I Quit My Job and Run a Café - Chapter 21



Only Krnovel

Episode 21

Hansong had a dream.

It was a very horrible dream where I was alone deep in a dark underground place.

It was like a swamp, the more I struggled to get out, the deeper into the darkness I fell.

There is no one to help.

A dream so quiet that even your own voice is erased.

As time passes, my five senses become dull, and now even struggling in the swamp is difficult.

I wish someone would hold my hand.

I wish you could save me here.

Would things have been different if I had asked for more help?

… … Why did it turn out like this?

There was definitely a time when the light shone brightly on him.

The debut work was an unexpectedly huge success.

Many people responded positively to Hansong’s webtoon, and it seemed like her life would continue on a smooth path.

however…….

I really don’t know where I went wrong.

Was it a problem that I finished a successful work despite the dissuasion of those around me?

Or maybe it was because I was so proud of the compliments from people around me saying I was good at something that I thought it was real.

Was the debut just a fluke?

……I don’t know.

At some point it stopped coming to mind.

The stories that were floating through my head like stories in a dream were hidden from view by the noise.

It’s been a year since I said I would prepare a new work, but I’m still at a standstill.

And now… …just when I thought I had forgotten how to move forward!

In my dark dream, suddenly, sweet and fragrant apple jam and warm bread with a rich buttery scent appeared.

Before I could even think, ‘What is that?’, my first thought was, ‘It looks delicious.’

Can I eat it?

No, let’s eat.

Gulp!

The appetite I had forgotten about exploded and reached out, as if I was in a long slump.

And the moment you take a bite of the bread covered in apple jam!

A different world unfolded before my eyes.

The dark swamp that had buried him until then was gone, and a small open space filled with life appeared.

There was a small well in the clearing, the kind of place where friends from the forest might occasionally stop by.

‘Can I drink it too?’

In front of a well, approached by an unknown attraction.

There were already passengers there.

Rabbits, moles… …even wolves and tigers were all drinking from the well.

Then, as Hansong approached, all their eyes turned to her.

Wince!

My confidence waned for a moment.

As a habit, I guess I can’t go there…

Bam!

I was caught between them by the sweet buttery breeze mixed with the scent of mint that happened to blow in.

Contrary to fears, the passengers did not avoid her at all.

And he didn’t reject it.

Just doing what comes naturally.

Hururup!

Hansong also drank from the well naturally like them.

At that moment, I woke up from my dream.

“……ah!”

“Hansongi, what’s wrong?”

I immediately saw my precious friend, Kim Hana, looking at me with worried eyes.

And the scenery of the small cafe that unfolded behind it.

I even remember just taking a bite of toast with apple jam and drinking a mint drink… … .

As I mingled with my dreams, a story that had not been resolved for a long time came to mind.

Bam!

I had to get this story out of my head quickly before it disappeared.

“huh?”

As I suddenly got up, I looked around at my friend who was looking puzzled, and then I made eye contact with someone.

Hansong walked towards the owner of those eyes.

Where did her image of being dragged around without confidence go, and at the end of her confident steps, Hansong-i…

“Could I use your laptop please?”

“… … Yes? Oh, yes.”

First, I borrowed the laptop inside the counter.

* * *

“I didn’t know you could draw something like that with that.”

“Isn’t that great? By the way, I’m glad I have that tablet I was about to throw away. This one is really.”

The one who answered my question was Kim Hana.

Now the two of us were looking at Hansongi together as if we were appreciating a work of art.

That was to be expected, because every time Hansong’s hand moved, the picture on the screen changed as if it were alive.

It’s as if he’s breathing life into a world made entirely of 0s and 1s.

That too, with my work laptop brought to the cafe to play music.

The specs weren’t bad, but I never imagined I’d be able to use it like that…

It was like magic when I was doing it.

“That person is a webtoon artist?”

