Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: The Regular's True Face
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Suddenly gaining popularity on the post brought a brief moment of joy, but Han Se-young and Sung Ji-hye warned that weird comments might pop up, so I should close the comments section for now and post an announcement about when I'd reopen the shop.
I followed their advice right there and posted that I'd open at a certain time tomorrow.
And the next day, as soon as I opened the shop, customers flooded in like waves.
"I saw it on SNS—is this really made with Kua fruit?"
"Do you still have any pie left?"
"Two hot iced Americanos. I saw the jam cookies in the reviews—are those sold separately?"
I hadn't been able to check the comments since I closed them, but the hearts were piling up fast, so I'd expected to be busy tomorrow. Still, I never imagined it'd be this crazy.
"Yes, just a moment! The pie's baking more right now. The jam cookies were an event giveaway, but we're out for today. Oh, your coffee order? It'll be out soon. Please wait just a bit!"
Brewing coffee alone, checking the oven, decorating and packaging desserts.
Meanwhile, the dishes kept stacking up, and I'd finally mastered making the bear latte art, but I didn't even have time for that.
"Ah—."
I accidentally knocked over a cup saucer while placing an ordered coffee on the pickup counter. As I hurried outside, someone picked it up for me.
"Here you go."
The girl who picked it up had straight bangs and long hair tied up in a single ponytail.
She was short, with big, round, puppy-like black eyes that made her look incredibly young.
At a glance, I thought she was a middle schooler, but up close, she was wearing a nearby high school's uniform.
"Thank you for picking it up. Um... would you like to order?"
My words came out flustered for a moment.
Because her wrist, revealed as her uniform sleeve rode up, bore a thin metal bracelet engraved with the Center's emblem.
It was the control bracelet distributed by the Center for Espers C-rank and above.
This girl's an Esper.
It was my first time seeing a high school Esper, which felt novel, but it also made me realize I hadn't encountered many Espers in my year-plus here. I quickly averted my gaze.
How many chances had I really had to meet Espers in just over a year?
"No, you look busy—finish what you're doing and take my order whenever."
Were the Espers I'd heard about in the news or from others really all that abrasive? Maybe not.
Yang Hyun-woo, Ju Yeon-woo, and now this nameless student today.
Every Esper I'd met had been so kind it almost made them seem angelic.
She's a good kid...
The world still seemed worth living in. I nodded, thinking I'd slip her an extra jam cookie if she came back later.
As I placed the coffee on the pickup counter, the girl was still staring at me without turning away.
...Was that just polite talk? Should I take her order first after all?
Unsure, I gave an awkward smile, and she slowly parted her lips.
"Um, excuse me—."
At that moment, a group of students huddled not far from the pickup counter shouted toward her.
"Yena! Come here for a sec! You haven't ordered yet, right?? We're changing our orders!"
They were wearing the exact same uniform as the girl in front of me.
"What?"
In response, the high school girl frowned slightly and turned back toward the group.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ That stormy day finally came to a safe end, and that night, as I hung the "Closed" sign, I muttered to myself.
"...At this rate, I'm doomed."
I didn't think this level of boom would last forever.
Right now, customers were flocking in, but it was just fleeting fame. How I handled things afterward would decide the future.
I'd been so swamped that service quality, including responses, had dipped.
It wasn't major mistakes, so they blew over, but I'd messed up several times today, and the regular customers who'd always come were peeking at the full seats and leaving.
The drinks and desserts seemed fine quality-wise, but issues could arise later.
...Guess I need to hire part-time help after all.
The shop wasn't big, and with the future uncertain, I hadn't planned on it, but no choice.
Even if not as busy as today, it'd draw eyes for a while, and the reaction to Kua fruit desserts was better than expected.
"But... how do I find part-timers?"
Should I post again? Thinking about wrangling SNS already gave me a headache.
After agonizing for a while, I decided to shelve the worry.
It wasn't like a solution would pop up right away, and after the busiest day lately, I was mentally drained.
