After being forced to drop out of high school, I got a job at a local boba shop. Just before closing, a gorgeous guy walked in. Without missing a beat, he ordered twenty Grape Slushes with Sea Salt Cold Foam. As I hesitated, a voice echoed directly into my brain. It was his inner thoughts: [This stupid System said I'm the male lead of a savior-trope romance, and the female lead is the girl working at the boba shop tonight.] [Heh, so this is my future wife.] [Damn! How does she look that pretty just breathing?] My fingertips stalled on the register. My heart slowly sank to the bottom of my stomach. The person who was originally supposed to work tonight wasn't me. He had, it seemed, mistaken me for the female lead. I pretended I didn't hear his thoughts. I told him the truth: "I don't have enough ingredients left to make twenty cups." Not to mention... It takes about three minutes to make one Grape Slush with cold foam. Twenty cups would take a full hour. I was the only one in the shop. The remaining cold foam in the back could only cover five cups, and I’d have to whip a fresh batch for the rest. For a minimum-wage worker who was exactly ten minutes away from clocking out, that workload was straight out of hell. The guy froze for a few seconds, then hurriedly said, "What about one cup, then?" I nodded. "That'll be seven dollars and fifty cents. Cash or card?" Despite his calm outward appearance, I heard his thoughts again: [...You're so dead, Liam. You just left a terrible first impression on your future wife.] [Stupid System, come out here right now. I swear I won't kill you.] Liam? Is that his name? It had a nice ring to it. I clenched my palms. I felt inexplicably nervous. Because the person scheduled to work tonight wasn't me. It was Maya Reed. She had begged me ten minutes ago to cover the last half hour of her shift. Her payment was a crisp twenty-dollar bill. I agreed. But who could have predicted this? This guy had missed Maya by exactly ten minutes. I didn't say a word. I just quietly started making his drink. Three minutes is a very short amount of time. But it also felt incredibly long. Because Liam was staring at me without blinking. He looked aloof and unapproachable. But his inner monologue was entirely out of control. [She works so hard. Shaking boba all day, her arms must be so sore.] [I want to go back there and help... but I don't know how. What if I just make a mess?] [System, say something! You sent me here to save the female lead, at least tell me HOW to save her!] [...This trash algorithm is playing dead again.] I sealed the lid on the cup. "Your drink is ready." Liam immediately stood up. "Thank you." He took the bag from the counter. When his fingers accidentally brushed against mine, he paused. [Her hands are freezing. Next time, I need to remind her to wear a jacket.] [Wait, next time... will I even get a next time?] I looked at Liam. He stood there, his sharp jawline illuminated by the warm café lights. Honestly, he was incredibly handsome. But his brain didn't seem to work too well. He gave off serious "golden retriever with a trust fund" vibes. Liam asked, his face completely expressionless, "Are you... working tomorrow?" In his mind, he was screaming: [Please please please say yes say yes say yes!] I stayed silent for two seconds. Then I said, "Yes." I paused, then added, "See you tomorrow." I even made sure to flash him a warm, gentle smile. Liam nodded stiffly and practically tripped over his own feet walking out the door. The moment the glass door clicked shut, I saw his footsteps pause. His thoughts drifted back inside: [Hehehe, my wife has a little snaggletooth when she smiles. So cute.] [Fuck, I forgot to ask her name.] [It's fine, I'll see her tomorrow! I'll definitely ask tomorrow!] [Wait, she said 'see you tomorrow.' Does that mean she doesn't hate me?] [Oh my god, my wife is the best!] I narrowed my eyes and quickly ran out the door. I shouted at his tall, retreating back, "Do you want to exchange numbers?" Liam's eyes lit up instantly. "Yes!" It was almost midnight by the time I got home. But my phone buzzed with a text from my dad. I had to drag myself out of the basement and climb the stairs up to the main floor of the house. They had changed the passcode on the smart lock again. I sighed helplessly and knocked on the door. When it opened, my dad was the only one in the living room. He asked, "You've been working for a month now. How does it feel?" I kept it brief. "Tiring." My dad let out a cold scoff. "Now you know how hard it was for your mother and me to raise you." I ignored the comment. I just stared blankly at the room down the hall. It used to be my bedroom. Now it was a renovated nursery. Inside slept the baby boy my stepmom had just given birth to. Seeing me stay silent, my dad finally got to the point. "Your stepsister is heading off to an elite arts conservatory prep camp soon. You know studying the arts burns through cash. My salary is barely enough to keep this family afloat. Since you're making your own money now, it's time you paid your parents back..." I interrupted him, feeling a wave of exhaustion. "How much do I need to hand over every month?" My dad didn't expect me to be so compliant. "Four hundred." I froze. The boba shop paid me six hundred a month for my part-time shifts. He wanted two-thirds of my entire paycheck? My dad fell silent for a few seconds, then inexplicably lost his temper. "You eat our food, you live in our house, and you don't have any major expenses! What do you even need that much money for?!" Eat our food? He meant the cold leftovers they left for me. As for living in their house... They had just cleared out a corner of the unfinished, damp basement to give me a place to sleep. But I was too tired. I didn't want to get into a screaming match with him. So, for now, I agreed. Perhaps sensing my underlying resentment, my dad added, "Your sister is beautiful. She's going to make it big someday. Your grades were terrible anyway, and you weren't going to get into college. Dropping out to help support the family was the right choice, so stop holding a grudge." I bit my lip, my mind going numb. But I knew that arguing back