I Quit My Job and Run a Café - Chapter 288



Only Krnovel

Quitting the company and opening a cafe Episode 288

A situation that no words can comfort. Isn’t that the exact same situation for that customer right now?

I couldn’t think of any comfort I could give.

The wood in the wood stove simply burned, as if only the sound of burning wood could comfort her now.

And the guest who had been wailing until just now looked at it.

‘The engagement was broken off… ‘

As with all other crimes, marriage fraud seemed to be the worst of the worst.

Because it’s playing with people’s hearts.

All I wanted was a happy life, but this was an act of completely denying that.

In short, it is a fraud that denies life.

So it was clear that he must have been under enormous mental stress.

Even marriage is not something that is just for one person, but something that involves family, relatives, and even everyone around one.

But you got scammed?

This inevitably creates many difficulties in the victim’s interpersonal relationships.

Even if everyone tried to comfort him, it probably wouldn’t be comforting.

‘It’s difficult, it’s difficult.’

Among those who found the tiger shelter, where was the easy condition?

This was another kind of difficulty.

Knock! Knock!

The guest who had been wailing loudly seemed to be doing a good job, as he just stared blankly at the flames.

Then, as if possessed, he approached the wood-burning stove.

‘huh?’

I wondered if I could just leave it there.

It seems like a simple action to put in firewood, but it makes me worry for nothing.

Fortunately, the guest opened the door to the wood-burning stove without incident and took something out.

It was a sweet potato wrapped in aluminum foil.

It was a small sweet potato, so I thought it would be fully ripe by now.

By the way, I can smell sweet potatoes. I didn’t notice it because I was busy taking care of the customers, but before I knew it, the sweet and delicious smell was filling the cafe.

‘So that’s why you took it out.’

The customer, as if possessed, peeled off the foil and soon even peeled the ripe sweet potatoes.

Then, the sweet potato’s appearance is revealed.

It was the sweet potato I put in earlier.

But it wasn’t an ordinary sweet potato. It had yellow, slightly transparent flesh. It was a honey sweet potato.

‘Grandma gave me some sweet potato seedlings.’

Well, he said that these days, people don’t plant sweet potatoes very often. They say they don’t sell well.

This is something I heard from Kang Seok.

When I told him that I was thinking about what to plant in my garden, he started talking about various things and the topic of sweet potatoes even came up.

Of course, this was something I had already said after I bought the sweet potato seedlings, so I couldn’t go back…

I guess the old lady from the seed shop took care of it for me. Or was that all there was to it?

‘Thank you, me.’

It’s not as sweet as I thought because it’s not fully ripened yet, but it’s still sweeter than a regular sweet potato. The yellow flesh is unusual.

The guest seemed to have the same thought, staring blankly into the sweet potato.

Then, as if possessed, I put my mouth on the still steaming sweet potato.

“Oh, it’s hot!?”

Of course it’ll be hot.

I clicked my tongue at the sight of the startled customer and quietly poured a glass of milk into the glass.

And he handed it to the customer who was eating a sweet potato while blowing on it.

“Oh! Thank you.”

“Eat slowly. If you eat too quickly, your mouth will get dry.”

“Yes… … I ate something too quickly and got sick again.”

Why did you have to do that just because you ate a sweet potato in a hurry?

It was a bit absurd to see him blaming himself, but judging from his expression, it seemed like the sweet potatoes weren’t the problem.

“When I first met him, I really thought I could live with him for the rest of my life. I’m not young, and I’m old, so I don’t know what I was captivated by. Everything he said was so sweet, and even though everyone was trying to stop me, I pushed through… … .”

“It’s a matter of results. I think there are people who live well that way.”

“Is that so? But I believed that too. I jumped in like a moth to a flame, not knowing that it was a pit of fire. When you get to my age, you get pressured to get married from all sides. And when I see my friends who are married, I get jealous… … .”

If we were to guess the customer’s age, it would be in the mid to late 30s. It was definitely an age where there would be pressure to get married.

Of course, these days, there are many people who ignore such things and live their lives.

In the first place, there are many people around me who don’t say anything.