“Yes, yes. My first debut work was a huge success. People kept praising me, asking how I could draw something like that in a webtoon. If only I hadn’t suddenly fallen into a slump… … I’m so good at drawing.”

Even I, who am not particularly interested in webtoons, could not help but agree with what Kim Ha-na said.

Because it’s really well drawn.

The line that flowed smoothly without a single blockage was even elegant.

Even I, a layman in this field, can tell that he is a tremendous talent.

but…….

‘It seems like talent isn’t limited to just drawing skills.’

Anyway, since webtoons are about telling stories through pictures, the better your drawing skills, the better.

But in my eyes, Hansong’s talent seemed to be more outstanding in creating stories through drawings.

[story]

When I was working at a company, I once attended a lecture by an architect as part of my training.

He was a young architect famous for being a genius.

Interestingly, he introduced himself not as an architect, but as a storyteller.

Rather than someone who simply creates the rigid structures needed, someone who tells stories through architecture?

At that time, I wondered what that meant… … .

‘Geniuses use their talent as a means to write stories.’

I know it when I see one flower.

Because I was telling a story through pictures.

Simple architecture and paintings made out of necessity are only useful. But there was something touching about telling a story like that.

‘I wonder if I can do it too.’

Suddenly, that thought occurred to me.

Could the drinks and bread I make, and the rest I spend here, also be able to tell such stories?

I wonder if I have that kind of talent.

Phew!

Then, without realizing it, I burst out laughing.

I’m not a genius or anything, so I was wondering what he was thinking.

Let’s do well in whatever we’re doing.

It seems like I’ve succeeded with difficulty this time.

“Oh, right! But can we stay here this long… … .”

“Well, it’s okay. There are no other guests to bother you.”

At that moment, Kim Ha-na changed the subject with an apologetic expression.

I waved my hand at him.

There was still time left until the deadline and there were only two guests.

Oh, actually there was one more.

Haaa~ Cancer!

Langi sits in front of Hansong like a model, stretching.

I was worried it might interfere with my work, but it didn’t at all.

Rather, seeing the guy seemed to have given him another inspiration, and he drew another story using the guy as a model.

It seems like storytelling is happening in my head, breathing.

‘That’s amazing.’

I’m saying that I’m still amazed no matter how many times I look at it.

I don’t know about other writers, but at least in my eyes, Hansong looked amazing.

Oh, this time when I say great I don’t mean talent.

That’s true, but more than that, stories don’t just come out of nowhere.

A story can only come out when there is accumulated data. If the data were blank, there would be nothing to extract.

That means that Hansong, who immediately turns the inspiration that comes to mind into a story, has already accumulated a lot of data.

“Does he usually read a lot of books?”

“Song-i? Totally. I read to the point of being addicted to letters. Were you even reading the book the day before the CSAT? And yet, you got good grades, right?”

also.

I nodded at Kim Ha-na’s answer.

Talent doesn’t just blossom.

Flowers also need nutrients to bloom.

A single talent is just a flower bud that has been prepared for a long time.

It was really cool to see the talent of someone who was struggling while in a slump shine through their efforts.

“Hmm… … .”

But why is this person like this?

Kim Ha-na, who was watching Han Song-i from the side, made a serious expression.

It seemed like something was bothering him.

Why are you suddenly like this?

Just in case, I checked Aura’s text window, and it didn’t seem like she was particularly stressed or tired…

“Hoooo─!”

At that moment, Hansong took a breather as if to take a break and put her hands down from the laptop.

Then Kim Ha-na ran over in a hurry… … .

“Writer Hansong?”

“Huh? Me?”

“First, please take my business card.”

“What? All of a sudden? I gave you this before.”

“I gave that to a friend. This time I gave it to the writer.”

I gave the task to Hansong-i.

I watched that scene from behind with quite some interest.

“I’ll send you a draft of this project first, so would you like to take a look at it and then talk about it?”

“A project? That thing you’re doing for the first time? Why are you doing it to me… No way?”

