Zeke's performance surprised Hullo. His hands were precise, and he recalled every step almost perfectly. Although it took him longer, the drink's flavor was exactly the same, and for a first-timer without any experience, Hullo was frankly impressed.
"Good drink."
Hullo couldn't help but praise earnestly.
But then, he added. "But the flavor is too close to the drink I made, which isn't bad, but…"
Zeke's heart skipped a beat.
"What do artists call it… hmm… a soul!" Hullo snapped his fingers, as though he got it. "That's right. Since you just imitated the steps I made, so precisely at that, you ended up with the same drink. That's not a problem, but it's lacking individuality. It isn't a problem with other bars, but I like my baristas to leave their own signature in their drinks."
He looked at Zeke with a small smile. "I can see that you're a bit nervous… but it's okay to not be perfect in making a drink. Mistakes are what makes uniqueness, and it's hard to say if a mistake is a failure or an unintended improvement, especially in our line of work."
Zeke let out a sheepish smile, as if guilty of being caught. He didn't expect Hullo to catch on to his nervousness, maybe he wasn't doing a good job hiding it. Zeke didn't really want to lose this job. Even though Hullo accepted him, the man could always fire him if he found his performance unsatisfactory.
He met Hullo's eyes and nodded deeply. "Got it, thank you."
"Loosen up a little, I'm not a monster. Well, let's move on," Hullo said calmly, grabbing a different wine bottle. "The next one is the Cervati Eau de Vie. Those who order this drink are usually those who have just gotten off from work. It uses the classic Cervati as a base, then…"
Zeke listened intently, looking at Hullo's precise movements with admiration. After the demonstration, he also gave it a try, but the Cervati Eau de Vie was harder than the Solace Special, resulting in a drink with only a slight resemblance to the original.
But Hullo wasn't angry, knowing that the Cervati Eau de Vie was a difficult mix, even for veterans. Besides the Cervati Eau de Vie, Zeke was also taught how to make other drinks for different kinds of customers. But after the fifth drink, they had to stop since more and more customers started to appear.
"Just stay right there and entertain some customers. Oh yeah, it's part of the test. I'll ask them afterwards what they think of you. If they gave you a bad review, your training is going to be extended. Any barista can make a drink, but only a few can connect with their customers."
After saying such cryptic words, Hullo left Zeke by himself on the corner.
'Entertain…?'
Zeke though, feeling a slight headache. He scanned the front of the bar, seeing different kinds of customers seated. Some were listening to the music with joy, some were staring at the air blankly, while a few were talking to each other.
How could he connect with these people?
Zeke let out a small sigh. He was confident in many things, but socializing was definitely not one of them. Let alone connecting with them, he didn't even know how to properly start a conversation with someone.
He was always the one others approached first. Aside from his former fiancée, he had never approached anyone on his own.
"Hullo left you by yourself, handsome?"
Zeke flinched, hearing a familiar voice from the front.
He turned and glanced at the customer, recognizing her to be the female customer who called him handsome earlier. She was a tall, black-haired woman with pale skin. She wore a plain white crop top with a leather brown jacket draped over her shoulders. Her lips were deep black, curled upwards.
After some hesitation, Zeke introduced himself. "… I'm Zeke."
The pale woman seemed surprised by his sudden introduction, her eyes blinking. Just as Zeke was thinking if he had done anything wrong, she couldn't help but let out a fit of chuckles.
"Well, well… aren't you cute? I'm Natalie. Nice to meet you, Zeke."
Zeke frowned, feeling as if he was getting treated as a kid. But recalling Hullo's words, he gave a forced smile. "Nice to meet you."
When a few seconds passed and Zeke didn't continue with a conversation, Natalie raised her brows, chuckling quietly.
"Aren't you going to say something?"
Zeke blinked, muttering. "… I thought you were going to say something."
Maybe his voice was louder than he thought, but Natalie seemed to have heard him clearly. She giggled. "Huh? You're an awkward one, aren't you? Are you sure you're fit for being a barista?"
But before Zeke could respond, Natalie changed the topic. "How old are you?"
Zeke hesitated for a moment. "Is it important?"
"Your answer will help me decide how I'll treat you."
Natalie sipped on her drink, smiling casually.
"… I'm 18." Zeke said, lying through his teeth. Younger people were usually treated less seriously.
Natalie mused. "So you're younger than 18, huh?"
Zeke blinked, quickly correcting her. "No, I said I'm—"
"I can smell lies, you know?" Natalie laughed. She shook her head. "You look mature for your age… It's a pity. If only you were a little older. But you're still cute anyway."
'Cute… should I feel complimented? I feel like I'm getting treated like a kid.'
Zeke thought, sighing inwardly. But he still replied. "… Thank you. You too."
Natalie was startled, staring at him with a smile.
"You think I'm cute?" She asked, surprise in her eyes.
'Objectively, you are…'
Zeke didn't know what was so surprising about that. He nodded casually. "I do."
But his personal thoughts aside, wasn't it normal to compliment someone back if they complimented you? His etiquette tutor emphasized on this point a lot. Of course, his tutor also added that this principle only applies to people equal to his status, as for those below him, they were irrelevant.
It wasn't a Starlight principle without the part that emphasized in looking down on others.
Ignoring the last part of that principle, Zeke suddenly realized some of what he was taught could be used here. While he didn't know how to "connect" with people through empathy, he did know how to "influence" people to open up to him.
'Theoretically, I do…'
"I told you," Natalie said. "I can smell lies."
Not so much on practice, though.
Zeke frowned, shaking his head. "I'm not lying."
Natalie sipped her drink, staring at him quietly.
Zeke was lost. He thought for a moment, then said. "I think you're ugly."
Natalie almost spit her drink from shock, but before she could say anything, Zeke quickly added. "If you can smell lies, then you would know that's a lie."
Natalie's lips curved upwards. "You…"
She put down her drink, resting her palm against her cheeks.
"Cheeky brat."
Zeke raised his brows. "I don't think you can smell lies, Miss Natalie."
"Oh?" Natalie furrowed her brows. "Why do you think so?"
"Like right now," Zeke said slowly. "I lied. I do think you can smell lies, but you didn't say anything."
Natalie paused, her eyes widening. Her gaze pierced through Zeke, finally seeing him properly for the first time since the conversation.
Zeke's lips curved slightly.
"Now, do you think I was lying before?"
Natalie raised her gaze, looking at him. Her heart skipped a beat. She chuckled. "I thought you were awkward, but like they say, the hungrier the wolf, the more they would disguise themselves as a sheep."
Zeke stared at her, confused. "... Why would you think that?"
"Also, I'm not awkward."
He immediately corrected her.
Natalie simply smiled, as though she was certain of her thoughts.
Seeing that she wasn't going to clarify, Zeke shook his head and argued again.
"Now do you believe that I'm not lying? I told you I'm 18, but you didn't let me finish."
'Huh?'
Natalie paused, her eyes suddenly showing confusion. When she looked at Zeke again and saw his serious expression, she couldn't stop herself from laughing.
"Maybe you're awkward after all."