At the Cafe
A fingertip-sized bruise had bloomed along my side, courtesy of the nonsense I'd spouted at Noona. Rubbing the sore spot, I glared at her.
"……See? Who told you to say something like that?"
"So the one who did wrong is... talking back now?"
"……Sorry."
At her apology, I let out a small sigh.
"Fine. Anyway, from now on you ask permission before you watch any dramas."
"Really? You're not joking?"
"Yeah! Look at you, tying yourself in knots over nothing just because of something you saw on a show."
Noona pouted at the firm set of my face, then nodded.
"Okay……. If that's how it has to be……."
She was sunk so deep in her dramas that the average neighborhood auntie would have had to step aside, and she still didn't look the least bit pleased with my ruling.
"Noona, do you know how long we've been together?"
"Of course I know. Ten years……."
"Right? And I was your first, and you were mine."
"Hey! Don't say that out here……!"
She lunged to clap a hand over my mouth. I pushed it aside and kept going.
"And you're going to suspect a man you've been with for ten years because of something you saw in a drama? Even you have to admit you deserve a scolding for that."
Under my wide, unblinking stare, an earthquake went off in her pupils, and she tried to look away.
As if I'd let you.
I caught both cheeks as she turned and made her meet my eyes. With nowhere left to escape, her pupils shook even harder.
"You were wrong, weren't you? You deserve to be scolded, don't you?"
"M-mm……."
Unable to hold out under the pressure, she finally let her pursed lips fall back into place. And looking at her gazing up at me with both cheeks cupped in my hands, I found myself leaning in without quite meaning to. Maybe it was my face drawing close—her eyes slipped shut on reflex.
"Old girl……. Missing her something fierce today……. Wonder if she's getting along all right over there."
"Eek!"
Some old man's voice, right behind us, snapped both of us back to our senses. Startled, Noona smacked my hands away and fanned her blazing face with one hand.
I wanted to give him a piece of my mind for ruining a perfectly good moment, but he looked so steeped in melancholy that I couldn't get a word out.
And with my phone suddenly going off, saying anything to him became even more impossible.
"Who is it?"
"A number you don't know?"
"Yeah."
The number on the screen wasn't one I recognized. I don't go around memorizing every acquaintance's number, but I also don't have anyone who would call me from one I don't know. Still, I couldn't ignore it. I'd only just quit, and there might be something from the company I actually needed.
"Hello?"
"Hello. This is Wrecker Daily. Am I speaking with Shin Suhwan?"
What came through was a universe away from anything I'd expected.
Wrecker Daily? Isn't that the outfit that specializes in tabloid trash?
The place was a notorious third-rate internet paper. Half of what they published was lies, and the other half was advertising.
"What's this about?"
"Oh, nothing major……. I heard you awakened the Animal Communicating superpower?"
"……How did you know that?"
"Come on, trade secret. So—would you have a moment for an interview?"
"The interview's a trade secret too. You know what happens if you write a novel instead of an article, right? We're done."
I hung up before he could get another word in, then blocked the number in case he tried again.
"Who was it?"
"Wrecker Daily. They already know I awakened my ability?"
"……Should we go back in?"
Noona looked toward city hall, a flicker of anger on her face. There was only one place that could have known I'd awakened, or gotten hold of my number. Someone in there was almost certainly selling information on people who'd awakened unusual superpowers and pocketing a kickback for it. I didn't care in the slightest. If anything, I set about calming her down as she glared at the building.
"Leave it. Even if it wasn't them, this was going to get out soon anyway."
Calling it a foregone conclusion that word of my awakening would spread was hardly an exaggeration. An ability only a handful of people in the entire world possessed—there was no way the press wouldn't lose its mind over a Korean having it. Verified or not, their method was to stir up a frothing bowl of national pride, run the scoop, and sort out the truth later. Even if the ability turned out to be pathetic, never mention it again and it would be forgotten. For them, it was pure profit.
And for me, it was actually welcome.
"……Why?"
"I already told you what I'm planning to do."
"Oh."
Her mouth fell slightly open, her face going blank. It was unbearably cute, but say so out loud and I'd definitely get pinched again. I swallowed the thought circling in my head, lined up what I meant to say so I wouldn't slip, and went on.
