The Goddess of the Department
I took a sip of my beer as the conversation naturally drifted from guy talk to girls. The guys were getting nicely buzzed, and the topic had shifted to the usual complaints and fantasies.
“There’s this insanely pretty freshman who just joined the department. Isn’t she the prettiest by far?”
“Her name’s Yoo Soyeon, right? I saw her from a distance and damn, she’s no joke. If I could date someone like her, I’d have no regrets in life.”
“Dream on. She practically radiates rich-girl energy. You think she’d ever look twice at someone like you?”
The table erupted in laughter as everyone started naming the girls they wanted to date.
“Did you see Lee Yujin after she ditched the glasses and got that glow-up? She’s seriously next level. I’d kill to date her for even one day.”
“I’m going with Choi Seungah. She always seemed kind of flighty with all the pranks, but ever since she became vice president, her charisma is off the charts.”
“Then I’ll take Kim Eunha. That haughty, ice-queen vibe is exactly my type.”
I stayed quiet, just listening. One by one, the names of girls I knew came up. Even the name of that rude regular customer of ours slipped into the conversation.
The guy who’d picked Kim Eunha suddenly looked a little doubtful.
“Kim Eunha? Doesn’t she have some pretty bad rumors going around about her?”
“Bad rumors? You mean her shitty personality?”
“No, not that. I heard she does water business.”
“Water business?”
The guy made a circle with his thumb and index finger, then thrust his other index finger through it. Anyone could tell it was a crude gesture for sex.
The guy who’d said he liked her realized what it meant and shouted in shock.
“For real?”
“It’s just a rumor, but still. A college girl carrying around a bunch of expensive luxury items? That’s suspicious as hell, right?”
“Maybe her family’s just rich?”
“If they were rich, she’d brag about what her dad does. But she never talks about her family at all. Plus, someone said they saw her walking around with a middle-aged man.”
The guy who liked her looked stunned, like he couldn’t believe it. Then he turned to me.
“I seriously can’t believe it. Hey, Kim Hyunjin, what do you think?”
“Well… she’s definitely not a rich young lady, at least.”
That special aura. Kids from wealthy families had a certain presence whether they tried to hide it or not. After meeting countless nobles during my time as a hero, I could sense it faintly. Meeting the actual chaebol daughter Yoo Soyeon had made it even clearer. I didn’t feel any of that from Kim Eunha. She was pretty and refined, sure, but that was it.
“She carries around that many luxury brands and she’s not rich? Then the answer’s obvious, isn’t it?”
“Holy shit, for real?”
The guy looked devastated. His hands were shaking as he gulped down his beer. Then he muttered under his breath,
“W-would ten thousand won be enough…?”
“Ugh, you idiot. You still haven’t given up? And ten thousand? For a girl like her, you’d have to pay several times that for one night.”
“Goddamn it. No money, no girlfriend. This is too fucking depressing to live with.”
The guy who liked Kim Eunha eventually passed out from the alcohol, so the drinking party ended right there. One of the other guys took him home, and the rest of us got up and headed our separate ways.
Before going home, I stopped by the cafe to infuse the ingredients with Sex Power. On the way, I thought about Kim Eunha.
Water business, huh.
I’d heard the stories, but I’d never actually seen it. I never imagined someone connected to me would be involved in that kind of thing. If it were me and the girl I liked turned out to be doing that, I’d probably lose my mind. Of course, nothing was confirmed yet, but meeting middle-aged men definitely didn’t sound like an honest part-time job.
Well, it’s none of my business.
As long as that rude regular didn’t cause any trouble for our cafe, didn’t throw any real tantrums, and kept coming back as a steady customer, whatever she did in her personal life wasn’t my concern.
I was crossing through the university gate on my way to the cafe when I saw a woman open the door and step inside ahead of me. Even at a glance, she was clearly a beauty.
Speak of the devil.
Kim Eunha walked into the cafe with slightly tired steps. I followed her in, only to hear a high-pitched female voice echo from inside.
“Why isn’t there any cake left?!”
“I’m so sorry, ma’am. The strawberry cake is limited to one hundred slices per day, so…”
“I’m a regular here! Don’t you take care of your regulars?!”
“I’m truly sorry.”
I could hear Baek Jina at the counter sounding flustered. From the conversation, it seemed Kim Eunha had come to buy strawberry cake, found out there wasn’t any left, and was throwing a fit. She was even using her status as a regular to pressure Baek Jina.
That entitled bitch?
The strawberry cake was limited to a hundred pieces a day, so by the time lunch was over, there usually wasn’t any left. Yet here she was, near closing time, demanding they bring out a limited item. As a daily regular, Kim Eunha had to know that. Still, she was openly causing a scene and yelling inside the cafe.
I knew she had no manners, but I didn’t realize she was the type to throw a full-blown tantrum at a cafe. The atmosphere was getting ugly, so I quickly stepped inside.
Kim Eunha was shouting at Baek Jina. Her already sharp, unfriendly eyes looked even sharper now that she was angry. Her face was flushed—probably from a few drinks.
