Chapter One

Spring 15

It has been approximately two weeks since Minori arrived to Oak Tree town. It was a relatively impulsive decision on her part, after she had seen the advertisement for a new farmer while working as a server at a restaurant in the neighbouring city. Minori did not like life in the city; it was constantly busy and everyone seems to be just a background character to everyone else. By these standards, Oak Tree town was the complete opposite of the city, which is a nice change that Minori welcomed with open arms.

While the change in environment was something she enjoyed, Minori could not help but feel a little regret leaving everything else behind in the city - her family, her friends, and mostly the regret of making such a drastic career change. Prior coming to Oak Tree town, Minori had zero clue when it comes to farming. The closest thing to growing anything is the measly little cactus by the window sill in her old apartment.

This is the reasons why Eda seemed like a fairy godmother to Minori. For the first week Minori moved to Oak Tree town, Eda had been kind and showed her the ropes from planting seeds to taking care of livestocks. In addition, Eda opened her home to Minori, claiming that Minori was the granddaughter she never had. Despite not being in the best condition, Eda brought Minori to tour part of the town as well as to meet the townsfolk. From the tour that Eda had given to her, the town gave Minori a similar welcoming vibe as Eda had. Minori had expected a close knit community, but being in the actual environment was something else. It was almost a cultural shock to Minori, seeing the way everyone knew everyone else and no one was anyone's background character.

Minori was a creature of habit and one of the habits was to get a daily routine going. In the two weeks since she had arrived, she had developed a routine that consists of waking up at six in the morning, eating breakfast, and then watering her two patch of crops. After that, she would roam around collecting wild flowers and materials such as rocks and branches. The latter was an advice from Gunther, since he knew how many materials it would take to build farm buildings and these materials do not come cheap. During lunch, she often found herself at the restaurant ordering the cheapest item on the menu, due to being low on funds.

Even then, Raeger would usually give her more food than he usually would. After all, being a farmer required lots of energy. And besides, his grandfather used to tell him that a satisfied customer would always be a returning customer. So far, Raeger's grandfather has yet to be proven otherwise. At least, that is what Raeger thought at first. However, over the course of the two weeks since Minori has been at Oak Tree town, Raeger had slowly been anticipating the lunch hour when he would serve potato pancakes to Minori and sneak in a small conversation while serving other patrons. As much as she enjoyed the company of the town's chef, someone else caught the eye of Minori. Someone tall and with an untamed dark hairstyle.

Someone whose name is Klaus.

There was something about Klaus that attracted Minori, although she could never figure out what exactly it was. His gentlemanly mannerisms could make any girls go weak in the knees and his cologne, while minimal, has a very calming effect. At least, that was the impression that Minori had after they met for the first time in the mountains. It was a relatively brief introduction, where she learnt of his name and that he was a perfumer by trade. At the end of their initial encounter, Klaus had invited her to come over to his place for tea someday.

And that was the very reason why Minori found herself in front of Klaus' door. For some reason, she felt weird showing up in front of his door out of the blue. Part of Minori was arguing with the other half of her conscience. What if it was at an inconvenient time, or what if he was not even expecting her?

No, that can't be true. Klaus had invited me to his home. Minori reminded herself as she shook her head. Her hand raised to his door, half determined to knock on his door when she heard a deep voice behind her.

"You have been standing there for a long time now, haven't you?"

Startled, Minori immediately spun around, albeit too quickly as she found herself losing balance. However, she managed to recover her balance before she toppled over the steps in front of the door and making a fool out of herself.

Klaus, equally startled by the new farmer's lack of balance, apologized instantly. He only meant to tease Minori after watching her hesitate to knock on his door for a while. However, at the back of his mind, he wondered about the reason behind her dilemma. He could not help but assumed that it was due to his old age. After all, what possible reason could there be for a young woman like herself to seek the companionship of an old geezer like himself?

Minori felt color rise to her cheeks and she suddenly became shy in the presence of the perfumer. It was embarrassing being caught having a dilemma about knocking on his door in addition to losing her balance so easily. Minori's eyes fell to the ground as she bit her lips, struggling to find the courage and words to explain her reason being there.

