Obey me

Both corners of Renji's mouth lifted, smiling meaningfully at the photo in his hand.

A tall, well-built man with orange hair, wearing a black suit, bowed respectfully right before him. "All the information about Miss Aira Hoshino has been gathered as thoroughly as you requested, Young Master."

"Well done, Fujita." He praised him with a feeling of satisfaction and contentment.

He slowly stood up from his chair while still holding the photo of the woman named Aira Hoshino. He stood by the room's window, where the view of Tokyo at night was clear and visible. Sparkling city lights decorated the city that never sleeps, always full of activity both day and night.

A few days ago, he met Aira, the woman he had encountered at a hotel ballroom during the wedding of a colleague's child a month earlier.

He didn't enjoy partying or attending various events because he hated always having to wear a smile, especially dealing with noisy and frivolous girls who continued to smile sweetly but falsely, hiding malicious intentions in their hearts.

If he were not an Ishikawa and if he were not handsome, the girls would likely have been competing to get close to him, seeing both his wealth and handsome face.

"Fujita. Clear my schedule for the next week."

"But you have to—"

"Tell Shiro to handle everything while I'm gone." He interrupted coldly without shifting his gaze.

"Understood, Renji-sama."

If an Ishikawa wants something, they will do whatever it takes to get it, even if it means taking it from someone else.

.

.

.

Two days passed since that night, the first meeting between Aira and the boy named Renji Ishikawa, the young man who had slept with her—or perhaps she was the one who had slept with him. Aira herself was confused about who the victim or perpetrator was.

Thinking back to it always made her heart sad and shocked. She never expected the first man in her life to be a boy still wearing a high school uniform. This wasn't an achievement or something to be proud of; it was a huge disaster.

"Hey, Aira." Saki called out, tapping Aira's shoulder.

"Eh~" Aira jumped in surprise from her daydream.

Sighing softly, Saki looked at her with concern. "I've noticed that you've been daydreaming for the past two days. Did something happen?" she asked, her face clearly showing worry.

Aira shook her head slowly. "No." She replied.

Saki pinched Aira's chubby cheek like a steamed bun. "That's always your answer," she huffed.

Aira chuckled softly, hiding the fact that she was troubled.

"Let's get back to work; I've had my break," Saki suggested, and Aira nodded.

The two of them returned to work after a short rest from their tiring job, but who would have guessed that the cafe was incredibly crowded, even with customers lining up outside, just like that time.

Saki and Aira exchanged looks, puzzled and confused by the unusual atmosphere of the cafe.

"Am I seeing things correctly?" Saki asked, trying to convince herself of what she was seeing.

"Yes. The cafe is crowded, but this is really strange," Aira agreed.

A young man with blonde hair in a butler outfit hurried over to Saki and Aira, his face slightly panicked.

Without saying a word, the young man grabbed Aira's hand and led her to a customer's table near the large window, forgetting about Saki, who had stood next to Aira just moments earlier.

"Issei-Kun?!" Saki murmured sadly.

At first, Aira was just confused by Issei's actions. Still, when her eyes caught sight of a raven-haired young man with eyes as dark as night staring at her intensely, her heart began to race, and her face turned pale as if seeing a ghost.

Why is this young man here?

Since when did he know where she worked?

So many questions filled Aira's mind, making her dizzy.

"Aira, serve this young master well because he's a special guest," Issei said, leaving them alone.

Aira wanted to protest, but Issei left too quickly, and she could only sigh in frustration as she lazily stared at Renji.

Renji smiled meaningfully while propping his chin, eyeing Aira's appearance from top to bottom in her maid uniform.

"Hello, sweety. We meet again," he greeted with a smile on his face.

"What do you want here?" Aira asked curtly, not at all friendly, as usual, forgetting that Renji was a cafe customer.

"Is that how you treat customers? Tsk, tsk…" Renji shook his head, pretending to be disappointed by Aira's rude behavior.

"I'm here as a customer, and you are the waiter who should serve me well so that I feel satisfied and happy."

"If that's the case, I'll call another waiter to serve you."

"No. I only want you to serve me, no one else."

"But I don't want to serve you."

