It was well past midnight—nearly twenty minutes after closing time. The store should've been locked up and dark by now, but the cashier kept it open just a little longer. Why? Because Ran had decided to stroll in like he owned the place, sauntering through the aisles with zero urgency.

“Damn that kid,” she muttered under her breath, tapping her fingers impatiently on the counter. She knew him—everyone in the neighborhood did. Ran and his younger brother were something like local legends, mostly thanks to the pity people extended to them. Their parents were always overseas on business, so the community had helped raise the boys, feeding them, checking in, offering rides. But she didn’t like them. Not one bit. Especially Ran. There was something about his smug little smirk and his casual disregard for everything around him that rubbed her the wrong way. A troublemaker through and through.

Still, out of some lingering respect for the kindness others had shown the boys—or maybe just out of routine—she kept the store open whenever they came around. Even now, as the fluorescent lights buzzed overhead and her patience ran thin, she waited.

She tapped her finger harder, letting the sound echo off the shelves.

Ran finally rounded the corner from the snack aisle, a Mont Blanc cake box in one hand, a soda in the other. He looked completely unbothered, his long platinum blond braids swaying slightly with each lazy step. His purple eyes scanned the counter with a half-lidded stare.

“Yo,” he said, drawing out the syllable like it weighed something. “You always keep the store open late for me? You’re too sweet.”

He dropped the cake box on the counter and leaned on his elbow, smirking. “You know, I had a dream about this place last night. But in the dream, you were smiling. Weird, huh?”

She didn’t respond, just kept tapping her nail on the surface, unimpressed.

Ran raised a brow, then casually unwrapped a strand of his braid and twisted it thoughtfully. “What? Don’t tell me you’re mad. I’m supporting local business.” He popped the cap on the soda with a flick of his fingers, took a sip, and gave her a wink.

“You want me gone fast or charmingly slow?” he asked, grinning. “'Cause I can do both.”