So I just spread out the blanket on the bed and voiced a silly wish.
If only a decent part-timer just dropped out of the sky somewhere.
I had no idea back then.
That my silly wish would come true in the most unexpected way, with a part-timer appearing from an unforeseen place.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Cafe 'Meli's hours are from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Mondays and Tuesdays are closed, and Sundays only until 2 p.m.
Of course, all this was hastily set as temporary and could change due to Gate outbreaks or other disasters.
And today was Sunday.
1 p.m., an hour before closing.
I was enjoying the rare peace, watching the popular show King of Mask Singer on my phone screen.
Celebrities sang in masks and later revealed their identities by unmasking—it was fun when the reveals happened, so I'd been catching up lately.
For reference, the one who just unmasked was a C-rank Awakener from some famous guild.
They did some ads and TV gigs, but to me—who cared little for Awakeners or celebs—it was a totally unfamiliar face.
Well, it's all about the audience reactions anyway.
With the reveal done, I turned off the screen and faced real-life worries.
Even on a holiday, I couldn't just lounge. Needed to find ways to recruit part-timers, tweak the menu...
Ding-a-ling—.
The shop door opened amid my pondering.
Black mask and hat. It was that customer I hadn't seen in days. Someone who'd seemed super suspicious at first now felt familiar after a few visits.
"Hello, it's been a while."
I greeted him warmly, and he paused before nodding slightly.
"Your usual: chocolate latte with an extra shot and lots of whipped cream. Kua pie okay?"
When a striking-looking regular orders the same thing every time, you memorize it whether you want to or not.
Buoyed by the joy of it being almost closing time on a holiday and my fondness for him, I asked before he could speak, and his shoulders twitched as he looked at me.
Did I overstep?
He probably didn't see me as friendly, but I'd built up this inner closeness on my own. Chastened by his sharp gaze, I gently offered the mini menu.
"Ah—did your tastes change? Take your time."
"...Same as always, but."
"Got it, chocolate latte and pie then?"
As I tapped the POS, it hit me why he felt so welcome, and I snapped my head up.
Right. Besides just being a long-time regular, there was another reason.
"Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention. Thank you."
"...?"
"I had no idea you were that impressive. Really surprised me."
"...Impressive?"
"Yes. I owe you so much. I wanted to thank you right after seeing it on SNS, but you hadn't come by the cafe lately..."
"What?"
Why the casual speech? He always spoke curtly, but this was the first time so blatantly dropping formalities. A bit thrown, I trailed off and met his eyes.
Then I quietly reached for a nearby glass bottle.
Whatever it was, his eyes weren't just fierce—they screamed trouble if I wasn't careful.
"How? How did you know."
...Know what, exactly? After a moment's thought, I realized he meant how I'd figured out he was the one behind the SNS account.
Come to think of it, Han Se-young had said there were no photos or posts hinting at the account owner's identity.
The reason I'd known the owner of that famous dessert promo SNS—the one that boosted my cafe—was him? It was simple.
Among the posted photos was the jam cookie from the opening event, wrapped with a big ribbon.
Here's the key: I never use ribbon decorations for cookie packaging normally.
I always use smiling star stickers, and I'd only used a ribbon once—when I ran out of stickers.
A big gift-wrapping ribbon. The one I'd given to the man right in front of me.
Did acting like I knew startle him?
Realizing late, I started to explain sheepishly, but he moved faster.
A large hand roughly yanked off his hat and mask. His hair was a bit flattened from the hat, but curly red locks spilled out.
Deep green eyes. Eyebrow piercings that'd been hidden. His striking, vivid features—previously obscured—now filled my view clearly.
His low voice growled like a beast.
"Tell me. How long have you known it's me."
"... ."
"Can't hear you?"
The thugs threatening me, flames burning red and hot like his hair.
Scenes flashing one after another, I blankly pointed at the man before me.
"Why are you showing up here...?"
It was literally a real-life King of Mask Singer.