I Quit My Job and Run a Café - Chapter 242



Only Krnovel

Episode 242

Everyone in the cafe was distracted by the news heard during a break in the leisurely lunch hour.

It seems like this can’t be helped.

Because other people’s love lives are certainly an interesting topic, whether in the city or the countryside.

Of course, it’s a different matter to meddle in it, but hearing it like this isn’t it.

“Okay, so that’s why you came here? Don’t cry. Yeah, yeah. Drive safely.”

The call ended with the news that Kim Ha-na was coming here.

Lee Sun-ah and I heard it all, but we pretended not to know for now.

“Whew─. What’s going on all of a sudden?”

“Is it serious?”

“No. Well, it’s not serious. I’ve seen it a few times, but it gets better quickly. Sometimes, I find a good cafe and go there and come back, and I get better right away.”

“okay?”

I heard that too.

Kim Ha-na’s daily shelters were cafes all over the country.

Regardless of whether it is good or bad, finding it and going there is healing in itself.

Of course, if the cafe you visit is good, it is even better.

‘That’s the case with our cafe.’

This is not me praising myself, it was Kim Ha-na who said it herself.

He said it was the best cafe he’d ever been to.

“In your current state, it might be better to come here.”

“Yes. That’s why I asked you to come. Since I was feeling restless and didn’t think I could get anything done, I asked you to come on a business trip.”

One of Kim Ha-na’s current tasks at the company is caring for Han Song-i.

It’s the exact opposite now… … Anyway, it wasn’t strange for me to come here on a business trip. Wasn’t that the reason I came here in the first place?

‘The condition wasn’t good even then.’

I don’t know what it’s like now.

Judging from the content of the call, it doesn’t seem to be a good thing, but is it still the same as before?

Crying and complaining are ultimately an expression of emotions, so it’s better than holding it in and getting sick.

There is a limit to that, though.

“Good job. Then how many days will you be coming down?”

“It’s not a few days, but I’ll have to leave soon. I’m on a business trip, but the project manager can’t be away for too long.”

“I guess so. Um, what should I make for you?”

“Huh? Really?”

“Do you have any good ideas? Something your friend likes, like mint chocolate. I think she likes it, but is there anything else you like?”

“Yes. One of my favorite things. Around this time of the year, we always say we’ll go out to eat there.”

Hansong said with a confident expression.

I wondered if that was the right thing to do, but I accepted it because I didn’t want to make things worse.

“What is that?”

“It’s Hongshiyo.”

“Persimmon?”

“Yes. I was looking for ripe persimmons around this time.”

“Can’t you just buy that at the mart?”

“Of course, drinks or desserts made with persimmons.”

Oh, I see. I was short-sighted.

When I heard that he was looking for persimmons, I thought he was really looking for persimmons, but it turned out he was looking for a menu that used persimmons.

‘Hongsira… … .’

Thinking back, I ate a lot of persimmons, but I don’t know much about drinks or desserts.

“But because I didn’t have any, I almost always failed.”

“okay?”

“Yes. Most of the places that have it don’t taste good. I think it’s better to just eat persimmons.”

“But why bother?”

“It’s a bit of a challenge, maybe? Just a competitive spirit? Every year around this time, I feel like I’m going to lose it. I couldn’t find it last year, so I’m going to try to find it this year, that kind of thing.”

Perhaps because he is Hansong’s friend, he is indeed unique.

Should I say that birds of a feather flock together?

It wasn’t that it was bad.

Rather, I thought it would be good to have something like that.

Does it feel like a special event only for this season?

When I was a student, there were a lot of seasonal events, but when I was working, there were actually no such events.

Of course, it varies from person to person. At least for me, if I don’t make something myself, there have been many years where I didn’t even realize how the year went by.

But I thought it would be nice to have something like this.

‘Now that I think about it, I remember my time at the tiger shelter very well.’

Spring, summer, and now fall.

Memories were piling up one by one as the menu changed with each season.

And this time, it seemed like another fun memory would be created.

Hongshira… … .

“First, I’ll have to look for some delicious persimmons. Seon-ah. Do you happen to have any daebong persimmons in your field?”

I knew there was a persimmon tree because I received persimmons from the village chief’s field.

And that also means that there is a downside to it.

Because persimmons are made by removing the skin from the dried persimmons.

However, making Hongsi from large Daebong persimmons was sweeter and tastier than making Hongsi from regular dried persimmons.

It goes without saying that it was made with dried persimmons.

However, since the persimmon tree was of a different variety, it was highly likely that it would not be present in the village head’s field.

There is no need to grow two different varieties of persimmon trees.

“We don’t have any in our field?”

As expected, Lee Seon-ah shook her head.

It’s a pity, but should I try making regular persimmons into dried persimmons?

Still, it seemed sweet and tasty enough. It was also incredibly tasty when eaten as a persimmon.

“Oh, right! There’s a persimmon tree in our backyard too?”

“Huh? To a writer’s house?”

“Yes. I opened something a while ago and looked at it, and it felt like a persimmon.”

“okay?”

There was a persimmon tree in the backyard… … It wasn’t surprising since it was a common thing in the countryside.

However, since we are not growing fruit in earnest, it is difficult to really expect the taste.

So I was a little indifferent to Hansong’s words… … .

“Look at this.”

“uh?”

In the photo that Hansongi was showing off, there was a real persimmon tree. But that persimmon was… … a Daebong persimmon.

This is different.

It didn’t bear much fruit like the persimmon trees in the orchard, but I didn’t plan on making much anyway.

