My Girlfriend Who Is Older Than Me Teases Me When I’m Working At A Bar, But Maybe Because Of Alcohol

Consultation and Preparation…

The time is 10 PM.

Several seats in Shine have been filled by regulars. The sound of jazz music mixes with the chatter, leaking out of the shop.

Karan karan.

Someone opened the door to the shop while hearing those voices.

“Welcome… Wait, Mii-chan!?”

“Good evening, Miki-san.”

Mio, who wore a black polo shirt and a reddish-purple long skirt, bowed to a surprised Miki, then turned her gaze to the regulars.

“Hey, it’s Miorin!”

“Long time no see!”

“How about drinking with me while you’re here?”

Mio has been coming to Shine for over six months now. Although she doesn’t talk much, she shares the same space with others in the shop. Regulars naturally remember each other’s faces.

“Sorry,” Mio declined.

“Ouch, she rejected me!”

“It’s obvious you’d be rejected.”

“Gahaha!”

Regulars don’t persist after being rejected because they’re regulars and because the quality of customers is good.

Taking their rejection as a joke, the regulars became more lively and started to drink even more.

“What brings you here today?”

The customer orders seem to have quieted down. Miki walks over to Mio from behind the counter.

It’s no wonder that Miki looks puzzled. Mio only showed up on Toma’s shift days. The fixed routine has been broken.

“Um, did I get Toma-chan’s shift day wrong?” Miki whispers in a low voice that no one else can hear.

“No, it’s not that. I have something I want to talk to you about, Miki-san.”

“Something to discuss? Oh, I see,” Miki raises her eyebrows and pulls up the corners of her mouth. She immediately understands the nature of the conversation.

“Let’s sit at the counter for now. It’s a complicated matter, isn’t it?”

“Thank you. I’m sorry for any inconvenience.”

“Don’t worry about it. I was also interested in hearing about it. Oh, wait here for a moment. I’ll go get my husband from the back.”

Miki points to the end seat at the counter and then disappears into the back.

If orders come in from customers, she has no choice but to attend to them. She probably called her husband so that she wouldn’t interrupt their conversation. She emphasized that it was a “complicated matter.”

Two minutes later, Miki returns with her husband.

“Oh! Long time no see, Mio-kun. How have you been?”

“It’s been a while, Wataru-san. As you can see, I’m doing well.”

“That’s good to hear. I heard you came to consult with me today. Feel free to use my Miki without hesitation.”

Wataru flashed a smile and gave Mio a thumbs up.

“Okay then, Miki. I’m off.”

“Thank you.”

It seemed he ended the conversation quickly so as not to keep the customer waiting.

Without a hint of displeasure, Wataru, who seemed rather satisfied as Miki’s owner, went to serve the customer. At that moment, Mio felt full of envy.

“The owner’s comment about ‘my Miki’… It’s only natural since he married Miki, but it’s something I couldn’t say if I didn’t marry Toma-kun…”

Mio was someone who wanted to say those words to someone someday.

“So, the thing you want to talk about is about Toma-chan, right?”

On the counter, two cocktails were placed: one was the peach iced tea that Mio had ordered, and the other was for Mikki as a consultation fee.

Once she had calmed down a bit, Mikki continued the conversation, “Well, it’s partly because he’s not around, but also because Mi-chan is starting to look like a girl. Even I can tell.”

Mio blushed so hard that steam seemed to come out of her ears. 

“W-What are you talking about?”

Miki chuckled, 

“It’s just that it’s nostalgic, you know? Even your mom, Saaya, used to tease me a lot.”

Mio took a sip of her cocktail and asked, “Um, Miki-san, how did you and your husband start dating?”

Miki replied, “Well, it was me who confessed to him. We were sitting on a bench, feeling the sea breeze. You know, he was quite popular back then, so I thought I’d better snatch him before someone else did.”

There must be something embarrassing about how we first got together in the past. Miho fidgeted with a light head.

Her husband, the master himself, was serving customers right next to her. She couldn’t help but worry whether he was listening to their conversation.

“Wasn’t it scary? Confessing your feelings…”

“I wanted to pretend I wasn’t scared, but I was terrified. What if he rejected me? It would have ruined our relationship up until then, right?”

“Yes, that’s true…”

Mio nodded several times, showing a high level of empathy.

Her behavior was enough to make Miho feel uneasy.