The dark haired man let out a small chuckle. It was amusing to see how easily flustered the new farmer got and Klaus found it a little endearing. When a dame is in distress, he can't not help her out. It defies his code of conduct as a gentleman. He smiled at her, "I am assuming you are here for tea?"

Minori finally gathered the courage to look at him, but a nod was all she could do. Her mind screaming at her for acting uncool and it was mentally exhausting her. Minori knew that this wasn't a date or anything like that. Heck, she didn't even know if he was interested in her in the first place. However, Minori still wanted to make a good second impression. And so far, she was failing miserably.

As Klaus stepped towards her to open the door, he caught a faint trace of her smell for the first time. Is that a mixture elderflower and… strawberries? Klaus wondered as he unlocked the door and held it open for Minori. As she entered through the door, Klaus took note of her scent once more. Ah, yes, definitely a faint touch of strawberries. He confirmed. Being a gentleman meant that women walked close to him as he held open the door for them, which is something Klaus did not mind as it gives him a second to notice their scents. A minor perk as a perfumer, but also a little creepy one nonetheless. Usually, Klaus would not think twice when it comes to noticing the scents on other people. However, something about sniffing Minori's hair as she walked past made him feel like a pervert.

Despite his internal struggle, Klaus' smile did not falter. His wild younger days had trained him to keep that smile regardless of his emotions. That was the only thing he did not mind from his past.

Once inside, Minori looked around. It was the first time she visited Klaus, and she had to admit that the decor definitely mirrored his personality. It was simplistic, yet sophisticated at the same time. Minori was surprised to find that he managed to keep his place so clean and organized. Judging from his jacket and the color of his wallpaper, Minori had the impression that Klaus' favourite color is green.

Klaus told her to take a seat as he went to put the kettle on the stove. "So, I am sure this has been asked multiple times, but what made you decide to become a farmer at Oak Tree town?" He asked. Sure, he had heard rumours mostly from Marian and Iris, but he thought it was always better to ask in person than to believe in hearsay.

Automatically, Minori started giving her practiced spiel. The same one she had given to everyone else in town that had asked her that question; She wanted a change in pace, and that the city was too loud and how everyone seemed to be background characters of everyone else. She did not lie per se, but neither did she tell the full truth of her wanting to move. The spiel seemed to satisfy everyone's curiosity for the most part, except Klaus.

Logically, it all made sense. Yet, his instincts told him there was something more to the story than Minori was letting on. However, Klaus did not want to push any further. He knew that there must be a reason why she decided to hide the truth and it is not in his position to ask for it anyway. Perhaps she would be more comfortable with sharing her full story with him in the future.

If she does not get creeped out by an old pervert like me by then..

Klaus tried to shake that thought out of his head. He had not asked her about her age, but he guessed she was in her early twenties and that would make their age gap approximately ten years. If he were to pursuit a romantic relationship with her, that would make him feel like a pedophile. He disliked the thought of that and decided that he would just be platonic friends with her.

Yet deep in his heart, he felt a twinge of loneliness as soon as he made that decision.

Oblivious to all of Klaus' internal struggles and thoughts, Minori managed to calm herself down from her nerves from earlier. Little did she know that traces of the perfumes Klaus had produced at his desk lingered within the four walls of the house and worked its magic as Minori breathed. She felt peaceful. Watching Klaus as he prepared tea for the both of them, Minori could not help but notice how handsome he really was. His charm was much more refined compared to Raeger's. It gave her the impression that he was dependable and trustworthy. Definitely the qualities she would want in a romantic partner.

"So Klaus, " Minori asked, "what brought you to Oak Tree town?" She had been inquiring what the locals thought of the town in order to get a sense of what it has to offer, since she is unfamiliar with the area. So far, the tranquility of Oak Tree town has been the main reason for the townsfolk.

He thought about it for a moment before answering, "I was born and raised here."

While technically the truth, he had moved to the city during his teenage days. The city was, in his opinion, a dangerous place for a young adult; the misuse of drugs and alcohol were rampant. As much as he hated to admit, he had fallen prey to the rush of the city. However, now that he was older, he outgrew that lifestyle and wanted nothing more than to settle down somewhere quiet.

