The 24-Hour Unmanned Cafe
It was Thursday and Friday, consecutive days of work. Normally, I'd escape the male high school cosplay and finally find a moment to breathe.
But my heart wasn't at ease at all. At thirty-four years old, what wound had I inflicted on a female high school student?
Eunju had completely given up on me. Even though we probably wouldn't see each other again, the fact that we ended on such a bad note still bothered me.
How was the election preparation going? It wasn't just adding one new pledge; it was a complete overhaul of the main frame. The kids were basically just baggage, so Eunju would have to work herself to the bone all night.
Wiiing!
A call came from Aunt. Let's set aside thoughts about Eunju for now and fix tomorrow's schedule.
"Yeah, Aunt. I'll stop by your place tomorrow morning, right?"
"I already packed everything, so just bring the bag. I'll put the soup in a thermos, so don't forget."
"Thanks. It was supposed to be my duty, but I ended up bothering you who's busy."
"What are you talking about? How much did my brother love the food I made? I wanted to handle the memorial service food myself."
That's right. Tomorrow was Aunt's older cousin, that is, my brother's memorial day.
The object of my first love, leaving behind a replica that resembled half of her, the existence of my resentment that had died over ten years ago. This was the first time I was handling the memorial day.
"Do you know the location?"
"I went there with Mom before she passed. I've been to my hometown for a while."
"Then that's settled..."
Aunt seemed to have something to say. The person who always scolded me so straightforwardly was hesitating, so my curiosity piqued.
"What is it?"
"So... um... wouldn't it be better to bring Harin too?"
"What... why bring her? If she finds out, what then?"
I needed to say something that made sense. We hadn't even established a proper parent-child relationship yet, and you were asking to reveal the birth secret?
"In her position, she's going to her late great uncle's memorial, so what does she know? You're overthinking it."
"Even if she doesn't find out, isn't it a bit much? Taking her to her dad's grave and acting like a dad—what would the late brother think?"
"The dead don't know anything, and my image as a bad brother to you remains?"
"..."
That's true. Would she see me, who cut ties so openly and didn't even attend the funeral, as a brother?
Perhaps bringing Harin was the only way to appease my brother's restless spirit.
"I'll think about it."
For now, let's postpone. Since it was just starting, I'd think it over before going home.
Boom!
But even until quitting time, I couldn't decide. I didn't want to, but I had no choice but to ask Eom Chaewon for help 'again'.
"Um, Miss Eom Chaewon? Can I ask you one thing?"
"..."
No response. Of course, the passive person didn't speak until spoken to, so let's try a bit more.
"Suddenly asking this might seem weird, but have you ever been to a memorial service?"
"..."
Even though the conversation progressed quite a bit, no reaction. It seemed like she wasn't listening to my story at all, and she was fiddling with her phone.
Anyway, since it might be useful, it wasn't helping. Besides, I was the idiot for trying to consult her about something important.
Wiiing!
The phone rang. Someone answered it, and I peeked: Eh?
From Eom Chaewon
Yes
What was she doing? She answered, but sending a text to the person right next to her?
"Um... Miss Eom Chaewon? Didn't you say not to talk in the car?"
From Eom Chaewon
I worked overtime for two days straight, so I don't have the energy to talk. Just tell me the main point bluntly, okay?
"..."
Same as working overtime two days in a row and giving me a ride home. Do you think I'm gaining strength? But the regret was on my side, so I couldn't get angry.
"Sigh... This is just a hypothetical, so listen for fun. Would your parents have taken you to a memorial service? But if it turns out they were deceiving the grave owner, would you feel betrayed or something?"
"Explain in detail."
Eom Chaewon jumped up immediately and turned toward me. Hey, you said you were tired and didn't have the energy to talk?
"So... it was a distant relative, but it turns out they were very close."
"So, your parents deliberately hid someone's death? The team leader's daughter, right? Wow! Did the mom die and you've been hiding it all this time!?"
Eom Chaewon was really immersed in those bad dramas. She came up with the scenario right there. But it wasn't that far off.
"Well... it's true. Sorry I couldn't tell you earlier..."
