When the young professors entered the carefully chosen café, they realized it was impossible to sit and talk, let alone relax. It was so packed that there was a queue to get a table. Not giving in and persisting, Mine dragged the other grumpy teacher through the Magic Center. They walked through the streets, alleys, and main avenues, searching for an open café.

But why didn't they go to the university café? With the rumors about the Wishing Well, the management decided to close the institution on weekends. Also, they started to have restricted opening hours at night, so... yeah, this (comfortable) option was unavailable.

On their way, they found a good place and stopped to look at the menu displayed outside. However, the attendant informed them the café was having an early Valentine's Day event and only couples were allowed. Addai wanted to pretend, tired of walking. But Mine quickly pulled his colleague away and gave him an earful for him to think before speaking nonsense.

So, they walked more.

The duo walked along cobblestone streets and leafy trees that showed new foliage among the older, darkened ones. They also passed in front of a crochet shop, where Addai spent some time in the window. When he finally decided to go in, Mine pulled him, saying he had found the perfect place.

The café seemed to be new around there and had a different vibe. When you enter the shop, it looks like an ordinary house. It not only seemed to be an ordinary house, but it was, indeed, one! Well, it was a home once, which turned into a cozy café. The walls, painted in a light green tone with touches of yellow, the vibrant hanging plants with shy colored flowers among the foliage, and a lazy fuzzy cat with a bow gave it a pleasant atmosphere.

A smiley girl came, and the cat jumped on her shoulder. “Welcome! A table for two, right?”

"Yes," Mine smiled while Addai stared at the cat's bow.

"Then, follow me!"

Going through a long decorated corridor, they reached the main room whose decorations matched the entrance room. The large glass windows gave a view of a hidden garden that people enjoyed at dusk. There was also a corner that resembled a library, with two shelves full of used books eagerly waiting to be devoured by visitors.

The smell of coffee powder whipped milk, and essences added to the barista's exclusive drinks filled the air and even overcame the smell of bread, and pies sold at the main counter.

"Give me a call if you need me," the waitress beamed, and the cat jumped off her shoulder. "This is Babette, our beloved pet. She is lovely, and I think she took a liking to you two," she chuckled and gave them the menu.

“Thank you, Mrs.” Addai nodded, taking the menu.

"Nice to meet you, Babette," Mine grinned and the cat nuzzled on his hand.

“Why do cats like you that much?” Addai asked, gently scratching Babette’s back.

“I have charm,” Mine said proudly.

“… really?”

“C'mon, give me some credits. Umbra also likes me,” Mine said, even prouder.

Addai chuckled softly. “I can’t deny it," and a sincere smile appeared on his face. "Ah, I brought you a book. Hold up a sec."

Mine blinked a few times until the image of that smile disappeared and finally captured what Addai had just said. “You? Giving me freebies?”

“Consider it a bribe to go easy on me today,” Addai laughed, handing over a wrapped book.

Mine took the gift with curious eyes and unwrapped the book. His eyes widened in surprise as soon as he read the book's title.

The hardcover with a gold finish and leather binding gave the charm that its contents deserved. He stroked the cover and its spines, feeling everything from the smoothness of the leather, the imperfections of the gilding, and the embossed designs to the pages with a slightly harder weight.

Mine's eyes filled with life, vigor, and hues. The euphoria quickly filled his heart and caused the blood to flow more and more throughout his body, leaving his cheeks slightly flushed. On his face, a smile appeared at the same speed as he flipped the pages.

How did he know I was looking for this book? Mine feebly thought, glancing at Addai who was faintly smiling at him, his dimples showing. "Thank you so much," Mine beamed, causing his eyelashes to become the protagonist of his smile.

Mine's smile was crystal clear as always, translating his feelings into the literal contours of his lips, which curved upwards and widened into a big, warm smile in an almost poetic way.

...

Since when Mine was all that?

“I-it was nothing,” Addai coughed, ignoring how much his heart raced.

But he couldn't ignore his own feelings.

Mine's smile was simple but warm. However, it was a rare sight to witness. Addai used to see the grumbling, the bickering, and the acidic words. But when Mine was around other people, his smile was easy and carefree. It felt that Mine, in front of him, was a whole different person.

It was unfair.

Addai's once confusing emotions were replaced by ugly ones, polluting his mind and heart with a murky river of red and unsettling colors, staining and distorting what was once pure.

"Why do you smile more at others than at me?" Addai asked, trying to hide his face behind the menu. “I know I am rude sometimes, but it doesn’t mean I am not a good person.”

Mine, surprised, looked at Addai in visible confusion. “What do y-”

"Nothing," Addai cut, his voice slightly annoyed. "It's nonsense."

Mine blinked, and Babette started purring, asking for more cuddles. What was... that? He thought uselessly.

Mine was still staring at Addai and noticed that his pupils had become a little thinner than before. Whatever it was, Mine was uncomfortable even though Addai continued to act like nothing had happened while they ate and during the meeting.

But Mine could no longer ignore it.

“Erm… hey,” Mine touched Addai’s knuckles. “You’re a >pain in the ass<, not a bad person, you hear it? It’s different.”

Addai slowly fixed his gaze on Mine, revealing his somewhat flushed face, perhaps due to realizing the content of the question or the tone used. Seeing him in such a way was foreign, a bit at that. The way Addai's eyes squinted was childish, trying his best to make his micro-expressions clear.

You... were just sulking? Mine couldn't help but think fondly of Addai's naive expressions, telling him there was another side of Addai that Mine thought couldn't fit that confusing person.

Yeah, Addai wasn't a bad person.

“So, shall we go back to our boring business?” Mine laughed softly, taking some papers from his backpack.

