I Quit My Job and Run a Café - Chapter 219



Only Krnovel

Episode 219

There’s always something to be said about night-time drinks or other foods.

This tastes like something less than that famous chestnut flavored ice cream. Or, at least, something similar.

No matter how expensive and good the chestnuts were, I couldn’t get away from that taste, so I felt a little empty after making it.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the ice cream wasn’t tasty. Rather, it was just very well made.

“Anyway, the night menu ends up being a fight with that ice cream.”

If we can’t get away from it, we have to think about how we can create a more luxurious yet natural taste.

And after much thought, the recipe I came up with was a chestnut latte.

Because milk is a perfect combination on a hot night.

‘It would be perfect if I made espresso with the strong roasted coffee beans here.’

This wasn’t in my grandfather’s recipe, but I thought I’d give it a try.

Because I think it will be delicious.

And since the coffee beans from SsukSsuk were something that even my grandfather had never used, a new combination might have been created.

“first of all.”

I decided to make some jam at night.

This was the base.

You can just eat it as jam or make it into a drink.

After running the cafe for a few months, it became possible to create a base for the drinks.

Cheongdo is like that, and so is jam.

If you make it all, it can be used for a long time, and it is also convenient for making drinks.

Of course, making it this way gave it a slightly different feel from fresh fruit juice.

If you make it wrong, it’s no different from sugar water with fruit flavoring added.

‘In order to maximize the fragrance, the original product must be in good condition.’

In that sense, the condition of the chestnut was better than ideal.

The process of making jam was simple.

Boil, peel, and chop finely. Then simmer and you’re done.

‘This is a maintenance job.’

Because staying up all night isn’t an easy task.

Of course, I was an exception since I could easily do it if I asked Brownie.

Kuru~

The brownie cracked the shells of the well-boiled chestnuts while stomping on them vigorously.

It was a task that had to be done meticulously because if the skin remained, it could taste bitter.

“thank you.”

Kuru~

Brownie did it perfectly this time too.

Put the well-peeled chestnuts in a blender and grind them with water until they have a fine texture.

When it becomes almost impossible to feel the particles, put it in a pan, add a little sugar, and simmer… … .

‘Let’s skip it.’

The night is already sweet enough.

It will taste more luxurious and natural if you don’t add sugar.

So I just dried it for a bit, turned off the heat, added some honey, and mixed it.

The chestnut jam with a chewy texture is complete.

Latte can be made easily using this.

Just put in a little bit of jam and mix it with warm milk and you’re done.

‘This is my grandfather’s recipe.’

I had a taste of it.

It was the taste of warm ice cream with the rich flavor of chestnuts and milk blended well together.

“……also.”

No matter how delicious the chestnut is, it can’t escape its taste.

Of course, this one felt much more luxurious.

The texture, the taste, the aroma.

Still, there were remnants of that guy… … .

The coffee beans were blended right away.

We selected coffee beans with a dark roasted flavor as the base and a nutty flavor.

They were all either strong or medium-power beans.

“I guess this much should be enough?”

I ground the coffee beans and made an espresso shot right away.

Then I mixed it into the latte I made.

In an instant, the scent of the latte changed.

‘This is… … .’

It was a quiet scent that reminded me of a forest where I had spent the night, but it also had the scent of the forest and the earth.

I could tell without tasting it.

This is it.

This was a recipe that would make the taste of the night more luxurious, but not boring.

I took a quick taste… … .

“Is this really good?”

At first, the rich taste filled my mouth, but then the bitter dark roasting flavor mixed with the taste of chestnuts was truly exquisite.

So I gave Soo-Jung a taste of it too.

─Wow! Delicious! Can I eat all of this?

‘Okay. Eat it all.’

Since I had already tasted it, I gave it to the customer.

I decided to give it to Soo-Jung and make a new one.

Kur?

“Yeah? You too?”

But the brownie showed interest.

Originally, he wasn’t really interested in eating… … .

I was curious so I gave it to Brownie too.

Then I ate it and it was really delicious.

‘Even this has changed.’

I was good.

I felt a little bad for not eating brownies during that time.

“Oh, sir.”

I briefly regained my senses from the spirits and made a new drink.

And I also prepared night jelly and milk tea.

‘But I think you said earlier that one more person was coming.’

I didn’t hear the door open.

Hasn’t it arrived yet? Then it’s a bit ambiguous to give it to me.

Because it was a warm drink, it was better to drink it right after it came out rather than when it was cold.

Especially, if you add chestnuts and milk and drink it after a while, the texture may change. No matter how finely ground, the chestnut particles will be heavy.

‘But it can’t stay like this forever.’

I glanced at the guests.

The guest looked back and forth between the door and the counter, as if he was aware of the party that had not yet arrived.

It seemed like he was wondering what would happen if he came out first.

This is true.

‘Sujeong-ah, Miho-ya. Is there no one down the path? Is there a car coming?’

─There’s no buzzing noise!

Kiyung!

I asked just in case, but they both gave the same answer.

Can’t be helped.

If there were even a hint of it coming, I wouldn’t know, but even what I’ve made now has already gone cold.

I picked up the tray to serve the drinks.

at that time!

“Hello? Oh, yes. No, I… … Yes, I’m fine. I’ll talk to the manager. Okay. Go in.”

I stopped walking because I heard the guests talking.

Running a cafe, I inevitably had many opportunities to hear about customers’ private lives.

