Chapter 4 - Punch the Apple-Holder

Waking up the next morning was something that Mishana was definitely not looking forward to, especially with the awkward tension she would have to look forward to at work.

She just had the irksome feeling that somehow, someone would figure out what was going on between her and Haida. And anyone with common sense would know that that kind of news would spread like wildfire in a small office, resulting in the metaphorical burnt forest that is her dignity.

But as Misha rode the subway to work, she was glued to her phone when she noticed a top trending article about a high-tech CEO dating what seemed to be a small office worker.

Small office worker, huh? I wish I could strike gold that easily, Misha thought to herself, and suddenly realized that maybe this hype would help distract everyone from the skeletons in her closet.

Misha eventually arrived at work, and headed to the women's locker room to get dressed. No sooner had she entered the room had she noticed how all of her female coworkers were also gossiping about the same article, which eased her nerves even more.

"Hey," a calm voice greeted, and Misha frantically searched for the owner of the voice until she finally looked down and saw Fenneko. Fenneko was also busy staring at her phone, but some of her attention seemed to be on Misha as they walked out of the locker room.

"Hi," Misha replied back nervously.

"Did you see that article yet?"

"Yeah. Whoever that chick is is lucky. Most people can only dream of finding such a rich guy who isn't a snobby prick."

"How do you know what he's like?"

The two girls eventually entered the accounting office, and Haida couldn't help but perk his ears and listen in on their conversation.

"I can just tell by the look on his face. All bark and no bite."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"Depends on who wears the pants in the relationship. If it were me, I wouldn't mind because I'm a badass either way. I'd have that pretty boy wrapped around my finger."

Fenneko finally looked up from her phone in curiosity, "So, Tadano's your type?"

Misha chuckled, "You ask a lot of questions."

"I'm inquisitive. I can't help it."

"Yeah, well, to answer your questions, I guess I couldn't care less what kind of guy I found. As long as he's not an asshole, we'd clash just fine—and I do mean that as a double entendre."

While Misha was too busy laughing at her own joke, Fenneko effortlessly noticed the blush that crept onto Haida's face. The blush darkened when Misha took her seat next to him, and he tried to ignore his embarrassment by focusing on his computer screen.

Haida's reaction to the mention of sex made the wheels in Fenneko's head turn, as she pondered every possible scenario they would want to hide. Fenneko figured she shouldn't make too many assumptions since Haida was prone to being so flustered, especially around girls.

Then again, Haida normally only acted like this when he was around a girl he really liked; Retsuko, for example. But Haida wouldn't give up his crush on Retsuko for a girl he just met—would he?

He might just be falling in love again, after all, Fenneko mentally noted.

The work day went a lot smoother than yesterday, much to Haida and Misha's relief. Neither of them had much trouble communicating, or ran into each other to create more awkward situations.

This didn't go unnoticed by Kabae or Fenneko, however. The hippo and the fennec knew something was still up, but they wanted to be fully aware of even the slightest changes; otherwise, their plan to play match maker might crash and burn.

Fenneko caught up with Misha after clocking out, and walked with her into the break room when the latter wanted to get something to eat. But when the two walked in, they stumbled upon the odd sight of Haida amping himself up for a fight by throwing punches at nothing in particular.

"What's all this?" Fenneko was first to ask.

"Ya have ta ask?" Haida replied without even bothering to look at them, "I'm—gonna punch Tadano!"

"That tech nerd? What'd he do ta you?" Misha questioned.

"And aren't you, like, his biggest fan?" Fenneko added.

"I was a fool before," Haida growled deeply, and whipped around to show the girls a magazine with Tadano on the cover, poking his picture with an intense index finger, "What's this apple-holding son of a bitch want with a girl like Retsuko?!"

"Oh, so just because he's holding an apple, he's automatically an asshole. I can get behind that," Misha joked with a smirk before walking over to a vending machine.

"You don't understand! This guy's gonna get bored, and break Retsuko's heart! That's why I gotta punch him right in the face!" Haida snapped.

"Real subtle with the jealousy," Fenneko informed flatly, "We all know you're not gonna punch him."

Haida scoffed while stomping out of the room, "Just you wait. It's time for some whoop-ass."

After Haida left, Fenneko averted her attention to her other hyena coworker.

"How do you think it's gonna go?" Fenneko asked.

"What? Haida confronting Tadano?" Misha began with a scoff, "Yeah, I'm stayin' outta that one, thank you very much. If he's fighting for a girl, then he should by all means go on his own. It's pretty embarrassing for a woman to fight a guy's battle, anyway."

Fenneko simply nodded, "True."

"Why do you care so much?"

"Haida's been crushing on Retsuko for years. I've been trying to help him make the first move, but he just never gets the courage."

"Huh. Haida doesn't seem like the kinda guy to back down so easily."

"What makes you say that?"

Misha shrugged, "Even if he's a bit of a pansy when it comes to sharing his feelings, he's not afraid to speak his mind most of the time. He's probably just had so much bad luck with girls in the past that he's lost so much confidence now."

Fenneko didn't know why she never thought of that before, especially since it makes so much sense. She cursed her tendency to over-think things, leading to her missing out on solutions that are just plain simple.

"I guess you're right," Fenneko admitted.

"And even if I'm wrong, who's to say Retsuko and Tadano's relationship won't go wrong, thus sending her right back into Haida's arms?" Misha rambled on after getting her snack, and nonchalantly left the break room.

Fenneko didn't have anything to say to that, as she stayed behind and thought about what Misha said. Something about Misha's phrasing made it sound like she wanted Haida and Retsuko to be together. And if so, why? There were too many layers to this situation, but Fenneko was determined to break through each and every one of them.

I wrote this in the span of two hours before work, so I'm sorry if this chapter feels a bit rushed. Anyway, we're finally moving story-wise...kinda.

Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!