As the sun dipped under the horizon, enveloping the barangay of Silangan in the dark of night as a result, Callisto and Hinata's new shift were already nearing its end.
Managing the checkout alone was Hinata. There were a few customers forming a small line as he was in the middle of finalizing the purchases of the current customer with practiced ease. His efficiency at his work allowed him to occasionally sneak glances at the silver-haired girl squatting before one of the shelves, checking the expiration dates of some products before either putting them back on the shelf and recording them on her logbook or putting them on the basket next to her.
Despite his curiosity about whatever made Callisto looked purturbed earlier, Hinata never got to ask the young lady about it. He simply wondered what was on her mind as he found himself busy with work.
After she was done checking every shelf, taking the basket full of what seemed to be expired goods, Callisto entered the personnel only door. Then after a while, she returned with a basket full of replacements for the goods that had been expired and taken away, placing them one by one to fill the empty spaces on the shelves.
A small smile tugged at Hinata's lips. Not because he had to put them on to please the customers. Although it was a part of it.
Hinata was smiling simply at the sight of Callisto doing her work. He was impressed at how much she had adapted to the work environment compared to her first day in the convenience store.
After tending to all the customers in the line, Hinata walked out of the cash register to crouch next to the basket across the young lady.
"I'll help," said Hinata while already taking some products in the basket and putting them on the shelf.
"Thanks."
From one shelf to another, it didn't take long for them to empty the basket.
"That's all, right?"
"Yeah. Thanks, Hina."
Callisto shot a grateful smile at the young man who appreciated the gesture more than he'd like to admit or express with his own.
At that moment, Hinata had a thought.
"Calli... She looks like she's doing fine right now."
But despite how she looked, was it really the case? Hinata wasn't sure about that. A question remained in his mind, the same one from earlier.
What was going on inside her head? The only way to answer that question was by talking to the very person who made him feel uncertain and slightly worried in the first place.
As both of them head back to manning the two checkouts side by side, Hinata took the opportunity to speak with Callisto while there were no customers in front of them.
"Hey, Calli, can I ask you something?"
Callisto turned to face him, her cat ears twitching with curiosity as she looked at him through her sky-blue eyes.
"What is it?"
"Actually, while we were here with everyone earlier, I saw you. You seemed like you were bothered by something. It's fine if you don't want to tell me, but if you don't mind, then what's going on?"
Callisto's body tensed up at the young man's words, at the realization that Hinata saw her make such a face back then.
The truth was that she was, in fact, bothered by something. Only that it wasn't just one thing. Before giving an answer, a forced smile contorted Callisto lips, a gesture she hoped was enough to convince the young man he had nothing to worry about.
"Ah, that. I was just thinking about the book Patricia lent me recently. It's not like the ones she typically praises for their 'fanservice'. It's actually a good read, but it had a very sad ending. I remembered that and thought about talking to Pat about it, but Boss caught us and Pat had to leave with the others for college. I guess I just had to wait for tomorrow."
"I see. So it was just a book."
Hinata exhaled, relief washed over his features.
"I'm glad it was nothing serious."
"I'm sorry about that."
"No, it's fine."
There was a moment of silence between them after that exchange, broken occasionally by new customers entering the convenience store.
Callisto lied for one obvious reason and another. There was no way she could tell him how his conversation with Patricia did not stir that same feeling she felt when a simple thought about Hinata being with Mina Minana, not when even she wasn't sure why she felt that way in the first place.
There was no way she could tell him about her secret, that everything about her—her silver hair, her cat ears, and the well-hidden tail on her back—were the real thing.
Hinata wanted to take Callisto's words to heart. Even though deep down, something was telling him the young lady's explanation felt too good to be true. And he hated himself for harboring that doubt, especially when he himself had things he could not tell Callisto. At least not yet.
"How was your day?"
Hinata looked at Callisto in the eyes, caught off guard by the sudden question.
"You mentioned hanging out with your friends. Did you have fun," Callisto added, awaiting his response like an eager cat.
In truth, she just wanted to break the silence their earlier conversation caused and talk about something different.
"Oh, yeah. I did."
The air between them felt a bit lighter compared to the tension from earlier. Hinata could feel himself relaxing in Callisto's company as he explained what he did with his friends to her. Eventually, their conversation would shift to something mundane, before getting interrupted by customers and resuming their talk after processing the purchases of customers.
Before they knew it, their shift was finally over.
On their way to get their change of clothes in the locker room, they came across Selly who was getting ready to manage their post by herself before closing the store after an hour.
"Hey, Hinata. Make sure to walk Callisto home."
"I understand."
"What? You don't have to. I'll be fine."
Selly gave her female employee a stern look, the kind that brooked no argument. "I'm not about to let a girl walk home alone no matter how young the night is or how safe our barangay may be. The number of kidnapping incidents in the country have been increasing in the past few weeks. It's better to be safe than sorry. Understood?"
There was only one answer Callisto could give her boss.
"Yes. I understand."