[Warning: Cursing/Profanity]

A painful burn sizzled against my forearm along with a loud clanking noise which rattled the room.

“Arrrghhh! Fuck, not again!”

“Kai, stop swearing, you’re going to scare our customers away!” Lora instructed.

“Ah, s-sorry…” I muttered while reaching for a wet towel. I scoffed in silence - this was the fifth time this week I had accidentally spilled coffee on myself.

Isn’t this black and white apron around my torso pretty much useless if I’m always spilling on my arm?!

“Geez, and you’re still quite slow at making the Muller’s latte!” she continued to yell in anger while placing her hands on her waist like a mother scolding a child. The pouty cheeks she wore on her face had me scoff a second time. I could not believe I actually took up their job offer; within two weeks, I went from a millionaire son who was on top of the world to a low life working as a barista. On top of that, I still lived in a nearby tent at the park, since the money I pocketed from work was barely enough to afford rent in the city. Life can be cruel sometimes.

“Kai, can you help fill the machine with new beans? We’re almost out of the house blend,” said Julian. His voice sounded equally displeased as his partner’s, and he walked past me to help another customer at the front without batting an eye.

“Sure thing.”

Rolling up my stained white sleeves, I peeked my head over the large sack of beans to look for the metal scoop. Needless to say, I did not expect to find -

“What the fuck?!” I yelled, startling both Lora and Julian.

Coffee beans were supposed to be brown, consistent in shape and smell, and in abundance. Well, something else in there was also brown but instead shaped like a cinnamon roll, and noticeably larger with a foul smell to it.

“What?! What is it this time…” Julian sighed and walked over. His forehead, exposed thanks to his man bun, was full of wrinkles from anger.

While moving away from the sack to give Julian a good view, I covered my nose and mouth in disgust. Just how in the world did pieces of literal shit end up in the sack of coffee beans? And -

“Just how long have you been brewing these beans for?!” Julian swung back and glared at me; his eyes burning with fury, and his hair looked like they were springing out of his man bun at any moment.

“I-I don’t know!!” I replied with my face drenched in sweat. The poop looked quite dry - there was the possibility it had been there for a while already, and I somehow missed it while brewing the previous batch of coffee.

“Meeoow.”

A Chartreux cat, with fur likened to that of charcoal and eyes a bright orange, jumped on the counter next to the coffee roasting machine. His body was almost the size of the machine itself.

God dammit, it was you, wasn’t it?

“Sesame!” Lora cried as she darted over to pick the cat up. “Just how did you get out of your room?!”

Sesame meowed softly and curled into a ball within Lora’s arms. I glanced at the cat, who produced a smirk behind his whiskers.

Damn you, fur ball!

I pieced the puzzle together quite fast. Gulping with sweat going down my neck, I turned around to the back door where the staff room was. It was opened wide with the key still stuck in the doorknob.

“I… forgot to close the door properly.”

Julian grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me up to his height up against his chest. Only the devil himself bore a scarier face than his.

“Kai!! Do you realize how nasty and dangerous this is?! What if the customers get infected?!”

“I-I know! I’m sorry, I was in a rush to pick up the sack of beans earlier…but shouldn’t the heat kill off the bacteria and-”

“Shut your trap and go take everyone’s cups back! We can’t let anyone drink this stuff, understand me?!”

Julian slammed his forehead into mine, causing a painful bruise.

“Y-Yes sir!!”

Throwing me back down, I almost slipped on the hard wooden floor. My eyes wanted to cry, and my body wanted to hide away in a corner. Just what was the chance the stupid cat would choose the bag of coffee beans of all things as his litter box?

I clenched my fists harder than ever before but released them immediately. There was no time to feel frustrated. Never had I wished to return to my previous life as much as I did today: the wealthy “prince” who lived in a mansion, attended private schools, and paid himself into an elite college. I’d be woken up by maids every morning, eat only five-star meals, and order everyone around except my father. Now, I’m nothing more than a dimwit with barely any money, who was getting scolded left and right at a coffee shop of all places. And on top of that, I was about to serve my customers a delicious poop-roasted coffee. Fuck.

