Chapter Text
The familiar chime of the coffee shop’s door signaled the arrival of a new customer. Rei, who is a regular at this particular coffee shop, stepped into the cozy haven as he sought solace from the bustling city outside. The warm and earthy scent of freshly brewed coffee embraced him.
With a content sigh, he approached the counter with his arms in his pocket, ready to order his usual black coffee. The barista behind the espresso machine, who owns this coffee shop — Sasara Nurude, noticed his presence and gave him a big smile.
“Rei, so good to meet’cha! Will you be having the usual today too?” Sasara beams, as his bright and cheerful personality spreads all across the room.
Rei chuckles before saying, “You know me, this old body can’t take more than black coffee.” They both laugh it off at the lightful remark and Sasara begins making his regular order which is an Americano.
Grasping the handle of the portafilter, he expertly tamped a mound of finely ground coffee. He positioned the portafilter beneath the machine’s group head and engaged it with a swift twist and espresso came flowing into the awaiting cup. With a swift motion he cut off the flow of the espresso.
Approaching a gleaming faucet, he adjusted the temperature to the ideal, and with a steady hand, he poured a stream of hot water into the mix. He watched as it transformed into the perfect equilibrium.
He smiled with satisfaction as he gave it one final touch and carefully presented it to the awaiting recipient. “One Americano ready.”
Sasara’s expertise didn’t seem to fail him as he chuckled. “Perfect as always, Nurude.” He sits in one of the stools as he picks up the cup, giving it a couple of blows before sipping it.
“How is it?” He asks the black haired man as he picks up a dry cloth and begins cleaning the empty cups one by one.
He sets down the cup onto a small plate in front of him as he thinks of a reply. “The usual.” He looks up at the man behind the counter with ombre-green hair.
Sasara lightly chuckled before continuing the motion of wiping each cup with the cloth. It was a comfortable silence that fell between them, as the rich aroma from the Americano filled the air. Every cup he’d cleaned he’d put them on those metal mug holders you’d find in every ordinary cafe. Though, this cafe had a lot of cups for a place that barely reaches a hundred customers everyday.
He sighs as he’s reminded of this month’s unpaid rent, and it’s already almost the end of the month. He wonders where he’s gonna find the money to continue opening this very shop. It’s the fact that he runs this shop alone due to him not being able to even feed himself properly on a daily basis.
Sasara must’ve shown a hint of worry in his face as he sees Rei giving him a look of concern. Rei’s definitely more than aware of the situation he’s in, because he himself lent him a couple of bucks to even begin opening this shop. But he’s more than grateful to Rei, because without him, he would’ve been kicked out of his apartment by last month.
He gives Rei a slightly genuine smile before heading to the storage room to restock on their almond milk.
As Sasara entered the room, he closed the door behind him and approached the light switch that’s not too far off the door. Feeling along the wall, his fingers brushed against the smooth surface until they found the familiar plastic switch panel. He sighed a sigh of relief as he firmly pressed the switch upward, activating the electrical circuit. Though it didn’t come immediately, the room was bathed in a dim, flickering light emitted by the cheap lightbulb. It was the least he could afford, truly.
Sasara took a moment to let his eyes adjust to the limited brightness. Sadly, the room had no windows so the light was quite dim but definitely made a difference. He closed the door behind him and began searching for the stock of almond milk. Luckily, it didn’t take him too long to find it solely because he had limited resources and space.
He exited the room with a box filled with cartons of almond milk inside. Sasara had set aside the box on the counter to approach Rei who had finished his drink by then. The cup was sitting idly in front of him, the cup beautifully crafted to a ceramic mug with a quite simple design but was still able to exude its simplistic but modern design.
“Finished already?” He asked the man and took the cup with him for him to clean.
The man just chuckles before taking out his wallet and handing him a thousand yen bill. Sasara takes the bill and pulls out the cash register to hand him his change but was stopped.
“Keep the change.” He had said in a low voice.
Before he knew it, Rei had stood up and went to exit the building. He was left with a thousand yen bill in his hand. Maybe he’d consider this a blessing. Sasara cashed in the bill and was left alone inside. Though, it didn't take a while for him to think of something productive he could do and there was only one thing in his mind.
Step 1 — Clear and wipe down tables and chairs
First, he’d remove any items from the tables, such as plates, cups, and napkins and set them aside for now. Then, continuing to wipe the tables and chairs with a damp cloth, and paying attention to certain areas for any spills that’d stick. Using a dry cloth to wipe away any excess moisture and ensure that the surfaces are clean and dry.
Step 2 — Clean and sanitize countertops and surfaces
Moving on, clearing off the countertops and removing any utensils, napkin holders, and other items. Next, he’d spray the surface using an all purpose cleaner, and using a clean cloth to wipe the countertops thoroughly. Usually he'd allow for the surfaces to air dry, but since it's still in working hours, he'd prefer using a dry cloth to wipe the surfaces.
Step 3 — Clean the glass windows and doors
In truth — this time of the day is usually empty of customers, so he’s using this chance to clean once in a while. He continued on cleaning by grabbing a spray glass cleaner and some paper towels to help accommodate. Sasara started by sparing the glass cleaner onto a paper towel and wiping the glass windows and doors in a circular motion to remove any smudges or fingerprints. He’d pay extra attention to any stains or marks and would clean them thoroughly, then finish it off by using a different paper towel to wipe off any excess cleaner.
Step 4 — Sweeping the floors
Now onto his favorite part of the job, sweeping the floors. Normally, you wouldn’t look at him and guess that his favorite hobby was cleaning, but — he actually does enjoy cleaning to an extent. He’d start by sweeping the floor using a broom to remove any loose dirt, crumbs, or debris, then paying attention to the corners of the place and slash or other hard-to-reach areas. He collected the swept dirt into a dustpan and disposed of it in a trash bag.
Step 5 — Mopping the floors
He grabbed an empty bucket and approached the sink to fill it up with warm water and add a suitable floor cleaner. Dipping the mop into the bucket and wringing it out, he mopped the floor with care, not wanting to slip on the floor. He'd usually do this step with music in the background as he’d sometimes like to pretend the mop was a microphone and he was having a concert inside the café.
Step 6 — Emptying trash bins and replacing liners
Whilst he was waiting for the floor to dry, He’d empty the trash bins inside the café and replace the trash bin liners with fresh ones.
As he was about to dump all of his trash inside the dumpster in the alleyway, he spotted a tall and imposing man wearing very shady clothes, with his eyes covered by black sunglasses. Though he wore a hat on top of his head, he could notice strands of white hair.
‘Could he be a beggar?’ He thought. As he was approaching the suspicious man, his name was being called out.
“Sasara?” It was coming from the inside of the café. He was about to head inside, but he looked back to see if the man was still there. With no surprise, he was already gone. Guess he didn’t want to be caught, Sasara had concluded. Though, he had no idea why someone wouldn’t want that.