“Alright, it’s a deal!”
“Yeah, it’s a deal. So, when’s my Raw Coconut Latte going to be ready?”
Akiba Sakura’s mouth twitched at Yuuma Tsugumu’s blunt remark. She put her hands on her hips.
“What’s the rush, you small fry master! I know what I’m doing. Stop nagging me, it’s annoying!”
Despite her complaints, she turned and hurried to the front counter, her steps faster than usual.
Partly to avoid Yuuma asking more questions, and partly to quickly have Hoshikawa Chinami make the coffee. Out of sight, out of mind. She didn’t want to say anything in the heat of the moment that would expose her identity.
Yuuma watched her puffed-up cheeks and smiled helplessly.
In his eyes, the girl before him—dressed in a maid uniform, her makeup delicate but her tone arrogant—was a completely different person from the Akiba Sakura at school, who always hung around him and occasionally showed a flustered side.
‘Especially her “chest”—they’re not even in the same league.’
(Akiba Sakura: Sputtering with laughter and anger.)
He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. His gaze casually drifted to the street scene outside the window, his mind only on the school sports meet race and the promise to cheer him on.
He wanted to see if that bold “Bratty Girl” would actually show up that day, and in what form she would appear.
‘You… better come.’
At the front counter, Akiba Sakura watched Hoshikawa Chinami take out coffee beans and tools, her mind racing with curses.
‘That stupid pig-head Yuuma! Once the sports meet is over, I’ll deal with you!’
She watched Hoshikawa Chinami expertly grind the coffee beans, brew, and create latte art. The movements were fluid, making it obvious these steps were second nature to her.
“What’s wrong, Sakura-chan? You keep staring at me.”
Hoshikawa Chinami naturally noticed Sakura’s odd behavior and looked at her with a puzzled expression.
“Hoshikawa-senpai… could you make this coffee intentionally bad?”
“Huh?”
—
“Here, you stinking small fry! Drink up, don’t hold up me from serving other customers!”
She slammed the coffee down on the table, her tone still insufferable.
Yuuma looked down at the cup. The scent of coconut mixed with the rich aroma of coffee hit him. He picked it up and took a sip.
“It’s not bad.”
He said flatly, his tone devoid of any extra emotion.
“…”
Sakura waved her hand, feigning impatience.
“Less talking, drink it quick, then get out. Don’t interfere with my work here!”
After saying this, she turned and rushed toward the counter, her steps so hurried she nearly bumped into the nearby tables and chairs.
‘I specifically asked Hoshikawa to make it taste bad on purpose. How can this guy Yuuma say “it’s not bad”? He didn’t give that kind of evaluation last night either?’
Sakura didn’t notice that near the potted plants in the corner of the café, Niijima Yukina was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, a barely concealed doting smile on her face as she followed Sakura’s figure.
She hadn’t missed a single bit of the interaction between Sakura and Yuuma from start to finish. Watching Sakura, clearly flustered but forcing an arrogant and provocative attitude, she couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.
‘Looks like letting Sakura use that “Bratty Girl” persona was the right call.’
Her gaze shifted to Yuuma, and Niijima Yukina’s smile deepened.
‘Ah, youth~’
At the front counter, completely unaware that her whole exchange with Yuuma had been observed by Niijima Yukina, Sakura was whispering her complaints to Hoshikawa Chinami.
“Hoshikawa-senpai, did you not do it properly? Why did he still say it was good? I told you to make it bad, so he could taste some bitterness!”
“I heard him bullying you, so I did my best to make it bad…”
Hoshikawa Chinami smiled helplessly. “I intentionally put in less sugar and added some bitter coffee beans. Who knew his taste was so unique? Besides, he’s a customer! I couldn’t really make it undrinkable, could I?”
Sakura pouted, feeling even angrier, but had no choice. She could only sneak a glare in Yuuma’s direction.
Just then, Yuuma happened to look up. Their eyes met. Sakura was so startled she immediately turned her face away, muttering under her breath.
“Stinking small fry, what are you looking at!”
Seeing her flustered state, Niijima Yukina’s smile deepened.
‘These two… they’re just too cute…’
—
— Author’s Divider —
—
“That guy is just infuriating…”
Back home after her part-time job ended, Akiba Sakura couldn’t help but curse loudly in her room.
“At school, he acts all cold and distant toward me. How come in the maid café, it feels like the seal on him has been broken?”
With a sour face, she uploaded a photo from work that day to her O-Wei feed.
In these few days of her part-time job, Sakura hadn’t forgotten her original goal. Since she already had this café maid identity, she needed to cover her O-Wei with it, making it easier to attract the Yellow Hair later.
No sooner had the post been uploaded than a crisp notification sound popped up on her phone screen. Sakura looked down, and her eyes immediately lit up: [Street Wild Wolf has accepted your friend request.]
‘You finally agreed… Street Wild Wolf-kun!’
