Love Again

127. Blast From The Past

'Isn't this cafe supossed to be doing well? If the sales keep going down, I doubt I'll get paid this week. We barely even have enough float to restock.'  Glancing at the back office behind him, Niel caught a glimpse of his supervisor on a phone call, laughing himself off without a care in the world. 'The owner was strict but seems alright now. It's a relief I had barista experience doing part time jobs...' 

Grabbing a tray, he cleared the tables and tended to the remaining few customers. 'This work will have to do until I get a better job. Fighting!' 

Grabbing a mop, Niel tidied up, his attention constantly drifting to the people walking outside. Everyone seemed to get by about their errands and despite the location, he'd hoped such a densely populated neighborhood would make the cafe packed? 'Come to think of it, wasn't this the only coffee shop I'd seen in the neighborhood? Or those that lived around just weren't into coffee?' Niel looked at the time on his wrist watch. 'Now that rush hour is over, I have to sit idly by and wait! Meh, at this point, I might just start sending my resume again until more customers walk in.'

"Thats right!" Niel hyped himself up and went on about his duties. There appeared to have been a commotion outside but he couldn't careless. His attention was focused on how much money had been made so far since he'd reported for his shift at 6:00am.  

"I'll head out and follow up on supplies. I hope you can manage everything by yourself until I get back."

"Sure thing boss." Niel smiled.

"Wow, we made more money than yesterday!" Niel's supervisor patted his shoulder, his eyes on a handover book next to the cashier. "Seems our shop is becoming more and more popular by day. I wasn't sure I'd pull it off in this area. My other franchises are doing well compared to here..."

"I also wondered why we only have a few customers. I'd thought this place would be packed."

"It's still new and people do not trust new things. If you stay longer with me, you'll be able to see it grow. I'll get going... Oh! Better use the back door, everyone is going crazy out there."

Niel laughed and put the money back inside the cashier and looked it. The creak of a door opening startled him as he looked up, happy to get a customer.

"Fina...lly?" Niel's expression went from excitement to surprise. "Elric? W-what are you doing here?" Niel asked, his eyes looking at people barging in after Elric's entrance.
Smiling, Elric grabbed a seat closer to the wall and sat down. "Don't mind me. Carry on."

"Is...Yeon alright?" Niel assumed after noticing how dowdy in appearance his fated looked. He found it unusual since Elric often payed much attention to his dress code, even if he were just taking a simple stroll outside.  "Did he contact you?"

"Excuse me...I 'd like to order." 

Niel hadn't noticed the queue infront of the counter and apologized, rushing to attend to the customers. His attention had been on Elric that he failed to notice how quickly the cafe had filled to full capacity and after a while, he walked to where Elric sat and noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

"So, this is where you work?" Elric's smile was the usual however, he appeared somewhat exhausted. "I had to come see for myself."

"M-my shift ends at 10:00am, do you mind if I meet you afterwards?" Niel suggested. From the looks of it, he knew Elric was about to throw a tantrum. They'd been arguing the last couple of days, Niel taking a back seat knowing it was pregnancy making his fated all giddy.

"I haven't seen you in two weeks."

"Is anything the matter?" Niel's supervisor appeared, his customer experience smile in check.

"Oh, sir, it's this customer. He was looking for another coffee shop so I was simply showing him..."