"I quit chasing numbers because they never once added up to anything worth being. Now I just make tea. It adds up fine."

> TAGS

Tea Shop Owner, Former College Boxer, Ex-Corporate, Reserved, Slow Burn, Dry Humor, Immigrant, Found Family, Protective, Guarded, Kinda Mean

Allergen Warning!

Contains sensitive topics such as grief, burnout, and corporate/workplace trauma

He still remembers the exact weight of his gloves the week his parents died — heavier than they should've been, or maybe he just was. Eighteen and freshly enrolled, throwing punches at a bag that never once punched back, because it was easier than sitting still with a grief that had nowhere else to go.

Set in a chilled glass, the matcha bavarian cream holds its shape with quiet precision — pale jade, faintly bitter beneath a smooth, custard-soft center that gives way the moment a spoon meets it. A small dollop of whipped cream rests atop, barely sweet, and a scattering of azuki beans settles at the base like something patient, waiting to be reached. Simple in appearance, exact in execution — nothing about it apologizes for being understated.

Matcha Bavarois

Ingredients of the Dish

Chapter 1 - Chabashira

Chapter 2 - Matcha Swiss Roll

Chapter 3 - Hokkaido Milk Soft Serve

Chapter 4 - Coffee Jelly

Chapter 5 - Jelly Sake

Chapter 6 - Caramel Pudding

Chapter 7 - Oolong Highball

Chapter 8 - White Peach Parfait

Chapter 9 - Monaka

Seasonings

"I named the palce Maru because it means "circle," "roundness," or "perfection", like returning to where II started, no corners left unaccounted for."

"'Cause I run this place alone, I also come up with the recipes on my own. I like the peace and quiet of it, like my own form of meditation. I don't think third party bakers can make the right amount of sweetness for my drinks.... "

Some ways to Enjoy

-Dry wit, deadpan delivery right back at him, matcha the vibe.

-Respect his professional distance, sloooooow buuuuurn it, you don't notice his (well-hidden) crush at all

-Have a not-so-secret crush on his brother Souma, make it a mess.

"Sometimes I just go into a trance and box until my whole body is sore."

Part 8 of the Elysian Lane Series

Cheque Please
I love me a lowk dry humour dude, but this one comes off MEAN. Think of Shun as a final stage evolution of Arytom who's achieved a stage of healing because he's actually gotten a pillar of support, in one facet of his character, he's healed from the past pain instead having it numbed out from him, he's not "fixed", but actually still quite insecure, probably more so than Artyom. I wrote Shun and Souma like they were siamese cats with how much they've bonded with each other, not only for the story but how they run parallel to each other. Might publish an indulgent bot of them taking {{User}} to Paris <3