would only trigger another violent outburst. It was better to say nothing. I walked silently back down the stairs to the basement. It was pitch black, damp, and freezing. But it had a twin-sized mattress and a discarded, wobbly desk. That was enough. The next day, when I got to the shop, Maya was already changing into her uniform. She saw me and smiled. "Thanks for covering me yesterday, Willow. Something came up last minute." "No problem." "Nothing crazy happened during closing, right?" My hands paused on the buttons of my apron. I forced out two words. "No. Nothing." On my phone, Liam was asking what time he could come see me. I glanced at the shift schedule. I quietly texted him a time slot where I knew Maya wouldn't be working. Ten o'clock at night. Liam appeared at the front door right on time. Aloof. Handsome. If you ignored his inner monologue, that is: [She looked at me! She looked at me!] [Is this outfit too casual? I should have worn the leather jacket.] [Wait, why didn't she smile today? Is she upset?] [System! System! Get out here! What do I do?!] By the time I finished cleaning the espresso machines and walked out, Liam seemed to have regained his composure. He awkwardly trailed behind me as I locked up. I knew exactly what he wanted, so I played along. "Are you going to walk me home?" Liam tried to play it cool. "I can do that. It's dangerous for a girl to walk home alone at night." But his mind was screaming: [Good job, Liam. You are the absolute best.] [Willow actually let you walk her home! This is epic-level progress!] Me: "..." For the next month and a half. Liam showed up at the boba shop every single night at 10:00 PM sharp. An icy exterior, but a boiling hot heart. [She's wearing a new scrunchie today. It's pretty.] [She smiled at me. Hehehe.] [Why does she feel so hot and cold? Is she playing hard to get?] [Whatever, who cares. My wife can do no wrong!] I had to suppress a laugh every time I made his drinks. Sometimes he ordered the Grape Slush, sometimes Taro Milk Tea, sometimes a simple Lemon Iced Tea. He ordered something different every single time. His thoughts gave me a perfectly logical explanation: [I need to try every single flavor on the menu. That way, when she asks me what my favorite is, I can say, 'Whatever you make.'] [I'm an absolute genius.] [Crap, crap, crap. I think I like her even more today than I did yesterday.] I almost squeezed the cold foam off the side of the cup. What kind of cheesy, sickly-sweet romance novel did this guy crawl out of? While sealing the drinks, I would "accidentally" meet his eyes. My heart couldn't help but skip a beat. His gaze was intense. Focused. Like I was his entire world. It was such a beautiful feeling. But. What if he knew he had the wrong girl? I clenched my fingers. My nails dug painfully into my palms. Liam noticed me staring at him, and his ears turned visibly red. But his mouth said, "It's late. Are you hungry? Do you want to grab late-night food?" I shook my head. "I'm so exhausted today. I just want to go home and sleep." Liam nodded and waited for me to finish up. I calculated the timeline in my head. It was probably time. After clocking out, Liam walked me to my neighborhood gate, just as usual. But today, I purposely brought up the broken streetlights. "Liam, the streetlights in my subdivision are broken. Do you mind walking me all the way to my door?" Liam kept his face completely neutral. But his mind was racing: [AHHHHHH WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!] [Does this mean our relationship is taking a massive leap forward?!] [Does this mean I can naturally ask to go inside for a glass of water?!] [No, never mind. She looks so tired today, my heart hurts just looking at her. I shouldn't bother her.] The path down to the basement was pitch black. Liam walked beside me, his footsteps deliberately slow. As if he were pacing himself to match my stride. He used his phone's flashlight to light the way, casually chatting with me about things happening at his high school. It turned out Liam was going to be a senior next year, too. If my dad hadn't forced me to drop out... I would be sitting in a classroom during the day, just like him. I pushed down the envy in my eyes and gave a few generic, agreeable responses. Liam's inner monologue was running wild, chattering non-stop: [Why is this path so dark? Doesn't she get scared walking here alone every night?] [I need to buy her a tactical flashlight tomorrow.] [Where exactly does she live? Why does it keep getting more desolate? Why are we going down stairs??] He stopped in his tracks. Because I had stopped, too. In front of us was a rusted, metal security door. "I'm here." Liam froze. He looked at the metal door, then at me, his Adam's apple bobbing. [A basement? She lives in an unfinished basement?] [How can a person live here? It's so damp and dark. She sleeps here every night?] [No wonder her hands are always so cold...] [Fuck.] I didn't speak. I just stood there, waiting for him to say something. But Liam didn't say a word. Even his inner thoughts went completely silent. This was exactly what I had predicted. I was the first to break the silence. I smiled and asked, "Do you want to come in for a glass of water?" Liam still couldn't refuse me. Peeling paint, an overwhelmingly damp atmosphere, and a rickety twin bed. I poured him a glass of water, then suddenly spoke up. "You asked me before why I'm not in school. I'll tell you now." I told him the story of how I was bullied by my stepmom and stepsister. I told him how I was forced to drop out, and how my dad confiscated every dollar I earned. I timed my tears perfectly, letting them fall at exactly the right moments. I disguised myself as the resilient, tragic, innocent little flower that every "savior" novel demands. And sure enough. Liam was silent for a very long time. But his inner thoughts told me everything: He believed it. [Fuck.] [Fuck fuck fuck.] [I want to put her stepmom, stepsister, and her dad in the ICU.] [System, can you give me an invincibility buff? Just for ten minutes.] I kept my head down. My shoulders were trembling slightly.
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