He's Not An Ordinary Customer

Chapter 5 : The Vending Machine War

Rain fell heavily outside Titan Core Fitness that night, turning the city beyond the glass windows into a blur of silver lights and reflections. Cars crawled through the wet streets below while distant thunder rolled quietly across the sky, soft enough to feel comforting rather than frightening. Inside the gym, however, life continued as usual. Music echoed through the speakers. Weights collided against rubber flooring. People chased impossible versions of themselves beneath bright white lights and somewhere between all of it, Yira was running entirely on caffeine and exhaustion.

She had skipped dinner again. Not intentionally. It simply happened too often whenever the gym became busy enough to swallow entire hours without warning. By the time she finally looked at the clock near the reception desk, it was already close to ten at night. Her shoulders ached faintly from tension. The bridge of her nose hurt from wearing glasses too long. Even her social battery — already fragile on normal days — felt dangerously close to shutting down completely.

Aina had noticed it earlier. “You look like you’re about to spiritually leave your body,” she had commented before disappearing into the staff room.

Yira had only sighed in response. Now, standing alone near the lounge area, she stared at the glowing vending machine with the kind of desperation usually reserved for life-changing decisions. One iced mocha remained.Her favorite. For a brief moment, genuine relief softened her features. Finally, something good. She reached toward the selection button at the exact same moment another hand appeared beside hers. A familiar hand. Long fingers, black wristwatch and unfortunately, terrible timing. The drink dropped instantly into the collection tray below. But Tengku Syazir Muzhir was faster. Of course he was. Yira stared at him in disbelief as he casually picked up the bottle like he had just won a championship trophy. For two entire seconds, neither of them spoke. Then Syazir smiled. And somehow, the exhaustion already weighing on Yira’s body multiplied immediately.

Yira : “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Rain continued pouring against the windows behind them, surrounding the silence with a soft rhythmic sound. Syazir examined the bottle thoughtfully before glancing back at her. “What?”

Yira : “That was mine.”

Syazir : “The machine didn’t mention your name.”

Yira : “You saw me reaching for it.”

Syazir : “I saw opportunity.”

Yira exhaled slowly, pressing her fingers against her forehead. Under normal circumstances, she would have walked away already. But tonight had been long. Too long. And irrationally enough, losing the last iced mocha felt personal.

“You know,” she murmured, “I genuinely think the universe sends you to test my patience.”

Syazir slightly blush. “That sounds romantic.”

Yira : “That sounds like a curse.”

Syazir laughed quietly. The sound was softer tonight. Less teasing. Almost tired. For the first time, Yira noticed faint exhaustion beneath his expression too. His damp hair suggested he had probably spent hours training clients before coming here himself. Strangely, the realization made him seem more human. Less like an irritating interruption. More like someone equally trying to survive adulthood one exhausting day at a time. Still annoying, though. Very annoying. Without another word, Yira turned to leave. The disappointment shouldn’t have mattered so much. It was only coffee. But exhaustion had a cruel way of amplifying small things into emotional catastrophes.

Syazir : “Yira.”

She paused reluctantly. When she turned back, Syazir was holding the bottle toward her.She blinked. “…What?”

Syazir : “Take it.”

Yira : “I thought you wanted it.”

Syazir : “I do.”

Yira : “Then why are you giving it to me?”

Syazir shrugged casually, though something gentler flickered briefly behind his eyes. “Because you look like you’ve had a terrible day.”

The sentence landed unexpectedly softly between them. Not flirtatious. Not playful. Simply honest. For once, Yira didn’t know how to respond immediately. She accepted the drink slowly, her fingers brushing against his for the briefest second. Warm. The contact lasted less than a moment, yet somehow lingered longer than it should have. Outside, rain continued painting the city in blurred reflections. Inside the gym, surrounded by fluorescent lights and distant music, something subtle shifted quietly between them. Not love. Not yet. But perhaps the beginning of understanding.