“No love confessions? Then what is it? Hm… Maybe something to do with work?”
“That’s it, actually…”
Kazuhiko smiled awkwardly. How did Chisato know? Did she somehow read it in his face?
“Is it urgent? Oh, Takina! Don’t get changed yet! Stop! Come back! Back here, babe!”
Takina, who was about to disappear in the back, stopped and scowled at Chisato.
“Don’t panic; I heard you. Work it is, then.”
For some reason, everyone’s eyes were on Kazuhiko. Even Kurumi stopped setting up the game pieces and was watching him intently. An unusual, tense silence fell on the café.
“Please, go ahead and tell us what it is,” said Mika.
Kazuhiko was feeling increasingly anxious.
“I wanted to ask you if it’d be all right for me to…write a feature about your café for a magazine.”
For a few nerve-racking seconds, nobody said a thing…and then, to Kazuhiko’s bewilderment, the staff laughed and looked away from him.
“Whew, so that’s what it was about! Mr. Kazuhiko, you joker, you shouldn’t keep us in suspense like that!”
Chisato poked his shoulder, chuckling. Takina quietly left the room, and Kurumi resumed her work.
“Er… Um… Sorry, I’m confused…”
Why had everyone been acting so out of character earlier? As if they weren’t café staff, but…what, exactly?
Mizuki closed her bridal magazine and looked Kazuhiko up and down.
“Wait, so you work for a publishing company? Ah, now I understand. Hmm… Well… I didn’t notice before that you were so handsome…”
“Oh, I’m just a freelance writer. I’ve recently mentioned to a publisher I’m on pretty good terms with that I’d like to write a piece about your café, and that’s what I came to talk to you about today…”
“You mean you’re not employed full-time by any major publisher?”
“No, I’m not…”
Mizuki started reading the magazine again, and Kazuhiko painfully learned that some people didn’t bother hiding their complete loss of interest in you.
Incidentally, as a full-time employee of a major publisher, once you were in your forties, you’d have a salary you could live on in Tokyo as the breadwinner of your family. However, freelance writers like Kazuhiko could only dream of financial stability.
Only Chisato seemed interested in the article.
“So, what do you want to write about LycoReco?” she asked with her curious eyes fixed on Kazuhiko.
“Well, I was thinking of writing a feature on Kinshicho cafés with the main focus on Café LycoReco.”
“Hey, that sounds cool! Yeah! You know what we’ve got! Delicious coffee, Japanese desserts, and adorable waitresses… Whoo! I can totally see it! This is going to get us a ton more customers!”
Chisato’s big smile made Kazuhiko think of summer sunflowers in full bloom. She was bursting with life. Her cheerfulness energized those around her.
Kazuhiko’s original concept for the article was to present the café as a curious, chic establishment with a refined aesthetic, focusing on Mika, the owner. However, Chisato’s idea—putting the spotlight on the waitresses—wasn’t bad either.
“Isn’t that exciting, Teach?! Oh, will there be a photo shoot? With professional cameramen?”
“Yes. If you’re okay with this, let me know which day works best for you, and I’ll arrange everything.”
“Wow, wow, wow! I’ll have to book an appointment with a stylist pronto!”
“So, do I have your permission to proceed with the article…?”
“Yeah, sure—”
“I cannot agree to this.”
Mika’s flat refusal froze the smiles on Chisato’s and Kazuhiko’s faces.
“What were you thinking, Chisato?” Kurumi said without looking at them. “Attracting attention to the café?”
Chisato dashed over to the tables on the tatami floor.
“But…what’s wrong with that? It would be good for our business and make my life more fulfilling! We might become famous, maybe even turn into a household name across the whole country! Wouldn’t that be nice, hmm? Ku! Ru! Mi!”
“That’s the whole problem. It’d get in the way of our work.”
Mika smiled apologetically at Kazuhiko.
“I appreciate the offer, but we do not want to be featured in the media.”
“You say that, but you have a social media presence. Your café isn’t a secret.”
“The social media account…is mostly for the benefit of our regular customers. It was her idea.”
Mika looked over at Chisato with a fatherly gaze. Chisato was still passionately trying to convince Kurumi that they should say yes to the article.
“…There’s no changing your mind, is there? I think it’s a pity that few people know this wonderful café is here.”