Following a few cups of coffee and a handful of pages flipped back and forth, Mine and Addai engaged in a lengthy exchange of information and teachings. Throughout their conversation, Mine began realizing that Addai was not only kind but also quite decent.

Sometimes childish? Yeah, of course. Sometimes a pain in the ass? Yes, of course. Sometimes a nuisance? Yes, yes, and yes. But among the sullen face, the wrinkled nose, and the somewhat bitter and acidic words that came out of his mouth, his eyes betrayed him and told otherwise every once in a while, just like the back of his neck and ears – the first to succumb to any change in color on his face.

"What?" Addai asked, sipping a second cup of coffee.

Mine let out a small laugh, the kind where the air only comes out through the nose, and smiled. “Nothing special, it's just that your face is so ugly it's impressive.”

Addai looked at him in disbelief and grumbled. “Hmpf, go tell that to those women right there. They're devouring me with their eyes,” he grumbled once again, and Mine laughed.

As Addai glanced over at Mine’s cup of coffee, he couldn't help but notice the state of his co-worker’s hands. Upon closer inspection (aka a longer stare), he saw that Mine's fingertips were adorned with an array of band-aids, ranging from brightly colored ones to simple, plain ones. However, despite this attempt at covering up any injuries or bruises, some band-aids couldn't conceal the reddish-torn skin peeking out from beneath them.

It was evident that Mine's hands had seen better days, and Addai couldn't help but wonder what had caused such damage. A hand as delicate as his would suffer from calluses occasionally, but that...

Addai took one of Mine's most bruised hand. "Why do your fingers have many band-aids?" He asked, carefully analyzing each finger.

"Ah… it's…" Mine started to get tangled in the explanations and felt his neck turn red as well as his face.

That small gesture was enough to make the ‘Mine.exe’ system buggy. "O-oh... i-it's j-just that..." But his speech capability was the most damaged by the bug.

Maybe the other day was too dark, and Addai couldn't see nor feel the different texture on the fingertips contrasting to the predominant softness in the palm and back of Mine’s hands. His fingers were slender, but some had calluses from writing so much, and his joints looked a little more battered. His palm had clear and precise drawings – a delight for palmistry practitioners – and in the corner, there was a fading scar. He turned his hand a little more and examined the back, identifying a solitary mole almost close to the wrist, which a faded, ragged bracelet insisted decorating it.

"Hey…? Is everything okay?” Mine called.

“Hm hm," Addai nodded and removed one of the band-aids from Mine's finger, who made an uncomfortable noise. “Ah, sorry.”

“That’s okay," Mine said. "It’s a little bit… well, a lot, sore. It’s normal to itch and sting a little.”

“Hm…” Addai hummed. “What happened?” He carefully touched the bruise.

The wounds had different shapes and textures; some had harder edges, and others had dried blood that stained the nails a little - which had certainly been bitten. In the biggest injury, the finger was a little swollen than the others, and a purplish-red area showed signs that the recovery would take a few more days.

“I’m used to it," Mine grinned. "I never know when it happens. All I see is blood and a bruise after some time dazing.”

“You should stop doing it,” Addai blew the tip of the most bruised finger and cured it with a nonverbal spell. “Are the others just the same?” He asked, taking off some more band-aid from the other fingers.

Both Mine's hands were covered in band-aids, and it took some time for Addai to carefully take all the curatives off and heal each finger.

Why do you bother doing it? Mine thought, a bit confused.

Addai was determined to heal every wound, but before he proceeded to the second hand, Mine touched his hand.

"You… don't need to do it if you don't want to," Mine said, embarrassed.

“But I do want to do it," Addai replied, blunt as always. "Now shush," he grumbled and blew the remaining bruised fingers, healing them.

As Addai finished healing Mine's fingers - who was babbling random things to distract himself from the embarrassment - Babette went for a walk. 

She went to the counter to bribe the barista - to give her some more cat food - and found a short line of about three to four people. Among these people, one in particular made her hair stand.

"Babette?" The barista asked the cat, surprised at her unusual behavior.

"Ah, cats hate me," the woman being served by the barista smiled disconcertedly, and the cat growled even louder. "Thanks for the coffee," she thanked, but Babette didn't take her eyes off her.

As the woman headed towards the exit, she noticed someone familiar in the crowd, and their eyes met.

“Bella!” Mine greeted and waved his free hand.

“Hello, late-night comrade,” Bella greeted him back.

Addai gave her a slow, scrutinizing once-over. The look in his eyes suggested that he had no intention of being kind to this stranger who had just appeared. Bella met his gaze and offered an embarrassed smile instead.

“Oh! Nice to meet you, my name is-”

“I don't care,” Addai declined to shake her hand, locking his gaze in her eyes.

“You brute!” Mine slapped Addai on the forehead. “Greet her appropriately! Bella, this is Addai, my daily headache at university.”

"Um… nice to meet you, Mr. Addai," she smiled. "Erm... I'll go then. Otherwise, the cat over there will want to jump on me and scratch me all over."

"I wonder why," Addai still hadn't broken eye contact. "Have a good day," said in one breath once Mine gave him a painful pinch on the thigh.

“See you, Bella,” Mine smiled and waved.

Outside the cafe, Bella’s breathing turned heavy, and she began to feel her skin tighten. Shivers swarmed over the back of her legs, forcing her to stop walking, so she had to sit on the nearest bench. Her ashen face was fortunately half hidden by makeup, but her tight, tense shoulders could tell something was wrong.

“Who was that guy?” She muttered to herself.

As she rose to her feet, a stunning ebony feline gazed upon her with a watchful eye. Its delicate whiskers quivered as it intently observed her every move, never once losing sight of her piercing gaze.