A few hours ago…
Kyle pulled up into the parking lot, giving his car one last look before exiting it and locking the door.
It was still early, just a little above 6 a.m., which was why the streets were mostly empty. Most shops were still closed and only a few cars were plying the road.
Although normal work hours for most employees were a bit later, the old Kyle had made it mandatory for at least one worker to resume at 6 a.m. sharp.
Any later and both their salaries would be cut in half. That was why Kyle was not surprised when he found Akiko already cleaning up the shop.
When he arrived, she bowed slightly. "Good morning, sir."
Kyle nodded. "Good morning, Akiko, how are things?"
Akiko stared at him, unsure of what to say. She was surprised that he had not only responded but had actually greeted her as well.
'I guess there is no need to act like the old Kyle any longer.'
Completely jumping from his old personality to a new one might have had a negative impression on the employees, so during the past week, he had slowly been softening his touch little by little.
That way they had been given some time to adjust to the new him.
Kyle looked around from where he stood, noticing that Akiko was alone. "Where is Sakura, by the way?"
"Saku? Oh, she hasn't arrived yet, I'm the one on duty today."
Kyle nodded and began walking to his office. "Get me a full breakdown of the café's financial record."
"Yes, sir!"
After settling down comfortably in his office, Akiko arrived shortly after with a five-page document outlining exactly how the café had been run for the past three months.
Since he was a Business major before his unfortunate demise, it didn't take long for Kyle to thoroughly examine the documents.
But the more he read, the more shocked he was.
"What sort of rubbish is this?" He flipped through the document, arriving at another page…
'Absolute garbage!'
Why was he losing money instead of earning it? Why was the café slowly heading towards bankruptcy?!
Finally, he arrived on the last one, his finger tightening on the paper to the point that it nearly tore.
"Akiko…" he said, his voice lacking a hint of emotion.
"S-sir?" she replied, her voice subdued.
"Who is in charge of finances?"
Akiko fidgeted, unwilling to sell out her friend, but she could not let herself take the fall for it either.
"Sakura…" she said, her voice so low that anyone else would have missed it. But not Kyle, to Kyle it was as loud as it could possibly be.
•••
The present time…
"What is the meaning of this, Sakura?"
Sakura had been forced into Kyle's office, the door locked behind her, and now she was being questioned about something she had no answer for.
Before her was the financial statement of the café, outlining every single sale they had made over the past couple of months.
But why was he asking her about it? What did he really want to know?
Those questions haunted her as she kept her eyes on the file. The room felt colder than it should have been and Kyle's gaze even more oppressive.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Kyle asked, his question hanging in the space between them.
'Are the numbers wrong? Did I make a mistake?'
One error in the statement and she could forget about going home with a salary. Maybe she wouldn't even go home at all…
When she didn't reply, Kyle pulled his drawer open and to her surprise—he brought out a knife.
Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin, sweat rushing down her face as Kyle placed his finger to the tip of the blade.
He was watching the dagger as though it was the most precious thing in the world.
"I-I'm sorry!" Sakura stuttered.
She closed her eyes tightly. "It's my fault, I don't need a salary, I'll work for free from now on! Anything, please don't just kill—"
Slash!
Her eyes snapped open and she shrieked back, only to see Kyle slice open a pack of chips and place the knife back into his drawer.
He handed the chips to her.
She blinked.
"Heh?"
Kyle shrugged. "What? You looked hungry…"
'Who the hell opens chips with a dagger?!' Sakura's free hand tightened on her skirt while she grabbed the chips with her other hand.
Normally, the tense atmosphere was enough for anyone to lose their appetite, but Sakura's hunger had passed the point where it could be affected.
She grabbed a handful of chips and stuffed it into her mouth.
"Anyways, Sakura, why didn't you tell me that you are this talented?"
"Mmm?"
Not bothering to swallow her food first, Sakura leaned forward, thinking she might have misheard him. "Excwuse mew?"
•••
When Kyle went through the financial records, at first he was surprised. For many months he had been at a loss and the business was mostly surviving due to external input.
No doubt his sister's input…
But one month ago, around the time when the real Kyle had fallen into a coma, the business had taken a turn for the better.
It was clear who was killing the business and who had revived it.
This month, sales had skyrocketed, more than doubling last month's sales performance, all thanks to the girl seated in front of him.
"You have a talent for this business, Sakura…" Kyle reached into his drawer once again and pulled out an envelope.
"And because of that, this month I have decided to pay you for all the overtime you've worked as well as add a juicy bonus…"
The old Kyle had overworked his staff and never compensated them for their efforts. Kyle had no intention of following in his footsteps.
If you want your business to blossom, then you must do well to take care of those handling it for you.
Kyle placed the fat envelope on the desk and slid it to Sakura.
The envelope slid to a stop right in front of her, yet Sakura made no move to take it. She just stared at the envelope, face downcast.
Kyle raised a brow.
'Did she want a bigger envelope?'
After waiting for some time, she reached for it, her hands shaky as she grabbed the envelope and peeked into it.
Drip Drip
Sakura wiped her eyes with her palms, but more tears poured out, flowing down her cheeks and onto her shirt.
"Sakura?"
'Did I do something wrong?'
Tears gushed out of her eyes like a broken dam and Sakura hiccuped, wiping her face to stop the tears, yet they kept coming.
"T-thank you… thank you…" Sakura stuttered, speaking in between sobs.
Kyle just stared at her, unsure of what to do.
Somehow, he felt what he had done meant far more to her than he could have guessed.
…
When Sakura finally stopped crying, her eyes were puffy from having shed too many tears.
Kyle had allowed her to cry to her heart's content, but now that she was done, he decided to ask the question that had been weighing heavily on his mind.
"Sakura, is there something going on with you?"
.
.
A/N
(1/3)