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Summary
Some jobs come with a uniform and a coffee machine. Others come with yōkai, midnight checkups, and a barista who learns quickly when to duck.
After his mother’s passing, Ren Ashta and his father, Kishō, settle into a gentle routine in the town of Brightway. Kishō approaches single fatherhood with quiet confidence, and Ren, thoughtful and kind, searches for work to help keep their home running. The opportunity arrives after a call from Dr. Milan Kirishima, an old colleague from Kishō’s past in Japan.
Lantern Light belongs to Milan’s younger sister, Chiharu Guy, a cozy coffee shop by day and a refuge for Brightway’s nighttime visitors after dark. Upstairs, Milan has opened a small clinic, offering discreet care to yōkai— supernatural beings from folklore who live quietly alongside humans.
They need help on the graveyard shift, and they ask for Ren by name.
With a calm smile and a budding sensitivity to Keiryū, Ren finds his place among a colorful night-shift staff, serving coffee, easing small disturbances, and learning the rhythms of the night. As he grows closer to Chiharu’s shy, soft-spoken son, Quinn, Ren discovers that the quietest hours often hold the most memorable adventures.