The next morning, Kyle woke up even before his alarm clock could ring. He hurried into the bathroom, bathing as fast as he could before getting dressed and hurrying to the living room to grab his keys.
On his way, Tsumi walked into the living room, her eyes half open and her hair in a fuzzy mess.
She was wearing a cute duck pajama with a duck head for a hood and grudgingly rubbed her eyes when she saw Kyle.
"Kyle? You're going out already?"
"Good morning, Tsumi," Kyle said as he turned to greet her, then he paused, stifling a laugh as he saw her clothes.
"A duckling, really?"
Tsumi pouted and folded her arms. "What's wrong with it?"
Kyle laughed while shaking his head. "Nothing, it's actually pretty cute."
Her eyes widened slightly, a faint blush appearing on her face as she smiled proudly. "Ehe, of course it is!"
Kyle walked up to her, giving her shoulder a little tap. "I'll be back early this time, I promise."
Although she was his elder sister, he was already taller than her, so she had to raise her head when she was this close.
Tsumi glanced at the clock and then at him. "You aren't even going to eat?"
Kyle shook his head as he walked past her, "I'll have something at the cafe."
Immediately Kyle got into the elevator, he pulled out his phone and hurriedly sent a message to the work group chat.
— Everyone should be at the shop by 6 AM prompt, it is an emergency!
Then he slipped his phone back into his pocket, watching as the elevator counted down painfully slow.
After his elaborate lie, Kyle was now faced with a new dilemma. He had to somehow boost the shop's sales to a considerable level this week!
If not, Tsumi would begin to suspect him, and curiosity only leads to danger. Currently, he could live in a carefree manner only because she was so easygoing.
If that was to somehow change…
Immediately the doors opened, Kyle hurried out of the elevator, not even noticing anything around him. All that was playing through his mind was his cafe.
In front of the elevator was a man in a black shirt coupled with a contrasting white tie. Partially obscuring his face was a disposable face mask that protected him from the unfiltered air.
He turned to glare at Kyle, angrily dusting his body.
"Kids these days… always in a hurry."
He entered the elevator and clicked the floor button, his hands folded at his back as the elevator began to ascend.
•••
"This is war, no, this is life or death!"
Kyle was in his office, seated in front of his desk while Akiko and Sakura stood at his sides.
A white piece of paper detailing the cafe's income was sprawled out in front of them, multiple parts circled in red ink.
Just a few weeks ago it had been good, impressive even, but after his idle boast…
"This is trash."
Sakura visibly recoiled, confused as to how the report he had praised her on not too long ago was now rubbish.
Kyle tapped on the paper with his pen and looked at both Sakura and Akiko. "We have to double this within the week."
"W-what?!"
"Excuse me?"
Both Sakura and Akiko exclaimed simultaneously, staring at Kyle with wide eyes.
"Double it…" Sakura muttered. "Is that even possible?"
A smile found its way to Kyle's lips as he leaned back into his chair, slowly swaying it back and forth.
"Nothing in this world is impossible, Sakura. You should have an open mind."
With the introduction of new drinks, the cafe had received a surge in sales, but that was just a fraction of what they could achieve.
He picked up the pen and twirled it with his fingers. "What is our biggest obstacle to sales?"
Akiko frowned, her eyebrows scrunched up together. "Customers?"
Kyle shook his head.
Sakura raised her hand. "Marketing?"
Kyle shook his head.
She was technically right; marketing was one of their problems, and part of Kyle's plans included marketing.
But that was not where he was going.
They continued to guess, bringing up a few good points but never getting the right thing.
Kyle smiled darkly, pulled out a map of the area, and spread it on the table. On the map were three spots marked with large 'X's.
"You all had good points, but the biggest obstacle to our sales—is our competition."
There were three other cafes in close proximity to theirs, Kyle's cafe being the fourth and newest.
The more they sold, the more they stole his customers!
Technically, it was their customers first since he opened his shop after them… but let's look at the bigger picture.
'Those bastards are costing me business!'
"If we want to gain more customers, then we have only one logical option…"
Kyle paused, staring his workers in their eyes, then he ushered them forward.
They leaned in a bit.
"Closer!"
Sakura and Akiko moved even closer, then Kyle glanced in both directions as though he was about to commit a heinous crime.
"Our only logical option…" he whispered.
"Is sabotage."
"Sabotage?!" The two girls screamed in unison.
"Shhhh! Be quiet!"
Sakura's breath hitched as she spoke. "I-isn't that… illegal?"
"Only if we are caught."
The girls grew pale.
Meanwhile, Kyle smiled darkly. "And you two are going to be my secret weapons…"
"I-I can't do a-anything illegal," Sakura blurted out, distancing herself from Kyle.
She grabbed the door and tried to escape, only to realize it was locked; cold sweat sifted down her back.
Kyle laughed, which only made her frantically wobble the doorknob. "Don't worry, no one is going to find out…"
"This is the plan…"
•••
It was barely 9 AM, and the cafe was packed to the brim. Multiple men were seated, while some were even standing in a long line, placing their orders for drinks.
Kyle stood outside his shop, counting a large bundle of money and chuckling to himself.
"I should have known that this is the answer for everything…"
"Kikimaru Cafe is serving a brand new assortment of drinks and snacks!"
"Visit Kikimaru Cafe today, kind sir!"
A pretty girl was standing by the side of the road, flyers in hand as she moved from person to person, inviting them into the cafe.
But the one thing that caught everyone's attention was what she was wearing.
She was in a bright blue bunny suit, with a bunny face hood and long ears that fell cutely in front of her face.
While Sakura was marketing in the bunny suit, Akiko was making sales in a similar suit inside.
And the result?
Instant success.
"Hehehe…"
It wasn't even the sexual type; just an overload of cuteness was more than enough to boost his business by this much.
'Thanks, Tsumi!'
If he hadn't seen her before leaving, there was no way he would have thought of this.
He would sabotage his competition by crippling their sales, and then when they could no longer afford to pay their staff, he would buy their businesses!
"Hehehee." He chuckled once more.
As Kyle stared at the cafe, he was mentally calculating just how much money he would make today alone when someone tapped his shoulder.
"Excuse me, is this Kikimaru Cafe?"
'That voice…'
Kyle slowly turned and met her gaze. "And here I was thinking I had been stood up."
He crossed his arms and smiled. "Do you know how long I have been waiting, Himiko?"
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A/N
Just as promised :)
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