Little Roadside Cafe

What's something sweet and bitter?

It was a day like any other.

Tea stretched his arms awaiting a new day at the cafe. He was excited since the new tea blend he developed for the cafe was finally gonna be out for sale.

The manager who was a kind man, and possibly a father figure for Tea, gave him the opportunity to sell his awesome and unique tea blends in the cafe, and by doing so, it gave the cafe a bit of popularity whenever a new flavor was up.

As they set up the cafe before opening, another staff member came by for work. She wasn't very active because of college and sports work, but she was always welcome to come by whenever she needed extra cash.

Her name was Tso Ko (pronounced Choco). She was a tall girl, slightly muscular and tomboyish, usually wearing a ponytail, sometimes a pixie cut, and had a deep voice. She doesn't talk much but says things straight to the point.

"Hehe~"

Tea smiles in awe secretly. It turns out, he has a crush on this woman. His admiration for her, although boring, comes from her "handsome" look.

"What a good day to be bisexual"

He says under his breath.

Though it's funny to see, the manager would be aware of this, and would always think it'd be a bad day for him whenever this happens.

The manager loves his employees of course, however the reason why he dreads whenever both of them are present is that Tea becomes so distracted, he daydreams in the middle of service, and fumbles more often than usual.

It was even more scary for him now because the new tea blend was out, and expected things to be busier.

The manager finally opened the cafe doors. He hopes nothing goes wrong today.

As expected, the new tea blend was very popular indeed, especially with kids. "Berry Carnival tea", an amazing blend Tea developed with sweet fruity aroma made from a mix of black currants, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry and blueberries.

It was especially recommended paired with dark chocolate cakes or mocha cakes.

The deep rich flavor of the cakes would be complimented extremely well with the sweet fruity aroma of the tea, a perfect pairing to get at noon to get energized for the day.

So far, Tea wasn't having any performance problems so far however his gaze was noticeable and his movements were a bit clunky at times too.

"Oh well, at least he's doing good."

The manager thought to himself.

All of his hopes for a decent service would start to disappear though as a familiar face walked in the establishment.

As Tea saw him, he froze momentarily before greeting him with a forced smile and guiding him to his seat. It was Cola.

Tea was unsure how to feel about him exactly. He doesn't know if he feels awkward or hurt, all he knows is that he's confused. There were things that were revealed to him that night that stuck to him even now.

"Do you remember.. 13 years ago? I was.."

Tea started to remember the things Cola said but was interrupted by Tso Ko who tried to snap him out of his deep thought.

Cola was there in front of them, just staring at both awkwardly.

"Tea, if you're not feeling well, let me handle it."

Tea looked back and noticed Tso Ko's hand on his shoulders, and her face just over it.
His heart started to thump and his faced turned red. The sound of her voice gently whispering right behind him spiraled him into a state of fluster.

"I-I can do this haha"

"No you can't, shut up and go back"

"Hdjsehkewk okay"

Tea walked away from the table slumping down and sweating. Both Cola and Tso Ko were confused by the sight.

"So uhhm. How do you exactly know each other?"

Cola asked, he was curious about Tea's behavior towards her.

"Oh. We're just work mates"

"Uh huh"

Cola tilts his head a bit and looks over her only to see Tea hiding terribly from a lamp while staring at Tso Ko.

"Is that so.."

"He's just looking over me since I'm his junior."

"I see."

"Are you gonna order or not?"

"Please stop rushing me."

"I'm not rushing you. Just need the order."

A weird tension between them started to rise. Tso Ko was straightforward but was impatient and Cola was indeed being slow with the questions.

Tea did notice the mood and what was happening, however he refused to stop it.

"Hehe. Two handsome people fighting. I'm so gay" he thought to himself.

Today was a win for Tea.

.... but was a great loss for the manager (he started taking himself because the employees were too distracted)