It would have been enough to give to Kim Ha-na, and to practice with and make for others before that, but there was just enough hanging from the persimmon tree in Hansongi’s backyard.

“Can I have this?”

“Of course! I’ll make it with this?”

“Just have a taste.”

“Oh! This will be fun… … Ah! But there’s one problem.”

“Problem? What problem?”

“Actually, I saw this and tried to pick it. But it was too high up, so I couldn’t pick it. I can’t climb the tree either.”

That could be the case.

Looking at the picture that Hansong showed, it was definitely a pretty big tree.

This doesn’t usually happen in orchards because the trees don’t grow this tall, but it’s a different story in the backyard of a house.

Rather, the bigger it is, the more the owner of the land will like it.

But there is no problem.

“are you okay.”

“Really?”

“There are many ways to get it.”

There were several.

Among them, I remembered the method I used when I was young.

That’s exactly what my grandfather did.

Connect long wooden sticks together to create a tall window sill.

By attaching a hook-like wire to the end, a tool that can easily reach high places is completed.

‘But we don’t have a persimmon tree at home, so why did you make this?’

I clearly remember picking persimmons and eating them.

It was really delicious.

But in our house, there was no persimmon tree like in Hansong House.

“ah.”

I remembered. It was frost.

My grandfather took me, when I was young, to pick persimmons from a persimmon tree in someone else’s yard.

By using a long pole, it was possible to do this even from outside the wall.

Persimmon trees were usually planted near fences.

Because it casts shade in the yard and its branches extend over the fence, it creates a rather peaceful scene.

That was the reason for planting such trees.

But it was Grandpa’s goal.

Somehow, thinking back, it seemed like it was a persimmon tree of Hansongi.

I vaguely remembered the location, the surrounding scenery, and the structure of the house, but the only thing that came to mind was Hansong House.

It was really delicious.

It was a ripe persimmon.

“… … Ahem. Let’s go get it.”

“This will be fun!”

Hansong, who didn’t know that fact, found it amusing.

Of course, since the owner wasn’t Han Song-i at the time anyway, even if I told him this now, his reaction wouldn’t have been much different from now.

Rather, if I said it was delicious, he would go and pick it together with me even faster.

“Just a moment. Let’s go and make some tools right away.”

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“For now? I’ll call you if I need anything. Oh, and bring me a basket later.”

“yes!”

Hansong-i made an excited expression.

But actually, I thought that I might have a similar expression to that one.

It was one of the few autumn memories I had from my childhood.

I remembered my childhood memories and the taste of delicious Daebong persimmons.

There was a time when I misused the stick and a persimmon fell on my head… … .

“But they say you have to leave a few at the top for the birds to eat in the winter.”

“That would be good. Let’s leave some after seeing how much we get.”

“great!”

So now I decided to make a real tool.

* * *

Among the wood that Mr. Heo Jeong gave, there was also bamboo.

The long, straight bamboo was perfect as a stick for picking persimmons.

The length was twice my height, if not more, so there was no need for extensions.

Because it was bamboo, it was strong and did not bend easily.

Thanks to that, I headed to Hansongi’s house with the easy-to-make persimmon picker.

“Oh my. Are you going to pick persimmons?”

“Oh, yes. I heard there’s a persimmon tree at home, so I’m going to go pick some.”

“Haha! It’s the same thing I did when I was young.”

Every elder I met as I passed through the village said something similar.

Was I like this when I was young?

I don’t remember that very well.

“Brother, what on earth did you do when you were young?”

“No, I didn’t install anything specifically.”

“Seon-ah said no?”

Lee Seon-ah, who was following behind with a camera, shook her head at Han Song-i’s words.

If you’re going to judge by the amount of things you’ve done, aren’t you doing more than me?

It was a little unfair, but I couldn’t argue with it because I had no evidence or memory.

I just quickened my pace.

I arrived at Hansong’s house before I ran into any more elders.

“The scenery is nice.”

“Right? It’s even better in the fall.”

After moving in, Hansong’s house continued to change its clothes with the seasons.

I guess it’s because it’s close to the mountain behind and because they used to run a cafe here, they took great care with the landscaping.

Of course, it was abandoned after business was over, so it was a bit of a ghost town at first.

Now that Hansongi has been organized, it looks very nice.

Especially when I wore colorful fall clothes, it felt like I was in a quiet house at the foot of a mountain.

“The persimmon tree is over there.”

I decided to leave the view of the house for now and head to the backyard to pick some persimmons.

As I walked around the annex, a small backyard appeared.

And one corner of the backyard surrounded by a stone wall.

There was a single persimmon tree that cast a shadow over the backyard and the annex.

‘It’s really big, huh?’

It felt bigger in person than it did in the photo.

Feeling towering above the ground?

Besides, since the tree was big, it didn’t feel like there were a lot of persimmons, but it still looked like there were quite a few.

“Will this reach you?”

“I don’t think I can reach the one at the end, but I said I’d give it to the magpies anyway.”

“yes yes!”

“Let’s pick one and taste it first.”

I looked up at the persimmon tree to see if there were any ripe persimmons.

None of the persimmons were fully ripe yet.

‘That sounds good.’

Still, I saw a few ripe, crimson ones.

The location was also just right.

He picked up the bamboo stick and took careful aim.

And he held a small branch with a rope attached to the end of the stick.

If we got this far, it was pretty much over.

However, if you turn it round and round and break a small branch, you can naturally harvest it without damaging the fruit.

There was no major damage to the tree, as only the branches holding the fruit were broken.

In winter, it dries up and falls off anyway.

anyway.

Now that I have some ripe persimmons in my hands, I decide to taste them right away.