Under the dim spotlights, Nina froze in place.
She was gripping a mug that still hadn't been put into the sterilizer.
Her round eyes reflected that aggressive woman, and her face looked blank, like she had no idea why this sudden hostility was aimed at her.
Her professional training kicked in after a brief jolt, so she still chose to step forward.
She placed the cup back into the sterilizer, straightened her slightly messy apron, and spoke carefully in her usual soft voice.
"Ma'am, hello. How can I help you? Our shop… is about to close."
The woman stopped at the counter.
Her heavily lined eyes raked over Nina from head to toe, and her look was full of contempt and inspection before she let out a cold scoff through her nose.
"About to close? What, you don't even want to do business when a customer shows up? Or is this the level of service your waitresses have here?"
Her tone was sharp, and every word was nasty.
Nina's lips parted slightly as she tried to explain, but her mind went blank, and she couldn't squeeze out a single sentence.
"Ma'am, would you like to order?"
I set the mop aside and stepped out of the shadows, and I broke the awkward standoff.
"This store will shut down all systems in five minutes, including the register."
Only then did the woman notice me.
She glanced over, saw I was just another regular employee in the same uniform, and she gave a snide huff without dropping her arrogant posture.
She clicked over on thin high heels, sat at the nearest empty table to the counter, and threw her designer bag onto the tabletop with a loud slap.
"Then get me coffee. Hot."
She brushed the table with her fingertip like there was invisible dust on it.
"O-okay… please wait a moment." Nina looked relieved and quickly turned away, like she was escaping, and she hid behind the counter.
She pressed her lips tight with her back to the woman, and it looked like she still hadn't calmed down.
She switched on the machine, and her fingers trembled slightly as she worked the panel.
The hiss of espresso extraction and the high screech of the steam wand frothing milk sounded harsh in the quiet shop.
Soon, a hot latte was ready, with a simple heart in the foam.
Nina carried the tray over after she took a deep breath.
"Ma'am, your coffee."
The woman didn't look at her and only lifted the cup for a small sip.
In less than a few seconds, her brows knotted, and she slammed the cup back onto the table, so the ceramic hit with an ear-piercing clack.
"It's this hot. Are you trying to burn me to death?"
"I'm… I'm sorry. I'll replace it right away." Nina apologized in a rush.
"Replace it with what? Another cup of poison?"
The woman sneered and shifted her eyes to Nina's clean apron.
"Don't they teach hygiene here? Your apron has coffee stains on it. It's disgusting to look at."
Nina looked down and finally saw a small brown splash at the corner of her apron, and she didn't know when it got there.
Her face, which had just started to settle, flushed bright red again.
"I… I'm sorry… I…"
"Other than sorry, what else can you say? Or do you have a different script when you're talking to men?"
Her words got more and more pointed, and her hostility turned sharp enough to feel solid.
Nina couldn't take it anymore.
Her blinking deer eyes filled with moisture, and she bit her lower lip while she forced her voice steady through the verge of tears.
"Ma'am… W… what did I do wrong? Why… why do you keep targeting me like this?"
"Targeting you?"
The woman leaned back like she'd heard the funniest joke in the world, and her eyes overflowed with mockery.
"You think you're worth it? Let me ask you. Did Luca come looking for you this afternoon?"
The moment that name came out, Nina's face went dead white.
"I'm telling you, don't play the innocent little pure-girl act in front of me."
The woman leaned forward like she was staking a claim.
"Luca is my boyfriend!"
Nina's body swayed uncontrollably.
The light in her eyes dulled.
"N-no… you misunderstood. Brother Luca… I mean Luca and I… we're just friends who grew up together, like… like a big brother and a little sister…"
"Big brother and little sister?"
The woman laughed in disgust. "Every homewrecker in the world uses that line. Do you think I'm three?"
"He's ignored my messages for how long because of you now? I've seen plenty of trash like you, the kind that hides behind men and plays helpless to get sympathy!"
Her words kept getting harsher, and they got uglier by the second.
Jealousy made her lose it completely, and her face twisted.
By the end, she couldn't hold the anger in her chest down anymore.
She grabbed the steaming hot coffee, snapped her wrist up, and hurled it straight at Nina's pale little face!
I reacted fast and yanked her wrist to the side.
Most of the scalding coffee splashed into the air, but a small amount still hit Nina's thigh because she couldn't dodge in time.
The dark stain spread across her light work pants as it soaked in.
"Agh…"
Nina sucked in a sharp breath, and cold sweat beaded across her forehead as she let out a muffled cry.
She stumbled back two steps, and she had to grab the table beside her to keep from falling.
The woman who threw the coffee froze for a couple seconds, and then she realized how impulsive she'd been.
When she saw Nina in pain, her warped rush of satisfaction crushed that brief flicker of shock.
"Heh. Stop acting helpless. It's just coffee. What, you're that precious? Or are you going to run to Luca with this face and cry to him again?"
As she kept trying to spit out more insults, I stepped forward and silently blocked her from Nina.
"First, you intentionally caused bodily harm, and under the public order penalties, you can be detained from five to ten days."
"If it's serious, it can become a criminal case, and this shop has HD cameras covering every corner."
My tone stayed calm, like I was explaining a physics rule in class, and it cut straight into her screaming mess.
"Second, this shop closed six minutes ago, but you're still here, and you've caused physical and mental harm to our staff, and you're delaying our closing work."
"For the overtime pay and lost-work damages caused by this, I'll send an electronic bill along with a lawyer's letter to you, or to your boyfriend Mr. Luca, by phone."
"Third."
I tilted my head slightly and met her eyes through my lenses.
"Grab your bag and disappear through that door right now."
"My patience is the same as this shop's business hours, and both have already ended."
She got hit so hard by my calm, logical threats that she went blank.
She was used to bullying people with attitude, and she'd clearly never met someone who fought back with legal terms and money.
Her mouth hung half open, and the line you think you are nearly slipped out, but she swallowed it back under my flat, unbothered stare.
The air stiffened for a moment, and then she forced out a weak, shaky threat through clenched teeth.
"You just wait."
After that, she snatched her bag and fled in embarrassment, heels clicking like she was running for her life.
The wind chime went crazy again, and then it fell quiet.
I didn't look toward the door and only glanced back at Nina, who was still holding onto the table and shaking from pain.
"You're burned, and it needs to be treated immediately."
"Lilu… can you help me a little?"
Seeing she couldn't walk from the pain, I had no choice but to reach out and support her by the arm.
Her weight leaned into me, and even through my shirt I could feel her trembling, no matter how hard she tried to hold it in.
I helped her limp toward the staff-only room at the very back of the shop.
It had a private sink and a restroom.
I shut the door after we went in.
In the cramped space, the only sound was Nina's tight, painful breathing.
I looked at her pants, which were soaked with coffee and stuck to her skin, and I spoke with the same step-by-step tone a doctor uses in an emergency.
"The fabric stuck to your skin will keep heating you up, and it'll trap heat and make it worse."
"You need to take them off, and rinse the area under running cold water for at least twenty minutes."
After I said it, I let go of her arm and turned to leave.
I needed to avoid the awkward part that was obviously coming next.
"Handle it yourself. I'll wait outside, and if it doesn't ease up in twenty minutes, I'll take you to the hospital."
My hand had just touched the cold door handle.
Behind me, I heard a weak voice, shaking with tears and begging.
"W-wait…"