Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: The Substitute Manager
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When I arrived at the cafe, I saw a line.
Female customers were lingering in front of the still-closed door, and their faces lit up when they saw me.
“Oh my, hello.”
“Are you on your way to work?”
“When do you open? We want to get inside quickly.”
This was dizzying.
The cafe lights were off. That meant no one was here yet.
The owner always comes 30 minutes early to prepare for opening.
I used the passcode to open the door, went inside, and turned on the lights.
“I'm sorry, we're not open yet, but would you like to come in and have a seat?”
“We’d be grateful!”
“Oh my gosh, letting us in before you even open. You’re as kind-hearted as you are handsome.”
I think anyone in business would do the same.
Especially with the rain pouring down like this.
What kind of crazy owner or employee would leave customers standing outside just because they hadn't officially opened?
The morning shift staff started trickling in one by one.
They were stunned to see the hall already full before we had even started for the day.
“Oh, Chang-woo. Where’s the owner?”
“I don’t know. He hasn’t shown up.”
“What happened? The owner is a no-show?”
“Maybe he got in an accident on the way? If something serious had happened in his sleep, Yeon-ju would have contacted us.”
It seemed to be the first time they were opening without the owner, and the morning shift staff looked flustered.
It’s only my third day, and things are already getting intense.
A message came from the owner.
[The Owner] Hey, I just got into a fender bender, it's a headache. I'll head over after I sort this out. Go ahead and open up first.
[Me] You’re not hurt, are you?
[The Owner] My baby got hurt. It hasn't even been six months since I drove it off the lot. Hah...
[The Owner] Don't worry, just start business first.
“He got into a fender bender on his way here. Said he’s not hurt.”
“What? Why did he only tell you, Chang-woo?”
“I didn't think the owner was like that. Lee Chang-woo is so greedy, trying to monopolize him.”
“...Anyway, he said to start without him.”
The time was 9:15.
We were already 15 minutes past our opening time.
I addressed the hall.
“We'll take your orders now.”
As if they had been waiting for that signal, the female customers all rose at once.
It was a little scary.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The owner wasn't here, but the cafe ran smoothly.
I did a pretty good job of acting as the substitute for the absent alpha male.
In truth, the original meaning of "alpha male" refers to the lead male who bears infinite responsibility for guiding the pack.
At some point, the meaning was distorted to refer to an extremely handsome man who flirts with every woman he meets.
I don't know how to make coffee.
It's only my third day working at a cafe.
However, I have plenty of experience managing graduate and doctoral students while being ground down under my supervising professor.
I'm full of know-how on how to run a farm of various slaves without any wasted movement.
I put the experience I gained as the head slave to maximum use.
“Seong-hee Noona, now's not the time for dishes. Go take out 20 cakes—no, 30—and start thawing them.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
“Seo-young, finish that up and get ready to brew four large Iced Americanos—no, brew them now.”
“What? But the order hasn’t—”
“It’s about to. Are you perhaps adding four more Iced Americanos?”
“Wow, how did you know? Did you read our minds?”
“The atmosphere you ladies have just seems to suit Iced Americanos. For some reason, I felt you only drink Iced Americanos. There’s nothing better than an Iced Americano on a rainy day, right?”
“Kya-ha-ha.”
The female customers who had ordered only Iced Americanos three times in a row had left their bags and were coming back with just their empty glasses. It was obvious.
Even if they were thinking of ordering something else, I had already set the frame.
They had no choice but to place that order.
“Wow, Chang-woo Oppa. Amazing. You could run your own business.”
“I know, right? Why don’t you just take over our cafe, Oppa?”
“Noonas, why are you calling me Oppa again?”
“If you’re handsome, you’re always Oppa.”
The owner's absence was significant.
None of us said it, but we were all feeling it.
Indeed, running a business isn't for everyone.
When things got busy, the owner would cover for more than two people's worth of work, so we never noticed before.
When things got hectic without him here, his absence became palpable.
Ding-a-ling.
The door opened, and the owner’s younger sister, Gong Ji-hyun, rushed in breathlessly.
It wasn’t her shift yet, but it seemed she had heard the news and come to help.
“Is it really busy?”
“Yeah, hurry and help.”
“Got it.”
Today, I didn't have time to leisurely walk around collecting empty glasses.
I usually did that to naturally encourage additional orders, but there was no time for that now.
“Three pieces of any cake, please. Is your arm okay from when you spilled coffee on it yesterday?”
“Yes, I cooled it down right away, so it’s fine. It didn’t even leave a mark.”
Despite being busy, I rolled up my sleeve and showed her the arm where she had spilled the coffee.
The female customers shrieked with delight.
What was that? I just showed them that it didn't leave a scar.
As the backlog of work cleared up, I finally had a moment to catch my breath.
I glanced at the clock; it was already 11 a.m.
Two hours passed in what felt like two minutes.
