What happened between you two?

"Well, I think I'm in love," the black-haired hairdresser sighed while combing her friend's freshly dyed teal hair.

The blue eyes scanned the woman in an apron through the large mirror. Natsuo, who had asked to visit Ayumi at her shop, couldn't stop thinking about the phone call his roommate had received the day before.

"I have never seen anyone so beautiful, really. After the haircut, she invited me out for coffee," she added with a pleased laugh.

"That is great, but... did Jiro ever mention anything about me?" Natsuo finally asked, struggling to suppress the anxiety that had been eating him alive.

At first when he moved in, he thought the former bullied had a reason to take his previous tormentor under his wing, perhaps for an evil purpose. Now, Natsuo was more certain than ever that it was the truth after he exchanged words with the unknown woman on the phone.

"Oh, come on," Ayumi said and rolled her eyes.

"I'm telling you how I met the love of my life and you don't even care," she snorted.

"I do, but..."

Ayumi seemed to notice that her friend squeezed the cape around him so tightly that it crumpled up in his hands. His eyes were almost shut, his lips pursed, and his jaw clenched as he tried to control his emotions and keep his worries to himself.

"Okay, what is going on?" she asked with a sigh.

"Did he ever... explain why he invited me to live with him?" Natsuo asked and bit his lip.

"I heard you needed a place to stay," Ayumi said after a thoughtful look and tapped the comb against her palm.

"Did he never mention another reason? Anything about me? Anything at all?"

"Well, he told me you two weren't really close at school, but that was it."

"Is that all?"

"I don't remember. Have you two started dating yet or are you still in the closet?" Ayumi grinned and nudged his shoulder playfully.

Natsuo's eyes widened as the salon door opened and the person they were talking about stepped in. He had a blank expression on his face, but it quickly turned to uncertainty when he saw the two stop their conversation so abruptly. In his hands were several takeaway boxes, containing the smell of teriyaki chicken.

"Am I interrupting? I brought some lunch," Jiro asked with a raised brow, looking between his friends as he set the meals down on the counter.

The atmosphere suddenly turned uncomfortable as both men silently analyzed one another, without addressing each other in any way.

Natsuo had been flooded with so many questions and doubts since last night, but his mouth had been dry and his throat too tight to ask them. Their morning meeting had been somewhat awkward, with neither party understanding the other's intentions or the strange tension between them.

"Can you get us some coffee from the nearby cafe? I'm really craving caffeine," Ayumi asked with a sweet smile and batted her eyelashes like a puppy, clearly hoping the cute gesture would convince him to leave as fast as he had come.

"Sure. I will be right back," Jiro replied and swung around, zipping his tracksuit back up to his chin before leaving the salon.

The black-haired woman spun the chair around so that she could look her client in the eye. She probably realized that his request for a recolor wasn't because he cared about his hair, but because something might have really gone down between the housemates.

"What happened between you two? Why did Jiya seem so upset?"

Natsuo swallowed again, trying to decide whether to tell her the truth or just make up an excuse.

"Uh, well..."

"Are you forgetting that I will cut you if you hurt him?" she asked as she leaned closer, while the other one tried to shrink away from her intense gaze.

"Yesterday, his phone kept ringing with no name on it... I answered since he had been taking a long time in the shower..."

His mouth opened and closed as he tried to find the right words to describe the situation.

"Then a woman spoke... recognizing me and asking how I was still alive..."

Hearing that, laughter filled the salon, making the mood more lighthearted than it had been moments before. Natsuo looked at her confused, furrowing his brows as he tried to figure out what she found so funny.

"It must have been the skank from the bar. Do you remember the redhead? She is Izumi Yamasaki, Jiya's childhood neighbor. Her father owns the largest media company in Asia. She is super spoiled and crazy rich."

"So?" Natsuo asked, the tension in his shoulders easing a bit as he realized he could have been wrong.

"She is just a silly little thing, but she has been after him for quite some time - most likely spied on him, found something about you, and is trying to intimidate you. Just ignore it," she continued as she turned the seat back to its original position.

Natsuo still felt uneasy and his expression was clouded with confusion. The hairdresser's movements became more gentle as her hands brushed through the wet hair strands with care.

"You know, he said to me that he likes you a lot and that you might be his soulmate. It's the first time he has met someone like you, honestly. Don't let this silly little thing get in the way."

Slowly, as her words sank in, Natsuo lifted his downcast gaze to see her through the mirror.

"What did you say?" he asked in a faint voice, even though he heard everything she said.

"Well, Jiya has always been kind of romantic at heart, always believing in fairytales," she chuckled.

The young man was shocked and flushed by heat that spread through him. To hear the person he had very awkward feelings for, the one he had started opening up to, the one he felt so safe with, considered him to be a soulmate when he had already given up hope, thinking he was about to get betrayed and maybe even killed - it was a feeling beyond words.

"But earlier he looked at you as if you were a total pain in the ass," the woman laughed grimly.

Natsuo tore off the hairdresser's cape around him and dropped it on the floor.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Ayumi snorted, her face twisted with confusion.

With unusual energy, the young man rushed to the door. Some kind of instinct took hold of him, driving him out of the salon and towards the other man.

"I need to see him," he declared.

A determined look crossed his face as he opened the door and disappeared onto the street, on his way to find his roommate - perhaps even his soulmate.