But of course, it was impossible for it to not exist at all. And ignoring it is only possible for someone who has no immediate plans to get married. If they were thinking about getting married, they would be even more concerned.

“I wanted to get married and there was a romantic side to it.”

“ah.”

“That’s why I think it was even more so. I felt like if not now, I wouldn’t be able to do it… … Why is it that he’s the one who makes all my dreams come true?”

“That’s just how scammers are.”

“That’s right. I can see it now, but I couldn’t see it back then because I was wearing it.”

That’s right. Originally, when you look back on a scam, you wonder why you were fooled, but at the time, you couldn’t see it.

Because the scammers cover it all up.

So when you hear stories of people being scammed, you wonder, “Why did they get scammed like that?”

And even that hurts the victim of the scam, even though it’s the scammer who is at fault.

“Anyway, I ruined my life by chasing after romance.”

but.

“Is that going to ruin your life?”

“yes?”

“Are sweet potatoes delicious?”

“Yes? It’s delicious, isn’t it…?”

The customer tilted his head as if to ask what I was trying to say.

I didn’t mean to say anything grand. I was just saying this because I remembered you eating sweet potatoes earlier.

“Just eat and cheer up. Even if it’s hot and your mouth is chapped for a moment, it’ll taste good after it cools down a bit. You’ll quickly forget how hot it was. If you drink a glass of milk, you’ll be fine, right?”

Maybe it’s because it’s not my job that I can say this so easily.

But isn’t it necessary to say it so lightly?

It’s comforting to hear everyone seriously ask if I’m okay.

Above all, this was the only consolation I could give.

“That’s right. Even though I burned the roof of my mouth while eating sweet potatoes so hurriedly, sweet potatoes still taste good. For someone whose life has been ruined, you ate really well, right? You even ate pizza a little while ago. They say even dogs lose their appetite when they’re sick, but since I don’t, I guess I’m still okay.”

“yes?”

No, why is the comparison to a dog?

Although it was absurd, the customer who was smiling and talking seemed to be in much better condition than before.

“I guess I’ll have to eat this and then go beat that guy up.”

“yes?”

“If you think about it, it’s all his fault, right?”

“Is that so?”

Could it be an illusion that the guest’s aura seems to be burning brightly?

I think it’s better than having symptoms of bipolar disorder like before, but I’m not sure if it’s okay.

Why is it hotter than a wood stove?

“This isn’t the time to be doing this. I need to cancel the restaurant reservation and get a refund for everything I can… … Do you like traveling, sir?”

“yes?”

“Other than that, I’m worried about wasting my plane ticket and hotel reservation. If I cancel now, I won’t get half of it back. If it’s okay with you, boss, I can give you this for a third of the price! Then it’ll be good for you and me. It’ll be cheaper than most special offers. And it’s even business class.”

“… … It’s okay. I don’t have any travel plans right now.”

The guest made a regretful expression.

Is this guy really okay? He’s so spontaneous.

“I was just asking. You don’t have to take it too seriously. Phew!”

“ah.”

Luckily it was a joke. Me again.

“Oh, of course I’m serious. If you have any travel plans for early next year, let me know. I’ll give it to the boss at a discount.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for the guest to go with a friend? It doesn’t have to be a honeymoon. Or, it would be okay to go with one of your parents.”

“I thought about it too, and it seems like it might be like that. It makes me think of that guy for no reason… … And most of all! I think my romanticism has already been satisfied with your pizza. Is this Italian?”

“Yes. Well, I did a good imitation. But it’s still different from the mainland.”

“It’s okay. I don’t think it would suit my taste just because it’s from the mainland. Oh, of course it was delicious.”

The customer said while holding a wrapped pizza.

At that sight, the customer’s aura completely cleared and permeated the cafe.

And some of them even went into the wood stove.

Hurrruk!

For a moment, the flames flared up greatly, but then returned to normal.

“I think this is better. Thank you so much for asking for it today. It was a bit much.”

“No, you can just rest and go.”

“I feel like I’m going to have a really good rest. It’s also my first time doing a fire drill.”

Oh, is this your first time doing that? Somehow.

The guest left with a smile, as if he was having a really good rest.

Oh, and he also said this at the end.

