The Cafe Part-Timer

Chio's theory was simple. To put someone under, you first had to learn how they spent their day.

She might not show until afternoon. She might not show at all. For a plan that was actually going to work, that much hassle was something I could live with.

For a first time, this much is— huh?

Luck was with me. I hadn't been waiting long when Kim Yuna came out through the villa door, black cap pulled low and a mask over her face. A varsity jacket with the university logo across the back, baggy white joggers — spring clothes that gave off an easy, hip air.

Business Administration logo. Damn. I'd known she went to Hankuk University. I hadn't known it was the business school. She didn't have the eyes of someone who studied.

I spent a moment just staring at her back, then pulled my phone from my pocket.

So on Wednesdays she heads out around seven.

I screenshotted the time and stepped out from behind the pillar. She started toward the bus stop just down the way, then turned into a small cafe along the route.

A cafe. Not where I'd expected her.

I started the stopwatch at once. What looked like a quick stop stretched into a full twenty minutes inside.

Longer than I thought. Don't people usually just take it to go?

Oh... you're actually sharp.

Just as Chio had called it, the moment she left the cafe she made straight for the bus stop.

No point tailing the bus, right? I already know the school and the department.

I slipped back behind the pillar before I could be spotted and ducked into the entrance of a nearby villa. Back to the wall, I scratched the tip of my nose against the edge of my phone.

"Hmm..."

There was nothing to show for it. If grinding misery had a shape, this was it, and stalking turned out to be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nowhere near the easy kind of hard.

No — why am I suddenly pissed? If this were a hypnosis eroge, I'd have her under on day one and be rolling the service scene by now.

…Fine. Let's make a plan. No — you make it.

I scrolled through the pile of schemes I'd dumped into my notes the night before and read every last one.

Every one of them hung on the same point. Kim Yuna had to swallow all of the powder. And who was going to eat the stuff straight, just as it was?

Mixing it into a drink she was already going to have was the cleanest way. The best means of doing that was, obviously—

Yeah. Looking at it, the cafe stop is part of her routine. For me, that's a blessing.

I'd thought about picking up shifts at the same convenience store, but there was no way to put a drink in her hand, so I'd scrapped it. If I needed to finagle a drink into her one way or another, nothing came close to a cafe. I'd already confirmed she sat in there for twenty minutes every morning. The conditions were so neat they felt staged.

A part-time job at the cafe would be the smoothest play, right?

Then the problem is how I become a part-timer at a shop that small…

"…."

I had to try. If it worked, good. If it didn't, I'd find another way. I headed straight for the cafe she'd just left. Beside the entrance hung a single rectangular banner.

Hm. That settles it.

Come on, it's weird, isn't it? Sitting in a cafe for twenty minutes this early just to drink one coffee. This explains it.

I had no idea what she'd ordered. Circumstantially, though, it was a hundred percent that she'd come ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in to eat breakfast. The corner of my mouth curled up on its own.

Obviously. Give me courage, Chio.

The bell over the door gave a bright little chime. I pulled the glass open, and a hard rush of roasted coffee came at me.

The only person in the kitchen was a middle-aged man in glasses and a wood-toned apron.

…Wow. I've felt it ever since I walked in, but he is stupidly good-looking.

Can't argue with that.

A solid build, the muscle of his shoulders pressing through his shirt. A checked button-down open just enough to show the line of his collarbone, and a white mask over his face. I bowed my head to him once more.

"…I'll work really, really hard!"

A request to part-time at this cafe for a week. The result, inevitable as it felt, was that I'd already been turned down twice.

Do I actually have to go this far?

Not really… but this is basically disrupting his business.

The man had looked cornered at first. Now he answered without so much as turning his head.

"Look, I already told you no. Twice."

He came out of the kitchen with a rag and a spray bottle. Nerves like iron — he didn't spare me a glance, just wiped down a table.

That table. That's the one Kim Yuna was sitting at, right?

That settled it. The woman had eaten her breakfast here and left. Which meant one thing.

This place is the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠key to the hypnosis.

So there really was no other way. I drew a long breath. The one mercy was that, aside from the middle-aged man who had to be the owner, the cafe was empty. I scraped together courage I didn't have.

"Just one hour, from seven to eight. I'm really begging you. Isn't there any way?"

"…You look like a college kid. I'm asking nicely — quit forcing it and go. I'm not hiring."

Yeah, right. This isn't a guy who's gonna fold just because I keep begging.

Can't I just hypnotize him? With the Powder of Goodwill or whatever.

Right. Ah…

"Ahem…. Still, just one more time…"

"No. What part-timer on earth walks into a shop that's open and throws a fit? We're not even acquaintances."

He picked up the rag and went back into the kitchen. I watched his back and clenched my fist tight.

He's so damn right I can't even argue.

Yeah. This is the only way.

What else was there? Say the same thing one more time. I cleared my throat and opened my mouth again.

"…Boss. It's because I want to learn cafe work so badly. I don't even care if it's unpaid. And — and I'll take every odd job, all of it. Just one week. Just one hour in the morning… isn't there any way?"

"…."

The man shook his head, said nothing, and pulled on a pair of rubber gloves. He worked detergent into a scrubber and scoured the cups hard.

Sure feels like it…? Ha. Working for free was supposed to be my ace.

The squeak of sponge on ceramic went on for minutes. No customer came in, and at last he turned to look at me — still planted in front of the entrance, with no intention of moving.

"You are one stubborn person…."

"I — I'm good at dishes too…!"

For a second I thought he was about to put some muscle into throwing me out. His voice had eased off a notch instead. In short, this was not a get-out.

I think so.

He rinsed a wiped cup under the water and spoke quietly.

"You'll work unpaid?"

"Yes…! I don't need pay."

Right. So that had been the critical hit after all.

No. I just thought it through. There's no boss alive who turns down free labor.

What's with the sarcastic tone.

"From when to when did you say?"

"Uh…. Seven to eight…."

"Mm. You finished your military service?"

"Y-yes. I did."

"…Okay!"

He set the rinsed cup upside down on the rack.

"You want to learn how a cafe runs?"

"Yes."

"Just curious. Why go as far as unpaid and all the rest, just to learn cafe work? You'd be better off at some academy. Walking in out of nowhere and begging for a job is pretty random."

What do I even say. I just blurted it.

"Uh… I want to open a cafe someday…. I figure you can't really do anything until you've done the work yourself…."

"There are plenty of other cafes around here. Why this one."

"That's, well… because this is the only place open this early. After nine I'm loading and unloading trucks, raising the money for the business!"

"Loading and unloading?"

He stopped the dishes and turned to look at me. I gave him a rotten little smile.

I've always been decent at the petty schemes. God, my head hurts.

Somehow, once the lying started, it poured out smooth as water and I just let it run. Whether it would actually smooth things over, I had no idea. He looked my face over without a word, then let out a short sigh.

"Ah… but this really won't do. I'm sorry to say it, I really am. You've got a hat at home, right? Cover your face as much as you can — mask and hat — and come in like that. Do that, and I'll allow it. If that offends you, well, nothing I can do."

The corner of my mouth twitched.

Nice! It worked! I about had a heart attack thinking he was gonna tell me to show my face.

Huge win. I was more scared he'd tell me to uncover it. What am I supposed to do if someone on her side recognizes me?