I Quit My Job and Open a Café

Purr~ Purr~

A small kitten sat on my lap and purred happily.

I gently stroked it and looked forward.

In front of me, a little girl sat on a chair, swinging her feet, looking at me.

She had very pale skin, making her small black hair stand out even more.

Her big, dark eyes looked like a cat’s. Her features were sharp and cute.

But… who cut her hair?

It was so perfectly straight.

It looked like a bowl cut.

Maybe the contrast between her white skin and black hair made it seem that way.

Anyway,

‘That scared me.’

Because of her hair, I got scared earlier in the day in the wooden corridor.

And now, I feel the same again.

Also…

“Who are you, Mister?”

“…I think I should be asking that.”

“It doesn’t matter who asks first if we don’t know each other, right?”

Wow, this kid speaks so clearly. Where did she learn that?

Anyway, this was the third time I heard this question today.

I kept running into her.

Like she was following me.

But that couldn’t be.

So, there was only one answer.

“Do you know Grandfather? Grandfather Chun Kang-sik?”

“Yes!”

I knew it.

She must have known Grandfather.

“Then why are you here, Mister? This is Grandfather’s place.”

“…I am Grandfather’s grandson.”

The girl tilted her head, not understanding.

Why?

“You are?”

“I— yeah. I’m the grandson of the old man who owned this place.”

To a kid who was maybe just starting elementary school, I was definitely a ‘Mister.’

Still, hearing it directly made me feel a little sad.

“Grandfather said his grandson was really cute, though…”

I ignored that comment.

“What about you?”

“Me? I’m Baek Soo-ah! A cute 11-year-old. My dream is to be an idol! My MBTI is a strong ENFP!”

“…Oh. Okay.”

I didn’t really ask for all that.

“What’s with that reaction? Mister, you’re a T, right?”

MBTI again.

I heard about it so much that I understood it easily. But hearing it from a kid was new.

“You know about that?”

“Of course! Grandfather was an ENFP too.”

Well, Mister doesn’t really care about that.

And I didn’t want to know Grandfather’s MBTI either…

I thought about saying something, but seeing her talk so excitedly, I let it go.

But this girl… she was so friendly.

Just like the kitten sleeping on my lap, she acted like she knew me for a long time.

Had I seen her before?

Now that I thought about it, she was at Grandfather’s funeral.

I didn’t talk to her then, though.

Maybe that’s why she seemed familiar.

Still, dealing with a kid wasn’t easy.

“Oh! This is Rangi. Ho-Rang. I named it because of its unique fur. Cool, right?”

“…Sure.”

She even introduced the cat.

She named it ‘Ho-Rang’ because its fur looked like a tiger.

Wasn’t that a bit too simple?

But it strangely suited it.

How interesting.

“Mister.”

“Hmm?”

I was only half-paying attention to her talking when she suddenly called me.

Did she notice?

“If you’re Grandfather’s grandson, then are you the new owner now?”

“…Not yet.”

“Oh! Not yet? Why? So, this place won’t open again?”

“Uh, well… It’s not decided yet.”

“Then will it open?”

“That’s not—”

“Then what? You’re a T, right?”

Getting bombarded with questions was a first. And the questions were all over the place.

“What’s that?”

“This? I made it earlier.”

She pointed at the drink I had made.

“By the color… is it Mint Choco Frappe? Right?”

“Mint… Frappe? Oh, yeah. It’s a mint drink.”

“I love that! Grandfather made it so well! You can make it too?”

Was it because she was a kid? She kept jumping between topics.

I felt exhausted just talking to her.

If this kept going, I didn’t know how long it would last.

I had to change the subject.

“Do you want one?”

“Yes!”

Perfect excuse.

I couldn’t just send away a kid who knew Grandfather.

I’d give her a drink and send her off.

Carefully, I moved the kitten off my lap and stood up.

Then, to the kitchen.

The ingredients were still out, so I didn’t need to search.

“Here.”

“Wow! That was fast!”

I just wanted to keep her mouth busy.

No one can talk while drinking.

This should quiet her down.

Then I could send her off.

The sun would set soon, and I needed to leave too.

Gulp! Gulp!

Soo-ah drank the drink eagerly.

