On the way to the Birch Café, Suzuki Yuu noticed that not far from his workplace, a new manga café had opened.
And it seemed to be a major chain, called the Dimensional Café.
This was quite a curious thing, but Suzuki Yuu just glanced at it twice and didn’t think much of it.
However, upon entering the store, he was startled to find the manager and Ayaha sitting solemnly at the table, their expressions serious as they stared at a tablet.
Suzuki Yuu moved closer to take a look and saw that the tablet was displaying the Dimensional Café’s official website.
“What happened?” Suzuki Yuu asked curiously.
His voice broke the somewhat tense atmosphere, and the faces of the Shiraishi father and daughter relaxed at once. They both looked over at Suzuki Yuu.
“Oh, Suzuki, we’re checking out information about that new café that just opened next door. You must have seen it on your way here, right?”
“Was it opened while I was away on the school trip?”
“That’s right. You could say they’re coming in with a bang. They’ve been running promotions these past few days, so we have to pay attention.”
“They don’t really seem like direct competitors. Shouldn’t affect us much, right?”
In response to the manager’s words, Suzuki Yuu wasn’t too concerned, since the Birch Café mainly specialized in premium coffee, and its customers were mostly coffee enthusiasts and regulars.
“That café mainly serves otaku. In a way, it could even increase foot traffic on the whole street and boost our business.”
Suzuki Yuu added, then picked up his work uniform, ready to go to the changing room.
But at this moment, Manager Shiraishi spoke up:
“Suzuki, that’s too naïve of you. They might be operating that way now, but after a while, if they just tweak their promotional strategy a bit and lower their prices, it could put us in a tough spot.”
“Uh…” Hearing this, Suzuki Yuu didn’t know what to say for a moment.
The manager spoke again:
“The Birch Café has lasted so long because we’ve always had a strong sense of crisis, Suzuki. You have to stay alert at all times!”
Why does that sound like he’s planning to hand the store over to me…
Suzuki Yuu grumbled inwardly, then offered the manager a compliment before heading off to change.
After changing and getting ready to work, he suddenly noticed Shiraishi Ayaha and the manager both eyeing him.
“What are you two up to?” He immediately sensed trouble.
“Um…Suzuki…”
Shiraishi Ayaha spoke first, her eyes filled with expectation, her hands clasped in front of her as she said, “We just discussed things a bit and thought you might… be perfect for this…”
“Perfect?” Suzuki Yuu grew even more cautious. “What heavy burden are you about to dump on me?”
“Ahem,” Manager Shiraishi cleared his throat and picked up, “Suzuki, Ayaha and I have been thinking, and we really need to change up our marketing approach.”
He paused, his tone becoming earnest. “It’d be best to connect more with young people…after all, the internet is so developed these days…”
The moment Suzuki Yuu heard this, he instantly guessed where this was going and almost reflexively wanted to refuse.
“Manager,” he cut in, “changing things blindly could hurt the café’s reputation.”
“It’s fine, it won’t have much impact. Besides, the Birch Café has been around for years; it’s about time for some changes. Sticking to old ways isn’t good.”
“So what exactly do you have in mind…”
Suzuki Yuu sighed, realizing he probably couldn’t escape.
“The details aren’t fully decided yet,” Manager Shiraishi saw that Suzuki wasn’t flat-out refusing, and hurried to strike while the iron was hot, fearing he’d run away. “For now, the rough idea is to film a full set of your specialty coffee-making process. From grinding beans, to brewing, to latte art—show everything in detail.”
Suzuki Yuu frowned. He took half a step back, trying to distance himself from this “heavy burden”:
“Um… Manager, wouldn’t it be the same if you filmed it yourself? You’re the real professional.”
“That’s completely different!” Manager Shiraishi shook his head at once, his expression more serious than ever:
“Suzuki, you have to understand, a lot of young people these days… they might not pay for a good cup of coffee, but there’s a good chance they’ll come for a handsome guy who makes coffee!”
“That sounds unreliable.” Suzuki Yuu glanced at the manager, then at Ayaha:
“You think this idea will work too?”
“I want to give it a try! It seems… pretty fun. And if it’s just filming the process, it shouldn’t be too much trouble!”
Shiraishi Ayaha replied with a bit of excitement. Seeing the two of them so eager, Suzuki Yuu didn’t argue further.
But what he hadn’t expected was just how quickly they took action.
In no time at all, Suzuki Yuu found himself standing in the kitchen, staring blankly at the three cameras set up to his left, center, and right—two of which looked quite professional, while the other was Shiraishi Ayaha’s smartphone held high, beauty filter on, aimed right at him.
“Wait… Manager, where did you even get all this equipment?”
“Hehe, rented it from the neighbor who owns the photo shop! Super cheap!” The manager rubbed his hands together, brimming with excitement as he took up the role of director. “Alright, everything’s powered up! Ayaha, you handle the clapper and close-ups!”
“Got it!” Shiraishi Ayaha responded eagerly, moving the phone in for a close-up and announcing in what she thought was a professional director’s tone: “[The Birch Café’s Dishes] Scene One, Take One! Action!”
“……”
By the time filming ended, Suzuki Yuu was slumped in his chair.
Per the father and daughter’s request, he had kept a smile on his face the entire time, trying to look like a gentle, handsome guy.
Because of their frequent mistakes, filming dragged on for ages. By the time it finished, it was already nine o’clock at night.
He felt like the fake smile was plastered to his face and almost impossible to peel off.
“Manager, there aren’t any more things planned, are there?”
“Oh, nope, we’ll get a professional to do the editing later. Thanks for your hard work—you’ll get overtime pay.”
With that, Manager Shiraishi picked up the copied USB stick, satisfied, and left first.
The bell on the café door chimed with a soft “ding-ling,” and the café, which had been lively due to the filming, suddenly fell quiet, leaving only Shiraishi Ayaha and Suzuki Yuu.
The atmosphere was a little awkward for a moment.
Shiraishi Ayaha turned and handed him a cup of hot milk, her voice much softer:
“Thanks for your hard work. Have some milk.”
“Thanks.”
After a while, once the mug was empty, he let out a long sigh and said:
“The manager really just acts on every whim.”
Shiraishi Ayaha smiled when she heard his slightly complaining words.
“Sorry, sorry,” she put her hands together in apology, her face apologetic but unable to hide the laughter in her eyes, “That’s just how Dad is—once he thinks of something, he just has to do it right away. But you did great, Suzuki-kun. Thank you!”
“It was alright… There won’t be more things like this, will there?” Suzuki Yuu stretched his neck, which was already stiff, feeling the muscles in his face still twitching slightly out of control.
“There might be, you know. What if it’s a big hit?”
“I bet the response will be pretty average…” Suzuki Yuu muttered reflexively, though you never knew with these things.
Just then, Suzuki Yuu’s expression suddenly froze.
He abruptly realized something he’d overlooked.
If the “results are good,” that means the video will spread.
Wouldn’t that mean… people he knew, especially those at school, would see it too?
A sense of foreboding welled up inside him.