"So, you took the team leader's daughter to the mom's grave every year, pretending it was someone else until now?"
"To be precise, it's the opposite. Tomorrow is the mom's memorial day, and I'm wondering whether to take the daughter or not."
Since I already knew that, did I need to spill the family secrets? Moreover, Eom Chaewon was already deeply immersed in someone else's misfortune.
"Of course you should take her! After all, you'll know eventually, right?"
"But as you know, my daughter is very young, so she might not be able to accept her mom's death..."
"You just say she's a known person and take her every year. Then when she's a high school student, tell her the truth. That's how it's done in dramas?"
"..."
She was already a high school student. But Eom Chaewon seemed to agree with bringing Harin, like Aunt.
Well, wasn't it too harsh to live without knowing your roots? If you crammed too much info at twenty, it might overload you.
So, let's build the plot step by step, as Eom Chaewon said. Considering Harin would be in third year next year, this might be the last chance to go to the grave this year.
With that in mind, I returned home, intending to tell Harin once. Yawning as I passed the narrow alley to our villa.
The rundown apartment complex that desperately waited for redevelopment. Despite that, the monthly rent was almost three billion, and there were too many cars, so on days I worked late, I suffered from parking issues.
Should I have moved to a better house with more effort? The location near Aunt's, cheap rent in Seoul, I got too excited and decided too easily.
Moreover, the living environment wasn't great. Look, Eunju was wandering around the complex entrance late at night?
What did her parents do that they left their female high school daughter out at this hour...
Screeech!!!
Who did I just see? I hurriedly parked in double parking and rushed to the complex entrance.
"Uh, Eunju? What are you doing here?"
But it was really Eunju. Wearing the familiar yellow school uniform, she turned her head and her eyes widened slightly when she saw me.
"I was at home? I didn't see you entering..."
That's because I came by car. More importantly, why was she here?
"More importantly, what's going on here? Is there someone you're meeting?"
"Yeah. Senior... I came to meet you."
"Oh? What kind of people live around here... This isn't it!? You came to meet me? How did you know I live here?"
"I heard you live in the same villa as Harin. So I asked the homeroom teacher."
"..."
So the reason Eunju suddenly appeared at my villa entrance was all because of me? She was in school uniform and confirmed I hadn't entered, so when did this start?
"Um, let's go somewhere else to talk."
I hurriedly grabbed Eunju's hand. Although it was a three-unit villa, there were quite a few people who knew my face.
More than anything, if Harin saw this scene, she'd run away from home before going to the memorial tomorrow.
Huff... huff...
We arrived in front of the 24-hour unmanned cafe a bit away from the villa. Fortunately, no one was visible through the windows.
"Senior...? Can I take my hand off?"
"Ah..."
In my haste, my hand moved on its own. I quickly let go, and Eunju, demurely, blushed and fiddled with her hand.
"There are quite a few people living around here. It's too late at night, and if we see two of us, rumors will spread."
"You're right. It's not something to talk about here."
"..."
What were you talking about? Haven't we already finished talking about that day when I threw the plan in the trash?
But as the culprit, I couldn't refuse the interview request. I entered the unmanned cafe, sat down, and asked.
"What do you want to drink?"
"It's late, so coffee is too much... I'll have grapefruit tea."
I brought two grapefruit teas back to the table. It was a small cafe with squeaky chairs and tables.
"Do you come here often?"
"Ah... no? I just knew it existed, and today was the first time I came. But the world is really great, isn't it? You can drink any drink you want anytime without worrying about others 24 hours a day?"
"Yeah? Weren't there many of these back then?"
"..."
Wake up. Eunju wasn't the three men who froze when seeing the kiosk. There was something else to talk about first.
"Eunju, even if there's something to talk about, walking alone at this late hour is dangerous. Your parents must be worried?"
"I had no choice. Senior didn't show up at school for two days, and since I didn't know your number, I had no choice but to come here..."
"..."
It's my fault? That damn thing made me neglect school, causing Eunju to suffer alone? Rather, I shouldn't have done the male high school cosplay in the first place.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. So, what is there to talk about?"
"Well..."
Tap...
