I Quit My Job and Run a Café - Chapter 70



Only Krnovel

Episode 70

So you were crushed by the weight of guilt.

It may seem like people who steal from others are living well, but that isn’t necessarily the case.

I could have spent my entire life locked in a prison of my own making.

Of course, that may not be the case, but at least this guest seemed to be the former.

‘He must have been resting at the tiger shelter.’

Perhaps Grandfather’s tiger shelter also provided a special resting place.

Customers who experienced this would probably try to apply it to their own cafes.

Actually, it wasn’t a big deal. Tiger Shelter isn’t just a cafe.

No matter how hard you try to imitate the outside, you can’t get the exact same feeling.

The design, taste, and menu may be imitated, but the aura of this place is not something that can be imitated anywhere else.

‘There may be many places that are tastier or have a better atmosphere than this place… … .’

I am confident that there are few places that can touch your heart like this.

Besides, it was clear just from the fact that my grandfather had no reaction.

Although I was not a filial son who could understand my grandfather’s heart, I think I could guess it well enough.

From the beginning, he was a person who was more my way than I was. If there was a problem, he would have overturned it right away. He wasn’t the type of person to tolerate it.

What that means is that he didn’t really care.

Anyway, if that’s the case.

“Have you talked to your grandfather?”

“No. I was so sorry that I ran away and didn’t get to see you… … ”

It was a story of suffering alone. If only he had talked to his grandfather, he wouldn’t have suffered so much.

‘Only bad people can do bad things.’

Of course, that doesn’t mean we can say it’s good.

Anyway, it’s true that he did something that weighed on his conscience, and it’s also true that he caused various problems in the village. Even if that was his intention.

“Then did you apologize to the villagers? You said they caused trouble because of the noise and trash.”

I didn’t try to comfort him by saying that he would understand. In reality, my grandfather might have understood, but as a grandson, I was a little different.

If I had heard this news before I knew how special this cafe was, I probably would have thrown it away right away.

I would have been furious imagining my grandfather losing the cafe he had built with the money he had saved his entire life.

Just like why that customer felt guilty without knowing the details.

so.

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t done that yet… … .”

“Then let’s start with that first?”

First of all, I decided to give you a chance.

First, I would like to apologize to the parties still remaining.

“Now that I’m here, I wonder if it’s okay for me to do this… … .”

“You should do it now. Isn’t an apology about asking for forgiveness and trying to erase previous actions? It’s about reflecting on what you did wrong.”

“ah.”

At least that’s what I learned from my grandfather.

So if there was something I needed to apologize for, I apologized right away. Not to relieve my guilt, but to admit my wrongdoing and reflect on it.

But strangely enough, when I apologized like that, most people forgave me.

Even people with fiery tempers were like that.

So, first of all, an apology comes first.

The guest seemed to have noticed the meaning and remained silent for a moment, looking thoughtful. It wouldn’t be easy.

It might not be a good idea to apologize now, especially since I had already closed the cafe and left town.

But if I didn’t do it, the guilt and regret would never have a chance to go away.

So you must have come here to find out.

The worries were short.

It was natural that you had been worried all the way here.

The guest opened his mouth with a determined expression, as if he had made up his mind.

“… … Um, then can I use the kitchen for a moment?”

“sure.”

This is something I would rather recommend.

Thanks to Hansong, I visited each and every one of the villagers and gave them bread and drinks, and they loved it.

In that sense, wouldn’t it be better for both of us if we apologized, said hello, or did something?

I came into the kitchen with the guest.

Then, an additional line appeared in the guest’s text window.

─Nervousness, excitement.

It was a short piece, but it said it all.

There was still some guilt and regret in the text window, but this was enough. It was a sign that he was trying to take a step forward.

Because originally, the most important thing was one’s own will.

So I smiled without realizing it. Then, the customer who saw it said something to me.

“You look a lot like your grandfather.”

“I hear that a lot. I can’t agree with it though.”

“Is that so?”

The customer’s face, which had been gloomy until then, brightened a little as he entered the kitchen.

vocation.

It was a sight that made me think just like that.

“If you tell me the ingredients, I will find them for you.”

“Oh. Would you please do that? Then… … .”

This is my first time working as a kitchen assistant, and it wasn’t as difficult as I thought.

“But what are you going to make?”

“It’s tiramisu.”

“Oh? Why?”

“That’s what I ate when I first came here. That’s what I first learned from him.”

Tiramisu made by my grandfather… I’m a little curious.

The materials and method are probably the same, so will it be similar?

I felt like it would be a good idea to take a good look at it.

I didn’t originally allow you into the kitchen with this in mind, but…

‘I have a feeling this might be what the customer wants.’

Showing what you’ve tried and what you’ve learned from your grandfather.

Maybe he’s trying to apologize to his grandfather for the things he did to him.

“What I need is… … .”

I got the ingredients that were mentioned one by one.

Mascarpone cheese, heavy cream, eggs, condensed milk, cocoa powder, espresso, ladyfinger cookies.

‘I didn’t even know it existed because I’m not good at writing.’

Some were mixed in with those sent from the previous Phoenix Mart.