Minori had not expected Klaus to be born here. From what she knew, majority of the townspeople migrated to Oak Tree town. And that includes Raeger who had some connection with the town before officially moving here. The chef had told her that his grandfather lived in the town for several decades and Raeger would occasionally visit him as a child. However, he moved to Oak Tree town to take over his grandfather's restaurant once he had learnt of his grandfather's declining health.

Both Klaus and Minori chatted some more until the door swung open, putting their conversation to an abrupt stop. Immediately, they turned their heads only to find a pink haired intruder standing in the doorway.

"Klaus-" the doctor cried out exasperatedly, but stopping mid sentence when he saw the new farmer sitting in the couch in front of him. His facial expression changed from a frustrated one, to a shocked one, and then he raised an eyebrow. "Oh my my, sorry to interrupt there. I'll stop by again later," he said quickly as he gave a wink and a smirk to Klaus.

Minori immediately got of the couch, "Oh no, it is fine. I think I might have overstayed my welcome." She gave a small smile to Klaus and thanked him for the tea and his time, before walking towards Marian to exit the building. As she stepped through the doorway, she paused for a second to take a last look at Klaus and said, "I'll see you next time, maybe?"

Klaus smiled and said, "Anytime."

After the new farmer left, Klaus let out a small sign. He did not realize that he had been tensed throughout the Minori's visit. For some reason, her presence made him nervous and it was something he had not felt in a long time. Marian, observing the perfumer as Klaus rolled his shoulders back in an attempt to relax his muscles, chuckled to himself.

"So, Minori eh?" Marian teased.

Klaus, being friends with Marian for many seasons, knew exactly what he was trying to hint at. Not biting Marian's bait, he feign ignorance, "Yes, what about her?"

Marian smirked. He would have to slowly pull out the details from Klaus if he wanted to know exactly how Klaus felt about the new farmer. After all, in this small town, nothing ever happens and any small news worth gossiping over helped Marian stay sane. That was why when rumours of a new farmer arriving to town, Marian was all about it. And when he found out that the new farmer was a female, in her early twenties no less, he knew the bachelors in town would be in some way seeing her as a potential romantic interest. Of course, that included Klaus as well despite Marian knew how much Klaus did not want to admit that he was one of those said bachelors.

"You know, " Marian prodded, "what do you think of her?"

Klaus was not going to admit that he was nervous around the new farmer, and he surely was not going to tell Marian that he felt a little disappointed that she was too young for him to consider as a romantic interest. Klaus sighed and finally said, "as far as I could tell, she's a good girl."

Displeased with his answer, Marian raised his eyebrows. "She's a good girl and...?"

Klaus looked at his old friend but made no efforts to say anything else. He could not say more about Minori even if he wanted to; he had only spoken to her on two separate occasions. He did not know much about Minori, but there was only one thing he was certain - he was too old to be pursuing her.

Marian sighed at the lack of response from his friend. He was aware from the look on Klaus' face that Klaus would be tight lipped about his emotions right now. He gave up with the prodding and said, "here I thought that having the wrong mascara sent to me would be the most frustrating thing of the day, but it seems like I was wrong." Marian shook his head for dramatic effect, "It turns out to be you instead!"

Marian gave an exasperated look at Klaus, doing everything he can to prevent himself from nagging at Klaus for the millionth time. The Klaus from ten years ago was vastly different than the Klaus sitting in front of him right now, that Marian knew for sure. Ever since that incident five years ago, Klaus' entire demeanor changed. Klaus became much more reserved and it has honestly worried Marian more than he wanted to admit. He somewhat knew the internal struggles of Klaus, but nothing Marian did could snap Klaus out of it. In Marian's opinion, Klaus was not an old man like Klaus painted himself to be. He's a charming man and Marian would have totally ask him out if Klaus was not as straight as a ruler.

The doctor sighed once more. It would be better if he let Klaus be for now and prod for more details later. In a softer voice, Marian said, "Seems like you're not in the mood to talk, so I will come back later." The doctor left as he closed the door behind him, leaving Klaus alone with his thoughts.