Matchmaker Mayhem
Chapter 103: Looking Ahead—Tokyo Awaits

Chapter 103: Looking Ahead—Tokyo Awaits

The town had quieted for the night, leaving only the faint hum of streetlights and the occasional rustle of a breeze through the trees. Ava and Ryan strolled along the cobblestone sidewalks, their fingers loosely intertwined.

This was their town. The one where everything had changed.

Where Ava had inherited the tea shop—and, much to her dismay, the matchmaking business—from Mei, her grandmother, who had been all too eager to "retire" and pass the legacy on. Where Ryan had walked into her life, turning matchmaking from her profession into her personal battlefield.

They walked at a leisurely pace, hands entwined, the distant buzz of streetlights filling the silence.

It had been months—maybe years—since Ava had thought about the life she had before this madness. Before Mei had dragged her, kicking and screaming, into the world of matchmaking.

Before Ryan Kim had become an unstoppable force in her life.

She sighed, swinging their hands slightly. "You know... I never actually planned for any of this."

Ryan glanced at her. "What, matchmaking? Yeah, I figured. You tried to reject every client Mei sent your way."

Ava groaned. "Ugh. I was supposed to be a wedding planner, Ryan. You know, a logical career where I could focus on beautiful things instead of meddling in people’s love lives."

Ryan snorted. "Right. Because weddings never involve drama."

She elbowed him. "Not my problem if they did."

Ryan grinned. "And yet, here you are."

Ava let out an exaggerated sigh. "Because my grandmother is a menace."

Ryan smirked. "She’s your menace."

Ava huffed but didn’t argue. Instead, her mind drifted back to where it all began.

---

She still remembered the first time she’d taken a matchmaking case seriously.

She had just finished organizing an extravagant wedding—the kind with a seven-course dinner, a fireworks finale, and a trained dove release—when Mei ambushed her in the tea shop.

"Darling, weddings are nice and all, but don’t you think you should be fixing things before they even get to that point?"

Ava, exhausted and covered in flower petals, deadpanned. "What?"

Mei waved an ornate business card in her face. "Matchmaking, Ava. It’s your true calling."

Ava had laughed. Loudly.

And then immediately ignored her.

That is, until Ryan Kim walked into the picture.

The man was a menace.

A smug grin, a job as a top divorce lawyer, and a deep-rooted belief that marriage was a terrible idea.

He also had an annoying habit of showing up at the tea shop to drink Mei’s expensive tea while making snide commentary about how matchmaking was just a well-dressed gamble.

"You’re selling people a fairy tale, Ava."

She bristled. "I’m finding people real connections, Ryan."

He smirked. "Tell that to my clients."

She hated how much she wanted to wipe that smirk off his face.

And somehow, between all the debates, all the statistics, all the arguments about logic versus instinct... they had kept circling each other.

Until the fights turned into teasing.

Teasing turned into late-night conversations.

And late-night conversations turned into something neither of them had been ready for.

---

Tomorrow, they’d leave it behind—at least for a while.

For Tokyo.

For something bigger.

"You’re quiet," Ryan said, glancing at her with an easy smile.

Ava sighed, swinging their joined hands lightly. "Just thinking."

Ryan smirked. "Dangerous."

She nudged him. "I meant about Tokyo, smartass."

He hummed, his thumb brushing lightly over her knuckles. "Ah, the chaos capital. Mei’s going to be in her element."

Ava groaned. "You think she’ll actually stay behind and let me handle things for once?"

Ryan shot her a flat look.

They both burst into laughter.

"Yeah, no," Ava admitted, shaking her head. "She probably already has her ticket booked."

Ryan chuckled. "What about Harold?"

Ava narrowed her eyes. "If Mei goes, Harold goes."

Ryan sighed dramatically. "So we’re not actually going to Tokyo alone. We’re going with TheChaosDuo."

Ava exhaled. "Unfortunately, yes."

She glanced at him as they walked. "You used to be insufferable, you know."

Ryan smirked. "Used to be?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Do you want to be single before we even get to Tokyo?"

Ryan laughed. "Nah, I think I’ll keep you."

Ava rolled her eyes, but the warmth in her chest was undeniable.

They reached the small park near the tea shop and settled onto a bench, the quiet hum of the night surrounding them.

Ryan stretched his arms across the back of the bench, casually pulling her closer. "So. Have you given any more thought to my Tokyo wedding idea?"

Ava groaned. "Ryan."

He grinned. "Hear me out."

She sighed, letting her head rest against his shoulder. "How exactly do you think we’re going to pull off a wedding in Tokyo?"

Ryan stuffed a hand into his pocket, looking way too casual.

"I mean, we’re already going," he mused. "It’s got all the elements. Exotic destination, romance, food—"

"—matchmaking samurai," Ava deadpanned.

Ryan snorted. "See? Perfect setting."

Ava groaned, rubbing her temples. "Ryan."

He pulled her closer, his voice lower now. "I’m just saying... wouldn’t be the worst idea. Everyone important will be there. It’s efficient."

