French Cup: A Neighborhood Story

Chapter 16: -Kazuya- Korean James Bond

"He's a spy."

Ayane was holding her frozen coffee as we froze our butts off outside on the patio. We'd just closed up, 5 o'clock on the dot, and were enjoying a little time with our friends sitting at the picnic tables. Or, I was enjoying it.

She held up her finger like she was right, pointing it at the sky and then at us. "I bet you he is. He's been in all of our shops, even Miyuki's."

Miyuki nodded vigorously to confirm this, her arms crossed in front of her. 

"He tried to come into my live house, too," Hiran noted under his breath. "We were closed. Why would he try to come in?"

"Right!" Ayane said, using this as another point. "Why would he do that? I bet he's doing research for them. Seeing who we are."

I had to speak up. I'd been thinking about him all day, so much so that I couldn't concentrate. When I'd come back from Yuko's, he wasn't in French Cup. It had made me pause at the door, desperately hoping that I'd overlooked him, but that wasn't possible. His usual place next to the door had been empty, too. Immediately, my eyes went to our chocolate shelf. He hadn't been there either, another feeling like someone was punching me in the gut. 

I'd served customers, cleaned tables and then the windows. I'd gone outside to clean our big show window, hoping he'd maybe tap me on the shoulder and I could turn around and... And what exactly? 

I'd been lost in myself. We hadn't even known each other that long, but we'd bonded... It only confirmed my fears that he must have been at the hotel all day, helping with the wedding and whatever else came after. Supporting that machine, being a part of it. Part of me knew that he probably couldn't get away from it. That he must want to come to French Cup. But, really, why was I assuming? Maybe I'd been wrong, and what Ayane was saying now was true.

"He's not Korean James Bond," I said, quieter than Hiran had been. 

Nikki's hand went on my shoulder, wiggling it a bit. "Snap out of it. Maybe he is. We don't know him. People are good actors."

I shook my head. "It doesn't make any sense. He came to Drag Bingo. He helped us bury the cat. Why would he do that if he's acting?"

"People do weird things when they'd being pressured," Ayane continued. "I just can't figure out what kind of information he'd be trying to get. It's suspicious, I said it before. Why would someone like him suddenly be coming around so much?"

"It does make sense," Hiran agreed with her, stroking his beard in thought. "He doesn't fit in with us."

"Yesterday, he was in French Cup and directed a hotel guest to go to Starbucks instead," Miyuki mentioned. 

"Okay, that's really not fair," I said quickly. "You know what the situation was. He wasn't trying to drive away business. She was causing a problem and he was trying to get rid of her. You saw-"

"Was he, though? Think about it. He could have calmed her down and got her to be a customer."

"Miyuki..." I sighed. Was she really turning traitor after complimenting him yesterday? After liking him that much? 

I thought we could all be friends, but it was going so wrong. 

"Maybe that's what it is," Ayane said, holding her coffee like she was making to take a drink. "He's trying to research our businesses so that he can find other businesses in the area that the guests will like, that will suit them better." She moved her coffee cup away again as she got more into it. "Such as him directing that woman to a Starbucks. That seems like the kind of place they'd like more."