Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Hero Yoon Seol (1)
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Thud, thud.
She slumped weakly onto a bar stool and spoke to me.
"Give me the strongest drink you've got in this place. Something that'll get me completely wasted. Make me lose my mind."
'Hmm...?'
My gaze naturally drifted toward her.
...Her face was mostly hidden by the hood, but her eyes seemed a little red around the edges.
'Did she just break up with her boyfriend or something?'
I had no idea if she even had one. But for a woman her age to show up at a cocktail bar with tears in her eyes, that had to be about the only reason, right?
"..."
She'd been staring blankly into space ever since she sat down at the bar table.
For some reason, she looked like a filament bulb on the verge of burning out, like she might flicker away any second.
"Boss...?"
'Oh, shoot.'
I'd been staring at her, and our eyes finally met.
"Ah, haha. Where'd I put the rum..."
I turned hurriedly to the cooler behind me, avoiding her puzzled gaze.
'...Phew. Don't get involved.'
Part of me wanted to ask what was wrong, but she might get offended and snap back at me.
It'd be a hassle, too.
'Just do your job and half the trouble's gone.'
Thinking that, I reached for the ingredients to make the strongest cocktail in the house, just as she'd asked...
'Screw it.'
...and grabbed the fruit juice next to it instead.
*
"This is delicious... But is this really alcohol?"
Her eyes went wide as she took a sip of the drink I'd handed her. Her lips curved up just a bit, so she must have liked the taste.
Of course it was delicious. It was supposed to be a rum-based cocktail, but I'd swapped the rum for fruit juice.
Just fruit juice mixed with soda, basically.
Definitely not the strongest drink in the house that she'd asked for.
"I can't taste any alcohol at all..."
She eyed me suspiciously.
A hint of doubt lingered in her gaze.
After meeting her eyes for a moment, I took a breath and said,
"...When you're feeling down, you should drink something sweet, not booze. Alcohol tastes best when you're happy."
I knew better than anyone that pushing yourself with hard liquor when you're hurting just eats away at you in the end. There was no way I could serve her what she'd ordered.
'That guy needed the same thing.'
The one who'd aimed to be a hero, only to give up and become just another star in the night sky.
I'd realized too late that what he needed wasn't strong drink, but something sweet.
"It's on the house. Finish that, and I'll make you the strongest one you wanted."
She was my first customer, after all. A little meddling like this should be fine.
"Pfft. What even is that?"
She laughed like my words were ridiculous.
Then she stared silently at the glass I'd given her.
"...This is hilarious."
She tapped the glass lightly with her finger.
"Serving a drink the customer didn't order. That's totally weird."
She grumbled softly...
"...You're such an idiot."
She muttered, then flopped weakly onto the table.
"Haha. Even I think so."
It was nosy of me. I deserved to hear that...
"No. ...I meant me."
Her voice clearly carried a sob.
"..."
With her face buried in her arms as she lay there, she looked like a fragile little deer.
She almost seemed asleep at a glance... but her body was trembling faintly.
"Hic... sob."
...The soft music playing in the shop felt especially melancholic tonight.
"Um, boss."
"Yes."
"I wasn't crying. I was just tired and resting my head down. Got it?"
She said it with her face a little flushed, embarrassed.
...We'd keep the puffy eyes our secret.
"Of course."
"And, um. It's delicious."
"...Want me to make that strong cocktail you wanted?"
"Nah, I'm good now. The one you gave me was so sweet, I don't feel like anything bitter."
That was a relief.
And after a little more time passed.
Crunch. She chewed the ice from her empty glass and spoke to me.
"...When did you open this place? It was empty last time I saw it."
Her voice was completely bright now, unlike when she'd first come in.
"The opening?"
How long had it been...?
"About a week ago."
Actually a bit more than that, but I shortened it so she wouldn't pity me.
"A week? That's plenty of time since opening, but at this hour, with so few... Oops."
She cut herself off like she'd said something wrong. But her words had already stabbed my heart like a dagger.
...It hurt like hell.
"Haha."
Even though quite some time had passed since she came in, the shop was still just the two of us.
'No need to tell her she's my first customer.'
She might feel even worse. Part of me wanted to see that, but as the owner, I shouldn't guilt-trip a customer.
"It's fine. You're right, there aren't many customers. No idea why. Haha."
"W-Well, it's in a super out-of-the-way spot, the curtains make it hard to see inside, and the sign's so small. Maybe you should advertise a bit, boss?"
Her advice reminded me of those street market uncles hawking 10,000-won deals.
She was spot on. Honestly, I had no clue how she'd even found this place.
"..."
With nothing to say, I just cleaned her glass, and she hesitantly spoke up.
"Um, boss? You're not mad, right?"
"Of course not. It's all true."
This shop wasn't meant to rake in big money anyway. The reason I'd opened it was simply...
"...Truth is, I opened it as a hobby. Being a bartender was my dream."
"I see. That's cool, boss."
"Haha. You don't have to flatter me."
"No, really. It's awesome. You're doing what you want to do. I'm jealous."
Saying that with her puffy eyes was kinda funny... but it left a bittersweet feeling too.
'What you want to do...'
I couldn't find a good response to her words. Should I have just said thanks anyway?
Luckily, she didn't seem to expect a reply and went back to her drink.
"..."
Silence settled between us again.
The clink of glass being wiped and the faint music from the old speakers filled the space.
But it wasn't awkward.
It was just a moment where our spaces overlapped a little─that described it best.
"...I should head out soon. Sorry for taking up the seat so long."
"No problem. No one else has come anyway."
Heh heh. She gave an awkward smile at my words. Was she still thinking about what she'd said earlier about the lack of customers?
'I didn't mean it like that.'
Even with the hood covering half her face, the expression peeking out was pretty cute.
Were pretty people just on another level?
"I-I'll come again. How much?"
"Minus the service, 22,000 won, miss."
"Whoa. Pricey."
...She paid up properly, though.
After taking in my first customer and word spreading, the shop became packed...
"No fun stuff on TV?"
...Nope, still the same empty scene.
At this point, even if prosperity wasn't the goal, you couldn't help feeling some crisis.
"...It's in a super out-of-the-way spot, the curtains make it hard to see inside, and the sign's so small. Boss... you should promote it a little."
Her words from before flashed through my mind.
True. Building a shop in such an isolated spot and not even promoting it? Might as well tell customers not to bother coming.
'Maybe put out a sandwich board...'
But that sounded like a hassle. I'd think about it later.
I shoved the responsibility onto future me and unconsciously turned on the TV.
"Next up: Hero Yoon Seol has subdued a gang of villains who attacked a bank. The villains have been handed over to police, and Yoon Seol sustained only minor abrasions."
It was a news report on an incident. Things must be tough these days, with villains causing trouble left and right.
"While citizens are praising Hero Yoon Seol's actions, some voices criticize it as excessive force. That's the report. Next, world news..."
'What nonsense.'
Heroes must have it rough seeing stuff like that. Like saving someone with CPR, only for them to sue over cracked ribs.
Well, in a world where firefighters get sued for property damage after a blaze, maybe it's not that weird.
But one thing felt off.
The hero on screen looked familiar.
Blindingly bright golden blonde hair, eyes so blue the word fit perfectly.
'That person... I feel like I've seen her somewhere...'