The irritation that had been on her face a moment ago vanished instantly. She immediately opened the chat window and sent him the first message.
“Hello there, Street Wild Wolf-kun~!”
After sending it, Sakura waited quietly for a reply.
“…”
“…”
‘This guy… why isn’t he replying?’
After a few minutes passed with no response, her brow furrowed in concern.
‘He accepted the request but isn’t replying? Did he just accept the request and go to sleep? That doesn’t make sense…’
Originally, she had planned to test the waters first, to see what kind of person this “Street Wild Wolf” was and if he met her standards for a “High-Quality Yellow Hair.”
On O-Wei, she could at least get a simple understanding of the other person’s personality, do a quick screen, and then check if their appearance was to her liking.
But right now, the first problem was whether he would even reply to her messages.
Fortunately, he finally did reply. The tone wasn’t particularly enthusiastic, but it wasn’t cold either. Simple and direct.
“Hello.”
There were no emoticons after the message.
‘A reply like that… either he doesn’t know how to talk to girls, or he’s just aloof…’
Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. At least he was willing to reply; that was a good start.
“I just registered for O-Wei not long ago. You’re my first friend!”
Actually, that wasn’t true. The Soft Cat Café’s manager, Niijima Yukina’s O-Wei, was actually Sakura’s first friend.
After sending, Sakura immediately clicked into “Street Wild Wolf’s” personal page and carefully scrolled through it again.
Completely blank. A default gray avatar, an empty list of posts, and a bio that simply read “None.” There wasn’t even basic personal information.
‘What the hell… Is he just a lazy dog?’
‘Even if he just registered a few days ago, if he wanted to manage his O-Wei account well, he should at least have some posts up, right?’
Sakura frowned, grumbling to herself, her fingers unconsciously scrolling across the screen.
‘Whatever, let’s just talk first and see if this guy is a ‘’ [Victory Wolf] or a ‘’ [Victory Dog]. If he’s no good, I can always look for someone else.’
“Same here.”
The other person replied—again, just a few simple words.
‘Why does it feel like the conversation is dead?’
She was a bit puzzled and tried to artificially create a closer connection.
“What do you usually like to do? Besides my part-time job at the Soft Cat Café, I just scroll through O-Wei occasionally. I don’t really have any other hobbies!”
Sakura didn’t plan on hiding her part-time job at the Soft Cat Café. Her posts had already shown the café’s environment, and since this identity was meant to lure a Yellow Hair, she just came clean.
Soon, he replied again. This time, the sentence seemed a bit longer, but it was utterly useless.
“I don’t have anything I want to do usually. I go out for a stroll sometimes. I added you when I saw your friend request.”
Seeing the reply, the corner of Sakura’s mouth twitched. Still just as cold. He hadn’t revealed any useful information.
‘Is being aloof the trend now? You need to check the model first, hello! Good model equals a cool handsome guy; bad model equals a gloomy man!’
Still, Sakura wasn’t ready to give up on “Street Wild Wolf.” Picking a Yellow Hair wasn’t something that happened overnight.
‘What if he turns out to be handsome?’
So she typed another line to probe further.
“A stroll? So where do you usually go? Besides the café and school, I hardly ever go out either…”
After sending the message, Sakura immediately lifted her phone and stared fixedly at the screen.
In her heart, she silently prayed that this time he would say something useful, and not kill the conversation with just two or three words.
If this kept up, it wasn’t just a matter of screening for a “High-Quality Yellow Hair”—the question was whether they could even keep talking at all.
About two minutes later, her phone finally vibrated. She tapped on the message almost instantly, only to see a single line of airy text.
“Not sure. I just wander around randomly. I go wherever there are few people.”
“…”
The smile on Sakura’s face froze. Her fingers tapped unconsciously on the screen as she raged internally.
‘Wander around randomly? Go wherever there are few people? That’s basically the same as saying nothing, hello! Even if you’re an aloof handsome guy, you can’t be this dismissive!’
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to suppress the frustration, and started racking her brain for a new topic.
“A place with few people? Is it a fun place with few people? Can you recommend some?”
‘Please, please, just say a bit more, even if it’s a little bit of grumbling. Just don’t fob me off with a few words!’
After sending the message, Sakura continued waiting for his reply.
This time, he replied a bit faster, but his tone still lacked any real change. The reply was still just as uninformative.
“Nothing interesting. I’m just clearing my head, trying to avoid crowded places.”
Just as Sakura was about to lose it, he unexpectedly added a follow-up sentence.
“Also, you talk too much.”
“??????”
Sakura stared at the message and nearly threw her phone. The expression on her face instantly collapsed.
‘What the hell, I was tricked. You’re not some cool heartthrob at all. Socially anxious! Socially anxious! I think you’re a ‘Socially Anxious Blonde’! I need a Yellow Hair who can help me rile up Yuuma, not some gloomy man hiding in the corner to clear his head, hello!’