“I think that’s what you’re expecting, author. Collaboration, in other words, collaboration. How about that? No, let’s look at the draft first and talk about it.”

Hansong looked at Kim Ha-na with a bewildered expression.

Because we were close friends, we kept our work and personal lives separate. But then, a friend like that suddenly suggested a collaboration.

“I don’t have anything yet?”

“Yes. I have seen the writer’s potential very well.”

“What the heck? Seriously, why are you like that? Are you kidding?”

“Does this look like a joke to you?”

Kim Ha Na looked very serious.

Haven’t you been treating me with respect since earlier?

Strict and serious itself.

‘I heard that these days, webtoons are collaborating a lot here and there. I guess it’s true.’

The business scenery I saw after a long time brought about a strange sense of nostalgia.

I too once lived in that fierce world.

Actually, it hasn’t been that long, but it feels like a long time ago.

“Let’s go back and talk about this again. Are you done with what you were doing?”

“huh!”

“Does it look better now?”

“Totally. It’s like waking up from a dream.”

“Thank goodness. Really.”

The two, who had returned to being friends again, chatted for a while.

And then I cleaned up the place.

“Thank you so much for today.”

“What is there to be thankful for? I just did my job.”

“You lent me a laptop and also provided me with service.”

Hansong said, handing over the laptop.

As the dead eyes became clear and alive, his appearance also looked brighter.

But she was beautiful.

“Anyway, thank you!”

When Hansongi bowed her head in greeting, I had no choice but to nod in return.

Well, that’s a relief since you said you’re going to get some rest.

“Boss, have a good rest today! I’ll come again next time!”

After greeting Kim Ha-na, the two opened the door.

And at that moment, the clear aura I had been waiting for flew out from Hansong. It was a golden aura like her blond hair.

ablaze…….

That aura permeated the entire café and reached me.

Swish!

A strange, ticklish sensation spread throughout my body from the place where the aura had seeped into me.

This is nice and ticklish.

And the feeling was strangely different, as if each aura was different.

This time, I felt like the aura was gathering towards my head.

Only when the aura was completely absorbed and the things floating around the cafe had all disappeared did that feeling go away.

And the thought comes to mind.

What kind of talent did he absorb this time?

If you’re curious, you should check it out right away.

─A picture of a song

“Hmm.”

It was a talent that was expected.

But um… … .

Will this help me work at a cafe?

No.

I thought Su-ah’s talent would be helpful, but in the end, it didn’t really help this time.

In the end, what matters is how the writer writes.

In that sense, this could also have its uses.

And in fact.

‘It doesn’t matter if it has no use.’

The reward has already been received.

Very proudly.

“When was this drawn?”

A picture that has become the wallpaper on my laptop screen.

It was the skill of Hansong that I saw earlier.

The background screen was a picture of me and Rangi with the tiger shelter in the background.

“Do I look like this?”

Looking at the picture of myself, I feel more ticklish than when I absorbed the aura earlier.

Is this what it feels like when someone observes me?

“… … Let’s organize things.”

I opened up my laptop so that I could see the pictures and started organizing them.

Outside the window, the sunset was slowly fading away. The day passed by like this.

“Oh! But I used up all the milk.”

As I was organizing today, I found something to do tomorrow.

I used a lot of milk today when making bread.

And make mint drinks too.

I also need to buy some ingredients that are running low.

I made a note of the things I needed to buy one by one.

There are also some additional menus, so I’ll have to buy some of those too.

But where did your grandfather live?

If possible, I would like to use the same product.

Ding, ding, ding

“huh?”

As I was looking around the counter and cabinets, I heard the sound of a door opening.

Who is it?

customer?

Oh, is that Suah?

“Sua… … Huh?”

“Hello! I’m from Bonghwang Mart!”

It was neither a guest nor a princess.

It was a sturdy man wearing a red vest and clothes that looked like a delivery man.

what?

I’ve never ordered anything… … .

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