2
Chapter 2. Let Me Introduce You to Your Assistant
“Alright! We only have a little farther to go!”
We had gotten off the bus and were on our way to the café.
Because of the murderous summer heat, beads of sweat had already begun forming on my forehead after walking only a short distance.
“How much farther do we have to go?”
“We’ll be there as soon as we get over this hill. Hang in there!”
Did the Grim Reaper not feel the heat?
Unlike me, who was struggling with the heat, Kim Mandeok wasn’t sweating even a drop and didn’t show the slightest sign of being affected.
‘It’s so hot I’m going to die.’
With the sweltering heat leaving me unable to think about anything else, I simply began climbing the hill.
Maybe it was because my body was exhausted.
Now that I actually thought about running a café, worries began to come rushing in.
‘A café……. Can I really do this?’
I had already experienced so many unfortunate things in my life.
I couldn’t help feeling anxious that this job might bring yet another misfortune into my life.
I had started a business once before and had even managed to reach 100 million won in sales.
But since this was an entirely different industry from a café, it was only natural that I was worried.
The fear of taking on a new challenge.
Just as that fear began to wrap itself around me, I suddenly remembered the encouragement my older brother had given me when I was young.
“Jin! It’s okay! You can do it!”
He was the one person who had never doubted my abilities, even throughout my unfortunate life.
The person in the entire world who believed in and supported me the most.
Even in my unlucky life, I had been able to endure this long because I had my older brother.
That thought had never changed.
‘Right. I’ll go there first and decide after seeing it.’
I hadn’t even seen the store yet.
What was the point of worrying already?
I decided to see the store first before making a judgment and began climbing the hill with renewed energy.
Before long, we arrived at the café.
“Here we are!”
After taking a bus and crossing the hill, Mandeok had brought me to the café.
The moment we arrived and I looked at the building, I was left speechless.
‘They really expect me to run a business here?’
When I first got off the bus, I hadn’t expected that I would be running a business in this area.
That was because Mandeok had brought me to Gangnam, the place with some of the most expensive land in Seoul.
And not just anywhere in Gangnam.
The building was only a few blocks away from Gangnam-daero, where the pedestrian traffic was among the heaviest.
‘I naturally assumed it would be tucked away somewhere like a semi-basement, but it’s a commercial building on the first floor?’
Unlike me, whose mouth had fallen open at this unbelievable sight, Mandeok clasped his hands together and smiled brightly.
“How do you like it? It’s a great building, isn’t it?”
“You really want me to run a business here?”
“Of course! If you’re willing to do it, you can start right away today.”
The building itself was an ordinary two-story structure.
The first floor had a commercial space decorated in warm wood tones, with a sign that read “Healing Café.”
The naming sense was terrible, but I couldn’t help admiring how clean the building was.
“Who lives on the second floor?”
I shook my head at the straightforward sign and looked up at the second floor.
It looked like a residential space where someone might actually live.
If I started operating the business, I was worried I might have trouble with the people living upstairs, so I asked with some concern.
Mandeok shook his head and casually dropped a bombshell.
“No one. Oh! I forgot to mention that. If you decide to run the café, you can use the second floor as your living space, Mr. Yujin.”
“What? Is that really true?!”
My mouth fell open at the thought of being given a home in the middle of Gangnam without having to pay rent.
Gangnam, famous for having some of the most expensive land in South Korea.
It was already unbelievable that they were letting me operate a café, but they were even providing me with the residential space upstairs…….
This was absurdly generous treatment.
“His Majesty the King of the Underworld is extremely interested in this project and has promised to provide generous support. Of course, if you fail to produce satisfactory results in the performance-related aspects I’m about to explain, this project will be discontinued as well.”
So I had to keep producing results if I wanted to continue using this place.
I was dying to know what kind of results I had to produce and how I was supposed to produce them to receive all these benefits.
“Now, now, I’ll explain everything slowly once we go inside. Let’s go in first.”
Seeing that I was already distracted by the two-story building, Mandeok tried to calm me down and gestured for me to enter the store.
Apparently, the door wasn’t locked.
When he pushed the handle, the door opened smoothly, and the bell hanging above the entrance rang cheerfully.
Jingle~
As the door opened, a clear and lively sound echoed throughout the café.
The sound was so refreshing that I felt my body and mind relaxing.
“Here we are! This is our Healing Café!”
I looked around as Mandeok explained.
It was ordinary.
Perhaps I had some preconceived notions, but considering that the café had been created by a Grim Reaper, the interior was surprisingly normal.
Neat wood tones, cups arranged in perfect order, and even a coffee machine placed along one side of the store.
There were a few unusual aspects, but overall, it had the perfect atmosphere for a café.
“This is a café, but what’s this table for?”
The unusual thing was a long table beside the counter where people could sit like they were at a bar.
It was large enough for six or seven people, and the table resembled the kind used by bartenders in a bar.
“I figured that if we want Mr. Yujin’s influence to have a strong effect, you and the customers would need to talk to each other a lot. That table was placed there for that purpose.”
When Mandeok kindly explained the purpose of the table, I nodded instinctively at the thought that had gone into the interior design.
But that didn’t mean there were no problems.
“What if someone who’s really shy comes here?”
“That’s why we also prepared individual tables in the back, so you don’t need to worry too much about that.”
After hearing Mandeok’s explanation, I went farther inside.
There were four separate four-person tables.
Once again, I nodded at the customized space for introverted customers and the four-person tables that had been prepared for them.
“So! What do you think? You’ve seen the café for yourself, and from now on, Mr. Yujin, you’ll be running this place.”
After seeing the café in person, I was beginning to feel increasingly eager to run it.
