Late-Night Foodie (3)

The vendor’s eyes narrowed in understanding.

“So that’s what you’re after,” he murmured under his breath, gaze flicking from Arata to the restless crowd and back again.

Arata only smiled, that infuriatingly harmless smile that never quite reached his eyes.

“Do you mind playing along for a bit, sir?” he asked.

“It might get noisy real quick.” Arata-kun hinted.

The vendor huffed, folding his arms. “As long as no one calls the cops.”

“Perish the thought,” Arata replied lightly.

“I’m only a devoted older brother trying to make his little sister happy,” he added.

“You’re already in the act, huh?” The vendor asked Arata-kun.

The vendor glanced at the small girl waiting by the stall with her parents. She peered up at the rows of glossy caramel apples hanging like jewels, eyes wide and unblinking.

“…All right,” the vendor said, knowing that he couldn’t refuse a win-win offer.

He clapped his hands once, as if starting a stage rehearsal.

Arata-kun stepped forward, placing both hands gently on the girl’s small shoulders, spinning her around so she faced the caramel apples. His posture shifted instantly.

Shoulders drooping, eyes watery, and hands trembling.

“Little Sister,” he began, voice trembling just a bit too dramatically,

“I know you really want a caramel apple now…” Arata-kun began his loud act.

The little girl blinked up at him, puzzled.

“Eh?”

Arata pressed on, undeterred.

“But… your surgery bills were so expensive,”

He went on, pointing at the girl’s parents standing a few feet away.

“Our poor, struggling parents could only dream of getting you the snacks you want.” Arata-kun continued speaking in a louder yet grieving tone.

“I hope you don’t hate me for not being able to get you even a simple snack.”

A couple of people in the adjacent vendor’s shop turned their heads.

“Did he say surgery?”

“Wait, what’s going on?”

Arata raised his voice just enough to carry to the line snaking in front of the rival stall next door.

“I’m sorry, little sis,” he choked out.

“I promised you a caramel apple when you got better, but big brothers are weak sometimes. I just… wanted you to be able to at least smile seeing all these shops .”

The little girl stared, clearly not following the script, but sensing she was supposed to be sad.

“…I-it’s okay, Onii-chan,” she tried, her voice small.

“I don’t want to burden my parents any further…”

It came out stiff, but the surrounding customers didn’t seem to notice. A few older women in the rival line covered their mouths.

“Oh no…” “Such a pity that a girl her age has to think like that.”

Arata-kun guided the girl closer to the stall, stopping just short of the glass display. The caramel apples gleamed invitingly under the lights.

“Here,” he said softly, though still loud enough for the nearby crowd.

“At least smell it. That much we can afford, right?”

He leaned toward the vendor, lowering his voice just enough to sound like a private confession that everyone could still hear.

“We’re not here to buy, sir,” he said, bowing his head.

“I just… wanted her to remember what happiness smells like.”

The vendor nearly choked at the line but forced his expression into something stern, then conflicted, then begrudgingly moved.

The little girl looked from the glossy apples to Arata, then to the vendor, her eyes starting to shine for real now.

Not from understanding, but from the sheer intensity of everyone’s attention.

“…They look really good…” she whispered.

Someone in the rival line sniffed.

“Kid, you’re killing me here,” a man muttered, wiping at his eye.

The vendor let out a theatrical sigh, playing his role at last.

“Oi, kid,” he grumbled, reaching up to pluck one of the biggest caramel apples from the rack.

He hands the caramel apple to the girl’s hands.

“Here,” he said roughly.

The girl’s fingers curled around the stick, eyes going wide.

“F-for me?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he snapped. “Consider it a reward for being a thoughtful little girl.”

His voice softened despite himself. “You did well, kiddo.”

A moment of silence passed by in an instant.

Then, as if a switch had flipped, the rival line broke.

“Hold my spot—no, actually, don’t.”

“I’m switching stalls. Anyone that kind deserves my money.”

“Excuse me—do you have any more of those apples?”

“I’ll take three!”

“Four here!”

The customers peeled away from the next stall in a small, teary-eyed stampede, converging on the vendor’s counter with urgent faces and wallets already half out.

The rival vendor sputtered, mid-slogan, as his line dissolved in real time.

“W-wait, where are you all going? Today’s discount—”

But it was too late.

The first woman in the new line beamed at the vendor, eyes still damp.

“You’re too kind,” she said, sniffing. “I’ll take two apples and… whatever you recommend.”

“Same,” another chimed in.

“Anyone who’d do that for a stranger’s kid deserves more business.”

The vendor blinked, taken aback by the sudden wave of orders. Then his hands moved on their own, reaching for sticks, caramel, fruit.

“S-sure,” he stammered. “Coming right up!”

Beside the cart, Arata stepped back, carefully letting his hand slip from the girl’s shoulder.

His expression relaxed into something almost normal, the performance fading.

The girl stared at her caramel apple, then bit into it with a delighted crunch. Sugar stuck adorably to the corner of her mouth.

“…Onii-chan,” she said around the bite, her lips curled into a delightful smile.

“This is really good. Do you want some?”

Arata relaxed upon seeing that she wasn’t that bothered by the act.

“See?” he said. “Worth the trouble, wasn’t it?”

He glanced sideways at her parents.

Their daughter’s performance moved them to tears despite knowing that everything was staged and their daughter hadn’t undergone any surgery at all.

Arata-kun approached them.

The father and mother of the little girl stepped towards him.

“I apologize if I went too far….” he began speaking formally.

The little girl’s parents walked right past Arata-kun and cheered their daughter, praising her for her beautiful performance.

Arata-kun simply continued and walked away.

Not out of anger nor sadness at being ignored.

He couldn’t bring himself to turn around to see the happy family of that girl.

He simply smiled, hearing their joyful voices blend into the loud, noisy crowd.

Arata-kun stopped walking and looked at the shining moon.

The busy street and the chaotic world faded as he smiled, proud of what he did today.

‘Cough..cough.’

A thick bank of grey smoke covered his pleasant view.

Arata-kun turned back and was faced with a sleek black car.

His eyes twitched in anticipation.

“Did I get caught THAT FAST?”