"...Tear off the coupon stub and put it in here. Then just give the main ticket and drink voucher to the customer..."
Hoshika stood outside the counter, one hand propped on the desk, pointing at the drawers beneath as she explained to Ishikawa Hayabusa how everything should be organized.
Despite her lazy, quiet appearance, Hoshika was surprisingly serious when teaching someone.
But after talking for a while, she noticed that Hayabusa wasn't really focused — he was sitting at the front desk, head tilted as if listening to something nearby.
Hoshika straightened her back and turned to look. At the bar counter nearby, her younger sister was busy teaching the pink-haired girl from the band where all the drinks were stored.
Thinking Hayabusa was distracted by her sister and possibly harboring some "unholy thoughts," Hoshika raised her voice, a note of irritation in it.
"Hey, are you even listening?"
"Of course. I've been paying attention to everything you said, Boss."
He replied earnestly, unhurried and calm.
There was no way to stay mad at him when he was being this straightforward and sincere. Crossing her arms, Hoshika decided to dig a little deeper, almost as if trying to pick a fight.
"Then what were you just daydreaming about?"
Hayabusa kept listening to the noise from the bar.
From over there came Nijika's panicked cry: "Eh, eh, eh?! Where did you pull that out from?"
Guessing what must be happening, Hayabusa smiled knowingly and then said to Hoshika:
"Thinking about Bocchi."
That nickname was one Hoshika had heard before — she knew exactly who he meant.
For a moment, the boy's bold words left her speechless.
She glanced over toward the bar, where her attention was soon captured by Bocchi's impromptu little tune — a playful song about drink placements, of all things.
Listening to the music, Hoshika found herself briefly entranced before murmuring almost to herself:
"Not bad. She's playing at a professional level already, huh?"
As she said this, she couldn't help but recall that jaw-dropping solo the girl had played while sitting in a fruit crate the other day.
Over the last couple of days, seeing Bocchi's timid, awkward behavior, she had almost forgotten just how cool she had looked back then... Not that she had looked that cool in the first place, maybe.
Soon, though, Bocchi was stopped — Nijika, startled by the sudden performance, hurriedly pulled her back.
Hoshika watched her little sister and Bocchi squabbling in a tug-of-war over the guitar. After a moment of silence, she strode over and delivered a swift karate-chop to the top of Nijika's head.
As Nijika crouched down, clutching her head and whining pitifully — "Why meee?" — Hoshika returned to the counter.
Hayabusa, who had been listening to all of this, chuckled lightly.
"You even hit such a cute little sister of yours. Guess this big sister isn't very reasonable, huh?"
Hoshika ignored him completely and switched topics.
"Hayabusa, you seem to care about Bocchi-chan a lot. Do you like her?"
There was a teasing glint in her lazy eyes, as if she'd discovered a weakness she could exploit.
But Hayabusa, instead of his usual joking tone, thought for a moment and replied seriously:
"If you mean, like, romantically, then probably not — at least not right now. But..."
He listened to Nijika continuing to coach Bocchi, hearing Bocchi's soft responses, then added:
"We agreed from the start that I'd help her. So I have to take responsibility."
Hoshika, slightly flustered by his blunt sincerity, averted her gaze, her voice stumbling a little as she said:
"That's... kind of surprising. So you really are a kind guy after all."
Hayabusa also turned away, casually noticing the pair doing cleaning duty.
He saw Kita and Ryo gradually coming into view as they mopped the floor. Kita was talking nonstop, turning her head as she chattered, while Ryo... well, from this distance, Hayabusa couldn't tell if she was even reacting.
She was probably just murmuring the occasional agreement.
"No, I'm definitely not a kind person."
Hayabusa's voice landed like a heavy stone.
...
Having lost the upper hand in their conversation, Hoshika did a final check to make sure Hayabusa had memorized the entire workflow — which he had, perfectly.
Feeling completely defeated, Hoshika was suddenly saved by a familiar voice.
"Hello, good morning~"
At this late-afternoon hour, someone was cheerfully saying "good morning" as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Recognizing the familiar tone, Hoshika immediately knew who it was.
She turned, and sure enough, coming down the stairs was Pa-san.
As always, she wore a V-neck one-piece dress, topped with a cozy, loose cardigan that gave her a homely vibe.
Her long black hair, with its inner layers dyed a smoky purple, framed her face as she yawned, one hand covering her mouth, the other hand lightly gripping the stair rail.
