Six in the morning.
I woke up on time.
Outside, the sky was only just getting light, and there were barely any people on the street.
A few early sparrows chirped on the power lines.
I got out of bed and went through washing up and getting dressed in a steady routine.
The milk on the table was already finished, and there was only half a slice of bread left.
I stuffed the last bit of food into my mouth, put on a backpack that was noticeably lighter than usual, and walked out of the rental room.
I needed money.
Three years ago, I burned through most of my savings just to get away from the life script that novel tried to lock me into.
I changed my records, and I wiped anything online that could trace back to me, and I also had to pay that expensive school placement fee for Mistvale best high school.
Right now, my savings only covered tuition and rent, but just keeping basic living costs would push my finances to the edge.
Working was the only way to keep this peace going.
The weekend morning bus moved unusually smoothly through the streets.
I held the handrail and kept my eyes down as I watched the familiar scenery slide backward.
White noise played in my earbuds, and it pushed my brain into the lowest-power standby mode.
Starlight Café.
It sat on the corner of a commercial street with that small-bourgeois vibe.
It was close to both the rich residential area and downtown.
The place was a three-story building, and half the outer wall was covered in ivy.
A huge floor-to-ceiling glass window and a vintage wrought-iron sign made it stand out among all the modern shops around it.
It looked expensive as hell.
So the hourly pay here was double what a normal fast-food place offered.
When I pushed open the back door, the air was filled with the roasted smell of coffee beans and the sweet scent of fresh bread.
It was 8:30 a.m., and there was still half an hour before opening.
I walked through the main hall like I knew the place by heart, and I headed for the staff stairwell.
A few people were already in the changing room at the end of the hall.
"Did you hear? Mistvale Girls' School is putting on some kind of arts show again. That place is always packed with hot girls."
"Heh, our shop's crown jewel is from Mistvale, isn't she? That Nina girl, damn…"
A few male coworkers leaned against the balcony railing in the changing room while they smoked and talked filthy.
They had dyed hair in different colors, and they'd grown it long.
It was like a full-on retro scene-kid revival.
"You know that chick who came in last night wearing yoga pants to buy coffee? Her ass was so fucking round, and it swayed side to side when she walked. I got hard on the spot."
The blond guy took a drag, and his smoke rings mixed with his sleazy laugh.
"I saw her. She ordered a hot latte too, and I don't know if that foam was whiter than the two big mines on her chest." The purple-haired guy laughed the same way.
They all turned their eyes to the door as it opened.
The blond guy jerked his chin at me as a greeting. "Yo, Luke. You're early today."
"Morning."
I walked past them, and I changed into the uniform hanging in my locker.
A white shirt and a brown apron, with a star-shaped name tag pinned on my chest.
I fixed my collar and made sure everything met the rules.
When I left the changing room and walked to the front counter, I saw a small figure in the same uniform.
She was on her tiptoes while she carefully placed a tray of freshly baked muffins into the glass display case.
The guys finished smoking, went downstairs, and pushed open the staff door, but their eyes stuck to the girl the second they saw her.
"Fuck, Nina's body is insane. That waist is so thin I could wrap one hand around it."
"Our crown jewel looks way better than any of those other girls. She's pure and she's fresh, and she'd drown a man in bed."
Those retro scene-kids kept staring up and down while they talked, and they didn't even try to hide it.
Nina set the last tray in place, and then she turned, so her small, delicate features came into view.
She had that standard innocent face that made people want to protect her.
Her lips were pink, and her wet-looking eyes were big and round, like a clean little deer in the woods.
At the same time, the corners of her eyes sometimes carried a natural, teasing look.
That kind of beauty came with a weird contradiction, and it matched that "innocent but sexy" style that used to be popular.
She clearly heard them, and a thin blush spread across her cheeks.
"Don't say that. I really hate it."
Her voice matched her looks, soft and sweet like cotton candy.
Nina didn't hide, and she stared straight at the blond guy while she showed she wasn't okay with it.
"If you keep doing this, I'm telling the manager."
The blond guy gave an awkward grin and didn't dare keep running his mouth. "Come on, I'm just joking. Don't take it seriously."
Nina didn't say anything else, and then she turned her head and looked at me.
"Lilu bro, good morning."
My mouth twitched.
That name…
I brought it up before, but she seemed used to calling people like that, and she always added bro after other guys' names too.
It was polite, so it made it hard to even argue.
After a while, I just let her do it.
"Yeah, morning."
I nodded once as a reply.
"Lilu, did you hear? The manager said we might launch the new fall special this afternoon."
Her watery eyes curved like crescents, and her voice stayed soft with that little-girl excitement.
"It's called Golden Osmanthus Latte, and they say it tastes amazing."
I gave her a short "Mm," and I stepped behind the counter to get ready for work.
Nina didn't notice my brushing her off, or maybe she just didn't care, and she followed me to help out.
Her smooth, pale wrist showed from her sleeve, slim and soft.
A thin pink string was tied around it, and a tiny rabbit charm hung from it.
"Lilu Bro, look. I bought this new charm. Is it cute?"
As she placed clean glass cups and ceramic mugs onto the drying rack in the fixed order, she held up her wrist and her eyes sparkled.
"I saw it in that little shop on the corner last week, and I liked it right away."
"It is."
"Hehe~"
She looked genuinely happy from the praise, and her lashes fluttered lightly as she blinked.
While I refilled the grinder with coffee beans, her voice came again.
"Huh? Lilu … the new raspberry syrup, which bottle is it in? I looked forever and I still couldn't find it."
I didn't answer. I turned and pulled one bottle out from the row of almost identical bottles, and then I set it in front of her.
"Ah… so it was here!"
Nina looked at the syrup with the raspberry label, and her face lit up as she finally got it, while a faint pink showed on her cheeks again.
"Thanks Lilu. I always forget this stuff."
"Nina, come here. I'll teach you how to use the new coffee machine." The supervisor called from the other end of the counter.
"Coming."
She answered and jogged over.
Her ponytail bounced behind her with every step.
Her figure under the uniform sat right between girl and grown woman.
It had teenage energy, but there was also a hint of fullness.
Innocent and sexy mixed together in a way that worked.
"How's it feel chatting with a pretty girl? Bet your mood's way better now, huh?" A male coworker leaned in and joked under his breath.
"Nina is our shop's signboard girl. On weekends, tons of customers come just for her, but she's a cold beauty, and nobody can pick her."
"Yeah, and I heard the girls at Mistvale Girls' School all think they're too good for everyone. A campus belle like her definitely won't look twice at normal guys like us."
Other coworkers jumped in.
"Tch, women are all the same. Give them a little sweetness and say a few nice words, and then they'll…"
I checked the coffee machine pressure and ignored the rest.
My world only had work, and it had the countdown running for my choice on Thought Thief.
Thirty-something hours left.
Seraphina, or Runa?