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It doesn’t come off as a surprise to anyone that Tsumugi that he’s late for class again. He’s been doing this for almost two years now, and the professors know him as the only professor who’s never attended his 7 am classes on time.
That’s okay, though. It earned him an award called “Favorite Professor of the Year” although Tsumugi doesn’t quite understand why.
He’s already catching his breathe the moment he arrives he arrives in front of his favorite coffee house, letting out a sigh of relief when he notices that peak of rush hour hasn’t started yet. Tsumugi pulls the glass door open, the bittersweet aroma of the grounded coffee engulfing his senses.
“Morning, Tsumugi-san,” Itaru, the one in charge of the cashier, greets him. “Running late for class again?”
“Good morning, Itaru-san!” Tsumugi scratches his cheek with one finger in embarrassment. “Looks like it, although my students don’t seem to mind.” Itaru laughs.
“Heh, you’d be my favorite too if ever I was your student. Anyway, the usual?”
“Yes, please,” Tsumugi offers him a smile as he nods, and takes out his wallet to pay. Itaru nods before he disappears through the kitchen door. He takes this as a sign to look for a vacant table while waiting for his order.
He looks outside the glass partition wall, watching strangers cross the street as the stoplight turns red. Highschool students were running with cups of coffee in hand as if they woke up five minutes ago and are now struggling to be on time for class. He watches the little kids hold onto their bags with one hand, the other in their parent’s grasp.
“One regular americano and two glazed donuts for Professor Shumugi!”
Tsumugi quickly turns his head to the unfamiliar voice coming from the counter. Behind it was a tall and slender green-haired man, wearing round glasses and an apron.
Is he new here? If Tsumugi recalls correctly, he never saw Itaru stick up posters or gave out fliers about the cafe looking for new employees. He hesitates for a while, wondering if he was the one being called and the new guy just mispronounced his name. He stands up and approaches the counter after a minute to see if someone would stand up to take their order that was the same as his.
“Thank you, have a great day,” Chikage一according to his name tag一says as he hands Tsumugi his order. The professor mutters his thanks before rushing out the door, a smile on his face when he remembers how Chikage pronounced his name.
-
“And then the next few times I went back, he mispronounced my name again!” Tsumugi exclaims, a little laugh escaping his lips. He was telling his best friend since childhood, Tasuku, about Chikage and the many instances he got Tsumugi’s name wrong.
“...And you didn’t even bother correcting him?” Tasuku points out, his eyebrows furrowed after listening to the story.
“Nope! I don’t really mind,” he replies. “He’s cute and it’s funny how he manages to mispronounce a name a lot when it’s a common one.”
The two of them fall silent after that, with Tsumugi continuing to eat the cheesecake he ordered and Tasuku giving him a judgmental stare as if he was holding his fork wrong.
“You think he’s cute, huh?” He asks his best friend, resting his chin on the palm of his hand.
Tsumugi almost chokes on his cake. “Well... I don’t see what’s wrong with it.”
“Earlier, you said he’s cute,” Tasuku repeats it for the second time and he grins as he watches Tsumugi blush. “So you agree? You think he’s cute?”
“Tasuku!” He lets out a hearty laugh when he notices how red Tsumugi’s face. “If you bring that up one more time, I’ll leave you here to pay for both our orders!”
-
It was a weekend when Tsumugi decides to go to the coffee shop.
Itaru greets him as usual, except he spots Chikage from behind the counter and he gives him a small wave as well. “Good morning, Itaru-san, Chikage-san,” he says as he takes off his scarf.
“What do you want to have today?” The brunet takes out a notepad from the pocket of his apron. Tsumugi places a finger on his lower lip as he eyes the hanging menu, trying to decide if he wanted his usual order or something new this time.
After telling Itaru his order, Tsumugi takes his usual seat as he waits. He steals glances at Chikage from time to time, admiring the serious expression he’s wearing while staring at the cash register’s monitor.
“One caramel macchiato and one oreo cheesecake for Tsumugi-san!” The man behind the counter calls out, and Tsumugi is surprised when he hears Chikage pronounce his name right.
“Thank you and have a great day, Tsumugi-san,” Chikage says as he gives Tsumugi his order with a smile一one that’s much more sincere than the ones he usually shows him and the other customers.
Tsumugi says his thanks with a smile, careful not to show the little crush he has on the barista, before going back to his seat. He unravels the tissues that were on top of the cheesecake’s box, curious as to why there were black marks on it.
I’m sorry for mispronouncing your name a lot. It was Chigasaki’s fault for having such ugly handwriting. Well, partly his fault.
Anyway, would you like to have lunch with me next weekend?
He looks up from the tissues after reading what was written on them twice, a faint blush on his cheeks when he sees Chikage staring at him from the counter. Then Tsumugi slowly nods his head with a smile.
(Chikage smiles back at him before going back to what he was doing or else his excitement over next week’s lunch date would be too obvious. Guess he has to thank Itaru for his ugly handwriting.)