Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Lee Ji-ah (3)
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Crunch. Crunch crunch.
Lee Ji-ah anxiously bit her nails as she stared at her phone. Since parting ways with Kim Hyun-woo, she hadn't budged a single step from in front of Cafe Bastard.
She just couldn't bring herself to leave.
The sense of relief she'd felt the night before lingered in her mind. She couldn't shake the absence of nagging thoughts. If she hadn't known, she might have let it slide, but that one experience had turned everything upside down.
Like a lifelong cripple suddenly gaining limbs.
Like a blind man opening his eyes in an instant.
That fleeting moment of 'normalcy' hit Lee Ji-ah like a drug incomparable to anything else.
She pondered deeply. What had been special about the moment her emotional swings had vanished? There was only one answer.
Cafe Bastard.
Whatever it was, something unique to this cafe had soothed her body and mind. Lee Ji-ah had crouched by the door from dawn until morning, waiting for it to open.
"Time to start another boring day of business~"
A man's cheerful hum grew closer to the cafe. Lee Ji-ah's head snapped up. The man opening the shop door spotted her and yelped in fright.
"Eek! W-who are you!?"
"You're the owner, right?"
Lee Ji-ah blurted out. The man nodded warily.
"Y-yes. I'm the cafe owner."
"Pl-please open the door."
"Huh? Customer, we're still 30 minutes from opening hours..."
"Now!"
"Gah!"
Overwhelmed by her intimidating presence, the owner unwittingly unlocked the door. Lee Ji-ah shoved past him roughly and stormed inside. She paced the cafe interior, gnawing at her nails in agitation.
Her condition hadn't improved a bit. Lee Ji-ah placed an order with the owner.
"Cappuccino. Grande size. Cake for dessert. For here, no discount needed."
Furious at her rudeness, the owner shouted.
"Hey! Even if you're a customer, you don't have the right to treat me like this..."
His words trailed off. Behind her sunglasses, Lee Ji-ah's gaze turned ferocious. The aura of an S-rank hunter. Even without seeing her eyes, the owner could read the vibe loud and clear.
Gulp.
The owner swallowed hard. His Adam's apple bobbed noticeably.
"...Maybe you do. Please wait just a moment. I'll get it right away. Heh."
The coffee and dessert arrived quickly. Lee Ji-ah sipped her coffee. Her hands trembled. The owner watched her nervously.
'Why are her hands shaking like that? Is she on drugs? She doesn't act like a normal person.'
As Lee Ji-ah drank, she suddenly started sniffling. The owner panicked. She'd begged, gotten mad, and now she was crying—talk about a full harvest of drama.
"No... This isn't it... What's different?"
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After my chat with the trainer, I rolled around at home for a while and somehow fell asleep without realizing it. I must've been exhausted. When I woke up and checked my phone, there were dozens of texts.
[Chang-sik Hyung: Dude, there's a weird customer at the shop.]
[Chang-sik Hyung: Can you come in today?]
[Chang-sik Hyung: Hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey]
[Chang-sik Hyung: Hyun-woo, please swing by just once, I beg you]
[Chang-sik Hyung: I'll cover your shift again.]
[Chang-sik Hyung: Want to be the boss? I'll make you one. Hyun-woo hyung, help me out just once. Please.]
"What the hell?"
Some crazy customer, probably. I ignored them and tossed my phone on the bed, but another text came in. This time from Park Ji-young, not the owner.
[Ji-young: Oppa, where are you right now?]
[Ji-young: There's a weird customer who's been in the shop for 8 hours straight and won't leave.]
[Ji-young: Can't you come in today??]
[Ji-young: I'll cover a shift for you later.]
[Ji-young: Please!]
[Ji-young: Oppa come oppa oppa oppa come quick]
[Ji-young: Help us out!!!]
Today's troublemaker sounded like no joke. But I wasn't in the mood to work today either.
[Me: Can't today. You two handle it. You gonna call me every time there's a problem?]
Right after sending it, the owner called. I just powered off my phone.
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—The phone you're calling is powered off and can't be reached...
The owner clicked his tongue.
"That punk turned off his phone, I bet."
"Huh?"
Park Ji-young clutched her forehead and slumped down. Their last hope was gone.
Crunch. Crunch crunch.
A chilling sound from the corner of the cafe. The owner and Park Ji-young peeked out from behind the counter. Their eyes locked on the woman. It was Lee Ji-ah. She muttered softly.
"What's the problem? It's not the place? Then is it the time?"