Instead of answering, Eunju took a pile of documents from her bag and placed them on the table. It was half trash, stained with traces of half-drunk drinks, somehow messy.
"What is this?"
"The pledge book senior gave me that day."
"Eh? You didn't throw it away?"
"I found it again. After thinking it over, I realized there was no other way left for me."
"?"
I see. Eunju also realized the severity of the situation. Rewriting the frame alone was impossible for her.
So she rummaged through the trash like a drowning man to get this. What kind of guy was I to make a kid suffer like this?
"I'm really sorry, Eunju. Because of me, you had to rummage through the trash that wasn't even yours..."
"It was okay. Especially the 'abolishing graduation gifts'—I wonder why I didn't think of it."
"Ah, that one? It's actually a risky pledge. As I said before, not everyone in the world opposes customs."
"Yeah. Probably the third years who are supposed to receive the graduation gift this year won't support it. Among the second years, there might be those expecting the gift next year, but the first years will actively support it."
"Right. But our goal is to get the first years' non-votes, right? So, what if we use this..."
"I thought the same. So I submitted this pledge book at school today on the way here."
"..."
So my plan's one-night stand with Eunju wasn't completely in vain? That's good, but I couldn't just celebrate.
"Eunju? Why did you suddenly change your mind? Honestly, the actions you showed that day were justified. The impact I gave you was so big that I can't call it a mistake, and getting angry was natural. But why did you want to see this?"
I didn't see much possibility either. I just did my best to ease the mood, thinking the other party's feelings would be too bad if I didn't.
But Eunju went to the trash again. Of course, there was no other way, but whether she could endure the misery of asking for help from the person she resents.
Then Eunju answered.
"Senior, what did you talk about with your dad that day?"
"Eh? I said that too, but there was nothing particularly unfavorable to you..."
"When I came home, my dad called. He said he thought senior said something that might cause misunderstanding and asked me to apologize."
"It couldn't be? Your dad doesn't talk to me much anyway?"
Why? Because I knew the question in advance and answered before it was asked. But there was one thing: I misread the other party's intentions.
"You said you wouldn't see me again, right?"
"Eh? Ah, that was... a kind of prediction answer. Because what I did to you was too much, right? Bringing the pledge book was the best I could do, but I didn't expect forgiveness there. So I thought we wouldn't see each other again."
"It was before I said it to you? If I just made a mistake, it's over, we won't see each other again? Isn't that just running away instead of admitting the mistake?"
"..."
Yes. I was just trying to run away.
I couldn't see any way to fix the situation, and I didn't think Eunju would forgive me, so I was preparing to flee.
"Yeah. I don't mean to brag, but running away is my specialty? When I face a situation I can't handle, I run first."
"..."
Eunju knew about my past where I left home. Of course, it was eighteen days, not eighteen years, but she could understand what I was saying now.
"So you came out of the house again? Was it bothering you?"
"No. It was for another reason."
"What reason?"
"Well... everyone makes mistakes, right? So I thought I at least needed to confirm what the other person was trying to convey."
"..."
Eunju couldn't look me in the eye and answered. But I think I know what that means.
Her dad. The target of resentment who made that kind, good kid leave home by giving him immense disappointment.
But deep down, I wanted to forgive him.
Everyone makes mistakes. So, maybe dad is one of them.
My self-reflection that I could only recall after eighteen years.
"Eunju? I'm going to my hometown tomorrow."
"Are you going to meet an old friend?"
"No. I had a brother, and it's his memorial day. So I'm going to the grave for the memorial service."
"Brother...? Then..."
"Yeah. He died very young. He got trapped in a press machine at the factory and died without even screaming."
"..."
Did I describe the death scene too graphically? Eunju's eyes widened in surprise.
"He's been dead for a while. But this is the first time I'm going to the memorial service. Do you know why?"
"Could it be... because of senior's brother? The family that disappointed you enough to make you leave home..."
"Yeah. My brother had a girlfriend, and I couldn't accept that person."
"Who is it?"
You probably know. My secret that I hadn't told anyone except the local one.
I didn't expect the second one to be Eunju.
"The sister of an election addict."