Blend 10

Hachi ran off to the back of the store to fetch the Kopi Luwak, leaving Clara and Reggie to dread together what ‘poop coffee’ would taste like.

While Hachi dug around the back looking for the coffee beans, Clara prepared the almond toast. It was already baked; she just had to serve it up and bring it to Reggie.

“You said you knew Mr Hachi from school. Was he always like this?”

“Drinking coffee that had been cultivated from animal faecal matter?”

“Well, yes, but I meant obsessed with coffee?”

“Hard to say. I never really spoke to him.”

“Really? I thought the two of you seemed close.”

“Nope, I was never close to him. The more I think about it, the more I don’t know if anyone was particularly close to him.”

“He must’ve been lonely,” Clara commented.

“Well, he was a bit of a prick,” The man shrugged. “Whenever I tried to interact with him, he seemed to push me away.”

“I’m sorry for you,” Clara apologised, though she actually felt sorry for Hachi. She had come to learn he did try to push people away, but more often than not, it came from a place of not wanting to hurt others. He was an insecure man. Something Clara could see, but it seemed like nobody else around could. Perhaps that only fed into his insecurities and made him push away others even more.

Before long, Hachi returned with the unopened bag of Kopi Luwak and began to prepare it. He didn’t have as much experience preparing these beans. While you may think each coffee bean would be very similar to prepare, each requires a different degree of preparation, timing, and care to draw out its flavour. Luckily, Hachi experimented with the coffee independently and had a bag in his own place.

He began to grind the coffee, and Clara observed how much care he was putting into preparing it. While he would pass it off as satisfying the customer, she knew there was more to it. He was going to such lengths because he wanted to do something nice for Reggie, though this was the only way he knew how to express it. Clara also felt a little sad that all those around him could notice something as evident as this. Poor Hachi must have been extremely lonely.

To lighten the mood, Clara whispered to him, “You’re not going to spit in his coffee, are you?”

This horrified Hachi, unaware that this was only a joke.

“Clara! I may dislike him, but I would never degrade myself to jeopardise the health and safety of a customer. Or, more importantly, ruining a coffee. Especially one as special as this.”

“Well, that’s good to know,” Clara responded, surprised he didn’t retort as he usually would. It was further proof that he was focused on doing his best for perhaps the only person Hachi could call a friend.

He finished making three cups and, together with Clara, brought them to Reggie’s table.

“So this is the poop coffee?” Clara commented.

“Clara, I’m a tolerant man. I’m a forgiving man. But never. Never call coffee made from Kopi Luwak beans ‘poop coffee’ ever again,” Hachi scolded her with a dark expression.

He had the expression of a serial killer. Cold, murderous, obsessed. Mostly with coffee. He could handle people making fun of him. But he would not tolerate anyone making fun of the coffee.

“Sorry Hachi,” she apologised. Though she realised his cold expression was only a joke. Well, she hoped it was.

“Don’t be sorry, just don’t do it,” Hachi replied like a scolding mother. After he was done lecturing Clara, Hachi took the first sip. He let out a satisfied noise after his sip and smiled warmly.

“That’s the good stuff.”

Clara and Reggie looked at each other. Both wished for the other to take the first sip. Clara decided she would take one for the team. She trusted Hachi, even if it meant drinking ‘poop coffee’. Clara took the dip, Clara took the sip.

With Clara having a coffee, all eyes turned to Reggie. The pressure became overwhelming, and he caved in and took a drink as well.

Reggie pulled a face. A face of disgust.

“How was it?” Hachi asked.

“I thought it was quite nice,” Clara admitted.

“It isn’t that good. I have had better coffee before. This just further proves that it is not worth the price,” Reggie added.

Hachi was a patient man; he had tolerated Reggie until now. But badmouthing the Kopi Luwak, that was a bridge too far. Hachi took a breath to collect himself. He wanted to double check he heard what he did before he snapped.

“What was that?”

“I was expecting it to taste like shit, given how it is made, but it’s just bad. Like this is not worth it.”

Hachi’s voice turned dark as he walked behind Reggie. Leaning in to whisper deeply along his neck.

“You- you don’t like this coffee, huh? You think it’s not very good, huh?” Hachi let out a laugh that didn’t seem warm but terrifying.

“Hachi, you’re scaring me, Clara commented, adding to his deliberate skit.

Despite the sinister undertones, Clara noticed that the monologue seemed surprisingly well rehearsed, almost as if he had been practising this line in front of a mirror for an extended time. This could only mean one thing: he didn’t care about Reggie's reaction and deliberately put on this scary persona as an act.

But why would he do that? To get closer to Reggie? To push him away? Or to make a drawn-out joke? Clara didn’t think it was the third. That wasn’t like Hachi at all. But perhaps somewhere between the first two. Maybe he was trying to cut ties with Reggie.

“Sorry, I was going to say that everyone has their own tastes in coffee, and it is totally fine to have a different taste,” Hachi added a lot more warmth in his voice. “Anyway, I’m going to tidy up the kitchen; enjoy your meal and coffee.”

Clara finished her coffee, and Reggie finished eating his food, leaving his coffee untouched. Reggie didn’t stay to chat and quickly paid. Just before he left, he whispered to Clara.

“I’ve known Hachi a long time; he can be kind of an insensitive arsehole sometimes. If he gets too much, feel free to leave him.”

“Thanks for the concern. I haven’t known Hachi as long as you, so I won’t pretend I know him any better. But I think that’s just part of Hachi’s care for others. He’s afraid of getting close to others.”

“I doubt it. Anything but coffee is meaningless to him.”

“No, I think he cares more about others than he lets on.”

“Well, I hope you are right.”

The man left. Another person Hachi had cut ties with. Clara couldn’t help but worry about how lonely Hachi must have felt.

∘•········ʚ ♡ ɞ ········•∘

End of Chapter 10