☕︎ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕

1 - ᴘʀᴏʟᴏɢᴜᴇ

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛᴇ: yes, this book was inspired by the closing shift | 閉店事件. for those who don't know what it is, it's a japanese horror game about a girl on a closing shift with a stalker. i personally recommend coryxkenshin's but markiplier's, kubz scouts', dashie's, and berleezy's are good too.

i hope you enjoy the book!

☕✩°｡ ⋆⸜ 🍂✮🤎

- ɴᴏᴠᴇᴍʙᴇʀ 16ᴛʜ, ᴛʜᴜʀꜱᴅᴀʏ

*ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴘᴏɪɴᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴠɪᴇᴡ*

work was slow today, but i can't say i'm surprised. this is how wednesday evenings usually were—we can only really expect to get customers either in the morning, at noon, or late at night. it doesn't pay as much as i'd like, but what did i expect when applying for perk & pour's coffee? it helps keep up with rent and that's all i could ask for.

"hey." my coworker, reina ito, nudged me out of my thoughts. i looked at her. what did she want? she proceeded to gesture behind me, to the register. "we got a few customers," she stated. "you want to get their orders or should i take over?" she raised a brow.

peering over my shoulder, my eyebrows knitted together when i saw about four people gathered around the counter. when the hell did they get here? i could've sworn they all weren't there before. letting out a defeated sigh, "i can handle this. thanks." i replied and shuffled over to the register where i began to dial down everyone's orders in no time.

the first customer wanted some pastries and a small plain black coffee, a high schooler wanted a medium vanilla & cinnamon cappuccino, an older woman wanted a large chai tea, and soon, i was waiting for the fourth customer, but he seemed to be in his own little world, the stranger's eyes were glued to the ground. "sir?" i awkwardly cleared his throat to get his attention.

it didn't help. not one bit. he didn't even budge. not knowing what to do, i try to get reina's attention by waving my arms frantically. when she finally realized what i was doing, she looked at me, unimpressed. "what do you want me to do?" she mouthed. realistically, there was nothing she could do. she was too busy trying to get all the food and drinks out to our customers and here i was, stuck with this creep.

i just want to clock out already but with the holidays coming up, i won't have much control over my schedule.

before i could grumble anything under my breath, i saw the strange customer step forward. i also turned back to face him to find out that he had shoulder-length straight noirette black hair that's texture walked along the line of both greasy and silky, green eyes with dark bags under them, and a pale complexion. he is tall and slender, but i think his aquiline nose has to be one of his most striking features. that or his constant quivering lips. was he trying to say something? it didn't sound like anything to be important. whatever.

"how can i help you today, sir?"

*???'ꜱ ᴘᴏɪɴᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴠɪᴇᴡ*

"how can i help you today, sir?"

i fiddled with the ends of my shirt. "i..." i stumbled over my words. i felt tongue-tied, more than usually awkward, terribly, and shamefully nervous. slowly, i looked up at the worker and felt a wave of awkwardness crash over me like a tsunami. of course, she had to be attractive and here i was, unable to form a basic sentence.

i quickly looked at her name tag— 'y/n', it read— what a beautiful name for a beautiful woman.

"i-i would like to have..." i look up at the menu. i should've looked at it before getting in line. i didn't want her to get upset with me because i couldn't make up my mind. a nervous smile played on my lips. "i'll have a...uh, small caramel latte, please."

"of course. can i get a name for that?" she picked up a cup and held a marker against it, waiting for me to reply.

"kenji."

"and how do you spell that?"

so considerate...but now is not the time to space out to admire her, "o-oh, uh...use 賢 meaning 'intelligence, wisdom, cleverness' and 司 meaning 'administer, manage, control'." i leaned over the counter a little bit, trying to keep my composure, as i watched her write my name elegantly over the side of what's to be my cup.

she looks up, her gaze meeting mine for a fleeting moment before she starts preparing the drink. "thank you. one caramel latte coming right up," she replies, her tone polite but professional. as she works on my order, i can't help but watch her every move, captivated by the way her hands skillfully dance around the coffee machine.

in my mind, this is destiny—our eyes locking, a cosmic connection that only i can feel. this has to be fate. what else could it be? if i came here any other day of the week when y/n didn't just so happen to be working, i am sure i wouldn't feel this way with anyone else. her coworkers pale in comparison to her kindness and virtue.

"so, do you come here often?" i venture, attempting to strike up a conversation. i didn't even want so much as to give the other person working with my dear y/n so much as a sideways glance. she doesn't concern me right now. i need y/n to be aware of my existence, so she'll remember me next time we cross paths.

she glances at me playfully, a small, obligatory smile on her face. "i work here, so i'm always here." she answered. that's good to hear. i wouldn't have to worry about remembering her work schedule. it sounds like she works here full-time.

i chuckle nervously, my heart pounding louder in my ears. "right, of course. silly me..." i trailed off.

quietly, y/n strolls back over to where I am and hands me the caramel latte, the warmth of the cup transferring to my trembling hands. "that'll be ¥300," she says, her attention focused on the cash register for a brief moment before looking back at me expectantly.

"r-right!" i set the coffee down and fumble for my wallet, my mind races with thoughts of our future together. she's the one, the missing piece i've been searching for. she has to be. i hand her the money, and our fingers touch briefly. my heart skips a beat.

"thank you," she says, handing me my change. "enjoy your latte," she adds.

"i will," i reply with a dreamy smile, unable to tear my gaze away from her. "i'll be back, for sure..." i promised. in fact, i wouldn't mind becoming a regular at perk & pour if it meant y/n and i could talk more.

little does she know, this is just the beginning of our destined love story.