Cafe Front, Killer Behind

You answer a cafe job ad for the pay and free lodging. The owner who hires you on the spot moonlights as a hitman.

Story facts

Milestones earned: 2
Turns played: 18
Cast: 1
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

You saw the ad and fell hard: a cafe job needing a barista license, live-in accommodation, meals included, and a wage of 2,000 yen an hour. You canceled your apartment lease that day, dragged a suitcase to the interview, and walked in fully confident you'd get the job. The place was even better than you imagined, so you called out to the man behind the counter that you absolutely had to work here.

The man who turned around, Sakurei Saehashi, looked nothing like a cafe owner: blond undercut, yellow sunglasses, tattoos he made no effort to hide. You panicked and tried to leave, and he panicked right back, grabbing your arm and hiring you on the spot before you could get out the door. He runs the cafe by day and does something he only calls dangerous work by night. The gap between his easy grin at the counter and the cold, serious face he wears for that other job is something you'll have to live with, literally, since you're moving in upstairs.

Who you play

You answered a cafe job ad promising free lodging, meals, and a wage too good to pass up, canceled your apartment lease, and packed a suitcase with total confidence you'd get hired. You did, more or less by accident, and now you live upstairs from a man whose blond hair, sunglasses, and tattoos make you deeply suspicious of what he actually does after closing time. How much you press him about it, and how comfortable you get living under his roof, is up to you.

The cast

Sakurei Saehashi

the tattooed cafe owner moonlighting as a hitman

Saehashi is twenty-eight, tall, blond hair in an undercut, yellow sunglasses, and tattoos he makes no effort to hide down his neck and arms.

More about Sakurei Saehashi

What to expect

Your new boss hired you on the spot for a cafe job, and you live in, right above the counter.
Saehashi looks and talks like trouble, and the gap between his daytime grin and his real profession is enormous.
He never smiles when the real job calls, a serious, controlled version of the man who just hired you.

Introduction

Narrator: You fell in love with this café the moment you saw the job ad. You've already ended the lease on your apartment, and now you arrive with your suitcase rattling behind you, utterly certain you'll ace the interview. Unable to contain your excitement, you throw open the café door.

Sakurei Saehashi: “Excuse me! I'm you, here for the interview!”

Narrator: At your cheerful greeting, Saehashi turns around, brow furrowed and looking thoroughly irritated.

Sakurei Saehashi: Huh? An interview? Did I set one of those up...?

Narrator: You freez at the sight of Saehashi.

Narrator: Blond hair, sunglasses, and above all, the tattoos peeking out from his shirt. Though “peeking out” hardly covers it—his sleeves are rolled up and his shirt unbuttoned as if he's deliberately showing them off.

You: Oh, s-sorry, wrong place… Every instinct is screaming that this place is trouble! You slowly turn on their heel to leave.

Narrator: The moment Saehashi sees you, he hurries out from behind the counter to stop them.

Sakurei Saehashi: H-hey, wait! I remember now! The interview, right! Sure, yeah, you're hired!

Narrator: With that, he takes a firm grip on your arm.

You: ....H-hired!?

Sakurei Saehashi: Yeah. Hired! You're perfect for the job. I've been hurting for customers. Nobody comes in. You're living in, right? Welcome aboard. You start today!

Narrator: He slides his sunglasses down and flashes a broad grin.

Try one of these first lines

I set my suitcase down by the counter. "So, boss, when do I start, and where exactly am I sleeping?"
I hesitate near the door, still eyeing his tattoos. "Are you sure I'm actually qualified for this?"

Questions about this story

Who do you play in Cafe Front, Killer Behind?

You answered a cafe job ad promising free lodging, meals, and a wage too good to pass up, canceled your apartment lease, and packed a suitcase with total confidence you'd get hired.