MIDNIGHT CONVERSATION

I had agreed to do the night shift, but something felt heavy… uneasy, like my life was about to change.

I was told by the manager that my shift would start tonight itself, as it was the first week of December. A new PG had opened across the lane, and a lot of medical students had joined, so the café had been full of energy all morning. Appie was so tired after her shift that she took a nap in the locker room before heading home.

It was 11 PM now, and I was alone in the café, sitting quietly behind the counter. I thought of making a coffee for myself, but just as I got up, a group of five students entered. I stood straight behind the counter and welcomed them. They smiled and sat at a front table.

A tall guy with long black hair approached the counter and gave their order. As I was about to turn around, the door opened again. It was the same guy from the morning—the one I had bumped into.

I welcomed him, and he smiled warmly.

“I’ll take a black coffee,” he said.

I nodded, served all the drinks, and returned to the counter. My eyes lingered on the brown-haired guy, the same one from earlier. The rest of the group paid the bill and left, but he stayed, working quietly on his laptop.

The clock struck 12. Still, he didn’t show any sign of leaving.

I hesitated for a second before walking over to his table.

“Hi, sorry to interrupt your work. Would you like more black coffee?” I asked softly.

He looked up and smiled.

“Ah, no need. I hope you don’t mind me sitting in your café without ordering again,” he said, chuckling.

I smiled back. “No, not a big deal.”

As I turned to leave, he called out again.

“Hey, wait. If you don’t mind… you could sit with me. Why stand there all alone?”

I paused, then nodded and sat across from him, scrolling through my phone.

After a moment, he spoke.

“By the way, I just realized—I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Ace.”

I looked up at him and smiled.

“Hello, Ace. I’m Anon.”

“Wow, such a unique, beautiful name. And hey—the astonishing thing is, both our names start with ‘A’.”

We both let out a small laugh. Then I continued,

“Well, to be honest, I haven’t seen you around this city. I guess you’re one of the students staying at the PG?”

“Nope,” he replied with a small grin. “I’m actually 29. I’m an autopsy teacher, just shifted here.”

“Whoa… that must be something. Cutting people open, seeing all the blood…” I closed my eyes with a dreamy smile as the image danced in my mind.

Ace raised an eyebrow and gave a teasing smirk.

“You seem to like blood a lot, huh?”

My eyes snapped open in surprise—but just then, my phone alarm rang. It was 12:30, time to close the café.

Ace understood immediately and began packing up. I returned to the counter, not meeting his eyes. He came over, placed the money on the counter, and smiled.

“Bye, Anon. See you tomorrow.”

He left, and I stood there for a moment, watching the door slowly swing closed behind him.

I whispered to myself, We’ll meet again tomorrow, then locked up and walked back to my apartment under the quiet December night.

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