Beggar Bastard (1)
Sihyun wanted it to happen even one day sooner.
No—one minute, one second sooner.
He prayed the manager would hurry up and hire a replacement.
Thinking that, Sihyun finished the iced Americano Yuri had ordered, set the cup on a tray, and placed it on the pickup counter.
"Customer number 01, your iced Americano is ready."
But—
"……"
Yuri stared out the window, blatantly pretending not to hear. She had forced her way in before opening prep was even finished. She was the only person in the shop who could be called a customer. There was no way she couldn't hear Sihyun's voice.
"Customer number 01! Your iced Americano is ready!!"
"……"
Was she trying to pick a fight with silence or something? Even after Sihyun called out louder, Yuri didn't so much as twitch. She simply kept gazing out the window. Sihyun shook his head, shoved the tray aside, and went back to his own work.
Yuri glanced at him doing that and suddenly shouted.
"Hey!"
"Ah, what is it."
Sihyun answered half-heartedly, sounding thoroughly annoyed. Yuri wanted to correct his form of address, but the memory of his furious explosion just moments earlier kept the words locked in her throat. That didn't mean the next thing out of her mouth failed to get under his skin.
"If it's ready, you should bring it over! Why are you just announcing it?!"
Yuri tapped the table with her finger as she yelled.
"Ha……"
Sihyun let out a hollow laugh, dumbfounded.
"We don't do table service at this shop. Please get it yourself."
He answered in a crisp, businesslike tone, the way one dealt with a difficult customer. At that attitude—
"What—?"
Yuri asked back, looking absurd. In her world, the concept of self-service simply did not exist. Regardless—
"Please get it yourself."
Sihyun said it again, firm and final.
"Customer."
He didn't forget to put weight on the last word.
"Hey! You little……"
Yuri shot up from her seat in a huff. But at that exact moment—
Ding~
Another customer walked in.
"Welcome to Cafe Luminous~"
As if greeting a savior, Sihyun completely ignored Yuri and beamed a broad business smile at the newcomer.
"Ha……!"
Yuri let out a hollow laugh, at a total loss. But Sihyun pretended not to notice and focused entirely on the customer.
"What would you like to order?"
And after that, whether heaven was helping Sihyun or simply toying with Yuri was anyone's guess. Thanks to the continuous stream of customers, he naturally had no room left to spare her any attention.
"Ugh……"
Yuri sat at the table with a sulky expression, watching Sihyun work nonstop for hours on end.
This wasn't what I planned……
Because of her pointless pride, she had gotten into a stupid staring contest over something as trivial as forms of address and completely missed her chance to properly talk with Sihyun.
No, this isn't even a busy downtown area, so why are so many people coming?
Customers poured into the cafe without pause—commuting office workers, neighborhood housewives, college students, even elderly folks out for a stroll.
It's not like this is the only cafe in the neighborhood……
Yuri pulled out her phone, searched nearby cafes on the map app, grumbled inwardly, and kept watching Sihyun work. Before long she understood why so many customers kept arriving. More precisely, why so many of them were women.
"One strawberry latte, please~"
"Yes, understood. Please wait a moment."
"Okay~"
The woman's excited voice as she ordered was aimed squarely at Sihyun; her gaze never left him. A moment later—
"Your strawberry latte is ready."
"Yes, thank you! Ah!"
Their hands brushed lightly as she took the cup.
"Ah, sorry."
"No, it's fine~ Kyaa~"
Whether deliberate or accidental, the way she blushed and practically squealed was thoroughly repulsive.
It's not just one or two of these bitches.
She wanted nothing more than to grab those bitches by the hair and slam them into the floor right then and there. But—
After the mess I made yesterday, I should restrain myself a little……
Yuri had no choice but to hold back. And then, from a nearby table, whispered voices reached her ears.
"Hey, that person yesterday……"
"Shh! Don't make eye contact!"
As expected. Plenty of the customers recognized her.
"……"
She really did need to restrain herself. If she wasn't careful, she might end up labeled a crazy bitch like Kang Yoona inside Sihyun's head (she already was). And if she hadn't gone all out with Min Seonye yesterday—
He wouldn't be this busy all by himself……
Yuri slightly regretted the previous day's events. Then her eyes caught sight of something.
"~♪"
A cow humming a cheerful tune walked into the cafe. That cow, looking thoroughly pleased with herself, spotted Yuri belatedly.
"Eek."
Her expression froze solid.
"Hey, Han Yuri. Why the hell are you here again!?"
"Why? Got a problem? I just came for coffee."
Yuri smirked, lifted her cup, and took a deliberate sip as if flaunting her composure. But—
"Ugh."
She couldn't help frowning. The coffee in her hand was an Americano made from ordinary beans that couldn't even begin to compare to the Panama Esmeralda (details omitted) she usually drank. Of course it wouldn't suit her palate.