“I’m pleased you hold us in such high esteem. If you like the atmosphere here, then maybe you can understand why I prefer to keep a low profile and avoid the bustle of more popular places?”
“Preserving the atmosphere isn’t the main reason,” Mizuki commented without taking her eyes off her magazine.
Kazuhiko looked to Mika, waiting for him to elaborate, but the barista said nothing, turning to do some work in the kitchen as if he hadn’t heard Mizuki’s remark.
That left Kazuhiko wondering if the aversion to publicity was due to some closely guarded secret. No, what a silly idea. That sort of thing happened only in comics.
Kazuhiko scratched his head and sipped his requested American coffee, which had a delicate flavor. To be clear, this was not an Americano, which would have been an espresso diluted with water. Café LycoReco’s American coffee was purposefully weak black coffee brewed using light-roasted beans. Kazuhiko found the lightness of the beverage comforting, encouraging him to enjoy the moment and worry less.
Suddenly, Kazuhiko became aware of a pleasant smell wafting from the kitchen to the accompaniment of gentle crackling. He craned his neck to see Mika toasting something over a wire mesh. While Kazuhiko was still wondering what it might be, Mika swiftly placed a scoop of sweet azuki bean paste onto the mystery items and placed them on a plate. When he set it in front of Kazuhiko, the writer saw it held two monaka desserts—little mochi wafers filled with red bean paste. Kazuhiko guessed Mika had made him the treat as an apology.
“I hope this doesn’t put you off from coming here again.”
“No, of course not. I love your café so much, I wanted to tell more people about it, that’s all. I…would like to keep coming here, if you don’t mind.”
“You’re always welcome.”
Mika smiled, and Kazuhiko felt for a moment like a little boy who had just been told he was a good kid by a grown-up. It was curiously heartwarming.
Ding-a-ling! The bell rang again as another customer came in.
While Mika and the waitresses turned to the newcomer, Kazuhiko picked up one of the monaka. It was tube-shaped, light brown, and still hot. Some parts were a darker shade of brown—prepared by hand, they had been toasted a little unevenly. When Kazuhiko brought the wafer to his lips, he thought about characters from mafia movies with cigars in their mouths. It was an unusual shape for a monaka. At first, Kazuhiko thought it was made like that simply for the sake of novelty, but when he was just about to take a bite, it dawned on him that it made perfect sense for monaka to be tubular.
Your usual cookie-sandwich-shaped monaka broke when you bit into them, leaving crumbs sticking to the corners of your mouth. Most of the filling was at the center, so your first and last bites were pretty much just the wafer, which was a little unsatisfying. Making the monaka tube-shaped removed both of those problems.
Kazuhiko thought it must’ve been an idea of one of the girls. Was it Mizuki, Chisato, or Takina? Not Kurumi. Or had it been one of the customers who’d suggested it? A lady working at some Kinshicho night bar? In any case, it was very clever.
Biting into the monaka, Kazuhiko felt rising excitement as if he were about to unwrap a present. With every crunch, the delightful smell of freshly toasted mochi wafer filled his senses. Toasting it over an open flame really did bring out an amazing aroma. Kazuhiko’s lips and tongue felt the heat of the wafer, but as he bit down on it, a refreshingly cold sensation hit him. Inside the satisfyingly crispy wafer was chilled sweet azuki paste. Two temperatures, two textures. And because Mika had opted for the chunkier red bean paste rather than the smooth kind, the azuki beans truly sang in this composition. These layers came together with each bite for a sublimely perfect mouthfeel at just the right temperature, slowly revealing delicate sweetness.
“Oh wow… Ha-ha-ha.”
Exhilarated, Kazuhiko let out a joyous laugh. This monaka was incredible, delighting first with its smell and then with the contrasting temperatures and textures. Each bite took you on a sensory adventure. And the taste was, of course, superb. It was a delicious treat that was fun to eat.
Everything served at Café LycoReco had an original twist, elevating it to new heights. It was a wonderful place. The style, the staff, the menu—it ticked all the boxes.
Even though Kazuhiko was disappointed he wouldn’t get to write a piece to popularize this unique café, he was smiling. The dessert had worked like magic. Or maybe the magic was Mika’s? In either case, Kazuhiko was happy to be under this spell. He took another sip of his coffee. It went remarkably well with the Japanese sweet.