Feeling their stares, Lee Ji-ah whipped her head around. The owner and Park Ji-young shrieked and ducked under the counter.
"O-owner, shouldn't we call the cops?"
"Don't even say it. A simple warning might end it, but what if she holds a grudge against the shop?"
A news headline flashed through Park Ji-young's mind.
[An unidentified woman, harboring resentment toward rude cafe staff, swung a knife, killing one employee.]
Park Ji-young shook her head vigorously. It seemed extreme, but given the vibe, she might do something even worse.
"Th-then no reporting."
"If only that punk Hyun-woo were here, we could've handled it somehow."
Definitely.
Park Ji-young also vaguely believed that if Kim Hyun-woo stepped in, even this weird woman would calm down like a lamb.
Whenever Kim Hyun-woo intervened, all troublemakers turned meek. It was like magic.
"So what can we do without Hyun-woo oppa?"
"We're useless. Go serve the customer her coffee, Ji-young."
"Huh?"
The owner pointed at Lee Ji-ah. She was heading to the counter. Park Ji-young glanced aside—the owner had already bolted.
"Ah, please..."
Park Ji-young forced an awkward smile and greeted her.
"H-how can I help you?"
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I woke up feeling strangely refreshed. Sunlight filtered warmly through the curtains, and the chirping sparrows outside were cozy and familiar.
The feeling hit me. After 26 years of life, I knew exactly what it was.
I was late.
I bolted up and checked the clock. 9:15. Way past late. Damn it, why didn't the alarm go off?
Right, I'd left my phone off.
"Uwaaaah!!"
I rushed through getting ready and hopped in a taxi. I turned my phone back on.
Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.
Vibrations exploded. It was the owner calling. I picked up immediately.
"Hyung, sorry. I fell asleep with my phone off yesterday and woke up late. I'm in a taxi now—should be there in 20 minutes."
I quickly explained. Phone off and late? No excuse.
I figured even the good-natured owner would chew me out big time, but his response was unexpected.
—No, Hyun-woo... As long as you're alive... Yeah, 20 minutes, right...?
"Yes? Y-yeah."
His voice was utterly deflated. How was this the guy whose bright personality was his best trait?
—Oppa, hurry...
Park Ji-young's small voice came through too, sounding all wilted.
"What's going on?"
—Too complicated to explain. We'll tell you when you get here.
"Got it, on my way."
It was past rush hour, so the taxi arrived faster than expected. I could see the cafe from afar. I ran over.
"Hyun-woo! Hey, you punk!"
"Oppa!"
The owner and Park Ji-young waved frantically from the door, greeting me like heroes. I was late—why the enthusiasm?
"What's up? Why so dramatic? Something happen?"
Park Ji-young's shoulders twitched. The owner scratched his stubbly chin.
"A weird customer showed up yesterday."
"Troublemaker?"
"Not exactly... but kinda weird."
"What's with her?"
The owner tapped his watch with his index finger.
"Came right at opening yesterday and hasn't left all day today."
"What?"
I yelped in shock. 24 hours in the cafe? Now that I looked, both had dark circles down to their chins. They'd been stuck there without clocking out.
"She's nuts, right? Why no cops?"
"Sh-she seemed really off..."
The owner said cautiously. Frustrated, Park Ji-young jumped in.
"You'll see when you look, oppa. She acts totally insane. Owner said he'd be scared she'd stab us if we called the cops."
"Hey!"
The red-faced owner bellowed.
"I didn't say it that bad!!"
"You did!"
Sleep deprivation had sharpened their nerves. I pushed the growling pair aside and grabbed the door handle.
"So that weird customer you mentioned is still inside?"
The owner nodded. That explained the hero's welcome. I felt a twinge of guilt for shutting off my phone yesterday.
Honestly, I hadn't imagined it'd be this bad. Troublemakers have limits.
The owner must've thought Cafe Bastard—named after confusing Baghdad—was some invincible hotspot. Time to correct that.
"Both of you, follow me."
I opened the door and strode in confidently. I scanned the interior. Only one customer.
Crunch. Crunch crunch.
There she was, biting her nails. My confident steps halted at her table.
"Customer, mind having a word with me?"
I said it sternly on purpose. Her head creaked around. My retort died in my throat. The face was familiar. Lee Ji-ah.
"Huh? Ji-ah? What are you doing here?"
Didn't she say everything was sorted? Why's she back at the cafe?
Lee Ji-ah stared blankly at me. Tears rolled down her cheeks to her chin. Behind me, the owner and Park Ji-young gasped.