Time to kick her out.
I headed straight for the counter to throw her out. Baek Jina spotted me and waved her hand, signaling me not to get involved. She seemed to be saying she’d handle it herself so things wouldn’t get more complicated. After hesitating for a second, I decided to watch quietly for now. If Kim Eunha crossed the line any further, I’d step in immediately—either by throwing her out or calling the police.
Baek Jina seemed used to dealing with customers like this. She spoke calmly and politely, managing to soothe Kim Eunha.
“Ugh, fine. Just give me a latte or something. Hurry up.”
“Yes, please wait a moment.”
Baek Jina quickly made a cafe latte and handed it over. Kim Eunha snatched it with an irritated expression and stormed out. After she left, the cafe’s business hours officially ended.
I walked over to Baek Jina and offered some comfort.
“Good work today. Next time you see a customer like that, just kick them out.”
“Aw, but she’s a regular. What if she stops coming?”
“You’re way more important to me than a rude regular like her, so it’s fine.”
Customers were important, but a hardworking part-timer was even more so. Especially when the part-timer hadn’t done anything wrong and the customer was throwing a tantrum. There was no question about whose side I was on.
“R-really? Hehe.”
Baek Jina seemed to take my words a little differently. Her cheeks turned slightly pink as she twisted her hair around her finger. It was incredibly cute.
And seeing this cute part-timer of ours get harassed by that rude woman made anger bubble up inside me.
How dare she mess with our cute little part-timer?
Anyone who touched a small, adorable part-timer like her was asking for serious trouble. I started thinking about how to get revenge on Kim Eunha. The first thing that came to mind was the rumor I’d just heard—that she was doing water business. But there was no solid proof. Having lots of luxury items could just mean she’d gotten rich quick from something like Bitcoin.
“Huh? That customer left her card behind.”
The card was still sitting in the reader. She’d paid and just walked out. She’d probably be back tomorrow anyway, so I was going to leave it there instead of reporting it lost, but something caught my eye.
She used a card instead of mobile pay?
It wasn’t that strange for a female college student to use a card instead of pay. But last time I was at the counter, she had definitely paid with her phone. Just in case, I took a closer look at the card.
Authorized for official student council use only.
Personal use is strictly prohibited.
This crazy bitch.
It wasn’t even her own card. It was the student council card. She was openly using it for personal expenses and embezzling student council funds.
So that’s why she paid for a whole week’s worth last time.
I’d heard from Park Nayoung that she’d allowed Kim Eunha to pay for a week’s worth at once because she was a steady regular, even though it wasn’t normally allowed. I’d thought she was just being lazy, but it was actually so she could claim the student council members had all eaten together. Most supplies were carefully inspected, but food items weren’t checked as thoroughly, so it was a viable method.
If she’s embezzling student council funds, then the water business rumor probably isn’t fake either.
Embezzlement and prostitution. Either one of those, if discovered, would make college life extremely difficult. If both were true, she would suffer a blow severe enough to force her to give up on a normal university life.
Should I look into it?
If I could get solid evidence, this might be the perfect way to get revenge on her.
“Oppa, what are you thinking about so hard?”
When I stayed silent, Baek Jina asked me.
“It’s nothing. What did you say?”
“Not just that customer earlier—other customers have been complaining that we don’t have enough cake in stock. Can’t we increase the amount of cake we make?”
“We’re going to increase it now.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Thanks to you.”
She tilted her head in confusion.
“Huh? Why me?”
I’d earned 283 points from having sex with Baek Jina. Adding in the remaining points, I now had a total of 304 points—enough for three draws. I’d been planning to save up for a ten-draw at once, but I couldn’t hold back and ended up pulling today.
You have acquired the item: Growth Elixir.
You have acquired the item: Growth Elixir.
You have acquired the skill: Understanding of Holy Power.
Understanding of Holy Power – Allows for smoother and more efficient use of holy power. A growth-type passive skill. It may look like a basic skill, but it is actually quite advanced. Learning this skill is enough to qualify someone to become a high-ranking priest.
My holy power efficiency has more than doubled.
My holy power had increased significantly compared to the beginning, so now I could make over a thousand strawberry cakes in one go. But I needed to keep some in reserve for emergencies, so I planned to increase production gradually. Also, learning the skill gave me the additional ability to sense holy power around me. Since the only people in this world who possessed holy power were those who had been intimate with me, I could now roughly sense their locations.
“So are we increasing the cake starting tomorrow?”
“First I need to hire more staff. Nayoung can’t make all of that by herself.”
“Hehe, then I can eat as much cake as I want from now on.”
While I infused the cafe ingredients with holy power, Baek Jina finished cleaning up the back. When she tried to say goodbye and head home, I stopped her.
“You worked really hard today. Tell me anything you want to eat. I’ll make it all for you.”
Even if she acted like it was nothing, dealing with that kind of rude customer must have been stressful.
“Wow, really? Heehee, I’ll eat a lot then.”
“Good.”
I’ll eat a lot too.