More than anything, how could I possibly refuse when they were simply giving me a place to live on the second floor?
Still, no matter how many benefits there were, this was something involving a Grim Reaper and the King of the Underworld.
I needed to proceed carefully.
“How long am I supposed to do this?”
“Until the day you say you want to quit, Mr. Yujin. Of course, if you fail to produce results, you may be forced to stop operating the business before then.”
“What counts as a result?”
“I’ll explain that in detail if you tell me you’re willing to operate the café. For now, let’s just say your job is to reduce the depression and stress of the customers who visit.”
As I had mentioned earlier, the purpose of this café was to reduce the stress and depression of its customers.
Perhaps that was something I could somehow manage.
But there was still one major problem.
“Everything sounds good……. But there is one problem.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve never worked as a barista before.”
That was the problem I had been thinking about.
I knew how to drink coffee, but I had no idea how to properly make it.
A barista who couldn’t make coffee in a café.
That was no different from a cook at a pizza restaurant who couldn’t make pizza.
It was impossible.
But Mandeok seemed to have everything planned out.
“You don’t need to worry about that. I’m planning to assign you a very capable assistant.”
“An assistant?”
“Yes. If you show your willingness to run the café, I’ll assign someone to assist you specifically with coffee-related matters.”
Hearing that they would even provide an assistant to help me operate the café caught my attention.
The biggest thing I was worried about was making coffee.
If they were going to provide an assistant for that part, then perhaps I could learn how to make it properly as long as I worked hard.
‘These conditions are too good.’
A job, a place to live, and even an employee.
I was standing at a crossroads where I had the opportunity to solve every problem I currently had.
Now it was time to make a decision.
“If you’re even going to provide me with an assistant…… I’ll do it. The conditions are already too good, and after seeing the café myself, I’m even more interested in running it.”
The moment I said I would run the café, the corners of Mandeok’s mouth stretched all the way toward his ears.
“Excellent! Then let’s draw up the contract right away!”
As soon as I expressed my intention to run the café, Mandeok once again pulled a contract and a pen from inside his clothes.
“Read it carefully, and then sign at the bottom.”
Even though it had come from inside his clothes, the paper was perfectly crisp.
I took it and carefully began reading the contents.
《Healing Café Management Agency Contract between Yujin and Underworld Branch Team 4》
The contractor of this agreement, Yujin, hereinafter referred to as “Party A,” shall be entrusted with full operating rights to the “Healing Café” provided by Underworld Branch Team 4, hereinafter referred to as “Party B.”
This contract shall be terminated if Party A fails to achieve the performance target arbitrarily determined by Party B or if Party A expresses the intention to terminate the contract.
All supplies and expenses necessary for operating the “Healing Café” specified in this contract shall be fully covered by Party B.
Party B shall provide Party A with an assistant to help with the operation of the café. For the smooth operation of the café by Party A, Party B shall be required to employ a manager responsible for beverages, including coffee.
Party B shall determine all product prices, and Party A shall not alter them.
Whenever Party A performs an act that reduces a customer's depression or stress level, hereinafter referred to as “performance,” Party B shall pay Party A 10,000 won.
10,000 won.
After reading the contract, I could roughly guess what “performance” meant and how much the bonus would be.
But what interested me more was the price-setting clause mentioned above, where Party B would determine the prices.
“You said Party B determines the prices……. How much are you planning to charge?”
“The people who come here shouldn’t feel burdened, so the café menu needs to be much cheaper than what is normally sold on the market. The appropriate price I have in mind is…… at least half the price of other cafés!”
“Half price?!”
With prices having risen so much these days, an Americano at a trendy café in Seoul started at a minimum of 7,000 to 8,000 won.
Franchise coffee was said to be cheaper, at around 4,000 to 5,000 won.
But if we were selling it for half that price, it meant we would have to sell it for as little as 2,000 won.
That was cheaper than the canned coffee I had bought today.
“Will I actually make any money?”
“But won’t we be providing all the supplies needed for the café? And if you achieve good performance, you’ll even receive bonuses.”
He wasn’t wrong.
I wouldn’t have to pay rent, and they would provide all the materials, meaning there was practically nothing I had to spend.
Even if I only sold coffee, I would make 2,000 won per cup, so it definitely wasn’t a losing proposition.
And on top of that, there was the 10,000-won bonus.
It wasn’t a huge amount of money, but if it accumulated, it certainly wouldn’t be insignificant.
‘If I do my job well, I can make at least 12,000 won per person.’
If I achieved a result, I would receive 10,000 won per person.
If I did my job well, in a sense, I would be receiving 2,000 won from the customer for the coffee and 10,000 won from the Grim Reaper.
Even compared with other cafés, it was a profitable business.
I didn’t have to worry about rent or material costs in the first place.
Demanding anything more would practically be shameless.
I had finished reading the contract.
There didn’t seem to be anything problematic in it either.
So I boldly picked up the pen and wrote my name at the bottom.
Whoosh-!
The moment I finished signing, the paper in my hand began burning with blue flames.
It meant that the contract had been successfully established.
“Finished! Then let me introduce you to your assistant right away!”
“They’re already here?”
“No. I just need to call them.”
“Call them?”
At my question, Mandeok smiled brightly and snapped his fingers.
Snap-!
As the sound of his fingers snapping rang out, a small dimensional portal appeared above his head a moment later.
‘A dimensional portal?’
I stared at the swirling portal for a moment.
Then someone peeked their face through the dimensional portal.
“Pii~!”
A fairy no bigger than the palm of my hand.
After a Grim Reaper, now a tiny fairy had appeared before my eyes.