Seeing that expression, Min Seonye burst out laughing.
"Pfft. Like hell you came for coffee."
It was ridiculous. Seonye knew full well that Yuri was about as far from ordinary as a person could get. The beans Luminous used weren't cheap, but they could never satisfy that refined palate of hers. Seonye herself had been the same at first. And looking at the glass cup, it was clearly iced—yet the ice inside had almost completely melted away.
That tough bitch…… From the looks of it she's been camping here since morning.
Not just the cup—Yuri's face alone made it obvious. Even though she looked perfectly made-up, Seonye didn't miss the faint dark circles under her eyes. She glared at Yuri with those red eyes and warned her.
"Hey, behave yourself today, okay? If you pick another fight and trash the place like yesterday, I'm really suing you."
Yuri snorted and shot back.
"Hmph. Look who's talking."
"You little…! No. Never mind."
Seonye barely swallowed her anger. The one she actually had business with was Sihyun. She turned on her heel and, like Janus, put on a completely different face from the one she wore for Yuri.
"Sihyun~ Hi!"
She approached the counter with a bright smile. But—
"……What would you like to order, customer."
Sihyun treated her with a businesslike—no, a distinctly cold attitude.
"Si, Sihyun!?"
Seonye's face went pale with shock. Watching it, Yuri smiled with deep satisfaction and snickered.
"Puhuhu……"
That cow was now a "customer" instead of "Noona." Meanwhile, none of Yuri's mockery reached Seonye's ears. Crash—! It felt as if the sky itself were collapsing inside her head.
How hard did I work to get him to call me Noona!
Seonye barely held onto her sanity and spoke in a trembling voice.
"Si, Sihyun……? Did this Noona do something else wrong? I already said I'm sorry about yesterday~"
She pleaded with a forced smile. But—
"Customer."
Sihyun's stiff attitude did not budge.
"If you're not going to order, could you step aside? There are other customers waiting behind you."
"Uh… uh? Ah, one Americano, please."
"Yes, customer number 47, Americano order received. Please wait a moment."
"Hiiing……"
Deflated, Seonye trudged over to Yuri's table with weak steps.
"Hey, get lost."
Yuri rested her chin on her hand and looked at her.
"Your bulk is so big I can't see the kid."
She waved her hand as if shooing Seonye away. Seonye ignored her and plopped down in the seat anyway.
"It… it's all your fault!"
Seonye glared at her, eyes welling with tears. The sight might have inspired sympathy in someone else. Instead—
"Pfft."
Yuri couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
"Iiiik!"
Seonye trembled all over with pure shame. She wanted nothing more than to grab that bitch by the hair and shake her senseless. But if she caused another scene like yesterday, she would be irreversibly marked by Sihyun. So she had no choice but to clench her fists tightly and keep trembling.
Then—
Ding~
The bell announcing new customers rang.
Even while working frantically alone, Sihyun kept a calm expression on the outside and continued handling everything smoothly. Inside, however, he couldn't help feeling anxious. Just looking at Yuri alone—who was hunting for some Panama or pajama whatever—was enough to give him a headache. He never knew what sudden stunt she might pull next. And now Seonye had appeared and even sat down with her.
No, there are plenty of other seats. Why is that person sitting with her?
Watching Seonye deliberately take the seat at Yuri's table, Sihyun wondered if the two of them might actually get along. But before long—
"What? Wanna go another round? You sure about that?"
"Iiiik!"
—they were growling at each other like bitter rivals who couldn't wait to tear each other apart. Watching them, Sihyun sighed inwardly and shook his head.
Ugh…… They're already trying to fight again. Please, just don't go crazy like yesterday……
As he prayed that, the cafe bell rang once more.
Ding~
Sihyun was still bothered by Yuri and Seonye, but he briefly pulled his gaze away from them.
Stop worrying about those women and just focus on work.
He turned toward the entrance. The new customers looked like a group of five or six college students.
"Welcome!"
Sihyun naturally put on his business smile and started to greet them. But one of them—upon confirming one particular woman's face—Sihyun—
"Welcome to Cafe Lumin…"
—trailed off and froze solid.
Wow, you're really pretty! What's your name?
Sihyun! Let's go home together!
Even though the heating in the cafe was perfectly adequate, his hands began to tremble violently. A chill ran down his spine as if his blood had turned to ice.
Calm down. Calm down……
Sihyun repeated it inwardly like a mantra. With hands that shook madly, he barely managed to yank the cafe uniform hat down low over his face and desperately tried to pull himself together.
That person is your older sister… no, your mom?
What, so you were a fatherless beggar bastard?
Sihyun prayed desperately. Please. Please. Let that woman not recognize him.
But—
"Huh?"
His wish was not granted.
"Don't tell me—Kim Sihyun!?"
His face was the kind that was hard to forget even at a glance.
"Ah, it is!"
There was no way she would ever forget him.
"…Beggar bastard."