A scent of freshly brewed coffee and baked pastries filled the air as Hanaria and Sheila stepped into the cozy atmosphere of Café Chua. It was a quaint, family-owned café that had been managed by Raphael's family for a few generations. The café was Raphael's hideout after-practice, and it became a regular hangout place for Hanaria and Sheila too. To the point where Raphael's father would call them the daughters he never had.
"Mr. Chua! Good evening!" Hanaria waved, as she made her way to the counter,
"Raphael, Hanaria and Sheila are here!" Mr. Chua called out to his son who was in the kitchen. "Don't forget Hanaria's pasta!"
Hanaria giggled, "You spoil me too much Mr. Chua,"
"Nonsense, you're like a daughter to me." he replied, guiding them to an empty table, "Tell me, how is your grandfather doing?"
"He's doing well, he still complains about his back pain though," she chuckles, "I always tell him to keep away from gardening for the time being, yet he always finds a way to go play with the dirt when I'm not home."
Mr. Chua laughed in amusement, "That old man sure is stubborn!" he commented, "By the way, have you heard from your father yet?"
Hanaria's smile slowly turned into a very serious expression before looking down, "He still sends us money for school and grandpa's medicine..." Hanaria paused, "We haven't heard much from him, but at least I know he's doing well." she smiled softly.
"I see, that's good to hear," Mr. Chua nodded, "Well, I'll leave you girls to talk about boys now," he teased playfully before going to the kitchen.
Sheila laughed, "Good one Mr. Chua!" She then looked at Hanaria with a mischievous smirk, "Speaking of boys, I saw you land on your butt because of someone's presence.
Hanaria groaned, "Sheila not again, I thought we were over that discussion." she said, hiding her face in her hands in embarrasment. "I just lost my footing, that's all."
Sheila laughed, "Girl, the Hanaria I know wouldn't lose her footing even if a bull charged towards her!" she chuckled, "You weren't just distracted too, I could see it in your eyes Hanaria, you were in dreamland for a second. Could it have been because of a certain Alexis Delos Santos?"
"Sheila! Not so loud," Hanaria scolded, asking her to pipe down. "It was just an accident, besides, I wasn't thinking about him."
"Oh? Then who were you thinking about?" Sheila teased.
Before Hanaria could respond, Raphael had made his way to their table. He was wearing an apron on top of his taekwondo uniform, his hair slightly tousled from practice and work, and yet his bunny-like smile always had a sense of warmth in them.
For Hanaria, Raphael carefully set down a carbonara dish and iced caramel frappé. And for Sheila, a cappuccino, and some cookies. After that, he took a chair from the vacant table behind him before sitting down. "So, whose life were you two speaking about?"
Sheila grinned mischievously as she took a sip of her coffee, "We were just talking about how Hanaria got served after getting distracted by someone."
Hanaria's cheeks flushed as she shot Sheila a 'shut-up' look. "I told you it was nothing! It's just not my day today, that's all."
Raphael chuckled softly, but there was a flicker of concern in his eyes as he looked at Hanaria. "You okay though? I've never seen you slip up like that. You're usually on fire during sparring matches. It's very much unlike you to lose your footing like that."
Sheila looked at Hanaria, flashing her a look that said, "See, told you so."
"I'm fine," Hanaria waved it off, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. "It's just one of those days. You know how it is."
