Chapter 6-Ninomiya’s POV

Although this café is very small, it is famous for Shingo-san’s delicious coffee, so a lot of people come here from morning. There are a lot of both regular customers and first timers who hear about the coffee. Jun-kun mostly stays in the kitchen to help the master cook, and I take the orders and carry it to the customers.

I started working here when I was still in middle school, so I don’t keep track of how many years I have been working at the store. I remember when Jun-kun started working here… I think it was around when I graduated from high school. Shingo-san’s wife had just passed away and he was looking for someone to help him cook. Shingo-san immediately liked Jun-kun because he was brilliant at cooking and he had a great personality, and he has been working here ever since.

Jun-kun and I work at the Rainbow from 8 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon. At the same time, Jun-kun is also a stage actor and spends his nights practicing his lines and moves for stage performances. Although the theatrical company is not so big, I go to see his acting at theaters from time to time.

Whenever I see Jun-kun acting on stage, he’s bright and attracts everyone’s attention. His acting cheers me up and they give me a good influence so I always go and see his stage performances if I am free that day.

“Bye Shingo-san. See you tomorrow!”

“Good bye.”

“Bye.” After I finish work at 5, I have 2 hours of time for myself. The “Piano” is usually prepared and run by Ma-kun, so I simply just perform. Of course, I don’t get any salaries for it, I don’t think my performances deserve to be paid.

When we just opened the store, Ma-kun said he would give me wages, but at the time, there weren’t many customers and we didn’t have enough money, so he eventually gave up when I kept refusing the money. When we started to get more customers and actually started making money, he asked me again, but I kept shaking my head. Making the restaurant and helping me make my mind about it was enough for me, and I didn’t want any money for the performances.

“Do you have any rehearsals today?”

“No, not today. What about you, Kazu? Are you going to the Piano again?”

“Yeah.”

“Then… I think I’ll go listen to your song. I didn’t see Aiba-san in a while.”

“Ma-kun will be very happy. :) I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later.” Jun-kun’s coming! I think I’ll make a song for him today. I quickly jotted down a melody that came up on my mind and hurried home.

I opened the door to my house.

“Hey, Ma-kun.”

“Hey… Kazu-kun?! What happened to your hair?”

“I forgot to comb my hair this morning and my hair was sticking out a little, so Jun-kun did it.”

“Oh yeah, it looks like something that Jun would do. :D Hey, how’s Jun these days? He hasn’t shown up in a while.”

“He’s busy with rehearsals, but he’s coming today.”

“Really?! Then I have to go shopping again.” Ma-kun took out the groceries he just bought and emptied his shopping bag happily.

This is my house, the Piano. It was originally a normal two-stored house, but I reformed the first floor and made it into a restaurant. I live on the second floor and Ma-kun lives in an apartment near here.

“Do you want me to come help you with shopping?”

“Nah, it’s alright. What did Jun like to eat again?”

“Uh… meat?”

“Meat. I think I’ll make some ginger-fried pork.” Jun-kun is one year younger than me and Ma-kun, and Ma-kun treats him as a cute younger brother. I personally think that I treat him like I’m older, but Jun-kun is taller so it often becomes the opposite.

“Okay, I’m going to go now~”

“Yep, bye~” After watching Ma-kun wave and walk out of the house, I stood up and went upstairs. I put my stuff down and switched my electric piano on.

“Hmm, what kind of song should I make…?” I concentrated on composing the song.

“Damn it! I did it again!” The clock on the wall read 7 o’clock. Whenever I start composing music, I completely lose track of time. I rushed down the stairs and felt relieved that there weren't any customers yet.

“I’m so sorry, Ma-kun! I did it again!”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Don’t I always tell you that I’ll call you if there’s a request from the customers?”

“No, I can’t do that.” Ma-kun always gets the store ready and prepared alone and opens the store at 7 o’clock, so I can’t just stay in my room while he does all the work and serve the customers alone.

“You’re so earnest, Kazu-kun.” Ma-kun put on a worried smile.

“Good evening~” The bells on the front door gave a tinkling noise as Jun-kun stepped into the restaurant.

“Jun! Long time no see! How are you doing?”

“I’m doing fine.”

“I made some ginger-fried pork. You’re eating here, right?”

“Yeah, of course. Thank you. Kazu, you’re eating too right?”

“Yes.” We all sat down at the counter in a line.

Jun-kun, who was sitting next to me, touched my hair and ruffled it.

"The hair gel isn't so effective now."

"Wait, with that? But it's sticking out so much."

"It was a lot neater in the morning. Shingo-san even told me I looked cool."

"Oooh, I wanted to see it too! Kazu-kun with a wild hairstyle! :D" I don't know what was so funny, but Ma-kun kept laughing and making weird noises so I glared at him.

"You're teasing me, aren't you?"

"Ahaha, of course not! Oh, I'm done cooking!" There was rice, miso soup, ginger-fried pork and some vegetables. It was simple, but it smelled delicious and I picked up my chopsticks. 

"Oh, it looks so good!"

"Let's eat!" The sweetness of the pork wasn't too strong or too light, and it tasted wonderful.

"Ma-kun, I think you can add this to the menu. It will taste great with beer."

"Really? But it would be hard to be able to serve it all the time…" We always think about the bar like this and give suggestions all the time. It's fun to think about how to make this store better and how to make it a wonderful place, with Ma-kun. The bells on the front door tinkled once more and Ma-kun stood up fro his seat. 

"Welcome." A couple walked in from the front door and sat down at a table. 

"What song are you going to play today?" Jun-kun asked as he chewed his food.

"It's a secret." I placed my index finger at my lips and smiled.

After I finished eating, I walked to the piano. There were about five people in the store. I sat down and took a big breath. After I made eye contact with Ma-kun, he dropped the lights down and the spotlight shined on the piano. I always get nervous for a moment before I perform. I slid my fingers on the keyboard. 

The song I made today was a fight song for this person who tries to achieve his goal. It might have been too bright for a song to sing at a bar, but I sang with all my might, hoping that it would encourage somebody and cheer them up.

When I finished performing and lifted my head up, the customers gave me a loud round of applause. I felt relieved and I went back to Jun-kun after bowing.

"How was it?" Jun-kun's eyes were sparkling, and I thought that they were very beautiful. Were you crying?

"It was… very good."

"I wrote that song for you, Jun-kun." After I said that, Jun-kun opened his eyes wide in surprise.