Confession at Café Ai

Haru and Sakura chuckled when they heard that they said the same thing.

Being the gentleman that he was, he told her, "Go ahead. You first."

Sakura shook her head sideways, "No, you first."

"Here we go again," he glanced at her, and the natural dents on his cheeks appeared.

They were startled when there was a sudden knock on the door and heard Ayaka calling them both to come outside. The two looked at each other and couldn't help themselves but to smile as they proceeded outside the employee's room.

Customers, who were still lined up outside, were advised to maintain the line and order before coming inside the shop. Sakura became the café associate, while the rest had to double the work that afternoon. While waiting, Ayaka shuffled through their Japanese pop playlist and played 'summertime' by cinnamons x evening cinema, and at exactly four o'clock, Cafe Ai resumed its services.

Haru watched Sakura from a distance while he was also busy with his tasks as a barista. He was also busy granting customers' requests, such as taking pictures together. Even though he had so much in his hands, he would quickly attend to Sakura whenever he saw her getting confused or having difficulties in using the menu tab. She would always thank him in return and prove to them that she could do better.

However, not everything would go smoothly.

"Can't you hurry up? You're so freaking slow," a lady in her early 20s complained with her arms crossed.

"Can you please repeat the last drink-"

"What the hell?" her tone was sharp and loud, "Aren't you listening to me? Where's the manager? Let me talk to your manager!" she scanned the shop, while almost everyone stared at them.

"Our manager, slash owner, is not available at the moment," Haru chimed in as he stood beside Sakura, who looked very troubled and anxious that moment.

"Oh," the lady shifted her gaze to the barista, "It's you! Hello there, handsome!" Her tone obviously changed upon seeing him in front of her. "Uhm… like what I was saying-"

"If you're going to be disrespectful towards our employees, then please look for another coffee shop, miss" he said, and when Sakura heard it, her eyes widened and nervously tugged his shirt.

"I b… beg your pardon?" she almost stuttered as her cheeks turned red. She turned around to see a long line of customers waiting for their turn. "She's so slow, right? Right? She's the one at fault here!" she exclaimed, waiting for them to agree with her.

The customer behind her rolled her eyes and smirked. "You're the one who wasn't listening. They already announced that their cashier's new before we were let inside."

The others agreed to her, and the young lady only flared her nostrils.

"Too bad. I liked you as soon as I saw you in that special clip!" she glared at Haru, "I was really hurt, so goodbye!"

The young lady turned her back on them and rushed outside the café, which was followed by the silent laughs of the crowd on their seats with the sudden confession.

"Oh my god," Sakura blinked in disbelief, "That was really cringey."

Haru stepped aside and shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you get confessions that often?" she couldn't believe she'd witnessed something she had only seen in dramas and movies. "Don't tell me you'll receive more confessions starting tomorrow? Ahhh! I can't process this!"

"That's not going to happen," he glanced at her, who still seemed shocked by the incident. "Anyhow, if something like that happens again, don't hesitate to call me."

Her expression then turned to worry, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

Haru reached for her shoulder, giving it a gently squeeze. "Not your fault. Look, we still have plenty of customers to attend to," he shifted his gaze to the next customer and flashed a charming smile at her before murmuring 'thank you'.

Sakura's lips curled upward and greeted the next customer politely, and Haru continued what he was doing before.

Customers were still lining up even outside the café, but things went smoothly then after. At around six in the evening, Junichi dropped by to check up on Haru and while he was waiting for his order at the bar counter, Sakura went over to him and greeted him since Ayaka took over the menu tab for the meantime.

"Oh! Sakura, hello! I didn't know you're working here?" he asked, confused. He looked for his son inside the shop to ask about the new face working at the café.

"I'm a sub... just for today," she smiled and started cleaning up the dishes near him. "How's Kyoko, uncle? I've texted her, but I haven't checked my phone yet since this afternoon."

"She's feeling better when I called an hour ago. You can come visit her. I'll be going home after this."

Haru was already standing behind Sakura when he heard their conversation. He patted her head and handed the coffee take out carrier to his father, while her face lit up upon feeling his comforting pat.

"You can go now, Sakura. You should also rest, especially that you already had a busy week," the barista told her as he took the tray of dishes from her.

"Mm… maybe once there are fewer customers," her eyes roamed around the café. "There's still a lot of them coming, so I'd still like to help. I'll drop by maybe after an hour or so…?"

Junichi nodded with a smile, "Sure, we'll be waiting. I'll be cooking dinner, too. Do you have any requests?"

Sakura heard her stomach growl, so she faked a chuckle for them not to notice it, "Anything! I'll eat anything, uncle! Thank you so much!"

"Are you that excited?" Haru couldn't help but to smile when he saw her reaction. "Why not go now with pops so that you could eat already?"

"I'm still good! No worries," she beamed and glanced at Junichi, "I'll be helping Ayaka now. Thanks again and see you later, uncle."