Where did you see it? Customers think of employees or managers as NPCs in a game, so they don’t even realize they’re talking about their private lives.

Thanks to that, I was able to hear various stories, and sometimes I was able to solve customers’ problems with that, giving them healing and relaxation, so it was actually good.

But this case was a bit tricky.

‘hmm…….’

It was a short conversation, but I could hear the sound on the other end of the phone, so I immediately understood what was going on.

The person who made the appointment with the guest was a woman.

And somehow, it feels like we met on a blind date.

Right now, we are in the man’s after-party after our first meeting…

‘I got hit by the wind.’

It seems that the other side said it clearly and concisely.

It was a shame, but I felt like I could give it to him now.

He pretended not to hear and came out with the tray.

“The menu you ordered has arrived.”

“ah.”

The guest, who had been momentarily lost in thought or shock, stood up from his seat when he heard my voice.

And then I pretended like nothing happened and took the menu.

“Have your companions not arrived yet? The drinks won’t taste good if they get cold.”

“Oh, he said he couldn’t come because he had an appointment. I can drink all of this. Haha.”

Since you pretended not to know about our conversation earlier, I had no choice but to ask you this.

Because this will be natural.

And the guest also naturally made excuses.

To this extent, it was natural.

“Is that so? Then I recommend you have the chestnut latte first and then the milk tea and chestnut jelly later.”

“Yes. I will eat it like that.”

I changed the subject for no reason and told them the order of eating.

And I watched for a moment as the customer returned to his seat with the menu in his hand.

Somehow my shoulders felt more slumped than before.

He doesn’t seem that old… … .

‘Maybe younger than me.’

It seemed like she had failed many blind dates like that.

To be honest, I don’t have much experience with that, so I didn’t really relate to that image.

Oh, this isn’t to show off, it’s just that I didn’t go on many blind dates. When I was in the city, work came before dating.

Of course, there is nothing different here.

‘Hmm… … Am I perhaps more pitiful than that person?’

Because there is no one to date here.

I was feeling fine, but then I suddenly realized that my side feels cold.

─This is delicious! Give me another one!

Kuru~

But I wasn’t lonely because I had these guys.

I made Soo-Jung an extra night latte.

This time it was a version without espresso.

This is also good since Soo-Jung won’t know what that ice cream tastes like anyway.

More than that… …is that customer okay?

“Shouldn’t you at least give me some alcohol?”

I happened to buy something because I’m having a farewell party today.

But if you drink that, you might not be able to go home today.

I watched him quietly drinking a beverage.

On the surface, it didn’t seem like much of a hit. But if you look at the fluctuating aura, it wasn’t like it was nothing.

‘This seems to be getting worse in real time.’

It was the first time that my condition gradually worsened while I was drinking and resting.

I’m starting to feel like my aura might be getting polluted.

Even if it’s not exactly Kang Na-yoon’s curse, it’s an aura that’s eating away at my flesh.

In that state, it was quite possible.

‘I feel like I have to do something.’

But what can I say to comfort someone who failed at a blind date?

Do you have the right to comfort me in the first place?

Let’s think about it. There might be a way.

Come to think of it, the soldier guest who came before was a similar but slightly different case.

Because we broke up.

Of course, his affection for Lee Sun-ah was stronger than his feelings for her because they broke up, so he didn’t need any additional consolation.

“That doesn’t help.”

No, it wasn’t completely unhelpful.

That guest may also have other interests to turn his attention to.

Of course, I don’t know what that is, so it’s just the starting point… … .

Luckily, there was one thing that might help.

The flower of talent.

It was right over the guests’ heads.

[Woo Do-cheol]

*talent

─Illustration

It was another talent, similar to painting.

Should I say it’s a more detailed drawing talent?

It seemed like a talent similar to Hansong’s webtoon.

Then, do you also like webtoons?

Even if you don’t like it, it’s worth losing.

It probably felt like the owner of a private cafe was bored and wanted to make small talk.

So, I want to try talking to him, but… … how do I bring it up naturally?

Just by looking at him, it was obvious that he wasn’t in a position to easily talk to him.

This wasn’t so much a matter of failing at a blind date as it was a matter of personal temperament.

Should I say that it’s difficult to talk about something?

At that time, I was worried!

Ding, ding, ding

“Sir~!”

“Huh? Why are you here already?”

The door opened and Su-ah came in.

How did he come without me even knowing? And it’s not even the appointed time yet.

“I came early because I was bored! Rangi didn’t come with me either.”

“You’re not sleeping?”

“School starts tomorrow, how can I sleep?”

“… … Is that so?”

He must be an amazing guy, recharging his energy by taking a nap here earlier.

But unfortunately, I couldn’t play with Suah right now.

“I can’t play with you yet because I have guests.”

“oh!”

Su-ah belatedly discovered the guest and made a surprised expression, perhaps because she didn’t notice his presence or not.

And then suddenly he ran towards the guest.

“Is this the one? It’s a key ring goods from Doai-an author!”

“Huh? Huh?”

“Wow! This was a really early version back then, so you can’t get it now! How did you get it? No, you must be a big fan of author Do-Ai-An to get this!”

“That, that.”

The reason Su-ah ran was none other than the key ring on the customer’s phone.

The customer seemed embarrassed as he was talking about this and that while looking at the key ring, so I tried to stop him…

‘Do you like it?’

The guest’s aura was stirred.