"Hey, Sayuri dear, could you go ahead and help me rearrange these books?" her mother called out to her from the inventory room.

"Sure thing, Mom!" Sayuri went over to help her mother and started on the first box. She notices that from the shipment her mother ordered that it contained numerous young adult novels and comic books. "We've gotten quite a lot of these, Mom."

"Yeah, a lot of kids have come in here asking for books of this genre. Post-apocalyptic seems to be the general trend these days."

"I see," Sayuri replied. A bell rings from the front of the bookstore. "Oh, looks like she's here!"

"Go ahead and tend to her, dear," her mother tells her. "I can take the rest from here."

Sayuri walks over to the cash register where she sees her best friend Minah waiting. Unlike Sayuri, Minah wasn't much of a bookworm and she was one who liked to plan things out for herself. While her way of thinking was more realistic and less fantastical than Sayuri's, it never went to say that she was a stick-in-the-mud type of person. Minah and Sayuri were always the best of friends. Their personalities complimented one another and one was always there to back up the other whenever needed. For as long as either of them could remember, there was never a day when anything bad came between their relationship. "So, Yuri, anything new on the inventory?" Minah asked.

"Well, just some of the usual young adult novels. They bring in quite a crowd these days," Sayuri answered.

"I guess. Though I feel like it still has that fantastical element in their stories. Aren't you into that?"

"Uh, correction, I like romance novels. Fantasy's a fun read, too. Why don't you ever pick up a book?"

"You know me, Sayuri. I can't absorb myself into stories as well as you can."

"I guess. You were always more into math and science anyway. Speaking of which, shouldn't you be in class?" Sayuri asked.

"Shouldn't you?" Minah asked back. "Come on, we're gonna be late. We should have been at the cafe by now."

"Alright, alright," Sayuri grabbed her bag. "Wouldn't want to mess up our daily routine, Minah. Bye Mom, we'll be off!" she waved. The two of them left the bookstore and walked down to the Moonlight Cafe down the street. "So," Minah asked, "have you by any chance been looking for your Soulmate yet?"

Sayuri showed Minah her wrist. "I've got a long way to go," she told her.

"That isn't so bad," Minah showed her wrist in return. Four years, nine months, sixteen weeks. "I've got my whole life. Though I've heard about other people whose Countdowns sped up to zero once they met their Soulmate earlier than planned."

"That doesn't seem probable." Though I wish it was possible. "We'll see, though."

Sayuri and Minah both enter the cafe. Contrary to popular belief among the locals, Moonlight Cafe was actually a misnomer; the atmosphere was always sunny and cheerful in the mornings. The interior was bright and quaint, walls painted with yellow and numerous plants lining the outside window to give it a friendly feel. "Two of the usual!" Minah ordered for herself and Sayuri.

"Good to see you too, sis," The barista told her. "Hey, Sayuri, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright, Minseok. We just got a bunch of new books for our store," she replied.

"Ah, I see. Two of the usual, coming right up for you guys!" Minseok bellowed out as he set off to do his work. Minseok was Minah's older brother, and ever since he could remember, he constantly had to watch over both of them when they were younger. He was a laid-back person and enjoyed the little things in his life, and his passion for coffee encouraged him to open up Moonlight Cafe.

The cafe opened up and a tall, brown-haired man walked in to the cafe. "Oh, you showed up in time," Minseok called him over. "We've got customers, Yeol."

Sayuri looked over at the stranger. He also had the same barista uniform that Minseok had on, but his face wasn't very familiar to her. "Who is he?", she asked.

"Him? Oh, that's Chanyeol. He started working here a couple months ago, but recently I've assigned him some morning shifts since the cafe's gotten busier in the mornings," Minseok replied. "Here are your drinks, ladies," he offered.

She observed Chanyeol carefully. He was definitely tall, she thought to himself. She noticed how well his uniform fitted him, the way the thin blue stripes on his shirt shaped his torso. His black pants made his legs longer and emphasized his height, but not so much that it made him look lanky. His face was very youthful, with his big brown eyes and his clear skin. And his ears, well, Sayuri thought he reminded her of a woodland creature she read about in one of the many fantasy novels she owned.

"G'morning, boss," Chanyeol spoke.

And then Sayuri heard his voice. She and Minah both looked at each other in shock. Chanyeol looked way too young to have a booming deep voice like that. Minah couldn't help but hold in her chuckle. "Wait, say something again, uh.."

"Chanyeol," he replied to Minah. "Just Chanyeol's fine."

"I'm Minah, and this is Sayuri," she introduced herself as well. "Oh, we gotta get to the bus soon. We'll see you later!" Minah told him as they got ready to leave.

"Nice to meet you ladies," Chanyeol replied. As they left he observed them carefully. Minah was definitely someone he could get along with, but he was also curious about Sayuri, who he caught glancing at him from time to time. She seemed like the total opposite of Minah, but she wasn't fully reclusive either. He decided he would talk to her the moment he saw her again.

Minseok noticed his glances. "You're curious about them, aren't you?"

Chanyeol shrugged it off, "Ah, well. they're just customers, right? I take it they're regulars?"

"Yeah, they are. So you'll be seeing them more often since you switched shifts," Minseok replied. "Just know in advance that I'll be quite protective over my sister when you guys get along," he added.

Chanyeol chuckled. "It won't be a problem, Minseok," he replied with a wide smile.

"And please don't smile like that, it gives me the creeps," Minseok jokingly warned.

Unbeknownst to Sayuri and Chanyeol, two hours pass by on their wrists at the same time.