“I think I prefer pizza with lots of toppings on top, and lots of sauce and cheese. K─Should I say I’ve become accustomed to pizza? Thanks to you, I’ve broken one of my fantasies and one of my regrets!”

This didn’t seem like mania, but rather a natural tension.

The place where the guests left after vividly expressing their tastes.

“The scammers are the problem. The scammers.”

Especially in this customer’s case, he was scammed even emotionally… … Fortunately, he originally had a cheerful personality, and he came and shook it off before his mental illness got any worse.

Anyway, it seemed like there were all kinds of things going on in the world.

Hearing about things I had only heard about on the news or from people around me made me realize how real they are.

This was especially true because I had already seen people get hurt and harmed by such scammers several times.

“I hope the punishment is severe.”

Fortunately, the guests rested well here and left, so that’s all that’s left now.

By the way… … .

“What are you?”

I turned my gaze to the wood-burning stove that had absorbed the guests’ aura.

Clearly something had absorbed the aura inside the wood-burning stove.

But now I can’t see it again.

─Sujeong saw it!

“Huh? Did you see it?”

─Yeah, yeah! There are seeds over there!

“… … seeds? What seeds?”

─Seed of Fire!

“There’s something like that in the wood stove?”

─Yeah, yeah!

At that time, Soo-Jung said that she saw it this time.

Judging from the way you’re all making a fuss, it looks like you’ve really seen it.

But the seed of fire? What is that?

─The seed of fire is the seed of fire?

“… … Is that so?”

─Yeah! When the seed grows, it can become like a crystal!

“Huh? Like you? Then you’re a spirit?”

─That’s right!

My head rang with a ding at Soo-Jung’s words.

It was one of the things I expected, but it was even more surprising when I actually heard it.

An object possessed by a spirit.

Even the spirits that were just being born.

“So, it’s a state right before the spirit is born?”

─Yeah, yeah!

“… … seeds? What seeds?”

─Seed of Fire!

“There’s something like that in the wood stove?”

─Yeah, yeah!

At that time, Soo-Jung said that she saw it this time.

Judging from the way you’re all making a fuss, it looks like you’ve really seen it.

But the seed of fire? What is that?

─The seed of fire is the seed of fire?

“… … Is that so?”

─Yeah! When the seed grows, it can become like a crystal!

“Huh? Like you? Then you’re a spirit?”

─That’s right!

My head rang with a ding at Soo-Jung’s words.

It was one of the things I expected, but it was even more surprising when I actually heard it.

An object possessed by a spirit.

Even the spirits that were just being born.

“So, it’s a state right before the spirit is born?”

─Yeah, yeah!

“So when will you be born?”

─Euuum. I don’t know! They’re all different! I don’t know because the seeds are completely hidden!

I asked Soo-Jung more about the spirit in the wood stove, but she didn’t know anything more than that.

All they said was that if you keep giving off aura, you’ll be born someday.

But there’s no way to guess when that will happen. It could even take hundreds of years.

“Is there such a spirit?”

─Yeah! There are a lot!

Well, even if it’s just Sujeong, isn’t it that kind of spirit?

By the way, it’s a wood burning stove with a spirit in it…

‘I hope that spirit is something like Crystal. What if it’s a spirit that sets fire to things like that?’

I was looking forward to it, but also a little worried.

When you’re scared of fire, it’s really scary.

Even the smallest fire could not be easily ignored.

─It’s okay! You’re good to be here!

“Huh? Here?”

─Yeah! If you grow up eating the energy that Turju gives you, you’ll resemble Turju!

“… … You grow by eating my energy?”

─Of course! This place is full of the energy of the earth!

I see

Come to think of it, you absorbed aura earlier too, right?

Even though it came from a guest, I guess it’s considered mine.

Because I got away from the customers and flowed into the cafe.

“… … I have to be careful.”

A spirit of fire? A spirit of the hearth? Anyway, if that guy is to be born without being crooked.

Since he’s hiding his true self now, I decided not to pretend to know him.

Besides that, there was another thing I learned. This was also something I had expected… … .

“It’s true that talent isn’t being absorbed.”

This guest made it clear.

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