This is something I need to reflect on a bit. After all, it means that I wasn’t able to utilize all the materials I had.

“Can I have some espresso?”

“Yeah.”

While the customer was making the cream for the tiramisu, I took a shot. All the while, I kept an eye on the customer.

The sight of him handling the ingredients with a serious expression was familiar itself.

He said that he had tried it countless times until he became accustomed to it. There is no such thing as something that can be obtained for free.

Mascarpone cheese is quite moist, so you have to be careful when creaming it, but I did that perfectly.

Add a small amount of heavy cream to the cheese that has become moderately creamy?

Isn’t this in Grandpa’s recipe?

Actually, after deciding on tiramisu, I tried to recall my memories.

I had already memorized my grandfather’s recipe book so I could recall it quickly… …but here I found something a little different.

“Are you adding whipped cream?”

“Yes. It tastes better this way.”

Is it really true that he is the owner of a once bustling cafe for no reason?

Actually, that made it even more interesting. Because I could compare it to my grandfather’s original recipe.

Since they have also made some improvements, you can gain their know-how.

I continued to help, watching her gracefully moving fingertips.

The guest answered my questions leisurely and then went back to making the cream.

Add condensed milk and make it into cream again.

Just use the egg yolk for color and mix all the ingredients together.

This is just like my grandfather’s recipe.

“The coffee here still smells amazing. I’ve tried coffee here and there, but it’s hard to find a place as good as this one.”

“I guess it’s because the coffee beans were selected by my grandfather.”

The guest took a whiff of the espresso and closed his eyes for a moment, lost in thought.

But that was only for a moment.

Soak ladyfinger cookies in coffee to make them moist, then place them in a container.

Then, I put a generous amount of the cream I had prepared on top and topped it with ladyfinger cookies soaked in espresso.

I put more cream on it, filled it to the brim of the container, and then cut the cream flat.

Knock! Knock!

Finally, cover it with cocoa powder and let it cool to complete.

“Okay, shall we keep making it?”

Now I made several of these… …

* * *

I took out the cooled tiramisu.

The top was covered with fine cocoa powder, and the sides, visible thanks to the transparent container, had a pretty layer formed.

If you poke it lightly with a fork, it goes in smoothly!

I put it all the way to the bottom and took it out in bite-sized pieces.

The moist ladyfinger cookies were softer than the cake’s crust, almost like they were one mass with the cream, but when you put them in your mouth, you could definitely feel the different texture.

Cookies that have turned into bread are chewed between melted cream.

It is not unpleasant, but rather has a harmonious texture that blends in with the cream.

Moreover, the bitter taste of the moist coffee was balanced with the rich and sweet cream, so the taste itself was a harmony.

Just tiramisu with no special effects. But it’s delicious.

‘I feel healed even though I have no ability.’

The flavor created by the small amount of whipped cream added in the middle makes the taste more luxurious.

It wasn’t even difficult to make, and didn’t require many ingredients. It didn’t even require an oven…

‘It’s good value for money, isn’t it?’

That thought just comes out naturally.

Anyway, it was a competitive enough recipe.

furthermore.

‘I’ve seen a lot of cafe interiors.’

While I was working at the company, I didn’t personally do many projects related to this, but I still looked up a lot of information.

And I’ve seen the rise and fall of many such cafes. In that sense.

“It has all the makings of a good thing.”

The building and the surrounding scenery were satisfactory.

Of course, it looked good on the outside and had many shortcomings, but it would have been different if this recipe had been added.

It’s a pleasure for both the eyes and the mouth.

I thought that would be enough to make it worth coming here once to heal.

‘of course.’

As expected, it was different from Grandpa’s tiger shelter.

Because Tiger Shelter was more geared towards guests than the commercial side.

It wasn’t wrong. No, in general, this might be more correct.

It’s good for making money, and it also provides a kind of healing.

Although it is different from Tiger Shelter, this was also a good direction.

First of all, that recipe book.

Even at first glance, there were traces of a great deal of effort and dozens or hundreds of revisions.

The effort certainly gave him a chance to make up for his greed, his self-reproach, and his regrets about his conscience.

‘I wonder if even my grandfather would have done this.’

I don’t know because he is an unpredictable person.

Still, one thing is certain.

That the grandfather would have gladly made tiramisu for Kim Hye-joo, who had come to ask for forgiveness.

And the price for it is… … .

Kim Hye-joo appeared on the path. Her face was brighter than before.

Of course, it’s not complete yet.

What this meant was that the townspeople were willing to understand.

‘I guess I can return it now.’

I quickly ate all the remaining tiramisu.

The aftertaste was also very clean.

I guess I’ll have to try making this the grandfather way later.

In the meantime, Kim Hye-joo opened the door and came in.

So, I took out Kim Hye-joo’s recipe book that I got from what is now Hansong’s house. Then, I handed it to the woman who came to me.

“What is this?”

“I’m returning it to you. It’s yours.”

The hand holding the recipe book began to tremble as if he was realizing something from what I said.

And… … the aura of Kim Hye-joo, who had been suppressed by guilt and regret, burst into light.

As if breaking free from the chains that had bound him.

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