“Oh, don’t mind him, he’s just welcoming you,” I heard a calm voice interjected. I turned to see who it was and I saw a woman, probably in her late 20’s, wearing a sleeveless pink jacket.

I slowly opened my eyes just as the dog went toward the calm voice of the woman who sat alone, wagging his tail as excited as an old dog can. A sigh of relief left my mouth, knowing that I can move again without the fear of angering a dog.

“Your dog?” I asked as I sat at the table next to hers.

"You can say that. Cute, isn’t he?” She said with a silvery voice that had a mature tone to it. I could only chuckle in reply. I turn to the woman wearing a hood, inside a café at night. As far as aesthetics go, there’s really no practical use for the hood without the sun or rain, but who am I to judge? Underneath the hood, I could only see a glimpse of her face just through the lock of hair dangling by the side of her face; I'd say she’s charming. Long eyelashes, pinkish lips, and a face that’s a sight for sore eyes. She must be a model with those looks. I don’t think I’ve seen this person around here before, so she’s probably be here to visit a friend or relative. I mean, if I walked past someone this eye-catching, I’d probably remember.

I picked up the menu to stop myself from any further leering. Stop being a creep, Ram. I called for the waitress and she swiftly came to my table.

“I’d like the--” before I could continue I heard an audible gasp, I look up from the menu to see the waitress with her mouth agape and wide-eyed.

“Y-you’re Ram from Open Cases, right,” The waitress expressed declaratively. As much as I appreciate getting noticed outside the online world, I still get a bit bashful hearing it.

“Uh, yeah,” I replied.

“Can I get a picture? Please?” the waitress pleaded with excitement in her voice. After a tiresome session of editing for more than 2 hours straight, I looked haggard, but I couldn’t bring myself to say no. She took out her phone, and I could clearly see on the screen how rundown I look with the dark circles under my eyes and the messy hairdo I had on, but she didn’t seem to mind it.

“Someone you know, Alice?” The woman asked, seemingly surprised.

“Oh, sorry ma’am! It’s just that, I’m a big fan of his videos. A-anyway, what would you like to order?” the waitress answered, I scan the menu again, with no time to think too much about it, I picked the one my eyes saw first.

“I’ll get the…Adlao? Cheese burger with sweet potatoes please.” I said, almost biting my tongue with the name of it.

“Right away, Sir,” She said quickly and nervously went back to work. Seems like the hooded woman sitting at the table next to mine is her boss.

“Videos?” The hooded woman asked. If I wasn’t so drained of energy, I’d love to talk more with her, but as I am now, keeping up a conversation is the last thing I’d like to do.

“Ah,” I softly chuckled. “Yeah, just an online series, nothing special,” I said, trying to sound less pompous, but what I said played back in my mind, and I realized how arrogant that may have sounded, I paused. Am I overthinking it? I probably am.

“Ohh. That’s nice,” she said ending the conversation. Deep inside, I wanted to tell her more and maybe expected her to ask, but she didn’t. I shouldn’t be surprised. A beautiful woman with, probably, a business of her own, or a stable job, or maybe even just a part-time job as a model, wouldn’t bat an eye to a stranger who does online videos for a living. Though I probably won’t be able to hold up a proper conversation with how exhausted I am right now. The waitress came back with my order; a big cheeseburger with sweet potatoes on the side, I should probably eat something hefty, since all I’ve had were chips and soda for the whole day, but the photo of this burger on the menu popped and caught my attention. The entire time in the cafe, I ate my burger in peace, had the occasional small talks with the waitress, whose name I now know is Alice, and finished up the last bit of this greasy goodness. She’s a pretty chill person, not like the usual fans I meet that jump up and down and frantically doesn’t know what to do. It’s not that I disliked them, it’s just refreshing not to have someone move around me so much like we’re the same side magnet.

I stood from my seat and saw Alice wave goodbye, out of courtesy, I presumed. I waved back, feeling a bit more energized by meeting a new person. As I pass by the woman at the next table, I turn my head a little to get another glimpse of her face to see her also waving back with a gentle smile. There it is, her profile. I caught a glimpse of it earlier, but it doesn’t compare to seeing the entire thing. I stiffened a bit before waving goodbye to her as well. Strangely enough, I had a felt regret wash over me, like this was my chance to talk to her, and I blew it because I’m so drained, but I put that thought behind me and left.

As I stepped out, I am reminded of the upsetting heat. I wish I stayed a little bit longer inside, but I was already outside, and I am not going to be that guy who goes into a store and orders again right after just leaving. There’s probably no one like that, but I don't want to be the first.

I walked back to my place and arrived in less than 10 minutes. I laid my jacket on the stool beside the door, went straight to my room, and slopped back on my chair then turned to my laptop, suddenly a message flashed on the screen.

Rendering 30% estimated time 3 hours 22 minutes 50 seconds

Indicating that the video that took me hours to edit will take a lot longer to render. I leaned back on my chair and paused to take a breather from all these content-related matters I’m thinking about, and unexpectedly, the first thing that came to mind was the woman from the cafe. I can’t pinpoint why but I felt my insides twist, a hint of regret crept in the back of my mind, as if some part of me was telling me I should’ve talked to her, but didn’t. I let out a sigh and decided to check the notifications from my previous video.