"Why?" Renji asked, leaning his body forward.

"Because…" Aira trailed off, trying to find the proper excuse.

"Why aren't you answering my question, Miss Aira? And what makes me any different from the other customers? I'm paying here too."

"Yes, with your pocket money."

"Then what's the problem?" Renji asked as if cornering Aira.

Aira's lips closed tightly, unsure of what to answer because everyone, including Renji, had the right to come and eat here.

"Behave yourself, or do you want this cafe's reputation to be ruined, and no one will come here anymore?"

"Don't threaten me."

His arms crossed in front of his chest, and he leaned back. "I'm not threatening you. Just take a look at the situation in this cafe and out there."

"What does that have to do with you?"

"Because I made the cafe crowded," Renji said with confidence.

"This kid is so full of himself," Aira muttered in her mind, rolling her eyes in boredom.

"I just posted a picture of your cafe with a caption saying 'Relaxing while enjoying a cup of coffee,' and within an hour, all those girls started flocking here."

"Are you some kind of celebrity?!" Aira groaned, annoyed, and started to feel awkward about Renji's behavior.

"Don't you know who I am?" Renji asked, filled with deep curiosity.

"I know. You're Renji Ishikawa, a third-year student from Empire Gakuen," Aira answered confidently.

"Is that all?" Renji asked again, even more curious.

"Yes, that's all I know. Or are you an ugly alien disguised on Earth to spy on humans?" Aira replied flippantly, with a curt tone.

Renji immediately laughed out loud, not caring that his voice was so loud that all the other customers looked at him with the same thought: curiosity.

What had the waiter done to make Renji Ishikawa laugh when his image was known to be cold, arrogant, apathetic, stoic, never friendly, or even smiling at anyone? Of course, what was happening now was a rare, extraordinary event that had never been seen before.

"Interesting. You're really very interesting, and I'm starting to like you even more." Renji kept laughing, though not as loudly as before.

"But sorry, I don't like kids like you." Aira rejected.

"Even so, we've already spent a night mmmhh..." Aira quickly covered his mouth, making it hard for him to speak or breathe.

"Quiet. Don't continue," she said, still covering Renji's mouth. His eyes, as dark as the night, squinted sharply, which made her afraid. A few seconds later, Aira removed her hand from his mouth.

"I'll stay quiet and not mention what happened that night if you serve me," Renji said, giving her an offer she couldn't refuse.

Aira took a deep breath and exhaled quickly. Her face, twisted in frustration, now looked sweet with a broad smile. "Here's the menu at our cafe; feel free to take a look," she said as politely as possible while handing him the menu.

"What kind of food do you like?" Renji asked while pushing the menu away, as if uninterested.

"Excuse me?!"

"Are you deaf? I asked, what do you like to eat?"

She clenched her hand tightly, trying to hold back her emotions. "Calm down, Aira. Control your emotions."

Still forcing a smile, Aira tried to act as politely as possible, though her heart wasn't in it. "Omurice," she answered.

"I'll order that and Ocha."

"Just that?"

"Yes, and don't take too long. I hate waiting."

"If you don't want to wait, just eat at a fast-food restaurant. But if you want to eat here, wait 10 minutes. Your dish will be ready: one omurice and ocha," Aira said flatly.

"My order must be delivered by you, no one else."

"Okay," Aira replied with a highly forced smile. She walked quickly, leaving Renji's table with feelings of frustration. Once she reached the counter, Aira handed the order slip to one of the kitchen staff.

"One omurice!" yelled the young man with red hair working in the kitchen.

Aira's work wasn't finished there; she had to return to serving customers and delivering orders. Everyone was busy today, and no one was relaxing.

Secretly, Renji watched Aira work, serving customers with a constant sweet smile. Among them, some flirtatious men kept teasing her, gazing at her with longing, making him heartburn. If it weren't part of Aira's job to always be polite, he would have gouged the eyes of those men for daring to stare at his woman.

Renji was annoyed and then realized that Aira's uniform could be slightly revealing. Wasn't it supposed to be a waitress' outfit that short, showing off Aira's long, beautiful legs for free to the men with bad intentions?

