Grand Opening of Ugok's Courtyard
"Hello everyone, I'm Kim Yunho, the owner of Ugok's Courtyard."
I stood at the cafe entrance and addressed the guests who had come for the grand opening.
"It looks like quite a few of you have traveled a long way to be here today, and that makes me all the more determined to treat you with the utmost care. I'd hate for anyone to leave regretting the trip."
Everyone lent me their ears. Not a single person was chatting among themselves or looking elsewhere.
"We're putting the finishing touches on our preparations, and I'll come out to welcome you shortly. At that time, please enter in the order you arrived. In the meantime, a stroll along the benches by the reservoir or a walk up the mountain behind the village would make for a lovely memory."
Perhaps because everyone felt goodwill toward me, they responded with warm smiles.
"Congratulations on the opening!"
"Take your time. There's no rush."
"That's right. I took the day off just for this."
"And I'm on school break!"
If she was already on break, she had to be a university student. The guest beside her looked to be in her late twenties, and the one behind her, in her thirties.
Age groups I rarely saw in Ugok 1-ri were swarming right in front of my cafe.
If even half of half of them—or a quarter of that—no, honestly, if even ten or so of them settled down in our village, this place would become so much livelier.
And for that wish to come true, I'd need to do my job flawlessly today, wouldn't I?
"Then I'll see you again shortly."
I opened the cafe door and stepped inside. Flipping on the light switch, I was heading toward the kitchen, which I'd polished to a sparkle, when I glanced over my shoulder.
Through the window, I could see people walking toward the benches set up along the reservoir. Some headed for the shade of the trees to admire the wildflowers.
Just then, I spotted Bang Jeongsoo trudging along, groaning under the weight of a box labeled Ugok Mill.
Mrs. Han Su-ja and Ms. Han Mija followed behind him.
Before long, Bang Jeongsoo pushed open the door and stumbled in, panting for breath.
"Whew, this is heavy. Boss, you need to make an offering of rice cakes and liquor before you open for business."
"That's right. It's your grand opening—even if you can't hold a full ceremony, you should at least do that much."
"I've prepared makgeolli for the offering."
I blinked, flustered.
This was the house where Jung Haksoo had once lived with his elderly widowed mother.
Both of their souls had already departed for the afterlife, and not a single wandering spirit had drifted in to fill the vacancy.
"There's no one here to receive rice cakes and liquor, though..."
"What are you talking about? Every piece of land has its guardian spirit, wherever you go. And even if there weren't, wouldn't it put your mind at ease to make the offering anyway, just in case?"
Mrs. Han Su-ja took out the rice cakes and liquor, then asked me to bring a plate.
Here she was, rolling up her sleeves before a Transcendental Spirit Medium who could see everything.
I knew she did it purely out of concern for me, so I answered with a smile.
"Haha, yes, ma'am. I understand, Madam President. Thank you, Ms. Han Mija's mother-in-law. And Father-in-law, thank you for making the trip to town and back."
After greeting everyone, I set the liquor and rice cakes in a corner of the cafe. I even lit a candle for a moment and bowed my head in silent tribute.
Just so Mrs. Han Su-ja would worry a little less.
Only then, reassured, did she begin wrapping the rice cakes into individual portions. She intended to hand one to each guest at the opening and send them home with a treat.
Ms. Han Mija busied herself helping wrap the rice cakes, then washed out the rag and wiped the tables down one more time.
Bang Jeongsoo watched me head into the kitchen, where I sliced lemons and prepared water bottles with ice, then carried them outside. Just in case any guests were thirsty, he set the water and disposable cups by the cafe entrance.
Before long, Oh Seung-seo, the newest full-time employee of Ugok's Courtyard, arrived for his shift and finished getting ready to take orders.
I steadied my breath and flung the cafe doors wide open.
"Welcome! Ugok's Courtyard is now open!"
"Waaah!"
The people who had been waiting in line clapped and cheered.
* * *
"This coffee has a floral note."
"Mine tastes like chocolate, though?"
Most of the guests who had swarmed in early that morning were Seo Jinwoo fans or subscribers of my channel.
With the movie Segok-ri Reservoir doing so well at the box office, some had come simply because they wanted to visit Ugok 1-ri, the filming location.
One reaction followed another—the cafe interior was so pretty, the reservoir scenery was beautiful, they wanted to live in Ugok 1-ri.
