I Quit My Job and Run a Café - Chapter 262



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Quitting the Company and Opening a Cafe Episode 262

The medicine was delicious.

Should I say it’s chewy and crunchy? It seemed to have a better texture because it was freshly made.

It was a stroke of genius that it was still crispy because it hadn’t been fried in oil for long.

“This is my first time eating something freshly made.”

“That’s right. I thought it was only made in medicine and factories.”

Same goes for me.

If it weren’t for the tiger shelter, would I have thought of making something like this?

Seeing Hansongi already eating her second one, I grabbed another one too.

This was a real delicacy.

“Did you do the preparation yourself?”

“yes.”

“It tastes somehow delicious.”

Su-ah gave her grandmother a thumbs-up sign, something she often does.

The sweetness was just right. There are some sweets that are so sweet that they almost make your mouth feel dry, but this one wasn’t like that.

It was just the right amount of sweetness.

That’s because the homemade syrup did its job.

Of course, it wasn’t me who made the soup, it was my grandmother’s. Since I just made it with the ingredients I had, the taste is almost entirely my grandmother’s.

“It would be perfect if we just had coffee.”

“Let’s have some coffee when we get back to the cafe.”

“Okay~”

I really wanted to try making this at a cafe sometime.

I think Sua would like it if I made it for her.

‘It goes well with milk, too.’

That might be more appropriate than coffee.

If I had known this would happen, I would have given milk to Lee Gyu-seung too.

Well, I guess it doesn’t matter now.

The aura that Lee Gyu-seung had been giving off earlier flowed out.

It was a clear aura.

The medicine definitely seems to be working, as the dull aura that was flowing out of the room is no longer visible.

There’s no need to interrupt me now to give you some milk.

I don’t know if it will be different then, but when you really have the courage to come out on your own, then it will be different.

‘Not today.’

It will still take more courage.

And it wasn’t up to us to wait for that.

“What time is it now?”

“Huh? Oh. It’s about 8 o’clock now.”

“I guess I should go soon.”

“I guess so? It’s a shame~”

I glanced at the time and prepared to get up.

Grandpa and Grandma said I could go to sleep, but it was already too late after I brought Hansongi home.

I should get up and go now.

“Then let’s go. You had a really good meal today.”

“I’m glad you ate well. We are grateful too.”

“Come to the cafe next time. Here… … This is a coupon and a business card. If you contact me, I will find out the way and tell you how to get there.”

“Haha! Okay. I’ll go there sometime.”

Finally, I gave him my business card and got in the car.

As I got in the car, I realized once again that this was a special vacation. It felt like I was visiting my hometown.

“Shall we go and see?”

“Yes! But oppa, isn’t it too late? If you drop me off, it’ll probably be dawn.”

“I’m not tired, so I’m okay.”

“Don’t you want to sleep over at my house?”

“huh?”

“There are a lot of rooms at my parents’ house, so it’s okay. Mom and Dad won’t really care.”

“Um… … No. There’s also Rangi, but he’s a nuisance.”

“It’s okay.”

I was grateful for Hansong’s words, but declined.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m tired, but I wasn’t like that at all.

And above all, there were many things to check when returning to the cafe.

Ledgers, diaries, and rosary beads.

I also had to organize the essence of karma.

Above all, it was a nuisance to suddenly show up at such a late hour and ask to stay overnight.

Hansongya says it’s okay, but her family probably won’t.

“Oh, right. Su-ah sent me a picture earlier.”

“That’s right! Isn’t Su-ah really cute?”

I changed the subject briefly.

If we’re talking about Suah, there’s a lot more to talk about.

The road ahead was still long, but as we talked about Suah, it seemed like we would get there in no time.

* * *

Lee Gyu-seung was afraid of the outside.

Because it was always noisy outside.

It was right outside where every day was filled with the sounds of fighting, things breaking, yelling, and screaming.

Only the room he hid in was safe, and only one person could open that room.

‘Gyu-seung. Were you scared? Eat this.’

The door opens an hour or two after the fighting has stopped.

Outside, it was still a mess, but the medicine on the plate was blooming beautifully.

‘I’m sorry, Gyu-seung.’

Even when he heard his mother’s voice crying while putting down the plate and hugging him, Lee Gyu-seung did not cry along with him.

Because it’s going to happen again anyway.

So I decided not to cry.

But… … Now that I think about it, I should have just cried.

He said he was scared and wished his mom had stayed by his side. If she had, she wouldn’t have left him like that.

If only she had held on to herself a little more, she would have been a mother who wouldn’t have left her behind.

Not knowing it was the last… … .

His mother left him in vain.

That too, forever.

After that, Lee Gyu-seung decided not to go outside.

After all, he was abandoned by the scary world outside that room.

So, I lived a life of complete isolation, except for my grandparents taking turns bringing me food in the room.

And then, as time went on, I found myself unable to go outside.

Even just opening the door for a moment made my heart pound and I broke out in a cold sweat.

Yes, it’s not that I haven’t gone out yet, it’s that I can’t go out anymore.

I could hear my grandfather and grandmother sighing outside, but I couldn’t go out.

When he occasionally said that he didn’t have much time even for his grandparents, he thought of his mother who had left him behind, but he still couldn’t go out.

Then, a change occurred for Lee Gyu-seung when he was watching YouTube like he always did.

I discovered that the owner of the gaming channel I originally liked had created a separate daily life channel.

I wasn’t interested in daily vlogs because they weren’t fun, so I wasn’t going to watch them, but the number of views was surprisingly high, so I ended up watching them without realizing it.

And Lee Kyu-seung became a total fan of that channel.

Sometimes, when I received a bad comment, I would immediately go and write a rebuttal along with a message of support.

