like this?!

"Uhh, how are things with Gray?" I attempted to change the topic. There was an awkward silence with the sound of the raindrops.

"Hmm, you're good at changing the topic." he smiled meaningfully.

"And you're good, no, an expert at annoying people," I replied.

"I'm good at annoying you, not other people," he said.

"Then why me?!" I hissed at him.

"Your reactions are amusing."

"I'm not your damn clown!" he chuckled, ignoring my previous question. He's also good at changing the topic, huh.

"Mom, I'm home!" I shouted as soon as we arrived home, waiting for my mom to open the gate.

"So, this is your place," Aki said while his eyes surveyed the area, still holding the umbrella in his right hand.

"Isn't it obvious?" I raised a brow at him. "You can go home now," I said.

"You still need an umbrella while waiting here."

"I can manage. Bye." I gestured for him to go away, but he stood still beside me. So stubborn! "I said just go—"

"Rin, you're hom— oh, you're with a guy? That's new." my mom said as she opened the gate, giving me a curious look while pointing at Aki.

"Uh, he just walked me home because Gin borrowed my umbrella. He's about to go home now." I explained and faked a smile.

"You should at least invite your friend inside for a cup of hot drink." mom replied. 'Friend' huh. I glared at Aki, clearly saying that I don't want him in my house.

"It's okay ma'am, I just walked her home and I have to go now," he said and gave my mom an apologetic smile.

"Yes ma, we don't have to bother him, he probably got a lot of things to do," I said, following his statement.

"Just come in and wait for the rain to stop, at least." Why is she so persistent about inviting him in?

"Thank you very much but—" "Please, I insist." mom cut him off and insisted, so we went inside. We have no choice.

"Here's your tea, and coffee for Rin," mom said and gave us hot drinks.

"Thank you, ma'am," Aki replied.

"You're welcome, dear. My daughter has never brought a guy friend here, so I'm curious who might you be?" I almost rolled my eyes at how my mom made it sound like he's special. She's the one who brought him here. I didn't even want to invite him.

"I'm Akio Tanaka, it's a pleasure to meet you,"

"Wow, you're 'the' Akio Tanaka? Rin told me so much about you." I faked a cough when I heard what mom said.

"Oh, I hope those are good things about me." he chuckled and sipped on his tea. 'Sadly no,' I thought.

"I think she looks up to you so much that you became the goal she wanted to beat—"

"MOM!" I hissed at her. I can't believe that's how she interprets it when I said that Aki annoys me so much that I want to beat him to shut him up.

"You don't have to be shy, my dear." mom said which made me make a face. I saw Aki sipped on his cup, trying to hide his smile.

"Anyway, the rain has stopped, he can go home now." I changed the topic out of embarrassment. Arguing with mom will make me look defensive, and she'll just tease me more about it.

"Is that how you should treat our visitors?" mom said with a hint of annoyance. Argh!

"No, it's okay ma'am. I have to go now. Thank you for the tea, and for your time." Aki said respectfully and put his cup on the table.

"You're welcome, dear. You can come here anytime." mom stood up and patted his shoulder. "Thank you, ma'am," he replied.

"You don't have to call me ma'am. Just call me auntie like how her friends call me." Why does she keep on seeing him as my friend? Well, it's better than assuming that we are dating, but still, he's a rival to me.

"Okay, a-auntie." his face reddened when he said that, which made me bite my lip to stifle a laugh. He's always composed and confident in front of others, that's why this is a rare sight. How I wish I could take a picture and use it to blackmail him, just kidding.

To be continued...