Chapter 216: The Handsome Part-timer #2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 216: The Handsome Part-timer #2
“I wish you hadn’t put anything in your hair.”
As I was styling my hair with wax, Miyuki came over and pouted.
She must not like me looking good for someone else.
I held my wax-sticky hands out toward her face, and she recoiled half a step with a look of disgust.
Chuckling at her reaction, I washed my hands and asked, “I finish before dinner today. Want to see a movie or something?”
“Yeah.”
She’s so pretty, her face instantly brightening as if she’d never been pouting at all.
“Then stay home. I’ll pick you up when I’m done.”
“Okay. Are you leaving now?”
“Yep. You should put on a coat, too.”
“Why me?”
“I’ll drop you off on my way.”
“Won’t that make you late?”
“I won’t be late.”
“Then help me put it on.”
When Miyuki acts cute like this, it almost feels like we’re newlyweds.
Not that I’d know what that’s like.
After helping Miyuki into her thick padded jacket, I took her hand firmly in mine and walked to the car.
I dropped her off at home and headed straight for the cafe, parking in the employee lot.
By the way, why is the cafe named ‘Cafe 24’?
It’s not even open 24 hours… Some naming sense.
The parking lot had been empty when I pulled in, but at some point, the owner had appeared in a corner of the lot.
I approached him and bowed my head slightly.
“Good morning, I’m here for my shift.”
“Welcome.”
The owner returned my greeting, then glanced at my car.
He seemed to recognize it as a moderately expensive car… Does he think my parents bought it for me?
Or does he think I’m ‘car poor’?
Whatever he thinks, it’s none of my business.
“This is your attendance card. I’ve already registered your information, so just tap it over there. If you forget to clock in, you can just tell me when you arrived, but try to remember to tap it.”
His attention shifting from my car, the owner handed me a plastic IC card.
A lot of places still use paper time cards. This place is pretty modern.
“Understood.”
“Clock in, get changed, and then you can start.”
I tapped the card on the machine the owner pointed to and went into the changing room.
A light blue dress shirt with dense blue stripes and a brown apron were hanging there.
This was my new uniform.
I thought it was a strange combination, but it somehow worked. I changed and came out to the counter.
After that, the owner and I did a quick review of everything I’d learned yesterday.
He must have been pleased with how I made the drinks and used the POS machine without any major issues, though I did fumble a bit, because he nodded his head emphatically.
“You’re good. Inoo comes in an hour, right? Think you can handle it alone until then?”
“I’m confident, but I think it’d be best if you watched me take the first order.”
“Okay. Let’s head in.”
And so, I entered the cafe with the owner and put on some soft music from the laptop that was on.
We chatted while I drank the beverage I’d made as a test, and when the first customer arrived, I greeted them with a smile.
“Welcome to Cafe 24.”
“Oh…? Hello…”
The female customer froze when she saw me, then cautiously approached the counter.
She kept glancing at me while looking at the menu on the board above. It seems I’m exactly her type.
“Are you ready to order?”
“Um… I’ll have one mocha latte, please…”
“One mocha latte. Would you like that hot?”
“Yes…”
“How sweet would you like it?”
“Just the regular sweetness…”
“For here or to go?”
“To go, please…”
The customer’s face flushed slightly as she watched me lean forward a little over the counter, asking her questions with a smile.
The reaction of an extra in a rom-com… It’s absolutely thrilling.
Being handsome really is the best.
“Got it. That’ll be 450 yen. Do you have one of our cafe’s stamp cards?”
“No…? This is my first time here… You have stamp cards?”
“We do. I’ll give you one.”
I handed the customer a business-card-sized stamp card and continued.
“You get one stamp per drink you order, and when you collect ten, you get one regular-sized drink for free.”
“Any drink?”
“Yes. Any drink you like, regardless of the type.”
“I see…”
“I can take your payment now.”
“Ah, yes…! By card…”
The customer timidly held out her card.
I took it, gave her a bright smile, and completed the transaction.
“Thank you for your order. I’ll have that ready for you in just a moment.”
“Okay…!”
A mocha latte. It’s one of the relatively easy drinks.
First, I pulled a shot of espresso. While it was extracting, I steamed the milk in its pitcher.
Then, I poured the espresso into a paper cup, added two pumps of chocolate syrup, stirred it well, and then slowly poured in the steamed milk, mixing it with the espresso.
Finally, I stopped the pour for a moment before adding the rest to create a layer of white foam on top.
There were a few bubbles, but I wasn’t doing latte art, so this was more than good enough.
After finishing the latte, I put a paper sleeve on the cup and turned to the owner, who had been watching me quietly from the side.
“Sir, is it okay if I add an extra stamp to her card?”
“Why?”
“Since she’s our first customer, I wanted to give her a good impression so she’ll come back. She’s the only one here right now, so there shouldn’t be any fairness issues…”
“Really? Go ahead and do what you think is best.”
“Yes, sir.”
With his permission, I called out to the customer, who had taken a seat and was watching me.
“Your mocha latte is ready.”
Since it was the first order, I made it with special care.
She looks like an office worker. I hope my face flashes in your mind while you’re at work, making you come back and spread your legs for me. There are security cameras, but not in the storage room. We can do it in there.
“Thank you…”
“Thank you, enjoy your drink. Oh, and I’ll stamp your card for you.”
“A stamp? But you already stamped it once…”
“You said it was your first visit, right? This is to encourage you to come again…”
I lowered my voice, even though there were no other customers in the cafe.
It was to make it seem like I was doing something special for her.
I couldn’t act like giving an extra stamp was something I did for everyone. That was the most important part.
“Oh, really…?”
The customer immediately held out her card.
I stamped it with the round, purple stamp bearing the cafe’s name, saw her off, and then looked at the owner.
