Consultation
…Figures.
Coming around the back of the café, I could already feel the crowd packed in front of the shop and at the bus stop. The neighborhood was thick with office workers, and even though I'd arrived thirty minutes early today, there were still quite a few of them.
Maybe I should suggest opening the café an hour earlier.
Ten-to-seven shifts had grown more common lately, but plenty of companies still started at nine, which explained the crush. We could probably sell at least twenty more cups. I ought to bring it up with Ju Hayeong. After I parked and headed for the café, a hum slipped out of me before I noticed. Was it because I'd actually eaten breakfast for the first time in a while? It really did feel like one of those mornings when a tiger's energy comes surging up through you.
…The problem is, I can't even feel hunger anymore.
Then, the moment I rounded the corner, eyes began to gather on me. I put on a gentle smile and greeted the women whose gazes met mine.
"Oh? You're here already?"
"Ah… y-yes…"
"I only came out early because I said I would. You're diligent."
"Th-thank you…"
"I'm the one who should be saying that."
It was none other than the woman who had come in last night, when I'd opened the shop alone. Her hair was still damp—she must have rushed out before it finished drying.
"You'll catch a cold like that. You ought to dry your hair properly before you head out."
"Ah… I-I will…"
"I'll have the door open in a moment. Good morning. Could you step aside for just a second?"
"Y-yes…"
The woman who had been standing blankly at the café door, staring at me, startled and shuffled out of the way. Women who blushed over nothing more than a greeting like this were starting to strike me as rather cute. Even so, I still didn't feel that transmission of emotion I'd sensed from Ju Hayeong.
…It can't be only Hayeong. Would Rahi and Hyunji be the same? I'll find out when I go see them this afternoon.
As I undid the café's locks, I could feel quite a few gazes on my back. I swung the door wide and turned, and the people whose eyes met mine flinched.
"Today you can order something besides an americano. It won't be quite on the boss's level, though."
"…S-Shinwoo's coffee is good too…"
"Come on. Even I can tell I've got a long way to go before I catch up to her. Just give me five minutes."
"Okay…"
I threw the breaker inside, switched on the lights and the air purifier, and started opening up. By the time I'd made a circuit of the shop, people were already clustered at the seats and in front of the counter. I stepped into the office, hung up my coat, and came back out to the bar.
Not exactly a proper shirt. It feels a little off.
If it were my own shop I wouldn't have cared what I wore, but it nagged at me. I should start keeping a change of clothes here. As I tied on the apron that had been hanging from the bar, I heard someone swallow hard somewhere nearby.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I'll take your order."
"I-I'll have an iced americano…"
"Two pumps of syrup, right?"
"Ah… yes…"
At my words she flushed all over again and fumbled, avoiding my eyes. A small laugh escaped me, and I was just about to turn away.
"U-um."
"Yes?"
"…W-would it be all right if I took a photo…?"
It obviously wasn't going to be a photo of the café. She meant a photo of me. As long as it wasn't anything strange, I didn't mind—and there was no need to get spooked over something this small. I already knew women like her helped keep the café afloat. Besides, she'd come out and waited on a morning like this because she liked me. They had far better manners than the women who'd shown up uninvited at my front door. I didn't see any reason to refuse.
"Go ahead. Just delete the ones where I look ugly, if you don't mind."
"…Really? O-of course. Would it be okay if I posted it on Instagram…? I'll t-tag you too."
"You'll only post the good ones, right?"
"O-of course! If it bothers you, just say so. I'll take it down right away."
"Then that's fine. In return, come by the café often."
"I will!"
I nodded and smiled at the woman beaming back at me, set a coffee going on the machine, and moved on to the next order.
"Oh, you're back. Good morning. An americano, wasn't it?"
"Ah, yes…"
"No syrup, right?"
"Th-that's right…"
I kept taking orders, and one by one the line seemed to be clearing—but there was nothing I could do about the way it kept growing anyway.
"If you just got here, your drink might take a little longer. Thanks for understanding."
"Okaay~"
The reply came back at once, bright and cheerful, almost as if they were saying they couldn't care less—if anything, they seemed pleased. A laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it. The first day Hayeong and I had worked together, we'd both panicked, but once I accepted that calmly working through the orders one at a time was all we could do, I settled.
Hm?
A flailing shadow stretched out in front of the bar, and my eyes drifted toward it without thinking. A strange sensation from beyond the window—the same sense of connection I'd felt from Ju Hayeong. But it wasn't Hayeong. Where hers had been a warm orange light, what I felt outside was pure white: soft, clean, and bright. And I thought I knew who it was. There was only one person who would come.
…So this is Hyunji.
A smile drew itself across my face at the silhouette outside the café window, both arms waving. The shadow stretched across the counter moved with an unmistakable grace.
Hello.
Without making a sound, I shaped the greeting with my mouth alone and waved. Hyunji, smiling shyly, drew a big heart above her head outside the window and swayed slowly from side to side. Even that movement was beautiful. A dance major really did draw hearts differently. More than that, though, the clear, pure joy I felt from her expression left my own chest light and open.
Oppa. Hello.
I could feel the people around us turning to look, but neither Hyunji nor I paid them any mind as our eyes met. I answered her by quietly forming a small heart with my thumb and forefinger and holding it out.
You've got this today.
Yes, Oppa.
The line was long, so she must have been being considerate of me. A little shadow lay across her face; she looked worn out. On top of that, I could feel a faint shadow around her knees and hips. From what I'd seen with Hayeong, that feeling meant something hurt. She was pushing herself too hard in practice, so it couldn't be helped. Even so, watching her beam at me made me pretty happy too.