But why was I getting nervous?

It was nothing special… Ah.

‘Wait. This is the first time I gave my drink to someone else.’

I had made this myself.

And now, she was drinking it.

What would she say?

‘It’s not like I’m selling it.’

Still, I felt anxious.

As I waited for her reaction—

“Wow! It’s delicious! Surprisingly!”

“What?”

“You didn’t seem like you could cook.”

“…That’s just a stereotype.”

“No, it’s based on data. My brother, who has the same expression as you, is terrible at cooking.”

She sure knew a lot of fancy words.

But calling that ‘data-based’ with just one example?

I had a lot to say, but I didn’t feel like arguing.

More importantly—

“You mean, it’s good?”

“Yes! Really good!”

“How does it compare to Grandfather’s?”

“Hmm…”

Why did I ask that?

I didn’t know.

I was just curious.

I never got to try Grandfather’s drink.

And maybe, just maybe, I wanted to win.

I wanted to beat Grandfather, who had secretly planned this behind my back.

I also wanted recognition.

It was complicated.

“Grandfather’s was sweet but refreshing. Yours is refreshing but sweet.”

“…Oh?”

“You understand what I mean?”

Roughly.

I used mint powder, and Grandfather probably used fresh mint.

So, mine had a stronger sweetness, and his had a stronger freshness.

She was surprisingly accurate for a kid.

“But both are tasty!”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

Seeing her enjoy it made me feel warm inside.

Like something tickled my heart.

It was a strange feeling.

Like electricity.

Like the wind passing through.

‘Where have I felt this before?’

It seemed familiar.

But before I could think more—

“Baek Soo-ah! You’re skipping homework again! Come out now!”

“Ah! It’s my brother! Mister, say I’m not here!”

Before I could respond, everything became a mess.

A boy’s voice shouted from outside.

And Soo-ah suddenly hid behind me.

Even the kitten did too.

I turned to look.

“That’s your brother?”

“Yes… Shh! He’ll hear!”

Soo-ah…

Hiding only your head doesn’t mean you’re hidden.

And as I expected, her brother was already looking straight at us.

A school uniform. A young face.

Short hair, unlike Soo-ah, but they looked very similar.

Sharp features.

‘He’s pretty good-looking.’

Tall, nice proportions.

Like a school uniform model.

Both siblings had great visuals.

But unlike the lively Soo-ah, he had a serious face.

I guess chasing after a sister who ran away would make you like that.

“Oh?”

And then, she lifted her head and met my eyes.

Now she finally noticed me.

She must have been so focused on Soo-ah that she didn’t think anyone else would be here.

‘Seeing this, Soo-ah must have come here very often.’

At least enough for her brother to assume she would be hiding here.

“Ah, Grandfather’s grandson… Are you the one? I saw you before.”

“Oh. Maybe at the funeral?”

“Yes. My name is Baek Suho. But how did you… Ah! I’m sorry for shouting earlier. I thought no one was here.”

He is handsome and polite.

So, he was at Grandfather’s funeral too. I didn’t notice back then, but now that I see his school uniform, I think I remember.

“It’s okay. Did you come to find your sister?”

“Ah! Yes! Baek Soo-ah! When did you even go in there?! I told you, now that Grandfather is gone, you can’t go in there anymore!”

When I said that, he seemed to remember why he was here and shouted at Soo-ah again.

This time, Soo-ah poked her head out and shouted back.

“No! I’m coming! Grandfather said I could!”

“That was when Grandfather was here! He’s not here anymore!”

“Even if Grandfather isn’t here, the café is still here, so it’s fine!”

“It’s going to disappear soon, so no, you can’t!”

The siblings started arguing fiercely, with me in between.

“And Baek Soo-ah! Who told you to talk like that? I told you not to shout!”

“You’re shouting too!”

“You!”

The kids started running around me in circles.

They were shouting and going back and forth so much that it was overwhelming. It even gave me a slight headache.

“Stop!”

So, I stopped them. As soon as I spoke firmly, they both froze.

“Kids, if you want to argue, can you do it outside? You’re making a mess.”

“Ah….”

They finally seemed to realize where they were. The kitchen floor was already full of footprints.

No matter how mature they tried to act, they were still just kids.