Best of all, the guests were delighted with the coffee itself, and bought up the bags of roasted beans we had set out for sale.
"The packaging is gorgeous too. And the design on the Ugok's Courtyard website is stunning."
"Any plans to open a chain in Seoul? I'd love to see one in every neighborhood."
"You'll be selling coffee on the Ugok's Courtyard website too, right? Even if you weren't planning to, say yes. Okay? Okay?"
I smiled and deflected their requests with thanks.
After all, the coffee business was a lure—a way of getting Ugok's Courtyard and Ugok 1-ri on the map.
I have no intention of running a coffee franchise.
Cafes were already overflowing across the country. They were said to be the business with the highest failure rate, too.
I had no desire to wade into that fray and wrack my brain over it.
Import quality green beans, then roast them with my refined senses to draw out the very best flavor possible—
And then selling those beans online might be a different story.
As the head of an agricultural corporation, my focus would stay on producing and processing farm goods.
"Refills are available, too. Show me your receipt and I'll throw in a complimentary cup of coffee."
"Then I'll go with the Geisha this time."
"Hmm... I'll have the Sumatra Mandheling."
The moment I changed the subject, the guests forgot their earlier demands and placed their coffee orders.
"I'll take this one. Boss, you should rest a bit."
Oh Seung-seo was quick with his hands and gentle by nature.
He never lost his friendly smile with the customers, and handled even the trickiest orders with ease.
"Seung-seo, it looks like you're the one who needs a break. You have to eat lunch too, you know."
"Rice cakes will do. I snuck a corner of one earlier, and it was delicious."
"Still, rice cake isn't a meal."
I called Chai over and asked him to make sure Seung-seo ate lunch.
"What about you, Boss?"
"The part-timer will be here soon. I'll pop home for a quick bite then."
The part-timer who appeared a while later was Grandma Kim Sun-rye, Grandfather Sang-jong's lifelong companion.
Grandfather Sang-jong had once been wealthy enough to take up hunting as a mere hobby, and Grandma Kim Sun-rye, in those days, had driven herself around to earn her barista certification.
His sons had sold off most of the family land by now, but even so, the Sang-jong household remained the second-wealthiest in the village after mine.
And as for why Grandma Kim Sun-rye wanted to work part-time at the cafe—well, the following scene says it all.
"Oh my, ma'am! How is your skin this flawless?"
"Your hair is so thick and glossy, too!"
"Wow, slacks and a necktie at your age? You look absolutely stunning."
That's right.
Grandma Kim Sun-rye had supposedly entered a beauty pageant in her youth only to be eliminated in the preliminaries, but her bone structure had always been lovely.
Even now, well into old age, she had grown old gracefully, and she was Mrs. Han Su-ja's personal idol.
"Yunho, dear? What should I start with?"
"You already know how to use the POS system, so just take orders and make the coffee."
"I see. Got it."
Grandma Kim Sun-rye squared her shoulders and got to work.
* * *
Around the time the early-bird guests who'd waited in line since morning were heading home with their opening-day rice cakes, acquaintances began to arrive.
"Hogyeong! Seoktae!"
Choi Hogyeong, who had designed the Ugok's Courtyard website and coffee packaging, and her inseparable sidekick Park Seoktae came to visit.
"You're not going to tell me you can't run the marathon because it's this busy, right?"
"Of course not. Seoktae, that table over there."
"Oh, yes, yes. I'll clean it right up."
Park Seoktae wiped up the water a customer had spilled.
Choi Hogyeong took a quick look around the cafe and rolled up her sleeves as well.
"Is there nothing I can help with?"
"Could you bring out the packaged beans from the storage room and set them on display? We've sold out of coffee beans."
"Whoa! That's amazing!"
After them came other farming school classmates, Oh Joon-seo the village chief of Ugok 2-ri, and the county office staff, all arriving at the cafe around lunchtime.
It was, quite literally, a smash hit.
Business was good—almost too good.
* * *
By the time the sunset seeped into the surface of the reservoir and everything shimmered in warm orange light—
Screams erupted from the guests who had lingered, reluctantly snapping photos as they tried to stretch out their time at the cafe.
I craned my neck to see what was going on and spotted a celebrity band.
Seo Jinwoo had arrived.
"It's Seo Jinwoo!"
"He really came? This is my first time seeing him in person."
"What do I do? My heart is pounding!"
