Part-time job

“It’s finally opening day!”

Akemi-san kicks off the meeting with a beaming smile.

The shop isn’t all that big, but today, everyone’s pitching in to make it work, or so she says.

“Though, if we kept this many people on every day, we’d be in the red in no time, so this is a one-time thing.”

That’s what she said, but…

“Still, everyone looks so cute… I bet just putting this photo on the website would draw a crowd!”

At Akemi-san’s words, Manami laughs, Aisa turns her face away, and Yuuki starts hiding behind her hair.

Just as Akemi-san said, all three of them look ridiculously good in their uniforms, downright adorable.

I’d seen them during the sizing checks, but knowing they’re about to start working makes it feel different somehow.

“I’m kinda nervous…”

“Really? I’m totally pumped!”

“I wonder if I can do this…”

Each of them reacts in their own way. The reason I can stay calm watching them is…

“Kouki-kun, you’re on support duty back here, so I’m counting on you!”

“Got it.”

I’m basically sticking to the kitchen instead of dealing with customers, which takes a load off my mind.

Of course, serving food to people is nerve-wracking in its own way, but it’s a lot easier than standing out front as a server. I’ve practiced cooking until the Master gave me his seal of approval, and as long as I follow the steps, I should be fine.

If anything, what I’m worried about is…

“If you can sing that beautifully in your room, you’ll be just fine out there!”

That’s Akemi-san encouraging Yuuki.

I’m a bit concerned about her handling customer service, but earlier, during greeting practice, she managed to say “Welcome!” in a clear, pretty voice, even if it was a little weak.

“Yuuki…”

“I’ll be fine…! You helped me practice so much last time…”

She’s probably talking about that time.

Today’s just about using her voice. It’s natural to get nervous and have a shaky or weak voice.

But after all that practice last time, I think she’ll be okay unless some really tough customers show up.

Besides…

“If anything happens, I’ll swoop in, so don’t worry!”

Akemi-san says this while practically flying over to pat Yuuki all over.

I’m sure that’s how I feel, and Aisa, Manami, and of course, the Master, too. We exchange glances and nod in agreement.

“Mom… my hair…”

“It’s fine! Who do you think fixed it up? Look, it’s even better than before, right?”

“This…”

I thought she was just messing around, but Akemi-san had taken a bit of Yuuki’s face-hiding hair and pinned it back with a clip.

“Augh…”

“If anyone dares mess with a girl this cute, they’re not a customer—they’re getting kicked out!”

Akemi-san laughs it off brightly.

“Like Akemi-san said, if anything happens, we’ll be there in a flash. And I think the hair clip looks good on you.”

She’s still covering her eyes a bit, but I feel like I can see just a tad more of her face than usual.

Yuuki looks down once, taking a deep breath.

“In… out…”

When she lifts her head, her expression looks somehow refreshed.

“Alright, it’s about time to open. Don’t worry! I’m the most nervous one here!”

Showing no trace of nerves, Akemi-san laughs warmly as she opens the door.

A few groups of customers are already waiting with flyers for the opening sale, and work begins right away.

◇

“Welcome! How many in your party?”

“Oh, what a cute server! Three of us—can we get a table?”

“One moment, please! Akemi-san, is it okay to seat three?”

Manami’s just as you’d expect—charming the customers and doing great work.

“Is that everything for your order?”

“Yes…”

“Thank you. Here’s your check. Please enjoy your time!”

“…Hey, wasn’t that girl just insanely cute?”

“Yeah… I got kinda nervous.”

Aisa’s like this: in work mode, she’s the perfect, flawless beauty, maybe a bit cool, but the rare smile she flashes grabs the customers’ hearts.

And then…

“W-Welcome!”

Yuuki’s somehow managing to handle customer service, too.

With the place nearly packed for the opening, having this many staff means we’re avoiding any real trouble.

It’s more like we’re passing off customers to each other—Akemi-san handles the tough-looking ones, while Yuuki takes the quieter types, so things are running smoothly for now.

“Kouki, order up—omurice for table eight!”

“Master, three blends!”

The kitchen, on the other hand, is chaos. With so many people working the floor smoothly, it’s no surprise we’re swamped back here…

“Let’s do this.”

Partway through, Akemi-san decided to shift some people to the kitchen, and somehow, we made it through the lunch rush.

◇

“Ahh, that was so fun!”

Manami’s spinning around with a huge grin, clearly in high spirits.

