"I keep having chest pains these days" the customer said while I escorted him out of the restaurant. "I wonder if it's love" he looked at me shyly like a high school girl. "It's something more serious. You need to see a doctor, Sir" I gave him my usual customer friendly smile. "Oh Haha.. really?" he said nervously. "Take care, sir" I bowed slightly. "Thanks..." he said before going away. "Welcome" I greeted another customer who just came inside.
"Sir, we're closing for the night" I said to guy who came in a while ago. "Come on, can't you let me drink some more?" he pouted. "I want alcohol to get rid of the harsh realities that sit inside me" he put his head down. "Of course, just don't puke your harsh realities out on the counter" Miriko said from behind me. "Nee-san, should we throw him out?" Kiriko whispered to me. I chuckled while shaking my head.
"Here, take those shades off and have this. This would help to wake you up" I said placing honey-lemon water on the counter. "Leave me alone, I'm fine" he whined like a child. "What are you saying sir? You're a broken and upset man. Or B.U.M in short" I took a puff from the pipe. He raised his head up and chugged the warm drink down. "Will these be enough?" he asked emptying his wallet on the table. One cent.. two cent.. "Not only that. You're also a broke and useless man, Mr. B.U.M" I smiled while placing the coins in his hand. "Do come again, Sir".
Next Day
"Yo, Hanae" Gintoki came inside the shop with a familiar B.U.M. "Gintoki, I haven't even opened the shop yet" I said. "Well the door was open so" he sat at the counter with the guy. "Can you make him something home cooked? Like some cheap vanilla cookies?" Gintoki asked looking irritated. "Is that how you felt when I sent you those cookies?" I looked at him in disbelief. "No baby wait! I loved yours-" "Who's your baby?!" I twisted his hands that were on my hips, my face slightly flushed red.
I brought something for the two to eat while they conversed for a while. After a while Gintoki got pissed at him. "Gintoki" I held him back by his arm. "Listen Hasegawa-san" I started while sitting beside Gintoki. "It's fine to have your beliefs and live by them. But if you're trapped by all their restrictions, it might not be so bad to bend the rules a bit" I said smiling a bit. "Yeah, why not break some rules? Through that course, the path might clear up and you might find what's really true to you" Gintoki said while shifting his gaze from Hasegawa-san to me. Hmm?
A Few Days Later
"So you punched the prince out of the car and then drove the pregnant woman to the hospital?" I asked the familiar shade wearing guy. "Yeah, but the days I were a taxi driver wasn't that bad, though I always was looking forward to where to go next" he said taking a puff from his cigarette. "You stayed true to yourself" I smiled while passing him his drink. "But I'm not sad. Although I'm a klutz, I've decided to live my life the way I want to" he said sipping his drink. "Hasegawa-san, don't act all mighty just because you've used the word 'klutz' properly" I said to him emotionlessly. He chuckled at my words before chugging down his drink. "Bye, Hanae-chan" he waved after leaving the money on the counter. "Later, you blissfully-living but unfulfilling man" I waved back.
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Thank you for reading episode 10.
Hope you enjoyed it!
Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions or anything.
