Love, Bitter Coffee & Other Delusions!

“Blegh.”

Ren grimaced as he set down his mug. How did people drink their coffee black? He wiped his fogged glasses and glanced at the barista, who quickly averted their gaze. I asked for sugar. Aren’t regulars supposed to get better treatment?

The cozy corner seat by the window was his. Okay, not officially, but Ren had claimed it months ago. It was a small reprieve from his routine: evening shifts at the convenience store, grinding through classes for a degree that would lead to a dull but stable job as an office worker, and filling the occasional void with anime and games.

It seemed to Ren as if they always reserved it for him, even though the staff barely acknowledged him—perfect. No fake smiles, no small talk—just him, his book, and his drink.

He sipped his bitter coffee and hid behind the latest cliché-packed light novel. Partly criticizing the tropes while secretly enjoying them, and partly criticizing the couples beyond the book’s gaze. The real reason he looked forward to his weekly café visits.

Ah, the sweet sound of fake laughter and shallow romance.

The park right across was a popular destination for them. Bright eyed pairs strolled through, giggling, holding hands, and probably cheating on each other. Ren rolled his eyes at a particularly affectionate couple. The girl clung to her boyfriend’s arm, laughing at whatever he’d said.

“Congrats, buddy,” Ren muttered. “Bet she’s using you to make some other guy jealous.” He scratched at the spot where one of his earrings itched, idly wondering if he should’ve skipped the whole piercing phase back in high school. A remnant of his ‘cool kid’ experiment, he figured he’d keep them as a reminder.

Hey, look, I’m speaking from experience! He nodded at himself proudly. Of course, I let her. My way of thanking her really, it showed me just how superficial these people are, putting up fronts to fit in. Thanks to those precious high school days, I was able to fully embrace my true loner self!

A buzz from his phone broke his thoughts. He sighed, already knowing who it was.

Mom: When will you come visit? Your soon-to-be little sister really wants to meet you!

He typed back. Ren: Not sure. Work and school are keeping me busy. You know how it is.

He slid his phone away. “Hope this one works out for you, Mom…”

He resumed people-watching, sharpening his mental knives for more sarcastic remarks. But something—or someone—broke his rhythm.

A girl.

She stood out in every way Ren disliked: too bright, too bubbly. She radiated an air of innocent curiosity that bordered on naivety, which contrasted her appearance that seemed like the Otome Villainess Isekai protagonist straight from the pages of his light novel.

But it wasn’t just her appearance. She sat on a park bench and stared intensely at couples while scribbling furiously on some paper, her messy handwriting barely legible. Her crimson eyes shimmered with youthful energy, yet her awkward, clumsy movements betrayed her.

“Who’s this weirdo?” Ren muttered.

Before he could judge further, a well-dressed couple approached her with a flyer. There goes the cult—I mean, organization recruits. Seems they spotted a nice, gullible target.

The girl fidgeted and glanced around, but everyone else was too absorbed in their own shallow, quasi-romantic world to notice. Not that it was Ren’s problem... So why was he standing up? Why was he walking toward her?

Maybe it was guilt. Maybe it was the look on her face—a dumb, hopeful expression that reminded him of himself as a kid on his first day at yet another new school: naive, eager to make friends, believing the connections people made were genuine. They weren’t. Just another mask people wore to get what they wanted.

Or maybe it was the stupid cube she’d left behind while getting pulled away by the sketchy couple. It gleamed in the sunlight and tugged at Ren’s attention like some cosmic magnet.

Ren sighed, grabbed the cube and intercepted her before she could be kidnapped—er, recruited—by whatever totally legitimate organization those two represented.

“Hey! Sorry to keep you waiting.” Ren forced a smile.

The girl blinked. Her earlier excitement from openly spying on couples kissing, now replaced with confusion and timid uncertainty. “Oh, um… hi? Who are you?”

Ren’s eyebrow twitched, and his fake smile wavered. “What do you mean? It’s me, your brother, Ren!” He shot a pointed look at the couple, who, upon making eye contact with him, nervously mumbled an excuse and scurried off.

The girl tilted her head. “Is that glare of yours some kind of superpower?”

“Uh, no.” Ren sighed, dropping the act.

It wasn’t his fault his face had settled into a permanent look of mild disdain. Years of solitude and looking at the world in disgust had probably sculpted it. His own special form of RBF— RENsting Bitch Face.

“Anyway, you’re welcome.”

“I’m… welcome?”

“Yeah.” Ren’s glare intensified. "What are you, some princess from some fantasy world or something? If it weren’t for me, you'd be kidnapped and halfway to signing your soul away to those scammers

"Kidnapped? Don't be silly, that never happens.” The girl waved away his comment. “And I'm Mira Illiya, just... a normal girl." She strained a smile while avoiding his suspicious gaze.

“Spoken like a true otherworldly princess, Ms. Illiya,” Ren said dryly.

“Just call me Mira.” She chuckled. “It’s not like I’m some old lady or anything.” She puffed out her chest and flashed a proud smile. “And I’ll just keep calling you Ren.”

So much for not being royalty. “Uh, sure.” Ren shrugged. While most people around here might balk at using first names so casually with someone they’d just met, it didn’t bother him. He’d always been just Ren—A childhood nickname that stuck around. At this point, he was pretty sure even his mom had forgotten his full birth name.

“So, Mira…” He eyed her cautiously. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but—why are you watching couples like it’s a nature documentary?”

“Why else? I’m studying love, of course!” Her voice brimmed with pride. “What it was like, how it works, why people fall in love. Isn’t it fascinating?”

Ren stifled a groan. And just like that, something else to add to the growing list of today's regrets. “You’re absolutely right.” Sarcasm dripped from his words. “It’s as fascinating as watching a train wreck. You know it’s bad, but you just can’t look away.”

Mira frowned but recovered quickly. She clasped her hands, her smile bright. “Don’t you think it’s beautiful when two people truly care for each other and express it fully?”

Ren scoffed. “Beautiful? Let me guess—you’ve been bingeing too many romcoms. Real life doesn’t work that way. It’s just selfishness dressed up to look noble.”

Mira leaned in, her crimson eyes locking onto his. Ren instinctively leaned back, taken aback by her sudden proximity. “I don’t believe that,” she said firmly. “I think people are better than that. When they’re in love, they want to be their best selves. They want to make each other happy!”

“Right. And then they break up and post passive-aggressive comments online. Truly inspiring.”

Mira puffed her cheeks. “That’s not true…”

Ren let out an ironic chuckle. “Trust me, relationships are overrated. Speaking of which, how about we end ours here?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the cube. “Consider this a parting gift from your ‘big brother.’”

The cube gleamed as he held it out, its strange design prevalent in the sunlight.

“Why do you have that!?” Mira patted her clothes as if searching for the missing object.

“I saw you leave it behind,” Ren said nonchalantly. “Didn’t want some dumb little thing staying on my conscience, is all.” He turned it over in his hands. The cube hummed faintly, and a subtle warmth radiated past its cool, metallic surface. “What is this thing, anyway?”

“No, wait—!” Before Mira could answer, Ren’s fingers instinctively pressed down on a few small buttons, like a combo in a fighting game. The cube emitted a cheerful sequence of beeps and clanked open.

Inside was a mesmerizing array of intricate machinery, its core a strange, glowing power source that pulsed rhythmically. Suddenly, the air rippled, and the world around them froze in place. Ren barely had time to process what was happening before they were enveloped by a wave of energy radiating from the cube. The scenery distorted, colors bleeding into one another like a surreal painting, until everything faded into darkness.