His expression was incredibly bright.
He looked satisfied with both the process and the result.
“Perfect.”
He seemed particularly pleased with the customer’s shy reaction, judging by the way he muttered that in an excited tone.
“What is?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing. It looks like you can handle things on your own just fine, so I’m going to head over to the shop next door. If you don’t know something or a problem comes up, call me right away. I’ll be next door, so just dial 1 on the internal phone. Call me if it suddenly gets busy, too. You know how to use the vibrating pagers, right?”
“Yes.”
“Alright. This is Inoo’s IC card, so tell her to clock in when she arrives.”
“Yes, sir. Have a good one.”
“You too.”
The owner waved a hand and headed to the gyudon shop.
He seems a bit consumed by capitalism, but he tries to be easygoing with me, and he quietly watches over my work…
He’s a rare, likeable type. Let’s not even think about cuckolding his wife.
In any case, I’d succeeded in making a good impression on the owner.
For the time being, I should work passionately and make him trust me completely.
So that he’ll trust me and check the cameras inside the shop less.
* * *
The back door opened with a slight creak.
I was memorizing the menu layout on the POS screen and greeted Renka, who came in pressing the skin under her eyes.
“Hey.”
“...Hey. Where’s the owner?”
“He went to the gyudon shop. Take this, tap it on that machine, then change into your uniform and come out.”
“Got it.”
Renka obediently tapped the IC card on the machine and went into the changing room, coming out about three minutes later.
The perfectly-sized dress shirt accentuated her arms.
Why do I get turned on just by looking at her arms? Do I need to see a doctor?
Anyway, seeing her in the same outfit as me felt strangely like we were wearing a couple’s look.
Renka seemed to have a similar thought, as she hesitated slightly.
Thinking she was being surprisingly girlish, I said, “What are you doing? Come on over.”
“Ah, right… How many customers have we had?”
“About ten.”
“Is that a small number?”
“I think so?”
“Any problems?”
“None, aside from a customer who asked for a latte without decaf.”
“A latte without decaf…? Don’t you mean a decaf latte?”
“Exactly.”
“So what happened?”
“I talked my way around it and smoothed things over.”
“That’s a relief. But… why do you look so down?”
Renka asked an out-of-the-blue question.
I furrowed my brow as if to ask what nonsense she was spouting.
“What about my expression? I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. Something bad must have happened today or yesterday, right?”
So she’s trying to sound me out about the messages we exchanged on AniShare.
I can see right through you.
“Hey, why are you insisting I look upset? I told you I’m fine.”
“Really…?”
She must still be on the fence.
Go on, throw some more bait.
“Why do you sound disappointed? Do you want something bad to happen to me?”
“Who said I was disappointed? You’re so delusional. Since the other day…”
“The other day?”
“The day before yesterday…”
She was talking about Comiket.
She’s walking right into the lion’s den.
Now I have no choice but to tease her.
“The day before yesterday?”
“……”
I smirked and strode toward Renka, who was putting on a prim and proper face.
“Captain.”
“Oh, what…”
Renka suddenly became meek.
The way she averted her gaze was driving me crazy with how cute it was.
“Isn’t it about time you admitted it?”
“Admit… what?”
“You like anime, manga… all that subculture stuff, don’t you?”
“No, I don’t…? My nephew…”
“Aren’t you tired of always using your nephew as an excuse?”
“It’s not an excuse…?”
“Then call him. Let me hear your nephew’s voice.”
At that, Renka flinched and scowled.
“Wh-why should I have to call my nephew just to prove something to you…?”
“If I were you, I’d just admit it and be done with it… How long are you going to treat me with this awkwardness?”
“I’m not awkward…? I have nothing to hide…”
“For someone with nothing to hide, your voice is awfully quiet.”
Renka fanned her face with her hand.
She must be feeling hot. All flustered.
After a moment, she started pointlessly arranging the cup lids and said, “What if… just what if, it’s true that I have a hobby like that.”
“No, this is about you. It’s either true or it’s not. Why are you speaking in hypotheticals?”
“Just listen…! If it were true, what would you do?”
“What would I do? It would become our little secret.”
“Is that all…?”
“Why? Are you afraid I’ll spread rumors? If you’re that worried, just do a cosplay for me once. Then I can keep it a secret for life.”
“I-I knew it…! You crazy bastard…!”
“Why are you cursing? Wasn’t this just a hypothetical?”
“...Even if it’s a hypothetical, the very intention of using someone’s sensitive spot is so impure that I can’t help but curse… Anyway, I have to work.”
“There’s nothing to do. I’ve already done everything.”
“What do you mean there’s nothing to do…! I have to memorize the POS menu and figure out where all the ingredients are… Do you know where the straws are? I just saw we’re running a little low.”
“Storage room.”
“Okay. I’ll go get them.”
Renka tried to leave the counter to get away from me.
As it happened, I was standing near the exit, so I shifted my foot and blocked the way with my body.
“...What do you think you’re doing?”
She glared at me, her brow deeply furrowed, but even that expression was cute.
“Just felt like it.”
“Could you please move your annoying face?”
“Am I annoying you?”
“Extremely annoy…”
“Hmm.”
“...ing, you’re not! You’re not annoying! Happy now?”
She’s just reacting instinctively now.
At this rate, she’s going to develop a persecution complex.
I grinned, showing my teeth, and turned my body to the side to let the huffing Renka pass.
“Be right back.”
“...I must be crazy…”
“What’s crazy?”
“You don’t need to know.”
Renka snorted and practically fled into the storage room.
How could I not be excited when this is what the first day of work is like?
A fresh and sparkling cafe date with Renka… I’m going to enjoy this to the fullest.