“Ji-hyun Noona, what about the owner?”
“Looks like he’s going to be delayed at the police station.”
“He had to go to the police station?”
“Apparently, the other driver was drunk. But even though my brother was the victim, the guy is stubbornly insisting he's the one who was wronged. He got tangled up with a real piece of work, so it's become a headache.”
The longest-serving part-timer, Ha Seong-hee, nodded and chimed in.
“The shop is doing well and we haven’t had any difficult customers, so now he’s running into them outside.”
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. I guess people in business can't escape the law of conservation of jerks, huh?”
Come to think of it, Ha Seong-hee is 27, but I find myself naturally calling her Noona even in my thoughts.
“By the way, Chang-woo, you have a real knack for this. Didn’t you say this was your first time working at a cafe?”
“It is.”
“You knew how to manage the workflow and see the big picture. I think you’d be really successful if you opened your own business.”
“Haha, thank you for the kind words.”
I just laughed out of courtesy, but Ha Seong-hee’s face turned slightly red.
“Hey, don't just smile at people like that. You'll give someone a heart attack.”
“Right. It’s a big problem if things get messy at work, so Chang-woo, let’s not go around charming everyone.”
“Hey, what did I even do...?”
“Your very existence is charming, so you need to be extra careful to put up walls.”
“He’s like a male Siren. Tsk, the kind of guy women flock to even when he’s just standing still.”
Maybe it was because of the rain.
There were fewer customers than yesterday.
The tables were full, but the lack of takeout orders was putting me in a bad mood.
“Is business always this slow when it rains?”
“...”
“...”
I had only asked a simple question, but everyone’s expression was strange.
They looked at me as if they’d heard something they shouldn’t have.
“Chang-woo, we broke ten million won in sales in just two hours.”
“It’s less than yesterday and the day before, but it’s impossible to get these kinds of sales on a rainy day.”
“This is about what we make on a sunny day, for the entire day, when you’re not here.”
“Oh, really? Every cafe I go to seems to be packed with people, so I just figured cafes were a booming business these days.”
“I think I know what he means. It's like someone who lives in Trimage thinking everyone in the world is a celebrity who drives a supercar.”
A takeout order came in.
Seeing the customer enter, soaked to the bone, I figured they must really love coffee.
“Um, what's the most popular thing here?”
“Personally, I'm a fan of the Caramel Macchiato.”
“Then we'll have three of those, please. Oh, and... three slices of any cake.”
“Got it. Thank you.”
The takeout customer left.
I crossed my arms, looked out at the rainy streets of Gangnam, and muttered.
“So women like to unify their orders, too. And they like 'whatever' as well.”
“Hey, that's not it.”
“Chang-woo Oppa, it's not like that.”
“But does Chang-woo really need to take the red pill? I don't think it would matter for him.”
“That’s also true.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ It was time to order food.
As is common with restaurants, cafes don’t have a set lunch break.
We take turns eating during lulls in business.
There were also restrictions on the menu.
Foods with strong smells, like hamburgers or chicken, were forbidden.
It could be unpleasant for customers who came to enjoy the aroma of coffee.
It might also make them hungry and cause them to leave for a burger joint.
“Seong-hee Noona, what should we order for delivery?”
“Why are you asking me? You should decide, Chang-woo.”
“You’re the most senior person here right now.”
“I doubt anyone thinks that.”
I looked around, and everyone was nodding in agreement.
How absurd.
Like I, who doesn’t even know how to make coffee, should be in charge...
“Forget it. I’ll just ask the owner.”
“Chang-woo, since you’re asking, could you maybe steer him in a good direction? We had great sales today...”
“That’s right, we worked our butts off from the moment we opened.”
“And the owner wasn’t even here. If it weren’t for Chang-woo, I would have had a mental breakdown.”
“If it weren’t for Chang-woo, we probably wouldn’t have been that busy in the first place.”
“True.”
I sent a message to the owner.
[Me] Hey, what should we order for lunch?
[The Owner] Order whatever you want to eat.
[Me] Can we get chicken pasta?
[The Owner] Hey, please, not that.
[Me] Then I'll order sushi lol.
[The Owner] Okay, okay, phew.
[The Owner] Wait a minute.
[The Owner] Did you just use that negotiation tactic where you ask for 200 to get 100?
[Me] To be honest, I wanted sushi from the start lol.
[The Owner] lol, order the special.
[The Owner] Sales are good despite the rain.
[The Owner] Seeing these numbers without me there, you guys must have worked your butts off.
It seemed he was monitoring the sales remotely.
To be able to tell how hectic the shop must have been just by looking at the numbers...
Indeed, running a business isn't for everyone.
“He said we can order sushi. And to get the special.”
“Wow, amazing.”
“That's our Lee Chang-woo. A man of devilish charm who can even bewitch our stingy Oppa.”
I probably shouldn't say this, but...
Business is too easy.
No, life is too easy.