Chapter 48

I looked at the customer who disappeared after ordering coffee and said, “What a strange person…” Even in the café with the air conditioner blasting, that customer had a rather unique presence. Wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a mask in the sweltering summer heat—it was like a fashion statement challenging the heat head-on. Of course, judging by the length of their hair, they seemed like a woman…

“Ha-yul, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, unnie. It’s just that the customer who came in earlier was dressed a bit unusually.”

It was the first time I’d seen someone dressed like that in the summer. Most people were in short sleeves and shorts. Or, at most, they’d wear long pants like jeans, but the top was almost always short-sleeved. Wearing long sleeves in this scorching heat didn’t make sense. Unless someone had a sun allergy, there was no reason not to wear short sleeves.

“Are there really people like that?”

Startled by So-yeong unnie’s sudden voice, I turned my head. She was wiping the coffee machine while glancing at me.

“Maybe it’s someone who likes you, Ha-yul?”

I waved my hands dismissively at So-yeong unnie’s words. Judging by the length of their hair and their build, they were definitely a woman. There’s no way a man could look like that. Plus, that clear, pleasant voice at the end—if that were a man, it wouldn’t make sense.

“No way. They were clearly a woman.”

“In this day and age, a woman can like another woman, you know? And don’t you remember that time you got confessed to by a girl?”

My face turned bright red at So-yeong unnie’s words. That incident was one of the black histories I wanted to forget. Getting confessed to by a guy was awkward enough, but being confessed to by another girl was still vividly etched in my mind. It wasn’t something that happened often, but it was shocking enough that unnie kept teasing me about it.

“Ah… no! Why are you bringing that up, unnie!”

“Why? Because it’s funny~ And didn’t the boss say it too? You have this magnetic charm that can attract anyone, whether they’re a guy or a girl~”

As So-yeong unnie said, I wasn’t just popular with guys. Even other girls had confessed to me. Of course, the ratio was extreme—if 99 guys confessed, maybe 1 girl would confess?

But because it was such a shocking event, the unnies knew about it too. They had seen it with their own eyes, after all.

“And I have Ha-yeon, you know. Ha-yeon is watching me with her eyes wide open.”

I wondered what Ha-yeon would think if she knew about this. Of course, it wasn’t like Ha-yeon hadn’t seen me getting confessed to before. In fact, it happened quite often. And whenever someone confessed, Ha-yeon would show up and interrupt—it was practically a daily occurrence. Ha-yeon was always sitting in the corner, watching us.

“Do you really think Ha-yeon would mind? If you told her you liked someone, wouldn’t she understand?”

“Ha-yeon is still young, so she might be a bit like that…”

“If you choose a path that makes you happy, Ha-yeon will understand. She’s quite mature for her age.”

I wasn’t sure if it would go as So-yeong unnie said. I thought about Ha-yeon for a moment. Even though she was still in kindergarten, Ha-yeon was unusually mature and sharp for her age. But at the same time, perhaps because of her father’s absence, she tended to be a bit wary of adult men. Then again, maybe that was just my imagination.

Anyway, I waved my hands dismissively at So-yeong unnie’s words.

“No, unnie. I’m not thinking about marriage yet. I already have an angel like Ha-yeon, after all.”

“Really? Well, if I had a daughter like Ha-yeon, I might think the same way.”

“Hehe…”

I could only scratch my head at So-yeong unnie’s words.

—

“Ha-yeon, are you really okay?”

I asked again, holding my smartphone. Ha-yeon’s bright voice on the other end of the phone seemed to ease my worries, but a small unease still lingered in my heart.

[Yes, mom! I’m going to play at Yoo-in-a’s house today, so don’t worry!]

I smiled slightly at Ha-yeon’s cheerful response. Lately, she’d been spending a lot of time at Yoo-in-a’s house. Not that it was a bad thing—they were friends, after all. And since Yoo-in-a and Ha-yeon were like the protagonist and the second lead in a novel, the closer they got, the better it was for me.

“But don’t stay out too late, okay?”

[Got it!]

Ha-yeon’s cute tone made me forget my fatigue for a moment. After hanging up, I felt a bit more at ease. On days when Ha-yeon spent time at Yoo-in-a’s house, I had a bit more free time. Normally, I’d have to leave work by 3 PM to pick her up, but today was different. Since Ha-yeon wasn’t coming back until after 6 PM, I decided to work until the café closed.

If I worked until closing time, it would be just right. Plus, with the air conditioner and other expenses piling up, I needed to work harder to earn more money. The boss had agreed to count the overtime in my hourly wage, so there was no reason not to work.

The boss seemed pleased with my overtime too.

“Ha-yul! You’re the treasure of our shop~”

The boss hugged me with a satisfied smile. I awkwardly smiled and nodded. It felt good to contribute to the shop’s sales, but the extra pay from overtime was even more welcome. I had worked an extra three hours. A lot of customers had come in, and I felt like I’d done my part.

After helping with the café’s closing tasks, I started preparing to leave. I had never done the closing tasks before, but after doing it for the first time today, I realized it wasn’t as easy as I thought. I could understand how much So-yeong unnie and A-rin unnie struggled. It made me even more grateful.

“So-yeong unnie, A-rin unnie, thank you.”

At my sincere words, So-yeong unnie looked surprised and placed her hands on her hips.

“Huh? Ha-yul, what are you talking about all of a sudden?”

So-yeong unnie looked at me as if wondering what I was saying.

“I usually leave without helping with the closing tasks…”

A-rin unnie, who was wiping coffee cups beside me, looked at me and said.

“We’re the ones who should be thanking you, Ha-yul!”

“Huh?”

I tilted my head at the unexpected response. But A-rin unnie burst out laughing. There was no reason for me to feel good about not helping with the closing tasks.

“Since Ha-yul joined, our hourly wages have gone up a lot. Life is all about money! Money solves everything!”

I couldn’t help but laugh at unnie’s honest words.

“Ah… so that’s what it was all about.”

After hearing A-rin unnie’s words, I felt a bit deflated. She said that while the hourly wage was already higher than the minimum, it had increased even more since I joined. Of course, that made sense—the café was packed with customers.

In a capitalist society, if the work is hard, you should get paid more, right? As we were chatting, the boss, who was wiping tables in the distance, called out to us.

“Hey, you guys! Aren’t you going to leave? Hurry up and finish up~”

“Yes, boss!”

We quickly finished up the café’s closing tasks at the boss’s words. The boss wasn’t wrong. And since the boss wasn’t just watching us but actually helping out, there was no reason to rebel against him.

So-yeong unnie had said that it was rare to find a boss like ours. Most bosses just checked in to see if we were working hard. A boss who helped with everything from opening to closing was rare. Of course, it was possible because this was the boss’s own café.

After finishing the closing tasks, the unnies left. I was also getting ready to leave after looking around the shop. That’s when the boss called out to me.

“Ha-yul, stay back for a bit!”

“Huh?”

“Unnie has something to talk to you about. Do you have a moment?”

I checked my phone. I had enough time. As long as it wasn’t too long, it was fine. And the boss said it wouldn’t take much time…

I nodded and said.

“Yes, boss.”