The lip piercing, the ear cuffs — they added a touch of wildness to this woman, whose ageless charm still carried a hint of girlish sweetness.
Pa-san took in the extra bustle inside the venue, smiling lazily.
"Looks lively in here today."
"You're late. Again."
Hoshika, relieved for an excuse to get away from Hayabusa, let out a tired sigh at Pa-san's usual sloppiness.
"Hehe, there was this really fun game last night, and before I knew it..."
Pa-san trailed off, turning her gaze away evasively. Then she waved cheerfully toward the front desk where Hayabusa sat.
"Ohh, so you're the one handling the counter today?"
Her eyes curved into crescent moons, and she said brightly:
"You'll definitely attract lots of girls. Things are gonna get busy around here!"
Hayabusa, playing along, leaned back in his chair, striking a deliberately cool pose.
He extended a hand like a finger-gun and went:
"Biu~"
Pa-san, not missing a beat, clutched her chest theatrically and teased Hoshika:
"Oh no, I think I just fell for your new front desk guy."
"Go to work," Hoshika said flatly, completely ignoring the joke.
"Yes ma'am~"
Pa-san replied lightly and headed toward the back, but quickly got sidetracked, striking up a conversation with Kita.
Hayabusa watched this and stepped out from behind the counter.
His gaze shifted to the bar.
Inside, Bocchi stood near the counter, staring straight ahead, nodding repeatedly as if committing every detail to memory.
Nijika, noticing Hayabusa looking over, came out from the bar and said cheerfully:
"Hayabusa-kun, you look pretty relaxed."
"Of course. For a pervert, nothing is impossible."
Hayabusa's words made Nijika freeze, her smile stiffening. The more she thought about what he'd just said, the creepier it sounded.
She quickly looked away and gave an awkward laugh or two, refusing to think about it further.
By now, Kita had nearly finished her share of the cleaning, and Ryo walked over with the mop, standing silently next to Nijika.
Her voice was flat as she said:
"Things feel lighter now."
"That's just because you were slacking off and leaving everything for Kita-chan to do!"
Nijika raised her voice indignantly, but then quickly lowered it again, mindful of Bocchi still concentrating hard on memorizing drink placements inside the bar.
Listening to this noisy childhood-friend duo, Hayabusa smiled contentedly.
Then his gaze shifted again — this time toward Pa-san, who had started chatting animatedly with Kita about skincare products and makeup.
And then —
He suddenly saw Pa-san lean toward Kita and sniff the air near her head.
"Kita smells so nice."
Kita's face lit up with a happy smile.
"Thanks! This is actually—"
Hayabusa didn't hear the rest.
He stared at the floor, looking completely dejected.
After hesitating a moment, he turned his head to the side.
At some point, Nijika's ahoge was spinning wildly, and she was watching him with a mixture of fear and suspicion.
"Nijika..."
Before he could say anything more, she cut him off decisively:
"No. Absolutely not!"
Hayabusa turned his gaze toward Ryo, who was already holding her phone out, the screen showing 110 — ready to dial the police at a moment's notice.
Like a balloon with all the air let out, Hayabusa slumped to the floor in the corner, tears streaming silently down his face.
"I... I actually lost to a fellow pervert. My perversion..."
At that moment, Hoshika noticed the commotion, stormed over with hands on her hips, and glared fiercely.
"Any sexual harassment and your pay gets docked completely!"
Hayabusa shot up instantly, standing at attention and saluting.
"Sorry, sir!"
Kita, watching from a distance, finally let out a slow breath of relief.
But then she remembered she'd still have to explain everything to Hayabusa later — and her stomach tightened once again.
Author's Note:
Tomorrow the book officially goes up — my first time, so I'm both excited and nervous.
I won't ramble too much. I actually wrote a lot of personal thoughts earlier but felt I was getting carried away, so I deleted them all.
First off, sorry — there won't be any mass updates for the launch, and I won't be doing any bonus-chapter rewards either. I just don't have the energy.
If the book does well, maybe I'll focus on it fully — but honestly, with my current level and my slow updates, I doubt it'll get very popular.
Also, yes, this is technically a harem story, but the only ones Hayabusa will end up with are the four band members. So if that's not your thing, best not to click further and let me scam your money.
Feels like I keep saying gloomy stuff, huh...
But really, my goal in writing is to make readers feel relaxed and maybe a little happy.
I hope you can enjoy this story with an easy heart.
Alright, see you tomorrow.
Oh, and just like Bocchi, my goal is to quit my job and stay home all day someday!