"Hey, keep it down, you're disturbing the business."
"Right, this isn't a Seo Jinwoo fan meeting."
Perhaps because someone had asked everyone not to cause a scene on the cafe's opening day, no fans came screaming and swarming even after Seo Jinwoo walked inside.
They did take photos from their seats, cover their mouths, and bounce in place, though.
My cafe is already slammed, and with Seo Jinwoo showing up too, it's about to go completely wild.
A celebrity above celebrities. With the ten-million-viewer actor Seo Jinwoo attending my grand opening, my cafe was bound to become even more famous.
I'd better roast a mountain of coffee before I leave for Japan.
"Jinwoo, welcome!"
"Wow, this place has really transformed, hasn't it?"
Back when he'd been going through a rough patch, Seo Jinwoo used to come to the reservoir to fish with Jeong Hyeoncheol.
Back then, it had been nothing more than the bland scenery you'd find at any reservoir in any rural corner of the country.
Jung Haksoo's house had been one step away from collapsing entirely.
Now it had been completely torn down and rebuilt as a traditional hanok cafe.
The house was small, so I could only fit a handful of tables for guests—instead, I'd devoted my effort to beautifying the reservoir grounds.
Basically, I'd turned it into an open-air cafe.
I'd planted grass and flowers all along the reservoir's edge and built benches. I'd put up shade canopies, done the landscaping, laid stone walls in spots, and even set up dedicated photo spots.
"It's stylish and beautiful. I love it so much."
"I suppose the money I sank into it shows, huh?"
"Oh, it shows a lot. If there were a cafe like this near the capital area, you'd never find a spot in the parking lot."
Saying he'd like to come by often to clear his head, Seo Jinwoo held out a gift.
When I unwrapped it, a dreamcatcher emerged.
A dreamcatcher—the charm said to sift out nightmares and let only good dreams drift down the feathers to the sleeper.
"They say it's made from peacock and swan feathers. The beads are crystal and pearl."
"I'd love to take this home, though?"
The dreamcatcher looked so luxurious and mystical that even I, with my discerning eye, was genuinely taken with it.
"Haha, then I'll order another one and give it to you as a gift. Hang that one in your bedroom."
Certain that No. 1 would produce a dead bird within ten seconds of hearing that, I shook my head with a laugh.
"I was just saying it's a lovely gift. Thank you, Jinwoo—for coming all this way to celebrate my opening."
"I'm the one who's delighted, believe me."
Seo Jinwoo pulled out his phone and tapped open my channel.
My subscriber count had grown by another fifty thousand in the meantime.
"What's all this?"
"Look there."
It seemed the guests were filming the two of us together and posting the clips to Byulstar.
Seo Jinwoo looked thoroughly delighted to be using his star power to make me famous as well.
"Congratulations, from the bottom of my heart. Everything you touch is going to flourish from now on."
Seo Jinwoo flashed me a bright smile.
* * *
Still, if business is this good again tomorrow, I'll have a real problem on my hands.
After closing the cafe and tallying the receipts, I found myself lost in thought.
Business had exceeded expectations. Every last bean of the roasted coffee had sold out.
And this wasn't a one-day flash in the pan from opening hype. The reviews of the coffee itself were glowing.
I roasted plenty extra, planning to sell it online—and now there isn't a single bean left.
I had plenty of green beans in the storage room, so roasting more was no trouble.
The real problem was the shortage of staff to run the cafe. I was leaving for Japan next week.
It didn't seem like Oh Seung-seo running the cafe alone with a part-timer helping out would cut it.
I need to hire another full-time employee.
The problem was, there was no one suitable to be found.
Rural areas were in the grip of a desperate labor shortage.
A trainer for a gym? Obviously impossible—even if someone asked whether we even had a gym, we did, over in the township center, and it had plenty of members too.
The dental clinic couldn't find a dental hygienist to save its life, so the dentist did everything himself. A dental clinic in the countryside? Head to the county seat and there's one!
That was how it went almost everywhere. Vietnamese workers in the restaurants, Thai workers on the farms.
The countryside had nothing but elderly residents left.
According to Oh Seung-seo, even Ugok 2-ri, where plenty of young people lived, didn't have a single person with cafe experience.
Everyone there worked in agriculture, or was only just learning to farm.
Wait a moment! Why not look among the people who came here to learn farming in the first place?