A Beautiful Model In My Class Comes To The Coffee Shop Where I Work Part-time Only When I'm On Shift - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: SNS

“Well, you know… it’s troublesome when weird rumors start spreading.”

“Rumors?”

“That I’m dating an older actor or something like that… I just want to make it clear, there’s absolutely nothing like that happening, okay? Well, it’s true that he made advances, though.”

“Did you meet him through work?”

“Well, yeah. He kept asking for my contact information, so it was tough to refuse… Oh, right! Juntaro, we haven’t exchanged contact info yet, have we?”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, we hadn’t.

Shizuku pointed her smartphone toward me.

“Let’s exchange right away.”

“Yeah, sure.”

And so, the name “Shizuku Kamisaka” was added to my messaging app.

It might not be anything special, but for some reason, it made me very happy.

“Ahaha, it’s the default icon. Very fitting for Juntaro.”

“…I don’t have another image I can use.”

Shizuku, saying so, had a cute cat icon.

It was a black cat with distinctive round, yellowish eyes. Was this her pet?

“It’s my grandma’s cat. His name is Kuta. Isn’t he cute?”

“Oh, it’s a boy?”

“Huh? Yeah, but… is there a problem with that?”

“No, I just thought he somehow resembles you.”

Cats and people shouldn’t resemble each other, but looking at this icon, Shizuku’s face just popped into my mind. It was a vague sensation, like her composed expression and overall demeanor—hard to pinpoint.

“Surprising… my grandma says the same thing. She picked him up from the shelter, and apparently, the reason was that he looked like me.”

“Oh, so I wasn’t the only one who thought that.”

“Weird. I don’t feel like we look alike at all… and he won’t even get close to me.”

“Maybe it’s a kind of kin rejection? Perhaps he sees you as one of his kind.”

“Hmm… do cats understand that kind of thing?”

“I feel like animals are surprisingly sensitive.”

“Well, I want to get along with him, though.”

Watching Shizuku stare at the icon, I couldn’t help but smile.

The her from magazine spreads and the current her in front of me were truly different.

I found a strong charm in that gap.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Oh, just thinking about something cute.”

“Heh, you’re as straightforward as ever… Well, whatever. More importantly, Juntaro, you really should change your icon. The default one is just too plain.”

“Is that so?”

“It is. Don’t you have something you like?”

“…Coffee?”

“Oh, that’s fine. How about making a cup of coffee your icon? I think it’s totally okay.”

I thought it made sense.

I sent my gaze to the coffee Shizuku was drinking, the closest one to me. She immediately hid it with her hand.

“Don’t use a half-empty cup. Take a picture of a freshly brewed one.”

“Why…?”

“Because normally, you don’t use a half-empty coffee as your icon.”

“…Is that so.”

The world of icons is deep.

“Do you post pictures of cakes or something cute like that? By the way, is this café on social media?”

“Yeah, I manage the account.”

“Really?”

Utahara-san, who brought a refill of coffee, showed us the screen of her smartphone.

There, an SNS account with the name “Cafe Mellow” was displayed, featuring images of coffee, desserts, and the interior of the café.

It seemed to have a decent number of followers.

“I started it recently, hoping it might be good for promotion. And little by little, we’re getting new customers. So that’s why.”

“Oh… so that’s why I felt like there were more customers lately.”

Especially on weekends, it was unmistakable.

It wasn’t just a figment of my imagination, and I finally understood.

“Do you post pictures of coffee on this account? Could you send me one for an icon?”

“Sure~ Is this going to be your icon?”

“Yes, since the default icon is a bit lonely, I thought it’d be nice to use something Juntaro likes.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll send you as many as you want. Please use them for Jun-kun’s icon!”

I promptly set the coffee image Utahara-san sent me as my icon.

Indeed.

Just by changing the icon, I felt a refreshing sensation.

“Yeah, this looks better after all.”

“If Shizuku says so, I’ll keep it like this.”

Feeling somewhat excited, I asked Utahara-san to send me many more images.

Other drinks besides coffee, desserts, and dishes.

The image section of my almost empty smartphone was instantly filled.

“Thank you… when you line them up like this, I realize how many items are on our menu.”

“I was surprised when I took them at first~. It’s from our regular customers, but until they saw the SNS, there were some items on the menu that they didn’t know about. But thanks to the SNS, they got excited to try different items. It’s kind of heartwarming.”

“That’s indeed a nice story.”

I also wanted more people to know about the coffee Utahara-san makes. Although the café already had enough customers not to worry about business, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to prosper even more.

“Promotion, huh… I also want more people to know about this place, but… if I recommend it publicly, a lot of fans will probably flock here…”

“If that happens, Shizuku won’t be able to come to this place easily.”

“That’s true…”

For both me and Utahara-san, that wouldn’t be ideal.

It’s nice to have her promote it, but just her feelings were more than enough.

“But I’d like to recommend it to people I can trust. Not being able to share your favorite things is, after all, sad.”

Shizuku’s words carried a definite weight.