Stop it, your skirt’s gonna fly up…

“Manami, you’re amazing. I’m pretty wiped out…”

“Haha, yeah, the first day’s exhausting, right? I was nervous, too.”

Aisa and Akemi-san’s reactions are probably the normal ones.

And Yuuki…

“I did it…!”

She clenches her fist, quietly striking a triumphant pose, looking thrilled.

Seeing her like that makes me happy, too…

“You didn’t just do it—you nailed it! That’s my girl!”

“Wah!”

Akemi-san swoops in and hugs Yuuki.

They’re so close, it’s heartwarming.

“Nice job!”

“…! Yeah!”

I high-five Yuuki. It’s a simplified handshake we came up with since reuniting—a new little ritual.

“Me too!”

Manami jumps in, and they’re slapping hands so fast I can’t even keep up.

“Alright! We’ve got the evening shift next, but until then, let’s take a break! If changing’s a hassle, you can stay as is. Wanna head to the back room? Or should we whip up some coffee here?”

The three of us exchange glances at Akemi-san’s words.

As I finish cleaning up, the Master calls out to me.

“Kouki-kun, wanna try brewing coffee for everyone?”

“Is that okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll want you to handle this eventually, too.”

“I’ll give it a shot.”

I ended up in the kitchen partly because I’m not a coffee fan, but since this is such a nice café, I’ve been curious.

“The water’s boiled, and the tools are ready. Why don’t you start by folding the filter? Over here.”

The Master beckons me to the counter.

“Ooh, Kouki-nii, let’s see what you’ve got!”

Manami teases me while clinging to Yuuki, as I mimic the Master’s movements to fold the filter.

“Heh, this is gonna be fun. You look like you belong standing there.”

Aisa says from across the counter.

Yuuki’s watching with obvious curiosity, too… which makes this kinda tough.

“Alright, one scoop of grounds is about right. Tap it lightly to even it out, then pour the water.”

I can feel the Master’s gaze, plus the curious stares of three—no, four, including Akemi-san—as I pour the hot water.

“Just make sure not to hit the filter. Start with this much. When it starts dripping below, that’s the right amount for steaming, so pause there—”

I follow the Master’s real-time instructions. I thought it was just pouring water, but you’ve got to avoid the filter, adjust the amount, and pause or pour repeatedly, so it’s surprisingly delicate work.

“Good. Now just pour it into the cups and serve.”

“Phew…”

That was nerve-wracking with everyone watching…

I thought I was done, just waiting for them to drink it, but…

“Kouki-kun, you said you’re not a coffee fan, but don’t you wanna try the one you brewed yourself, even just a sip?”

The Master slides a cup toward me.

The aroma tickling my nose feels different from usual, somehow calming.

“I’ll try it.”

I take a sip.

I always thought coffee was just bitter, leaving an unpleasant aftertaste…

“It’s… refreshing?”

“Exactly. Good coffee doesn’t leave a bitter aftertaste.”

“Oh, it’s good.”

“Yup, yup! It’s great, Kouki-nii!”

“It’s good…”

Everyone chimes in with praise.

I suppose as long as you don’t mess it up, anyone could handle the job, but getting praised and actually making something delicious that people enjoy drinking is pretty nice…

“Well then, since Kouki-kun can handle both cooking and coffee, looks like Dad can take a break without any worries, huh? Ready to take over the shop?”

“Oi, oi, am I getting fired after just one day!?”

“Haha, well, as long as everyone’s pitching in with the part-time work for a while, I feel pretty reassured.”

Akemi-san said with a laugh.

◇

The lunch break was over, and we were getting ready for the evening shift.

“C’mon, we’re customers, y’know? Can’t you open up just a little early for us?”

“Um… we’re not…”

“Hey, now that I look at ya, you’re pretty cute. How ’bout you hang out with us till the place opens?”

“Cleaning…”

I spotted Yuuki, who was tasked with sweeping outside, being hassled by a pair of guys at the storefront.

Since I was the only one by the window, no one else had noticed. The master and Akemi-san had just gone inside the house, figuring Yuuki could handle the cleaning on her own.

“Aisa, let the master know there’s some troublesome customers outside, and I’m gonna deal with it.”

“Huh…? O-Okay, got it!”

As I relayed the message, I headed toward the entrance and quickly stepped in front of Yuuki.

“We open in thirty minutes, so please wait out here until then. Yuuki, let’s go.”

“Whoa, whoa, ain’t that a bit cold? We’re customers, y’know? Can’t that girl keep us company for thirty minutes? No harm in that, right?”

