It was Wednesday when Haruto decided to give Shoko a visit in her new workplace. She had just gotten hired a week ago, right after they'd entered their second year. She was intent on having some semblance of independence from her father. To put it simply, she was interested in earning extra pocket money to spend more on cooking utensils and extra readings which would further her knowledge in her field.

She was a dutiful student and Haruto sometimes envied her for her sense of purpose.

The coffee shop she worked at was a few blocks away from their S University. It was also right beside Haruto's apartment.

The shop had walls made of red bricks and a roof made of wooden tiles of varying dark hues. There was a chimney at the side that wasn't at all being used, though that was probably because it wasn't cold enough to start using fireplaces yet. The frames of the windows were painted green and the window sills were home to small, colorfully decorated pots that had flowers in them. The door was made of wood and had, as Haruto found out when he opened it, a small bell attached to it.

It was a homey little place that reminded him of the cottages he'd seen in fairy tale books. The floorboards were made of wooden blocks. There were lamps everywhere: on the ceiling, on the corners, there were some on the tables. The tables were all circular and the chairs were all plush red armchairs.

There weren't that many customers. Probably because it was eleven in the morning and most people were either in their classes or still sleeping.

"Haruto!"

And Shoko, with a bright and friendly grin on her face, was on the counter. In front of her was the cashier, which felt a little off considering the décor, and beside her was a cabinet that featured various cakes. Behind her were four chalkboards that had the menu written on them.

"Good morning," said Haruto as he walked towards where she was. He returned her grin with a smaller smile. She was always a little bit more vibrant than most people.

Shoko asked, "What'll you have?"

Haruto looked up at the menu. There were so many choices.

"For starters, I'd recommend our Breakfast Blend and strawberry cheesecake," said Shoko with a wink. "They're my favorites."

"Okay, I'll have them," he said.

She rung up his order and said the price which made Haruto realize why the shop was frequented by a lot of students. Just the right price for a student-friendly budget.

She gave him his receipt and told him to wait for a bit as she got his order. While she was fiddling with the lock on the cabinet, she asked him, "Do you know Mr Karlstein?"

"Yeah," replied Haruto. "I have him for Philo." He grimaced as he remembered that he still had to read those handouts from two days ago. Handouts being fifty pages of introduction, which the professor had written by himself, to whatever it was they would be talking about.

"You don't sound too good." She placed a plate with a slice of strawberry cheesecake on his tray. She grabbed a cup from one of the cupboards that hung right below the menu. "He's here right now, you know."

Haruto blinked. It took a few seconds for him to fully process just what Shoko had said. He leaned on the counter and said in his softest voice, "What?" His eyes were wide with disbelief.

Shoko daintily put his coffee beside his cheesecake. "He's asleep," she said. Her eyes shifted to the right. She smiled again. "You might want to check it out. It's like, I don't know. It's kind of weird seeing a professor sleeping in a place like this." She laughed. "I'm taking over someone's shift later as well so I get out at five today. Do you want to grab some dinner with the others as well?"

"Yeah, sure," said Haruto, sounding distracted. "Thanks."

He picked up his tray and went to the right. He sat on a corner table and when he looked up, he saw the only other customer on this side of the shop.

Then he sort of understood a little bit why a lot of girls wanted to go and sit-in his class.

Professor Karlstein – graduated with his second PhD at the age of thirteen or something – was seated on another corner table. A half-eaten bagel and a still steaming cup of coffee were on his table. On his lap was a thick hardbound book. His head leaned on the edge of the armchair.

He was, indeed, asleep.

He looked, for lack of a better term, beautiful. He looked like he felt at peace there. He looked like he belonged in a magazine.

He wasn't an intimidating professor with standards so high they were legendary. He was more like a normal student, who was just somewhat prettier than most students.

Suddenly, the professor woke up with a little jump. He blinked the sleep away from his eyes and pulled his cellphone from his pants pocket. His brow creased as he glared at the screen. He placed his phone on the table and picked up his coffee.

He looked up.

And their eyes met.