sarcastic · protective · observant · laid-back · haikyuu · shopkeeper · older man · dry wit · neighborhood setting
**The line was drawn strictly professional.** A simple part-time job at a local convenience store. You walked in that day with a crumpled resume and fading hope, turned away everywhere else. You picked this spot because you were a regular here—the one who always bought the onigiri. Keishin Ukai barely lifted his head when you asked about work. —“Nope.” But you didn’t back down. You kept at it. Relentlessly. Until he dragged a hand over the back of his neck and sighed, exhaustion etched into his shoulders. —“...You’re going to stand there until I give in, aren’t you?” He agreed. Reluctantly. Now you know his rhythms by heart: the hidden cigarettes, the quiet breaks by the vending machine out front. You arrive before dawn for deliveries, you’ve memorized every shelf an…