THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM . . .

— a practice/test for me to write in present tense lolol

"So—" the boy spins around in his chair, now facing Yashiro as he stared her down, his golden eyes glinting against the sun that reflected off from the window behind him— "you chose my service, huh? Why is that?" He asks, propping his elbow on his wooden desk as he stares deep into Yashiro's magenta eyes. A moment of silence washes over them for a while, before Yashiro snaps out of her daze and finally responds.

Yashiro gulps from the intensity, but she's unable to look away. "I-Is that a rhetorical question? I feel a bit intimidated here for choosing your services," she admits, gripping the ends of her skirt when he chuckles, the sound making her heart do summersaults in her chest.

"I'm just curious, miss. It's what I ask my customers everyday!" He says, clapping his hands together once as if he's excited about something—though, he's probably excited about the money he'll receive. It's what they do nowadays anyway. "Gotta get to know the customers before I find the perfect match for them, you know?"

Yashiro sighs to herself. "Of course, of course, Mr. Matchmaker. You're the boss here, after all."

He winks. "You got that right." Yashiro frowns at him. Is she really that desperate she's resorted to a Matchmaking Services? She looks around, eyes flickering from interior to interior, seeing framed pictures of him and probably his friends. This seems promising, at least. Highest rated Matchmaking service yet.

"Any answer to my question or are we just gonna stare at each other like this?" He teases, lips curled into a smirk that Yashiro blushes at. "Not that I mind, of course."

"I . . . I have been getting lonely lately—"

"Aren't we all?" He mumbles, fiddling with his pen that has a spaceship keychain dangling on it.

"—and I'm getting a bit too desperate that I scare them off. I just want to rely on someone who'd find a match for me easily instead of jumping on a guy that's in my line of sight," Yashiro admits shyly.

He lifts his chin and stares at her for a moment, unblinking, before he turns away and smiles again. "I see."

"See . . . what?"

He chuckles and stands from his chair, hands placed on the desk as his figure looms over hers. "You can call me Hanako, by the way, miss. And I, Hanako, have immediately found a match for you."

Yashiro's eyes sparkles with elation, fawning over the thought of having found her soulmate that easily.

- - -

"How did it—"

"Horrible," Yashiro grumbles, all but slamming her butt down on the leather chair across Hanako's, a deep frown on her face. "It went absolutely horrible. He was such a jerk! He admitted he didn't like my ankles—yet he still led me on for weeks! The nerve he has."

Hanako grimaces. "Yikes. Hehe."

Yashiro turns to him with a sharp glare, effectively shutting Hanako's mouth. "Don't hehe me!" She snaps.

Hanako smirks, amused at her reaction, but then he quickly hides it away with an empathetic smile. "Ah, sometimes the right guy might just be right in front of you, you know, Yashiro?"

Though, that was a complete fail because Yashiro goes on once again. "I want another! Not a jerk like him! I want a charming prince who has respect!" Images of ideal boys constructed by the high expectations, fake world of fairy tales flashes in her mind. Yashiro swoons at the thought of a boy that will sweep her off her feet.

Hanako sighs and slumps on his seat. "But of course, ma'am." He scrolls through his computer a bit as his hums fills the air, eyes shifting back and forth on the screen, fully aware that Yashiro is watching; patiently waiting for his next move. "Huh, look what we have here. A match already."

Yashiro beams and hops on over near his desk, oblivious of Hanako's sudden flustered reaction of her invading his personal bubble. "Oh! Minamoto Teru? He looks very handsome."

Hanako coughs and looks away from her ( very close ) excited face, trying to hide the red that dusted his cheek. "Y-Yeah. He's a popular one. You sure about him?"

"Yes!"

- - -

"So?" Hanako asks, bored, half-lidded eyes staring at Yashiro. "How did the date with Prince Charming go? I'm only hoping you had fun, at least."

"I did." Hanako looks away from her at this. "Really sweet and charming, but I don't like him," Yashiro admits, catching Hanako by surprise. "I realized I was only using him. That was cruel of me. I think it's about time . . . I stopped this nonsense, don't you think?"

"Such a shame, isn't it?" Hanako says, beckoning Yashiro to scoot closer so he could comfort her. Of course, Yashiro in tye midst of emotional vulnerability, welcomes his hug with open arms. "You don't have to look too hard, Yashiro. Be patient. You're only starting out as an adult, right? No rush."

Yashiro hums. "Yeah."

"Besides, I have one last match for you," Hanako tells her, noticing the way she frowns at his gleaming eyes. "Third time's the charm, am I right?"

"But . . . who is it?"

Hanako smiles. "You're looking right at him, Yashiro." The said girl's eyes widen quickly, mouth agape. "You can call me Amane from now on, yeah?"

- - -

Yashiro: I—

Amane: What a shame, If you were mine you would not get the same

mind telling me if y'all think I should write like this more often? It gives me a chance to be more descriptive so it's very nice tbh

Though, it's a bit hard to get used to.

Sorry for unpublishing chapter 98, there were a lot of errors and i wasn't in the right state of mind to notice it.

Thank you for reading tho! ❤️