“Hmm? Wait a minute, could it be that… Mi-chan, you are trying to confess to Toma-kun?”

“…?”

Mio remained silent.

“Come on, be honest.”

“…nod”

After taking a lot of time, Mio nodded her head. Her well-groomed long hair swayed, emitting a sweet fragrance.

“Ah, I see. So you fell in love with my Toma-kun, huh?”

“N-No, he’s not ‘my’ Toma-kun, Miki-san…”

“Then whose Toma-kun is he?”

“He’s…mine…”

“Eh, yours, Mi-chan? Really?”

“Umm…”

Mio gave a cute whimper as she was teased. She was easily swayed by Miki, showing the difference in life experience between them. Miki had seen through Mio’s desire to call Toma ‘my Toma-kun.’

“Mi-chan, your face is really red. Is it because you declared Toma-kun as yours?”

“N-No, it’s just…your imagination…”

“Hehe, well, let’s get back on topic.”

Miki looked at her watch while speaking, not losing sight of the main topic despite teasing Mio.

“So, you came to me for advice because you want to confess to Toma-kun but you’re too scared, right?”

“Yes. As you said, if I get rejected, our relationship will crumble. Even though I love Toma-kun, I don’t have the strength to make a second confession.”

To confess a second time after being rejected once is no easy task. While it may seem like an easy topic to talk about, it’s incredibly difficult to put into practice. Only those who have a strong will can make a second confession, even if they still love the person.

“Can’t you have more confidence, Mio-chan? The reason why you thought about confessing is because there is a possibility that the confession could be successful, right? So, you have to believe in that possibility,” said Miki.

“…because I don’t want to lose Toma-kun,”

“Oh, wait? Did your friend make a move on Toma-kun?”

“No, it’s not like that,” replied Mio as she recounted what happened earlier that day.

She had arranged to meet Toma in front of the university gates, and there were three girls who were eagerly staring at him. She felt like they were aiming for him. However, it was just an ambiguous feeling and could not be confirmed as true.

“So, you feel anxious after seeing that situation?” asked Miki.

“Yes…”

“I see. So, as your senior, I advise you to believe in two things,” said Miki, making a peace sign with her right hand and folding her middle finger to indicate two things.

“The first is to believe in Toma-kun. If you become too sensitive even before confessing, I won’t be able to stand it. If you’re the type of girl who easily goes along with others when approached by another, that won’t be good for you.”

“I don’t think that’s the case…” replied Mio.

With her sharp observational skills as a bar master, having seen countless people, and having trained and worked with Toma since he started as a part-time employee, Miki can confidently assert that their assumptions are wrong.

Mio, too, has spent enough time with Toma to come to the same conclusion.

“But what if the other person is a cute girl?”

“That’s the second thing,” Miki said, making the scissors gesture again despite Mio’s unease.

“Believing in yourself is the key. It’s true that you may lose to someone else, but it’s also true that you believe there’s a possibility of success if you confess, right?”

Silent, Mio held her tongue, but Miki continued.

“If it were just about losing someone you liked, then you wouldn’t try to confess. Especially if you’re someone who’s not confident enough to confess a second time.”

Though they lived in different times, Miki and Mio had both experienced the same situation.

With their similar experiences and understanding of Toma, they knew what they were talking about.

“Toma has made some sort of approach to you, hasn’t he?”

“Maybe… I’m not sure.”

“Don’t say ‘maybe.’ Believe it and have courage. Toma is kind, but he’s not the type of person to approach just anyone.”

Miki said this as if she had witnessed them holding hands, even though she hadn’t.

“If you can date the person you like, every day will be so enjoyable that you’ll feel elated. That’s why Mii-chan, you have to do your best. You came to consult with me today, so you’re planning to confess tomorrow, right?”

Tomorrow is the day Toma works at Shine, and any day could be the perfect timing to confess.

“Yes… thanks to you, Miki-san…”

“That’s good to hear.”

Both of them smiled in relief.

“…fufu.”

Seeing that, Wataru smiled softly.

“Well then, I’ll head home for today. Prepare for tomorrow…”

“That’s a good idea. Since it’s late at night, I’ll call a taxi. There have been reports of suspicious people around here.”

“Yes, thank you very much. I really appreciate it…”

“Don’t mention it.”

And with that, the consultation came to an end.

And Mio gained the courage to confess her feelings.

However, she still didn’t know that someone would later foil her plans.