No Rest for the Wicked || Corpsekkuno

Chapter One

Sykkuno twirled a pen between his fingers. The coffee machines weren't making the soothing whirring noises they usually made, every seat in the shop was annoyingly empty and Sykkuno was bored. The Busy Bean was always true to its name except for this late at night. Why Ash wanted this place open until an ungodly hour, he wasn't sure, but nobody could say no to Ash both because she was their boss and because she was too sweet to reject. Besides, it was easy to earn money this way; Sykkuno didn't have to do anything, just man the shop while humming along to the same lo-fi songs he had heard on loop since this morning.

The cleaning rag was staring at him from its place on the register and Sykkuno sighed as he picked it up, going over the tables again. It would cost him about fifteen minutes to go through the store and clean everything, another fifteen minutes closer to the freedom he was craving. He thought about ordering some pizza when he got home, stretch himself out on the couch to prepare himself for another shift the next afternoon.

The ring of the little bell above the door made Sykkuno jump, it wasn't something he had been expecting, especially not this close to closing time. "Welcome to The Busy Bean," he called out to the customer before rushing to the register.

It was in that moment that he finally took in the stranger's appearance properly.

The person in front of him certainly didn't look like the usual art students and business people he served during the day. No, this stranger was dressed in a black suit that looked a little wet which was strange because it wasn't raining outside. There were chains on his dress pants which should have looked weird but for some reason, it suited the person's vibes. The hands that had laid themselves on the counter, bore rings that looked heavy enough to weigh down every finger but the person in front of him wore them easily.

When Sykkuno finally looked up, he saw the mask first, matte black like his suit. The stranger wore an eyepatch in the same colour as well and Sykkuno briefly wondered why he needed an eyepatch before knocking some sense into himself. He wasn't entitled to know about this random stranger's probable medical conditions.

What caught him most was the visible eye, though. Half-hidden behind a lock of curly black hair, the eye shone a soft brown in the mood lighting of the coffeeshop. It was a stark difference from the attire the person wore and the overall coldness the person exuded.

"Do you have black coffee?" The stranger asked and Sykkuno nearly fell back from the dark, heavy melody the voice carried which strangely fit him just as everything else did.

"Of course," Sykkuno stammered and quickly went to make the order, laughing inwardly. Of course, this cool and mysterious stranger who wears all black wants to drink black coffee as well.

"Not many people come in here so late," Sykkuno said, trying to make some conversation, both because the stranger was intriguing and because Sykkuno was terribly bored, a combination that went well together, or so Sykkuno learned.

The stranger shrugged as he took his coffee cup and Sykkuno briefly wondered if he should have asked him if he wanted a to-go one. "Not many people do what I do."

Sykkuno leaned forward a little at that, curiosity shining in his eyes. "What do you do?"

The stranger laughed a little and shook his head. He gave Sykkuno money instead of the answer he wanted. Sykkuno would have easily given the coffee on the house if he could get a glimpse into a much more interesting life than he had.

What did Sykkuno have? An empty apartment, filled with objects just for one person. A job in a coffee shop with his friends despite having studied to become much more. A craving in his heart for a thrill, something to keep his otherwise dull life more interesting. And this stranger could be the key, if only he would open up to him.