No… I shook my head, wiped the sweat off my forehead, and ran out in front of the counter.

Only I was to blame for this mess. As much as I couldn’t bear to gulp it down, the past is the past. As of now, I’m currently signed under contract to work here in the best interest of the business - and I had to fix this.

Frantically gaping across the wooden tiles of the floor and jumping in front of the counter near where the customers sat, I breathed a sigh of relief to find only two people - a man and woman - near the back behind a large house plant. However -

“Oh shit!”

My walk returned to a sprint the moment I saw them both bring their mugs up to their lips. My heart thumped louder than a drum as each second passed by.

“Stop!”

Without thinking, I swooped in and slapped both their mugs out of their hands before they managed to take their first sip.

Splash! Clang!

This goes without saying: never have I done something so humiliating. If I could just die and not sit through this mess, I would.

I closed my eyes briefly while the mugs flew out of their hands. A series of shatters tinkled the wooden floor, and the extremely hot coffee splashed all over my arm and shirt. I could hear a few gasps by new customers behind me who lined up to order at the counter, and the sounds of both the man and woman at the table jumping out of their seats was loud and clear. But before I could open my eyes slowly -

Slap!

I did a full three-sixty in the air from the fierce spank that obliterated my cheeks, before landing bum-first onto the ground. The coffee had spilled all over the table and the floor, and both mugs were shattered on the ground around me.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

Bringing a hand to caress my swollen cheek, I looked up to find a cute woman sporting a tracksuit; thankfully, only the side of her thighs caught the splash of brown liquid. Her arms were crossed in anger, and her burgundy hair was tied back but not hidden. Her dark chestnut eyes scowled down at me, waiting for an answer.

Quite frankly, I was startled by her pretty appearance - so much so that I even stuttered to explain the situation, and instead blurted out:

“I didn’t want you drinking cat shit!”

Wait, what the hell am I even saying…?!

“Huh?!” she blurted out. Her eyes squinted more in anger.

“H-Hey, it’s alright Rin, let’s just hear the guy out.”

I had almost completely forgotten about the guy who she sat across from. He walked up and placed a hand on Rin’s shoulder. The dude was tall in appearance and wore a blue blazer over a white T-shirt and a chain necklace. His hair, noticeably black by nature, was dyed a light shade of gray, not to mention permed. I almost wanted to scoff and give him a glare without considering the circumstances - this was probably her boyfriend.

“B-But Elias! This idiot ruined our clothes and our coff-”

“The beans were contaminated with our cat’s litter.”

Both Rin and Elias looked back down with raised eyebrows, perhaps surprised by my interruption. For some reason, upon noticing Rin’s boyfriend, I managed to calm myself. I could even feel my heart slow its pounding.

“What?!”

“I said, the beans were contaminated. We have a cat who snuck out from the back because I left the door open, and he somehow decided to use our bag of beans as her litter box. I’m terribly sorry for the trouble I caused…I simply didn’t want you drinking that.”

I stood up, held my hands together, and bowed immediately. As I squeezed my eyes shut, a brief silence befell the entire shop. I even held my breath, waiting anxiously for a response. Finally, after what felt like minutes -

“Hmph. Well, whatever then. Let’s go, Elias.”

I continued bowing as Rin and Elias strolled past me. I knew she’d still be mad obviously; I probably ruined their entire date. However -

“Wait!”

I just couldn’t help but desire more closure from a girl as pretty as her. I’ve only worked in the shop for a week, and to be quite honest, my customer service skills were as bland as the coffee I brewed. But if there’s one important thing I’ve learned…

“What?! We’re in a hurry.”

Rin and Elias, who were holding hands, halted near the exit.

“I’ll treat both of you to the most expensive meal we offer here with any free drink… so I hope I can see you guys back here again.”

Perhaps it was me being stubborn, but I’ve learned to never let a customer walk out without a happy expression, no matter what.