"Honestly, it's better this way. Starting out with the fame already attached is that much of an advantage—if you're planning to live off popularity, like I am."
"I suppose that's true."
She had no choice but to nod. For someone meaning to make money off Mytube and the like, nothing beat the public's attention.
"Another call?"
It went off as if it had been waiting for the conversation to end. I huffed a laugh and switched the phone to silent.
"You're not answering?"
"Could be that same guy calling from a different number. I'll sit on it and break the story somewhere decent, not with a third-rate rag."
It didn't have to be network television, but the interview needed to be with an outlet you could at least call first-rate. Talk to a third-rate tabloid and words I'd never said could start making the rounds. Better not to talk to them at all.
"Let's go get some coffee."
Noona nodded and got to her feet. Between the two of us, coffee only ever meant one place: the cafe she had built, the one that held her entire twenties. Her parents' backing was poured into it too, of course. Unless we were traveling out of town, drinking our coffee there was an unspoken rule.
The bus dropped us back at her cafe.
"Ah! Boss Unnie! Hello to you too, Boss-Unnie's-Boyfriend Oppa!"
The one there to greet us was Yeongji, the barista. For the record, she insisted on calling me by that entire drawn-out title every single time, and I had yet to get used to it.
"Anything come up?"
"Nope! Not a single customer!"
"……Isn't that the thing that came up?"
"Ehe. Is it?"
She could look a little vacant, but when it came to pulling a shot, I had to give her credit. She was half the reason we didn't drink coffee anywhere else.
"Americano for me, hot. Suhwan, you?"
"Iced, even if I freeze to death!"
Yeongji beamed and nodded.
"One hot Americano, one iced! Five dollars, customer!"
"Excuse me. I own the place."
"Ehehe."
Still smiling brightly, she cleared the order off the register. Noona, as if the whole performance were adorable, laughed under her breath and took a seat. Amid a clatter of cups, Yeongji pulled the coffee at speed, then sat down beside us with a cup of her own.
"I can stay, right? You're not about to have some couple-only secret talk, are you? Because if you are, I'll be bored, and I don't have a boyfriend, and I will be so sad!"
Three cups landed on the table. She looked between us with sparkling eyes.
"Whatever you want, Noona."
"We're not talking secrets, so you can stay. You know the deal if a customer walks in, though."
"Yay!"
The moment she had permission, Yeongji threw her hands up, then raided the display case for a handful of snacks.
"Yeongji's demolishing the dessert case."
"Boss Unnie said I could eat them, remember? Riiight?"
She latched onto Noona and poured on the charm. Small to begin with, and cute besides—Noona only laughed and nodded.
"But Boss-Unnie's-Boyfriend Oppa, you didn't go to work today? It's Tuesday! Are you off?"
"Ah. I quit."
"Ehh? Why? Did somebody bully you?"
Like boss, like employee…….
The way she babied me was uncannily like Noona. I dragged a dry hand down my face. Finding that funny, Noona giggled, then explained—that I'd picked up a new superpower and meant to make my living at it.
"Wow! You can talk to animals? I'm so jealous!"
Maybe it was all the hours she spent beside Noona, catching up on animal videos on Mytube whenever the cafe was empty, but Yeongji liked animals plenty herself.
"I'll show you later. Though…… I'm the only one who can actually hold the conversation."
"Hehe, I can't wait!"
She broke into a dopey grin and nibbled her straw like a squirrel. Noona, apparently finding this cute, started feeding her the desserts one by one. Cheeks puffed round, smiling as if she couldn't be happier, Yeongji suddenly clapped—and said something.
"Lesh turn our cafe inda pet cafe!"
With her mouth packed full of dessert, not a word of it came through.
"How about you finish eating first? I can't make out a single word."
Her eyes flew wide, and her jaw went to work at a tremendous pace. Once she'd chewed through all of it, she squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed everything in a single gulp.
"Let's turn our cafe into a pet cafe!"
"A pet cafe?"
"Yeah! Like a dog cafe or a cat cafe—we just gather up a bunch of animals! It would be so cute!"
It was a shout made entirely of her own wanting. The moment Noona heard it, both her eyes lit up.