I'll text you.
Okay. You've got this too, Oppa!
Hyunji pulled both arms in tight in front of her chest, waved, and I watched her climb onto the bus that had just pulled up—all while I kept working through orders. Time passed that way until Ju Hayeong reached the café, and the moment she joined me in full boss mode, the orders started clearing in a flash.
"Did it go all right?"
"Y-yeah. Here's my ID."
"Okay. I left the keys by the register."
"Got it. Let's hurry."
"Right. Nothing happened, I take it?"
"…N-nothing, except I got a little embarrassed…"
By the time lunch was behind us, the shop finally had a little breathing room. And as I grew more practiced, I could work through the orders much more easily. The sense of connection helped quite a bit, too. It made it easier to match Hayeong's movements, and our paths through the shop became far smoother. Of course, since that sense of her movement wasn't perfectly clear, it took me a little while to get used to it.
"Looks like you're getting used to it."
"You were doing plenty well from the first day."
"Is your body all right?"
"Y-yeah. It's a slightly strange sensation, but… it feels good."
"I'm glad."
I took the iced americano Hayeong handed me and set the straw between my lips. Instead of sitting across from me, she settled beside me and quietly rested her head on my shoulder.
"…I'm happy. It feels like a dream…"
"Is that because you're so tired?"
"You know exactly what you're doing."
"I like it too."
"…Yeah. And thank you. For looking after the café."
"If I said I'd work, I ought to do it properly."
"Are you all right with people bothering you?"
"Yes. No one's been rude to my face, at least. How was the villa?"
"A couple of them were loitering around, looking."
"If that's all, you can just come and go as usual."
"…Won't it be dangerous? Should I go with you?"
I gently stroked the cheek of Hayeong, who was watching me with worry, and she leaned her face into my hand as if it pleased her.
"It's fine. We're going to start preparing to move soon anyway."
"Move?"
"Yes. We're all going to live together."
At my words she lifted her head, eyes going round, and looked at me in surprise.
"…Really?"
"Yes. You're my woman, so I want to take responsibility. And I want us to raise the children together."
"…Shinwoo, you're really wonderful…"
"Don't all Multimales do that?"
"I-I heard they all live separately… I don't really know. I lived with my interest completely shut off…"
I felt a small shadow fall across Hayeong's heart as she looked at me. A little melancholy, and worry. I'd taken it for granted, but it seemed I really did need to say it out loud. It wasn't a bother, of course. I stroked her face for a moment, then kissed her lightly.
"Ah…"
"You'll come too, won't you, Hayeong?"
"…M-me, really…?"
"Of course. You're my woman now too."
"…Shinwoo."
"Don't cry. You'll ruin your makeup. If you don't want to, just say so. I understand the shop is here. You don't have to force yourself."
"…Is it really all right for me too…?"
"I told you it is. Why? You don't want to live with me? You only like my body?"
"N-no! That's not— …hup…"
I caught the cheeks of Hayeong, who was shaking her head in a fluster, and kissed her. This time I tasted her lips more slowly, more gently.
"Chu… mm… nnh… haah…"
"…So. Think it over carefully."
"…Okay."
"With the budget, Seoul will probably be difficult, though."
"…I-I'll chip in."
"No. I want to handle it myself."
"Shinwoo."
She took my hand, and I looked at her as I felt it. Her eyes, as if they'd never wavered at all, were fixed straight on me. More than that, I could feel the resolve in her heart, and I simply looked back at her.
"That's not right. Wh-when you live together, the woman takes care of the house. That's just how it is. Only chipping in would make me feel even more sorry…"
"But I don't want money creating a hierarchy among my women."
At my words Hayeong's eyes went round. Her mouth fell open in surprise, and she murmured.
"…Th-that's what you meant…?"
"Yes. I think money muddies the relationships between people. I know a ranking can form because of age or personality, but the idea that it would be because of money just seems too sad."
"…You really meant it, Shinwoo…?"
"What, did it sound like a joke?"
Hayeong smiled warmly and wrapped her arms around mine.
"…Do it the way you want, Shinwoo. But if you need help, tell me anytime. I want to help my… my man, too…"
I could feel, clear as anything, the courage she'd squeezed out and the tension in her as she spoke through her embarrassment. Even so, I leaned my head against the Hayeong who had forced the words out, and whispered.
"That feeling is enough. Then I'll take it as a yes."
"…Okay."
"At this point, anything short of the outer edge of Gyeonggi is probably hopeless. And with three of us, an apartment seems unlikely too."
"…Should I look around a bit? What do you think of Yongin or Pyeongtaek?"
"Haven't prices there jumped a lot, with them putting in a Hanseong Semiconductor plant?"
"Even so, there are probably still decent houses. Or what about something like this?"
"Like what?"
"Do you know silver towns, or pension villages? Places where little houses are gathered close together."
"…Ah. Now that you mention it."
"Yeah. A few years ago, when both were trendy, they built a ton of them, and then once the trend passed they lost all their profitability and it was a huge mess."
"…They did? I don't remember that at all."
"It was about seven years ago. I found out while looking into one so I could have my mother live there. They were far too expensive back then."
"I see."
"But time has passed, and with interest rates up there should be listings, and the price range ought to be genuinely reasonable now. There's no one to take on properties like that. The returns got too low."
Even so, a plot of land that large couldn't possibly go for an ordinary price.