Renji's order was ready, but just as Aira was about to bring it to him, Kana intervened and offered to do Aira's task instead. Of course, Aira gladly handed it over to Kana.

However, minutes later, Kana returned to the kitchen with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Saki, who bumped into her, was confused and shocked. "Why are you crying?"

"That person is so cruel, he called me a lowly woman and slut."

"Who dared say something cruel to you?"

"The handsome young man sitting at the table near the window."

When Saki looked for the young man Kana had mentioned, her fierce expression, like a tiger, disappeared instantly and was replaced with a sweet, cute demeanor when she realized that the man Kana was flirting with was no ordinary person.

"Stop crying, just pretend you didn't hear it."

"Why did your attitude change, Saki? Weren't you really angry and wanted to defend me?"

"It's not that I'm disloyal, but the person you tried to approach earlier is from the Ishikawa family."

"Really?"

"Yes. We all know exactly who the Ishikawa family is, and how influential they are in this city."

Kana could only stay silent, resigned, and unable to do anything. No wonder the young man had been so cold and curt. Had she known that the person she was serving was an Ishikawa, a noble family with ties to the palace, he would have acted respectfully.

Knowing that the dish she ordered was being served by someone else, not Aira, annoyed Renji. He complained to the cafe manager, feeling he hadn't been adequately served. Of course, the cafe manager apologized and kept trying to calm Renji down, urging him not to get angry or say anything bad about the place, as his words carried much weight.

.

.

.

Her beautiful, lightly made-up face was turned away in reluctance as she looked at the young man before her, smiling happily as if he had won something.

"Have you eaten?" Renji asked, breaking the silence between them.

"I ate earlier this morning," Aira replied flatly.

"That means it's been several hours. You should eat something soon, or your stomach will get upset," Renji said with concern.

"I'll eat later, my break hasn't started yet."

"Eat now. When I tell you to eat, you have to eat," he said commandingly.

Aira raised her head, her eyes staring sharply and deeply into his. "Why do you like giving orders so much, and expect all your wishes to be followed? Yes, I work as a waitress here, but that doesn't mean my dignity can be trampled on. And if you truly are a young master from a rich family, you should know proper manners. You can't just act however you want just because you're rich and have everything, thinking you can trample over us poor people," Aira said at length, venting her frustration with tears in her eyes, her patience worn thin from Renji's reckless behavior.

Before sitting here, the cafe manager scolded Aira for her rude attitude towards Renji, saying that that young man wasn't just anyone.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." Renji's face showed deep sadness and guilt as he watched Aira cry.

"It's fine, forget what I said. You rich young masters always act like this towards us," she recalled her bleak childhood.

Aira's emotions had been unstable lately, or she was going through mood swings.

Aira stood up, unable to stay close to Renji any longer, especially since he was sitting there, watching while her friends worked.

"Where are you going?" Renji grabbed Aira's hand.

"I'm going back to work," she replied, brushing off Renji's hand.

"Aren't you working now too, sitting here with me?"

"I'm a waitress, so I have to be polite and kind to every customer, but I'm not a host in a nightclub who sits with customers, drinking or eating, trying to make them happy. That's not my job." Aira stared sharply at Renji, then leaned in so their faces were close.

"I greet your arrival, seat you, offer the menu, take your order, then deliver the food for you to enjoy, and that's my job here as a waitress," Aira explained with a hissing tone before leaving Renji sitting frozen.

His right hand touched his left chest, gently squeezing it, feeling the unusual pounding of his heart.

Thump.

His heart was beating faster than usual, and all of it was because of Aira.

Yes. The woman with long black hair had truly captured his heart and attention again. And this wasn't the first time this had happened.

Years ago, long before their meeting at the hotel ballroom, Renji and Aira had met, and back then, Renji had fallen in love with her at first sight.

Reaching for his smartphone, Renji contacted his trusted person. "Fujita, I want you to take care of something about Asahi Cafe for me."

"What do you need me to do?" Fujita asked on the phone.

"There's something I want there, and I have to get it," Renji said coldly.

"How much time do you need?"

"As soon as possible."

"Understood, Young Master."

Renji hung up the phone with a crooked smile. "This time, you will definitely obey me, Hime."

…