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Working at a grocery store wasn't how Ro imagined spending his college years. He thought college would be all about having fun. Instead, between tuition, rent, and the unfortunate fact that surviving off cup noodles wasn't exactly sustainable, he'd picked up a part-time job as a cashier a few months ago.
It wasn't ideal. If given the choice, Ro would've preferred a job that was actually enjoyable. Though, realistically speaking, did those even exist?
After a few months into his job, Ro had learned that customers were surprisingly easy to categorize.
There were the last-minute shoppers. The coupon people who held up the line digging through their wallets. The ones who somehow forgot their wallet every other week and tried to talk their way around it.
And then there was Strawberry Guy. He didn't even know what category to place him anymore.
"Hello?"
The small voice snapped Ro out of his thoughts. He blinked, not even looking at what he grabbed as he automatically began scanning it. He froze mid-scan when he realized what he was holding. Another pack of strawberries.
He slowly looked up at the customer in front of him. Oh, there he was again. The strawberry guy.
Ro stared at the person, as if he was trying to memorize his face, even though he saw him every week. Maybe perhaps he was staring for too long, his brain finally processed that the guy in front of him was speaking again.
"Is there something on my face?" The person asked innocently, bringing his hand up and slowly pointing at his face. Ro immediately cleared his throat. "Ah.. Sorry." His hand instantly went back to scanning the item. "Same as usual?" The words came out automatically out of habit. It wasn't like strawberry guy would buy anything else anyway.
The customer nodded, letting out a soft giggle. "You bet." He offered him a small smile.
Ro's hand clutched the bag, he hesitated for a second longer. His fingers rested on the edge of the bag. Then, quietly Ro muttered something under his breath. "...you always buy strawberries" It wasn't an accusation, if anything Ro was just stating a fact.
The customer paused. Ro instantly wondered if maybe what he said was wrong, maybe it came out a little too rude? After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke up. "I mean.." He said too quickly. "It's just... Every week?"
The person just looked at him, at a loss for words. Suddenly, he tried to clear his throat. "Have I?" He nervously said, scratching the back of his neck. Ro tilted his head slightly, immediately questioning him. "You bake or anything?"
"No." The customer replied, looking away slightly. Ro tried again. "Smoothies?" He lightly tapped his fingers on the table, impatiently waiting for answers. "No." The person was turning away slightly from each answer. Ro wouldn't be surprised that if he asked more questions, the customer would be facing the opposite direction as him now. "Any job that requires strawberries?" He furrowed his brows, he definitely didn’t know of any other jobs that required strawberries. "No.." The guy started to kick non-existent pebbles beneath his feet.
Ro exhaled from his nose. "Okay.. So why do you buy so many strawberries?" The other didn't answer right away. His head was down and he was fiddling with the hem of his hoodie. "They're good.." He finally responded.
The words hung in the air longer than it should've. Ro blinked at him, twice. "That's it?" He asked before he could stop himself. The customer froze. "What do you mean?"
"That's your reason?" Ro narrowed his eyes a little. "Sure, I guess." Ro didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t push further. The scanner beeped again, sharp and repetitive, filling the silence between them. Ro focused on it more than necessary, like it could distract from the fact that the conversation had stalled.
The customer stayed still, hands loosely holding the edge of the counter. Neither of them seemed to know when to leave the moment. He finished bagging the strawberries and gently slid them across the counter. "Suit yourself."
The customer looked at the strawberries, then at him. His hands hesitated for a moment. Then finally, he reached out and took the bag. "Thanks.." He said weakly. Ro noticed that, but he didn't dare point it out.
Silence stretched again, they both stood there. It wasn't that much of a problem, it wasn't like he was holding up any line or something. The customer shifted the bag in his hand, then stepped back from the counter. "Have a good day." He said.
"Yeah, you too." Ro watched as he walked away. The automatic doors slid open with a soft hiss. For a moment, he just paused outside, looking at the pack of strawberries. Then he glanced back. Ro didn't move, but he didn't look away either. The customer immediately broke eye contact and started rushing out.
Ro chuckled to himself, leaning against the checkout counter. His questions about Strawberry Guy still hadn’t really been answered, but in his mind… it was close enough. "What a weird guy." He said to himself.
Mapicc made it halfway across the parking lot before groaning and dropping his forehead against the steering wheel. That had gone terribly.
Ro had asked why he bought strawberries, the answer had been simple. He liked strawberries. He also liked the cashier! Unfortunately, saying that second part out loud had felt significantly harder than it should’ve.
Maybe liking a random cashier you met at your local grocery shop wasn't exactly ideal. In fact, if Mapicc looked at it through another person's perspective it did sound weird and all. But in his defense, it hadn't felt random. It had started on a Thursday—just like every other Thursday—when he’d walked in to buy something simple and walked out thinking about a conversation that hadn’t even really happened.
He remembered the cashier looking up at him. That brief moment of attention that probably meant nothing at all. And then somehow… it had stuck. So no, it wasn’t just "love at first sight." That would’ve been too easy to explain. It was definitely not something he could put into words while sitting in a parking lot with a bag of strawberries in his lap.
Next Thursday, he'd probably buy strawberries again. Not because he needed them. Maybe he was lying, hell yeah he needed them! But, it was mostly because Ro worked Thursdays.