I started to get worried when it didn’t come up for a long time.

I don’t know why. It just happened that way.

This is a video taken with the scenery that Lee Gyu-seung can see when he goes outside his room as the background… … .

Why is it so peaceful there?

It’s always been a noisy and scary place outside, so why is it different there?

The videos were filled with laughter and peaceful scenes.

It was unbelievable.

But then something even more unbelievable happened. The voice that often appeared in the videos came from right outside the room.

‘What’s that voice?’

Male voice and female voice.

Both were often heard in videos.

It was confirmed because he was a local friend of the channel owner.

I wonder if grandma and grandpa are watching this video too? But it seems odd.

Because it was the sound of four people talking.

I suddenly became curious. What is it like outside?

So I opened the door without knowing it.

Even though I couldn’t go out, I could hear the sounds coming from outside.

In fact, this was even my first time doing this.

It’s like someone opened the door themselves without anyone else opening it.

“It’s so delicious.”

“It’s really true!”

The murmur of noise became more clear.

Those voices were right.

But how do people get here?

Why~?

“Huh!?”

Even Langi, Baekgu’s friend who appears frequently in the video, came knocking on his door with his head.

That leopard-like pattern.

Clear eyes.

And the soft feel of it rubbing against your legs.

It wasn’t a dream.

It really was that cat, Rangi.

I reached out and stroked the sight of her staring at me intently.

Gorung~ Gorung~

The sound that he only makes when he feels good vibrated through his hand and reached his ears.

What is this?

It was my first time feeling like this.

A feeling of peace, neither fearful nor anxious.

“Langi?”

Why~

I covered my mouth with my other hand as I saw her react as if she knew my name.

How can this happen?

I couldn’t believe it.

But it was hard to believe that the warmth transmitted through the hands was real.

The video played automatically on the screen.

A scene is shown of Rangi rolling around in fallen leaves.

But that bastard was just rolling around in his room right now.

“ah!”

I picked up Rangi, who was trying to roll around in a hurry.

Without even knowing it.

Because the floor was dirty because of the trash. The fallen leaves would have been cleaner.

Of course, my grandparents cleaned it up periodically, but they didn’t do it very cleanly or often because they didn’t want to.

So I couldn’t just let Rangi roll around, so I held him in my arms…

Go-rong~ Go-rong~

Either way, Langi kept yawning and kneading in his arms.

“Ahhh.”

I was overcome with emotions that I didn’t know what to say.

I sometimes feel like the world would just stop.

But that time didn’t last long.

The sound of people grew distant, and after a while, Rangi quickly escaped from my arms and went out through the open gap in the door.

chin!

I unconsciously tried to chase after it and stopped in front of the door.

Just thinking about going out makes me tremble and a cold sweat breaks out on my spine.

I can’t go out.

He couldn’t get out of here.

At first it was his own will, but now it is not.

It got to the point where I couldn’t go out even if I wanted to.

For the first time, Lee Gyu-seung felt ashamed of himself.

But then!

“hmm?”

I made eye contact with a stranger through the crack in the door.

It was my first time seeing that face, but I felt like I knew who it was.

The young cafe owner who appears on the Seon-a Daily Channel.

It was definitely that guy.

This was purely a feeling.

Because I only know the voice, not the face.

But I could tell from the feeling in his voice that it was also reflected in his face.

That’s the guy.

widely!

As soon as I realized it, I ran inside without even realizing it.

He was a person who lived in a different world from me.

I was overcome with fear that something big would change when we met.

“I’ll bring this over, so you eat outside first.”

“No. It’s just for a moment. I’ll wait, so give me this and then we can go out and eat together.”

Just then, after confirming the voice, the grandmother came inside cautiously.

Then he glanced at himself and put the plate down with a pitiful expression.

“This is your favorite medicine. Since you haven’t eaten properly, will you eat this? Okay?”

“… … .”

“Okay. I’ll leave it behind.”

Although he didn’t say anything, his grandmother seemed to understand and left him there.

I stared at the remaining medicine and plate.

My grandmother’s medicine was different from my mother’s. Maybe that’s why it wasn’t tasteless, but strangely, I couldn’t eat my grandmother’s medicine.

This would be the same.

… … But I guess I’ll try one anyway.

To calm down my surprised mind.

I ate one without much expectation, just to calm my startled heart, like when my mom did it to me after my dad fought outside the room when I was little.

however…….

“uh?”

Why?

This definitely tasted just like what my mom used to make.

A sweet confection with a subtle pomegranate and cinnamon flavor.

One, two.

The pharmacy was quickly emptied.

For the first time, Lee Gyu-seung stared blankly at the empty plate.

It was a plate that was only emptied when my mother was there… … .

Then suddenly this thought occurred to me.

I was left abandoned, alone, with a plate of medicine.

I regret that if I had followed my mother out at that time, things might have been different.

Of course, things are different now than they were then… … .

At that moment, I stood up without realizing it and grabbed the door.

Up to this point it wasn’t difficult.

One step from here.

That was difficult.

“Phew─.”

But this time… … I took a deep breath and took a step too easily.

And then, without even being able to be surprised, he saw two people looking at him with surprised eyes.

* * *

Moonlight also softly illuminated the surroundings at the tiger shelter.

Finally arrived at dawn.

“Is it because my rhythm is broken? I can’t sleep.”

So instead of going home, I came to a cafe.

I came inside and blankly stared at the moonlight streaming in through the window. It was a great way to blank out.

Is it because my body isn’t tired, but my head feels tired?

The moment when the events of the day unfolded in my mind like a panorama.

─Turju! What are we going to do about this?

Sujeong’s voice broke my distracting thoughts.

Yeah, there was still work to do.

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