It was almost 10 PM by the time I made it back to Manna’s Kitchen. The whole run here, my mind kept spinning with one persistent worry: What if Keiko already left?
I could almost hear her scolding me in my head. But the moment I saw the restaurant lights still on through the window, I smiled like an idiot.
The main sign was already flipped to CLOSED, and the entrance door was locked. Of course, good ol’ Keiko never forgot to lock up.
I made my way to the back, pulled out my spare key to the staff entrance, and quietly slipped inside. The whole place was dead silent, with just the hum of the fridge and a faint clicking sound from the office computer.
I tiptoed toward the little office next to the staff room. And there she was — Keiko. Sitting slumped in her chair, back facing me, head tilted slightly to the side. Fast asleep in front of the computer.
I sighed softly.
This stubborn girl… you’re really working yourself to death, huh?
Her face was peaceful. She looked like a kid, mouth slightly parted, a bit of drool at the corner of her lips. Damn, she was too cute. I honestly debated whether to let her sleep longer, but I knew she hadn’t eaten. I couldn’t leave her like this.
I gently tapped her shoulder.
“Keiko…” I whispered.
No reaction.
I tried a little firmer.
“Keiko…!”
This time, she jolted awake like a cat who just heard the vacuum start.
“Gahhh!!” she gasped, her eyes wide in confusion before she noticed it was me.
“Surprise,” I grinned, striking a silly pose.
Her face twisted between shock and a pout. “W-what?! When did you get here?”
I put on my most smug expression. “Maybe two hours ago? I’ve been watching you sleep for a while.”
She froze.
“You WHAT?! I’ve been asleep that long?!” she panicked, glancing down at her watch.
“Oh no—wait, the report! It’s already… it’s—”
She stopped mid-sentence when she saw the time, her gaze slowly locking onto me with a deadly glare.
“Ryusei…” she hissed like a demon from a horror movie. “You… are… DEAD.”
I burst out laughing, leaning against the desk.
“Your reaction was too cute! How could I not mess with you a little?”
She grumbled, cheeks flushed pink, trying to act mad but failing miserably. “You’ve gotten way too good at teasing me lately,” she pouted.
“I’m a fast learner,” I winked.
Then I pulled out a convenience store bento from the plastic bag I brought.
“Here. Eat something first before you collapse. Sorry, it’s just from a konbini. Everything else was closed already.”
Keiko shook her head, a warm little smile appearing.
“I love konbini meals. Thank you.”
I helped unwrap it for her, ruffling her hair gently.
“Dummy. Don’t overwork yourself. You’re not a robot.”
She gave a little nod, stuffing a piece of karaage into her mouth, cheeks puffing up like a hamster. It was dangerously adorable. I sat next to her and booted up the computer.
“Alright, I’ll help you finish this. Just tell me what to do.”
“You sure? You’re not busy escaping double dates with Junpei and Ruka?” she teased with a raised brow.
I laughed.
“Oh, you wouldn’t believe it. Turns out those two were like fireworks. Chaos fireworks. Junpei was trying so hard to be cool — leaning on the table, calling himself ‘Junpei-sama,’ buying shots he couldn’t afford… I swear he’s one bad pick-up line away from being arrested.”
Keiko chuckled. “And Ruka?”
“Surprisingly chill about it! I thought she’d flip, but nope — she was grinning, humoring him like she was watching a monkey do tricks. I think she enjoys watching him embarrass himself.”
Keiko snorted. “I wish I’d seen that. Then I saved you from secondhand embarrassment. You owe me.”
I gave her a sly side-eye.
“Fine, fine. You win.”
We kept chatting while I helped retype some of the lost report.
Turned out she was almost done before the computer crashed on her. Poor girl. She hadn’t even noticed how hungry and tired she was. And all this time… she didn’t complain once.
When she finally finished her meal and the last few lines of the report, she stretched her arms high and let out a big yawn.
“Ugh… I’m sorry Ryusei, for making you wait this long.”
I checked the clock. It was 10:40 PM already.
I shook my head and smiled.
“Don’t apologize. I like spending time with you.”
Her hands froze mid-stretch. A faint pink spread on her cheeks. “D-Don’t flirt with me right now.”
I chuckled, leaning back in my chair.
“But I’m not flirting. I mean it.”
Keiko huffed, but she couldn’t hide that little smile creeping up. “You’ll regret it. I swear…”
She went quiet, typing the last save file, then shut the computer down. I figured that was the end of it — until she stood up, turned to me, and her face shifted into this determined, almost awkwardly shy expression.
“I told you,” she muttered, stepping closer, “you’d regret it.”
“Huh? Regret what—”
Before I could finish, she grabbed my face with both hands and kissed me.
It wasn’t a shy, clumsy peck. This was firm, certain, like she’d been bottling it up for ages. She pressed her lips against mine, her hands holding me in place, and my brain short-circuited.
I barely managed to kiss her back, following her lead as she climbed onto my lap, deepening the kiss. Her hair brushed my cheeks, and I could feel her heart racing against mine.
I didn’t expect this side of her. Hell — I’d dreamed of it, sure, but Keiko was always the guarded, level-headed one. She rarely takes the initiative either, so seeing her make the first move like that completely caught me off guard.
When she finally pulled back, her face was bright red, eyes wide in horror at what she just did.
"Let’s stop now, or else we’re going to end up sleeping here and cause even more trouble." I chuckled and pulled her into a hug, resting my chin on her shoulder.
“Good work today, Keiko,” I whispered, gently rubbing her back.
She didn’t say anything at first, just buried her face against my neck like she wanted to disappear.
“Let’s go home,” I said softly. “Rin's probably worried we're not home yet, we did tell her we'd be back around 10pm.”
Keiko gave the tiniest nod, refusing to lift her head.
I kissed her temple, grinning like a fool.
“You’re so damn cute, you know that?”
She groaned.
“Stop it.”
And just like that, we cleaned up, locked the place down together, and walked home side by side under the night sky.