Cup of Crime

Chapter 6 : Opening Day

In the early hours of dawn, Howard who was full of energy worked tirelessly in the kitchen of the cafe, baking an assortment of pastries. Hearing the light 'ding' from the oven behind him, Howard stopped kneading the dough under his palm and took out the already baked goods. Putting on his oven mittens, the cafe owner carefully took out the iron tray of sweet cinnamon rolls before putting it aside to cool down.

Meanwhile on the upper floor of the cafe, Corry who slept in a sleeping bag next to his brother's bed began to toss and roll awake, bumping his forehead on his brother's newly bought bed frame. Having stayed the night to witness the opening of his brother's cafe, the purple haired college student who came down from the upper floor with his messy bedhead was a little sleepy. That was until the sweet aromatic scent of his favourite pastry touched his nose.

Letting the sweet fragrance guide him, Corry came into the kitchen to steal a cinnamon roll but was quickly caught by his brother. But Howard wasn't the slightest bit mad, instead an amused smile plastered itself onto his face before he shooed his little brother out of the kitchen.

"Sit tight. I'll get you your breakfast," Howard peeked out the doorway from the cafe to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Howard took a pair of tongs and plated a serving of cinnamon rolls before frosting and carrying it out to his brother who sat at in nearest table. Placing the pastry in front of his brother, Howard moved on to brew a cup of pumpkin spice latte. Howard's hands moved fluently as he mixed the necessary ingredients such as some espresso, steamed milk, pumpkin cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves into his brother's favourite cup. The cup was custom made black one with the phrase "I'm Not Straight" with rainbow font.

Taking a sip of his piping hot latte, Corry immediately felt his whole body heat up. The hot liquid that burnt his tongue and stimulated his taste buds woke him up instantly. Next, the purple haired college students began to dig into the sugary sweetness that was his brother's cinnamon rolls. The cinnamon rolls were soft and light while the snow white frosting was sweet. For a long while, Corry just sat there with his eyes shut, slowly savouring every minute that the delicious treat was in his mouth. Not even the bits of frosting stuck on his face could bother him, licking it clean with his stuck out tongue. His brother's baking skill was the best, he thought happily.

Bored of watching his little brother enjoying his breakfast, Howard decided it was time to flip open the open sign of his cafe. Heading towards the glass door, the cafe owner was surprised by the tall figure already outside waiting. As if one surprise wasn't enough, it turned out the first customer of his hubble little cafe was the rumoured ruthless boss of the Black Dragons, Tobias Black.

Opening the door like a gentleman, Howard smiled at the tall muscular man as he ushered him into the warm cafe. Tobias who carried along his briefcase was not idle as he went in and sat down directly at the counter stool. Seeing the man seated, Howard handed him the laminated menu that his brother designed for Tobias to browse.

A solid minute passed but Tobias had not yet made up his mind when felt a pair of staring eyes on the back of his head. Turning his body to face the only other person in the cafe aside from him and Howard, he then spoke.

"You know it's impolite to stare at people," Tobias' tone was light, with no hint of anger.

Corry who was found out flushed red from the tip of his ears down to his neck. The uni student didn't mean to stare but the man in front of him had an unique air that he couldn't just ignore. Even so, it was not an excuse to be impolite so Corry openly admitted his mistake.

"I'm sorry. I was just curious why somebody like you is doing in the 'Crime Zone'?"

"What's so unusually about it?" Tobias asked back, the corner of his lips arched upwards.