She arched a brow. "Since when are you about efficiency?"

Ryan smirked. "Since I realized I don’t want to wait forever to marry you."

Ava’s breath hitched.

Oh.

Ryan, sensing her rare moment of speechlessness, chuckled. "See? You like the idea."

She exhaled. "I didn’t say that."

He nudged her. "You didn’t say no."

She groaned, hiding her face against his shoulder. "Mei would literally turn it into an international event."

Ryan nodded. "True. She’d probably get the Emperor of Japan to officiate."

Ava snorted. "And Harold would write a ten-page wedding poem."

Ryan grinned. "Sounds about right."

She sighed, lifting her head slightly to meet his gaze. "You really wouldn’t care where it happens?"

Ryan shook his head. "Not at all."

Ava searched his expression, heart softening.

The man had gone from cynical divorce lawyer to the most ridiculous romantic in existence.

And somehow... she loved every second of it.

Ava sighed, half-amused, half-exasperated. "You are seriously suggesting we get married in Tokyo?"

Ryan tugged her closer, his grin impossible to resist. "I’m seriously suggesting that I don’t care where it happens, as long as it’s with you."

Ava froze.

Her mind was ready to argue, to tease, to brush it off.

But her heart?

That traitorous thing skipped a beat.

She swallowed. "You’re ridiculous."

Ryan just leaned in, pressing a soft kiss against her temple.

"And you love it."

Ava sighed. "Unfortunately, yes."

---

They sat down on a park bench, overlooking the small lake that reflected the town’s streetlights like scattered stars. The night air was crisp but not cold, a quiet hum of distant traffic blending with the rustling leaves.

Ryan stretched an arm across the back of the bench, tilting his head toward her. "So, are you ready?"

Ava didn’t answer immediately.

She looked at him.

Then down at the postcard Mei had left her—the one with Tokyo’s skyline shimmering against a deep blue sky.

She thought about everything.

The chaos.

The challenges.

The way Ryan had walked into her life and somehow made it better without her even realizing it.

She exhaled.

Then, with a slow, knowing smile, she looked back at him. "With you? Always."

Ryan’s expression softened. He squeezed her hand, lacing their fingers together like it was the most natural thing in the world. He brought her knuckles up to his lips, pressing a kiss there, lingering just long enough to make her heart stutter.

"Good," he murmured. "Because I don’t plan on doing any of this without you."

Ava smirked, squeezing his hand back. "Even if I make you sit in the middle seat on the plane?"

Ryan chuckled. "I’d suffer through it for you."

"Big words, Kim," she teased.

He grinned but didn’t argue, just stood up and pulled her to her feet effortlessly. "Come on, let’s go home."

Home.

The word settled between them as naturally as their footsteps fell in sync, their hands still entwined as they walked back through the quiet streets.

Ava had never thought of her apartment as home before—not in the way Ryan said it, like it was something they already shared, something that had stopped being just hers the moment he started staying over.

She glanced up at him as they walked, admiring the way the soft glow of streetlights caught in his features—the strong lines of his jaw, the easy confidence in his stride.

Ryan caught her looking. "What?"

Ava shrugged. "Nothing."

He smirked. "Liar."

She rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything else, he pulled her in, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Are you admiring your fiancé, Lee?" he teased, voice warm and low.

Ava huffed, tilting her chin up at him. "I don’t know, am I?"

Ryan leaned in, brushing his nose against hers. "Do I need to remind you why you said yes?"

Before she could come up with a comeback, his lips were on hers—slow, deep, and deliberate. The kind of kiss that left no room for doubt, that stole the air from her lungs and replaced it with him.

Ava sighed into it, gripping the front of his jacket, pulling him impossibly closer.

When they finally pulled back, breathless, Ryan smirked. "So? Any regrets?"

Ava shook her head, smiling. "None."

He grinned, stealing another kiss just because he could before wrapping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side as they continued the walk home.

No more distractions.

No more doubts.

Just them.

And whatever came next.

---

The next morning, the airport was bustling with the kind of early-morning energy that should be illegal.

Ava barely had time to process anything before they were handing over passports, checking luggage, and somehow getting through security without Mei causing a scene.

(She had definitely tried. The security officer was not amused by her "travel matchmaking survival kit.")

Finally, they boarded the plane, finding their seats.

Ava sighed, settling in next to Ryan.

Ryan, still looking entirely too smug, tapped the armrest. "Window seat. Yours."

Ava grinned. "Because I called dibs."

Ryan leaned in, his lips brushing against her ear.

"No," he murmured, "because I like watching you light up when you see something new."

Ava’s breath hitched.

She turned, searching his expression.

And damn him—he was serious.

She swallowed, then, feeling ridiculously warm, turned back toward the window.

Ryan just smirked, reaching for her hand as the engines roared to life.

As the plane lifted off, breaking through the clouds, Ava tightened her grip.

Excitement fluttered in her chest.

And as she held the Tokyo postcard in her free hand, she smiled.

With Ryan by her side, she was ready for whatever chaos came next.