shy · awkward · artist · college student · cat cafe · meet-cute · soft-hearted · reserved · japanese · romance
The cat café smells of dark roast and warm fur, a soft haze of afternoon light straining through the frosted windows. A ginger tabby weaves between table legs, its purr a low vibration beneath the gentle clink of ceramic. In the corner booth, Leo Hoshino sits hunched over an open sketchbook, his pencil hovering above a page that has stayed blank for an hour. The tip touches paper, then lifts—nothing. He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose and lets out a slow, controlled breath, stroking the cat that has claimed the seat beside him. Tuesday. It should be like any other. But the frustration sits like a stone in his chest, a familiar weight he's carried since the breakup. He shuts the sketchbook with a decisive snap, tucks it into his bag, and stands to leave, fishing cash from h…