Customer Service

Chapter 1

"Welcome to Hero's Bakery!"

Kirishima pushed open the wooden door to the building, letting the sweet smells of confectioneries and warm drinks permeate his senses. Slowly, he took in the interior of the shop from the entrance, taking note of the stylish placement of chairs and tables arranged around cute potted plants. It was pretty empty, but Kirishima figured that was a given as he had come at an odd hour.

"Oh, it's Kirishima-kun!"

Kirishima turned to watch a girl with fluffy, bobbed chestnut-colored hair make her way towards him from the counter, waving energetically. She wore a long, beige apron over a plain white dress shirt and black jeans. The other girl behind the counter with short, purple hair looked up for a moment before resuming her duties.

"Hi Uraraka! It's been a while!" He smiled, stepping into the store to meet her.

"It really has! I feel like I haven't seen you in so long!"

"Well," Kirishima laughed, scratching his chin. "I haven't been here since the bakery's opening, so—how's work been?"

"It's been great, I love it here!" Uraraka beamed as she gestured to one of the seats near the windows. Kirishima followed her lead and sat down in one of the chairs, picking up a menu. "What brings you here?"

"In the area again for my internship! Here for my after-lunch break," Kirishima responded up at her. "I heard the bakery's been doing pretty well so I wanted to pop in for a visit. Pretty well, except..."

Uraraka blinked, prompting Kirishima to continue. He chuckled nervously, taking his phone out of his pocket and directing her attention to the picture on the screen.

It was a review of Hero's Bakery on Help, the nationwide search forum for all types of service jobs including but, not excluded to restaurants, doctors, salons, and the like. Hero's Bakery was fairly high overall, ranking as one of the top cafes in the area except for one category that was scored significantly lower than the rest.

"Ah..." Uraraka sighed, fatigue settling into her features.

"N-not that that's a huge problem or anything, I was just concerned!" Kirishima responded hastily, glancing at her sympathetically. "Is it a new waiter?"

"No, it's not, it's kind of complicated?" she responded sheepishly, directing Kirishima to the menu. "It's not a big deal though! It doesn't usually come up, it's just the customers who have a real problem with it that leave those nasty reviews there!"

Kirishima stared at her for a moment longer before turning to flip through the menu. "If you say so, then..."

"Anyways, if you need me, you know where to find me," Uraraka exclaimed, pointing towards the counter.

Kirishima gave a thumbs-up as she left him to peruse the menu on his own. Although it had been a while since he had been there, he could see that most of the bakery's core cakes, drinks, and baked goods remained the same from its opening, mouth-watering treats from head chef Rikido Sato who Kirishima had met a few times in the past.

One thing he enjoyed best about this menu was how personalized it was. Even though Kirishima wasn't extremely close to Sato, he could really understand and come to know who the baker was through his works. Some of his favorite dishes from Sato were the 'Enticing Eclairs,' 'Mother's Apple Strudels,' and 'Chiffon and Off Cakes,' that never failed to deliver a light, but fruity flavor with every bite. It really gave Kirishima an insight into the man's character.

Just as he was about to choose from one of the three options, his eyes skimmed across past the 'Chef Recommendations' section to 'Customer Favorites.' At the very bottom of the menu in the right-hand corner was an entry that read 'Killer Caramel,' shorthand 'Kororamel.'