Why is he here?

It was 7 o'clock in the morning when he felt something suspicious - like a cold bombs landing on his face. Drop by drop, his face turned into a soggy pancake. Half - asleep, he finally creaked open one of his eyes....only to see his sister standing over him, grinning like a villain, holding a glass and was dripping water onto his face.

"Get up before I pour the whole glass next time." She said.

Shin sat up with a wet face and a deadplan glare. "What are you even doing in my room?!" he snapped, glaring at her. "Why did you wake me up, you idiot? Go find someone else to annoy! Get out and don't distribute me."

His sister, completely unfazed, gave a deadpan reply with an uninterested face,

"Mom said to wake you up. You have to go to the café.

Shin groaned, flopped back on the pillow like a dying fish.

"Not interested."

"Mom said she'll throw your gaming set in the trash. " She said.

Shin shot up like a lightning struck him. His soul might've tired, but his body was wide awake. He got out of bed, dragging his feet, muttering curses at life - deep down, mourning the peaceful bond he shared with his precious gaming console.

As Shin dragged himself out of his bed with enthusiasm of a tired sloth, his sister watched him with a curious side - eye.

"Why does he love gaming so much ?" she wondered. "He'll obey anything mother says the moment she threatens his console. Hmm...maybe I can use this to my advantage. I just have to say 'Mom said take me shopping,' and boom - free ride!"

Meanwhile, Shin took a shower like a zombie and ate breakfast like a prisoner. Now he is in front of the café.

He stared at the building, " So this is the café mom was talking about", he thought to himself.

He pushed the door open, a small bell jingled cheerfully - far too cheerful for his mood, and before he could blink, a girl appeared in front of him with sparkles in her eyes.

"Are you the new part-timer ?!" Mina asked, her voice bubbly with excitement.

Shin blinked. His expression remained flat. " ... Yeah. That's me," he replied.

Shin stepped inside, still carrying the aura of someone who had been forced out of the bed by a sibling acting water fairy. The cozy scent of coffee filled the air, just as he was scanning the café, his eyes landed someone familiar - a boy wiping down a table.

YUKI.

Shin squinted, tilting his head.

"....you work here?"

Yuki froze mid - wipe like someone had hit pause on him. His shoulders tensed. The cloth in his hands stopped moving.

He didn't say a word.

He didn't even look at Shin.

He just cleaned. Intensely.

Shin blinked. "Hey... Why are you ignoring me?"

Yuki's face slightly turned red, his back still to Shin . He felt embarrassed. He remembered the slap - that slap - and guilt started bubbling his chest.

"Why is he here?" Yuki thought, biting his lip. "Why is he acting so causal after what happened?"

Mina, standing nearby and watching the weird silent tension. "Wait... do you two know each other."

Shin scratched the back of his head and muttered, "kinda."

Mina leaned in, eyes sparkling. " Kinda sounds juicy."

Yuki still scrubbing the table like it was the scene of a crime, silently begged the universe to turn him invisible.

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shin was assigned to the cashier because - - he had no idea how make coffee.

Instead of learning anything, he spent most of his shift doing one thing: staring at Yuki.

A deadly stare. Like he as trying to melt Yuki with his eyes.

"Why isn't he talking to me? What's his problem?" Shin thought to himself, eyes locked on the quiet boy wiping cups like a professional ghost.

Yuki, all the way at the counter, suddenly shivered. He could feel Shin's laser stare burning into the back of his head.

"Is he still mad at me for slapping him?" he panicked silently. "Why is he looking at me like that? Is this payback ? Am I going to get slapped now!"

He kept his head down, pretending the cups where fascinating, trying his best not to look at shin's way.

Later, during quiet in the café, when things finally calmed down, Shin tried again. He walked over with a complete causal attitude and leaned a little near Yuki.

"So about....earlier." Shin started, attempting to break the ice.

Without skipping a beat, Yuki smoothly reached to his pocket, pulled out his earphones, and popped them in like he was in music video about avoiding problems.

He didn't even make eye contact.

Shin blinked.

"..... Did you just make me mute in real life?"

Yuki kept his eyes on the sink, pretending to vibe the music that wasn't even playing loud enough.

"Nope. Not today." Yuki thought to himself.

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