These guys weren’t giving up… I was trying to figure out how to handle this without hurting the café’s reputation when…

“Now, now, this ain’t that kinda place, fellas.”

From the Irino family’s front door—not the café entrance—came a tough-looking guy in sunglasses.

His distinct intonation made him sound very much the part.

“Uh… um…”

“No, we didn’t mean…”

The two guys, now sweating buckets, started to back off.

“Can ya wait quietly like good customers?”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

“We’re so sorry!”

While the master handled them, I managed to get Yuuki back inside.

Honestly… I was more scared of the master than those two guys. I was dying to know what he was up to before he started working here, but that made it even harder to ask…

“…Thanks.”

“Yeah, you okay?”

“Mm.”

Yuuki was so curled up, she looked thirty percent more like a small animal than usual. She was sticking closer to me than ever.

Aisa and Manami rushed over right away.

“Kouki! Yuuki! Are you guys okay?!”

Manami, standing next to Aisa, looked at us with worry in her eyes.

“Yeah, the master showed up quick, and I’m fine. Thanks.”

“Me too… I’m sorry.”

“Thank goodness…”

“Phew, what a relief!”

As the two of them sighed in relief, the master came back from the entrance.

Good. He took off the sunglasses, so he’s not as scary now.

“Sorry ’bout that, Kouki-kun. You two okay?”

“Yes.”

“Mm…”

“Good, good. I was actually kinda nervous there for a sec.”

He looked way too comfortable handling that, but then he said something completely unexpected.

“If Yuuki had lost her cool and thrown a punch, those guys would’ve been in serious trouble.”

“Huh…?”

I was still reeling when Akemi-san came in from the entrance.

She looked pretty flustered…

“Sorry, Kouki-kun. Oh, and, you know, this girl’s a black belt in all sorts of martial arts. She wouldn’t start anything herself, but even just defending herself on concrete could seriously hurt someone.”

If even Akemi-san was saying that, then the master’s nervousness wasn’t a lie.

Thank goodness I stepped in…

Maybe because of those words, the mood started to shift, and then Manami jumped in to seal the deal.

“Wow! That’s so cool! I wanna try something like that too! Like aikido or taekwondo!”

“Wanna train together sometime?”

“Yay!”

I’m not sure if she meant to, but Manami completely cleared the bad vibes.

While we were chatting, I suddenly noticed the broom Yuuki had been using outside.

“Huh…”

The brand-new wooden broom was snapped clean in half.

Thank goodness… this didn’t turn into a bigger mess…

◇ [Yuuki’s Perspective]

Thanks for today.

I sent a personal message to Kouki-kun along with a sticker of a bowing bunny.

The evening shift ended without a hitch, and Kouki-kun should be home by now.

—Ping!

“It’s here!”

Normally, we only chat in the group with Aisa-chan and Manami-chan, so messaging him one-on-one like this made my heart race a little.

Kouki-kun today… he was so cool…

Good thing you didn’t get hurt.

When he stepped in to help, he was so smooth, standing in front of me like a shield, big enough to completely hide me… I couldn’t help but think how dependable he was.

As expected, Kouki-kun’s a guy, and I’m… well, I’m just a girl…

“And…”

I also thought he was kinda cool.

He’s probably super popular.

There’s no way nothing’s going on when he’s always with two cute girls like them.

As for me…

I shook my head to clear the jumbled thoughts and focused on the messages.

The other guys, right?

I surprised myself by managing to crack a joke like that.

Kouki-kun sent back a wry-smiling sticker, and just that little exchange made me so happy.

“Haa…”

Today, I realized something.

No matter what, there’s always going to be that guy-and-girl thing between us.

And because of that, there are times when Kouki-kun makes my heart skip a beat.

“It’s probably the same for Aisa-chan and Manami-chan…”

The three of them are so close, it’s hard to think of them as just childhood friends.

If I could stay with them forever… That pointless thought crossed my mind…

“Either way, I need to change…”

I steeled my resolve.

If I don’t become someone confident, these thoughts are meaningless.

I’m not bright and cute like Manami-chan.

I’m not composed or beautiful like Aisa-chan.

Just plain me isn’t good enough.

“I’ll change… and then…”

And then…?

Just thinking about what I want made my face burn.

I flopped around on my bed, trying to cool down the heat rising to my head.

“We’re talking a lot tonight.”

Maybe because he was worried, Kouki-kun kept replying, and I indulged in our back-and-forth all night long.