The place they chose for this meeting was an elegant, but rather small venue. 

The entire eating area was tastefully decorated with traditional tatami mats, pillows for sitting and short tables. As far as I could see there weren’t many people around and the tables were separated by folding screens. This allowed for people to meet intimately, not being worried about prying eyes, but at the same time giving off the feeling of being in a community.  

As soon as I entered, I was greeted with a polite bow. After stating my name and business, a waiter took me to a table in the far-left corner. I was offered water and left by myself to wait for the rest of the party.

Kurosawa-san was going to arrive shortly as well. He said he couldn’t leave the office earlier so, instead of picking me up, he would be coming straight to the restaurant.

While I waited for that half an hour, I finally managed to reign in my emotions. I was still a bit nervous, but far less than when I had arrived.

Just as I was about to look for a waiter to order something to drink, I saw a man dressed in a stylish dark gray suit coming over to my table. His black hair was slicked back, showing a wide forehead. His eyes looked penetrating as he was glancing around. Even from afar, this person exuded strength and authority. 

I was suddenly reminded of the Chinese idiom ‘standing out like a crane among chickens’. This truly fitted the man perfectly. I was sure that, wherever he went, he would attract people’s attention.

After looking around for a short while, this ‘crane’ turned his head and stared in my direction. Our eyes locked and he shot me an enchanting smile. 

At first, I thought I was imagining things, but no sooner had I shaken off the idea, that the man came towards me with large strides.

“I hope I haven’t kept you waiting long.” He said politely, but still maintaining the same smile as before. “My name is Asakura Ryuu and I am here to meet with Masato Keita-sensei.” He finished with a bow.

“Ah, hello Asakura-san. My name is Masato Keita.” I replied, getting up hastily and returning his polite bow.

“Yes, Kota-san showed me a picture of you when we met last time, so I recognized Masato-sensei immediately.” He said casually. “Though I must say, you are more good-looking in person.” He finished in the most natural tone possible.

Again, with the good-looking. How many people have called me that so far? And why is it that I never knew before that I was this kind of striking person?

But at this point, I couldn’t help but be impressed with Asakura-san. 

This was clearly a man polished in high society. The way he carried himself was truly outstanding. Every gesture, every look, his entire person gave off a feeling of power. His voice was low and magnetic, and his manners appeared courteous and refined. There was really nothing unpleasant about this person.

While I was idly assessing him, Asakura-san was busy fixing me with a focused gaze. The corners of his lips curled up and he gave me a less business-like smile. Before I could register it well, he took a seat and gestured for me to follow his example.

“Did you wait long?” Asakura-san asked right after I sat down. He was looking at the empty glass of water I had in front of me.

“No, not really. I just arrived much too early.” I replied giving a small smile in return to his polite inquiry.

“Were you that eager to meet me?” he asked casually and rather teasingly. It surprised me a little that he dropped the business-like manners so quickly.

“More like nervous.” I retorted lightly, waiting to hear how he would reply. 

But he merely smiled and remained silent.

Though I was taken aback by the casual manner in which Asakura-san began talking to me as soon as he arrived, I didn’t want to appear narrow-minded. 

Who knew how great minds like his thought? So it was best not to get into a conflict right from the bat.

Right then, the waiter arrived.

“Is coffee alright or do you prefer tea?” Asakura-san asked me before the waiter could pose his polite inquiry.

“Uhm, green tea for me. I don’t like coffee very much. Thank you.”

“Then I’ll have black tea.” Asakura-san told the waiter.

After we were left alone, he leaned back slightly and fixed me again with his eyes.

“I noticed that you are very honest with your words, Masato-sensei.” He said, looking rather pensive.

I watched him carefully for a few moments. His eyes never strayed away from my face, as if he was studying me. 

I didn’t like the feeling so I decided to speak bluntly. It was best to let this person know of my real character right from the beginning, in case things might get complicated further on. I was never good with slick people and I never had a glib tongue.

“I don’t have a reason not to be honest. If I don’t like something, I’ll make sure to stay away from it.”

“Hmm, is that so?” he asked, brushing a hand across his chin, continuing to look thoughtful. “In that case, what do you think of this place?”

“I think it’s a very nice-looking restaurant, very suited for this kind of business meeting.”

“Do you like it then?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good then.” He concluded by himself, startling me.

Come again? Why exactly does it matter if I like it or not?

“To be honest, I had a hard time picking the location for our meeting.” Asakura-san continued to speak in a candid manner. “Kota-san had previously warned me that you do not like crowded places and tend to stay away from people. Finding a restaurant without many people, while still being in good business wasn’t an easy task. I am glad I was able to make the right choice with this one.”

“Kota-san told you about this?” I was surprised. Wasn’t Kota being too open with this information?

“Yes. He also mentioned that this was actually the main reason for refusing our request to have you join our initial planning team.”

“It’s quite true. I did want to refuse at first.”

“Then why did you decide to accept in the end?”

“I wanted to see my story brought to life in a movie.” I blurted out before I could stop myself. 

I knew I said I would be honest, but maybe not to this degree. It was a bit embarrassing.

Asakura-san stared at me silently, making me feel uneasy. Then, I heard him laughing.

“There you go again. Such blunt honesty is really hard to find nowadays.”

“I’m actually not that impressive. There is someone even better at it than me.” I said, Kurosawa-san’s face appearing in my mind at that moment.

“Oh, is that so? Someone even more honest than Masato-sensei?”

“Yes. I believe that I began to open up and be more honest about my thoughts after I started working with him.”

“He sounds very impressive. And who might this person be?”

“He…”