@Wickedhero
I know he is genuinely looking for a relationship
...are we reading the same manga, or is this comment meant for some other story out in the wild 'dex?
He
is already in a relationship, that's the entire premise of the manga. It's even in the name "an Engaged Couple".
The thing is - it's an old-fashioned engagement, so they hadn't even met before. And it's kinda love at first sight, but both have (so far) assumed the other one hates them.
And about hanging around an hour early - he's just being polite (one shouldn't be late) and taking an hour off to go window-shopping ("wait in a store" to make it seem like he's properly considering only his partner), only this time it backfired since most stores had apparently sent their staff home "while possible".