chapter 2 (demo)

(demo chapter)

People Who Pretend They’re Fine Usually Buy Cold Coffee

Mina returned to the convenience store the next night purely out of principle.

And maybe because she wanted noodles.

And maybe because she wanted to prove she was not thinking about the annoying night-shift guy with the observational skills of a government surveillance drone.

Mostly the noodles, though.

The bell above the door rang softly as she entered.

The store was quieter tonight. Rain tapped lightly against the windows while old city pop music played somewhere near the ceiling speakers.

He noticed her immediately.

“That fast?” he asked without looking up from the register.

Mina stopped walking.

“I don’t know what that means.”

“It means most people wait at least three days before revisiting places connected to emotional embarrassment.”

“I was not emotionally embarrassed.”

“You argued with a refrigerator for four minutes.”

“That was a private moment.”

He hummed like he disagreed.

Mina grabbed a basket aggressively.

She hated how comfortable the silence felt here.

The store smelled faintly of coffee and instant ramen broth. Warm. Quiet. Safe in a strangely temporary way.

Like nothing bad was allowed to happen under fluorescent lights after midnight.

“You always work nights?” she asked eventually.

“Mostly.”

“That sounds depressing.”

“It is.”

The answer came so quickly she nearly laughed.

He finally looked up from the counter.

“You always ask questions you don’t actually want answers to?”

“Depends on the person.”

“And what kind of person am I?”

Mina opened the refrigerator door again.

Cold air rushed against her face.

“The kind that notices too much.”

For a second, he said nothing.

Then—

“People who pretend they’re fine usually buy cold coffee,” he said.

Her hand froze mid-reach.

The caramel can slipped slightly against her fingers.

It should not have affected her that much.

It was just a sentence.

A stupid sentence from a stupid man working a stupid night shift in a stupid convenience store.

But something about the way he said it—

quietly,carefully,without pity—

felt dangerously close to being understood.

to be continued.