Yui's POV~
Rays of sunlight fell directly onto her face through the bay window. She had passed out there the night before after chugging half a bottle of wine, gazing at the stars, and thinking about her loved ones back in her hometown—mark the word "loved ones"; that does not include her parents.
Groaning at the harsh light seeping through her window shades, a slight headache, and a sore neck from her awkward sleeping position, she realized she had crushed some of the polaroids she'd been looking at last night.
A crime novel lay nearby—the one she had started reading before she began sobbing and cried herself to sleep (well, not really sobbing, more like silent, wine-induced self-pity), not because of the novel but the memories brought back by those polaroids.
The book had been sitting on her bookshelf for way too long. Yesterday, she randomly picked it up, got hooked, and stayed up until 2 a.m. to finish it. Then she spent another hour going through old polaroids like she had no work the next morning.
"Oh no!!! I'm late for work, AGAIN!!!," she groaned, internally panicking. "I seriously need to stop drinking like an old hag or maybe I shouldn't and instead should buy a few cats, WAIT, I'm distracted again…..Urghh!!! If I keep this up, I'll end up living off my parents forever. And I really need to stop reading all those crime novels. Fascinating, yes—but they're making me paranoid."
She glanced out the window. People were already heading to the subway, dressed and punctual—everything she currently wasn't.
Jumping to her feet, she rushed to the bathroom to get ready. Since she was already running late, she decided to drive to work instead of taking the subway.
But of course, she had to stop by her favorite café for coffee, as if she wasn't already cutting it close. It had become part of her morning ritual—sitting by the window, sipping coffee, and silently judging people like some bootleg version of Sherlock Holmes.
After grabbing her usual coffee and a sweet bun, she hurried toward her car, only to bump into a masked man. She apologized, but he walked away without even glancing at her. Rude.
She made it to the clinic, parked in her designated spot, greeted the receptionist, and slipped into her white coat.
Despite the rocky start, her day began to pick up. As one of the most well-known dentists in the area, her schedule was packed.
Her first patient was a chatty little four-year-old named Rika who had cavities. Yui enjoyed the session, even though Rika couldn't keep her mouth open long enough to get proper work done. Still, she was brave. Between questions and giggles, Yui patiently answered everything, making the girl's mother smile in amazement as her daughter didn't even flinch when the injection came out.
Yui saw two more patients before noon.
Later, she went back to the same café for lunch. On her way, she found a charming little bookshop and couldn't resist picking up a new novel. She ordered her usual, then started reading in a booth.
When her name was called, she left the book on the table to grab her order. As she turned, her shoulder brushed against someone—a guy with grayish-white hair, dressed head to toe in black. He had a cold, almost haunted look in his eyes that made her heart skip.
He walked past her to sit with two other men—bodyguards maybe. One had a pink mullet with a diamond-shaped scar on his mouth, the other had a lilac mullet. Their energy was intimidating, out of place in the cozy café.
Still, it was the white-haired guy who held her gaze. When their eyes met, she felt something—warmth? Intrigue? A weird flutter in her chest. Embarrassed, she looked away and retrieved her food.
She shook off the weird moment and returned to her seat, finishing her lunch while reading her new book.
After work, she went home, exhausted but not too tired for her usual nightcap. She poured herself a glass of wine and started cooking dinner.
The next morning came way too fast. Tired and half-functional, she got ready again, headed to the café, ordered her regular meal, and prepared to face another long day.
That is—until she got to the clinic parking lot and found someone had taken her spot.
In pure frustration, she shouted furiously:
"Security! SecuRITYYY! SECURITYYYYYYY!"