Chapter 1

OPEN

"Destiny comes in a cup of café latte."

Dew drops greet the leaves good morning as the sun continues to rise and people welcome the day. The sea sparkles as the sun hits its surface. The wind blows a cool breeze. It is a good day for Kyoto.

Kyoko walked along the cracked-cemented sidewalk observing the surroundings and can't help but admire the city. 'Wa... Such a peaceful morning... Don't get to see a lot of this in Tokyo.' She thought to herself as she closed her eyes and felt the cool wind slightly caress her cheeks. The fresh scent of nature was enticing and made her heart at peace. Then, she opened her eyes and came to a stop. She finally found the shop she was looking for.

"Well, here you are…" She smiled reading the shop's name. "Café Latte."

Her gaze shifted towards the door knob and saw the "Open" sign. She pushed the door slowly and went inside the store gracefully.

As she stepped in, she looked around and was amazed looking at tall shelves one after the other. She was astounded with all the mangas arranged alphabetically. Shelf after shelf, she scanned the mangas carefully. There were mostly old ones but she could spot some new ones too. 'I wonder if it's here. Please be here…' She pressed her lips hoping that she did not waste her time coming to the place. "Well, it's still 7:30 a.m. I still have more time." She said, giving a quick glance at her watch.

Ren was busy putting out the newly arrived mangas from the box and checking their condition when he heard the bell ring. "Yashiro, can you check who came in please?" He asked expecting a response, but there was only silence. He looked around and noticed his co-manager wasn't inside the room with him. Then, he remembered. "Oh yeah, He told me he was going to get more supplies for the café ten minutes ago." He placed the mangas in his hands back in the box and stood up. 'This is actually a rare occasion to have someone visit the shop early in the morning' He thought to himself, walking out of the room while dusting off his hands.

Kyoko was immersed in her own thoughts while searching for the manga. 'I thought this was only a small shop. I mean I knew that there were a lot of manga titles beginning with D but I never expected this shop had almost everything. Looks like President Lory knows his manga shops.' She began looking at the bottom part and slowly went up level by level till she reached her height level and looked up. 'Damn. I didn't find the manga yet and there are still 4 more levels which I can't even reach.' She looked around for a step ladder but can't find any.

Ren spotted the figure at the "D" shelf and went over to assist the customer. "Can I help y-" But before he could finish the question, he suddenly found himself shocked at the woman standing in front of him. Probably around 163 cm, she had long, orange, soft curly hair and those honey-colored eyes sparkled like diamonds. She had a slender figure and her skin was flawless. He realized who this familiar female was.

She was none other than the famous actress, Kyoko Mogami. Starred in 28 movies, all of which were a hit, her fame was unstoppable. People would certainly die just to have an autograph from her, even Ren who saw all of those movies. And here she was; standing in front him without a single care in how she looks. She wore the simplest clothing: a plain gray t-shirt and jeans. She had no typical make –up on, none of those eyeliners and thick mascaras at all. Yet, her beauty still stood out. She was simply breathtaking. Ren was absolutely surprised to see her in his shop and he just couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Mou… This simply won't do. I need to get up there." Kyoko looked around once more and was startled to see a man standing at her right. "Eh-?"

Ren was still absorbed in observing her delicate features until he noticed his eyes met hers and came back to his senses. "Uhm, What are you looking for?" He asked politely, still starstruck.

"Oh, yes, I was looking for a manga called "Daydream" or "Dream Oracles". Actually, I'm not sure of the title but I can't find Dream Oracles in the bottom. So, I figured it must've been Daydream." Kyoko replied, looking at the upper levels.

Ren followed her gaze and wondered if she was looking for the old 1980s manga. "Was the author Hito Murami?"

"Yes! That's him. Did I get the title right?" Kyoko looked back at him gleefully.

Ren slightly blushed seeing the actress smile at him. "Uhm, yes, you were right. The title is Daydream. Hold on, let me get it for you." He reached for the book on the 3rd level and gently removed the dust off with his hand and gave it to her.

Kyoko received the book happily and touched the cover. She was certainly excited to read the manga. 'Yes! I finally found you! Yoka-'

"Eto.. I don't really recommend that manga by the way. Uh-" Ren cleared his throat thinking that maybe he shouldn't have commented at all.

Kyoko stared at the man who interrupted her train of thought and began to digest what he said. "What? Why?"

"Well, uhm…" He loosened his tie. Maybe it was wrong that he tried to object her choice of mangas. After all, she's a famous star and he just owns a manga shop. "I think the story is kinda lame." Ren looked down hoping she won't get mad.

Kyoko's eyes widened at his blunt remark. 'Lame? Is this guy serious?' She was about to retort when she saw with her peripheral vision that there were tables laid out and so she took a glance. "You have a mini café in your shop?"

Ren looked back up and shifted his gaze to the café. "Yes, sometimes readers like to have a cup of coffee or tea while reading the manga they bought." He smiled and realized he wasn't the only one too.

Kyoko smiled and pointed to the café. "Can I sit down and have a cup of coffee too?"

"Oh! Yes." Ren immediately walked to the counter while she followed. "What coffee would you like?"

"Surprise me." Kyoko sat on the table right across the counter where she could see Ren preparing the coffee. She crossed her left leg over her right with the book on her lap observing his features.

He was tall, flawless skin, dark brown hair with bangs flowing nicely on his face, and he seemed like a soft spoken guy, could probably be a one-word man but he spoke earlier so that cancels that. He was actually handsome, a gentleman at that, and there was something about him that caught Kyoko's attention but she can't figure out yet.

She watched him walk to her table with the coffee in his hand, gently putting it down so as to avoid spilling. She looked down at the cup and was surprised. "Is this… café latte?"

'Uh-oh… did I make a bad decision to go with that? Is she mad?' Ren couldn't figure out if her reaction was good or bad. 'Maybe I should've gone with a machiatto instead.' "Yes, uhm, you don't like it? I can change it right now." He reached out to get the cup back but Kyoko stopped him.

"No, I love café latte." She smiled.