The owner whispered in my ear.
"Hyun-woo, you know her?"
Tough to explain. As I hesitated, Lee Ji-ah's lips parted after twitching a few times.
"It... it was you..."
"Pardon?"
Lee Ji-ah adjusted her sunglasses. Startled, Park Ji-young let out a shrill scream.
"L-Lee Ji-ah!!"
Lee Ji-ah staggered toward me. Her cloudy eyes gleamed bright blue. A wave of thirst for life surged in her pupils.
Like a lost traveler finding an oasis in the desert. Like the ecstasy of someone who'd endlessly craved something finally achieving it.
She beamed and said,
"It wasn't the cafe. It was you."
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I sat at the table with Lee Ji-ah to talk. Her condition sounded serious from what the owner said.
Mumble mumble.
The owner and Park Ji-young whispered while staring from afar, flickering at the edge of my vision, but I ignored them.
"So, Ji-ah, you were originally planning to kill yourself?"
Lee Ji-ah nodded. She'd wanted one last coffee at the cafe, she said.
Lucky or unlucky, who knows.
Thanks to meeting me, she ditched the suicidal thoughts. But after we parted, the impulses hit harder than before, impossible to suppress.
"At first, I thought it was the cafe's cozy vibe. But it didn't work."
That's why she'd waited for opening.
"Then I figured it was the time of day, so I stayed till dawn."
Lee Ji-ah glanced apologetically at the owner and Park Ji-young. They'd been stuck without going home.
Park Ji-young freaked out when their eyes met. Lee Ji-ah smiled softly and waved.
"...No excuse, but I wasn't in a state to think straight."
Seeing her sheepish now, it was hard to believe that was the same woman from before. She seemed like an ordinary, intelligent person.
"Then I realized it wasn't the time or place, and it crushed me. I was about to give up when you showed up."
And Lee Ji-ah had figured it out. The source suppressing her suicidal urges. Me.
Lee Ji-ah leaned forward, covering her mouth like sharing a secret.
"Hyun-woo, you're an awakener, right?"
I answered awkwardly.
"Yeah, sort of..."
No point hiding it now. It was the only explanation for this phenomenon.
"I knew it!"
Lee Ji-ah clapped like a delighted kid and asked,
"Mind telling me what your ability is?"
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation. Embarrassing to admit. She was an S-rank hunter. My lame power felt like showing off wrinkles to a silkworm.
"It's called Peace of Mind. It calms the body and mind of people around me."
"Trigger condition? If active, what's the cooldown or duration?"
"No, no cooldown or duration. Just being near me does it."
"...!"
Something flashed in Lee Ji-ah's eyes.
Like a cafe owner eyeing a regular dropping 50,000 won each visit. She pondered long, biting her lip before speaking.
"Um, Hyun-woo."
"Yes?"
"Want to work with me?"
She looked at me anxiously after blurting it out, fidgeting like she feared rejection.
Work? What kind?
Curious, I asked,
"What kind of work?"
The trainer had just ruled out hunter life, so I'd been mulling my future. My interest brightened her face.
"Just stay with me!"
The excited Lee Ji-ah shouted.
"Gasp!"
"Oh my!"
Exclamations from afar. I glanced over—Park Ji-young was smacking the owner's arm. Looked like a misunderstanding.
"I have no clue what you mean."
"Exactly that. Your ability activates just by being nearby, right?"
"Yes."
"Think of it like a mental care coach hired by a sports team."
Now I got it.
Basically, without me, her emotional swings made normal life impossible. She wanted me by her side.
I fell into thought.
Job prospects? If her depression got cured, I'd be obsolete. What would I have left after working with her?
A brief silence. Anxious about it, Lee Ji-ah hurriedly added,
"Ch-check this out—your salary would be this!"
She punched numbers into her phone calculator and showed me.
"...!"
I was speechless. What was that number? Salary? Not annual? Had to be annual. Even then, too much. But she said salary.
Gauging my reaction, Lee Ji-ah cautiously said,
"Is... is it too low...?"
She just asked if that was low?
What nonsense?
"How about this then..."
Lee Ji-ah upped the number.
"...!!!"
"Salary that much, plus housing and car provided. No vacation days probably, but the work's easy—"
Vacation? Who cared?
Future prospects? Gone from my mind long ago. No lifetime job would pay this well.
I grabbed her hand like snatching a prize.
"I'll do it!"
"Y-yes?"
"Hell yeah! When do I start? Looking forward to working with you, boss!"
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