The Friday night shift was usually a blur of restocking and caffeine, but tonight, the air felt heavy. Rentaro was quieter than usual, his movements stiff as he organized the magazine rack. Rika noticed—she was becoming an expert at reading the slight shifts in his posture.
The door chimed. It wasn't the usual "ding-dong," but a forceful, lingering ring. Three guys walked in, wearing the uniforms of a high school across town—the one Rentaro had transferred from.
One of them, a broad-shouldered guy with a cruel smirk, stopped dead in his tracks. "No way. Is that... 'Quiet Rentaro'?"
Rentaro froze. The magazine in his hand crumpled.
"Look at this!" the guy laughed, calling his friends over. "The genius who thought he was too good for us is wearing a 7-Eleven vest. What happened, Hanamachi? Did you run out of places to hide?"
Rika watched from the register, her heart sinking. She saw Rentaro’s face go completely blank—the look of someone retreating into a shell. He didn't fight back; he just stared at the floor, his hands trembling slightly.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" The leader shoved Rentaro’s shoulder, hard. "What, did the 'invisible man' lose his voice? You were so brave when you reported us to the board, but look at you now. Just a clerk."
He grabbed a bag of chips from the rack and tossed it at Rentaro’s chest. "Pick that up. It’s your job, isn't it?"
Rentaro reached down, his movements robotic. He looked smaller than Rika had ever seen him. The bullying wasn't just physical; it was a ghost that had followed him to this new city, and it was currently winning.
Clack.
The sound of a scanner hitting the counter echoed through the store.
"That will be one hundred and fifty yen for the damaged chips," Rika’s voice rang out, cold and sharp as a shard of ice.
The bullies turned. Rika was standing behind the counter, her arms crossed, her "Ice Queen" stare leveled directly at the leader.
"Who are you supposed to be?" the guy sneered.
"I am the Senior Staff on duty," Rika lied with absolute conviction, stepping around the counter. "And you are currently violating store policy regarding the harassment of employees. If you don't pay for the product you just threw and leave immediately, I will press the silent alarm. The police station is two blocks away. They usually arrive in under three minutes."
"We're just joking around with an old friend—"
"He isn't your friend," Rika interrupted, standing between the bullies and Rentaro. She was shorter than them, but her presence was immense. "And your 'jokes' are a liability to this establishment. Pay. Now."
The leader looked at her, then at the camera dome on the ceiling, then back at Rentaro, who was looking up at Rika’s back in shock.
"Whatever. This place sucks anyway," the guy muttered, throwing two hundred yen on the counter. "Have fun with your loser friend, princess."
As the door chimed behind them, the silence that rushed back into the store was deafening. Rentaro didn't move. He was still staring at the floor.
"Rentaro," Rika said softly.
"You shouldn't have done that," he whispered, his voice cracked. "They'll just come back. They always do. I moved here so I wouldn't have to deal with people like that."
"Then let them come back," Rika said, walking over and forcing him to look at her. "I've spent my whole life being told what I'm worth by people who don't care about me. You're the one who told me to beat them. You’re the one who told me to be human."
She picked up the crumpled magazine he’d dropped and smoothed it out.
"You aren't a loser, Rentaro. You're the person who helped me survive my first week. You're the person who makes the best ginger pork in the city. If they can't see that, it's because they're too small to look up."
Rentaro looked at her, and for the first time, the wall between them didn't just have a crack—it was gone. He let out a shaky breath that turned into a dry, breathless laugh.
"You're really scary when you're mad, Shinozaki."
"I'm the 'Ice Queen,' remember?" she teased, her eyes softening. "Now, help me finish the dairy restock. My toes are already freezing, and I need you to tell me which milk has the longest shelf life."
Rentaro stood up straight, the tension finally leaving his shoulders. "It's the one in the back, genius. Everyone knows that."18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdV0OZJiuYd
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