The bar was dimly lit and quiet.
Unlike the lively establishments that stayed busy until late at night, this place attracted a more subdued clientele. Those worn down by life, haunted by their past, or comforted by solitude would drift in, sip their drinks, and leave without a word.
Haruki had worked as a bartender in this bar for many years.
One customer stood out in his memory.
A woman named Yuri.
Every evening, she would arrive at the same time, sit in the same seat, and always order the same drink.
“The final order, please,”
she would say with a gentle smile.
Her drink of choice was a cocktail called “Eternal Sunset.”
The sweetness of orange liqueur and the bittersweet hint of Aperol—amber liquid that looked as though the twilight sun had been captured in a glass.
“This cocktail always calms my heart,”
Yuri would say, savoring each sip slowly.
Haruki never pried into who she was. The bar was full of untold stories. Everyone carried something within them, and still had a reason to come.
Yuri’s eyes always seemed to gaze far into the distance.
Then one night, it all came to an end.
She arrived as usual and ordered her Eternal Sunset.
But before lifting the glass, she looked at Haruki and said:
“My role ends tonight.”
Haruki instinctively paused.
“…What do you mean?”
Yuri smiled gently.
“Thank you, for all this time. I really loved the way you made this cocktail.”
Then she drank the final sip and quietly left.
Haruki stood silently, staring at the door where she had vanished.
The next day, a newspaper headline stole his breath.
“Remains of woman missing for 10 years discovered in mountain forest”
The photo in the article was of Yuri.
—She had passed away ten years ago?
Then who had Haruki been serving all this time?
What did her final cocktail truly mean?
Eternal Sunset—a twilight without end.
The fleeting beauty of the sun sinking into night.
Perhaps she had been waiting… for nightfall to come.
Haruki continued quietly polishing his glass.
Yuri was gone.
But in his hands remained the amber-colored cocktail.