“Okay….”

“…I’m sorry.”

Looking down sadly, they walked out.

I didn’t mean to make them feel bad…

But it was necessary.

Otherwise, we would have stayed here until sunset.

I sighed lightly and started cleaning the kitchen.

I washed the two glass cups I used earlier and placed them on the tray.

I grabbed a rag from the corner and wiped the dirt-covered kitchen floor clean.

Lastly, I used a cloth to wipe down the counter.

‘Hmm, looks nice.’

After a round of cleaning, I felt much better.

There’s a reason people clean whenever they feel stressed, like during exam season.

Moving my body helped clear my mind and made me feel at ease.

After finishing the cleaning, I stepped outside.

“Huh? You didn’t leave?”

“Um… Sorry, mister.”

“I’m sorry.”

Baek Soo-ah and Baek Suho were still there, waiting for me, apologizing again.

Wow, wherever they’re from, their family taught them well.

This makes it hard to scold them.

“It’s okay. Just don’t do that inside the shop anymore, okay?”

“Okay….”

“Good. It’s getting late, so…”

I smiled at them.

“Shall we go down together?”

“Yes!”

Since there was only one path, it would be weird to go separately, so we walked together.

Luckily, they didn’t seem upset, so I felt calm too.

“Do you guys live in that village?”

“Yes! Right next to Grandfather’s house!”

“Ohh.”

That’s why I saw them over the fence that time.

We walked down the forest path, chatting.

Mostly, I talked with the now-cheerful Soo-ah, and thanks to that, I learned a lot about the village and the café.

“Grandfather once made a drink for the first time, and it tasted terrible! But I told him it was good. I thought he’d cry if I said no.”

“Oh! And there was a snake! Grandfather ran away so fast! Hehe! Mister, are you scared of snakes? Rangi caught it in the end.”

“Last summer, the place was all sparkly at night, so we laid out a mat and lay down there. Big Sis Oriole sang for us. But you know, Grandfather is really bad at singing, right?”

Listening to them, I realized there were so many stories about the café and Grandfather.

Even I felt warm inside just hearing them.

Since the village had nothing much, Grandfather’s café was practically the kids’ playground and resting place.

It made sense why Soo-ah felt that way about Grandfather.

“Oh? We’re here!”

Before I knew it, we had reached the bridge leading to the village.

Going up was so tiring, but coming down felt so easy.

Weird.

Did my body get lighter?

Maybe it was just my imagination.

Anyway, it was time to part ways.

“This place won’t disappear right away, so you can come by sometimes. I still have things to sort out. But remember, like I said, you have to stay quiet when you visit, okay? No yelling or running.”

“Yay!”

“Yes, thank you. Soo-ah, say thank you to mister first.”

“Hehe! Thank you, mister!”

She looked so happy.

Seeing Soo-ah bouncing around and Suho bowing his head, I couldn’t help but smile.

Waaaang!

Because Soo-ah was jumping, Rangi, who was in her arms, let out a loud squeak.

That made me burst into laughter.

It was my first time laughing out loud since Grandfather passed away.

* * *

After saying goodbye to the siblings, I went back home and fell onto my bed.

I didn’t realize how tired I was.

Now that I think about it, I had barely slept the past few nights, then went to town and the café today.

No wonder I was exhausted.

But I couldn’t fall asleep.

I thought about organizing Grandfather’s things, but…

‘I’ll do it later.’

I didn’t want to move right now.

There was no rush.

I am unemployed now anyway.

Lying there with my eyes open…

‘It’s quiet.’

I suddenly noticed it.

Maybe it felt even quieter because things were so noisy earlier.

The silent house and the quiet village.

Grandfather must have felt lonely.

Or maybe not?

He probably didn’t stay home much.

He must have been out meeting people.

Oh, is that why he opened the café?

Knowing Grandfather, that made sense.

‘Oh, right. I brought Grandfather’s notebook from the café.’

My thoughts naturally went there.

I didn’t even need to look for the notebook.

It was still in my hand.

I had been holding it since I left the café but had forgotten about it.

Let’s take another look…

Thud!

Carelessly holding it, I accidentally dropped the photo inside.

It was a picture of Grandfather, the café, and many people.

Among them were Soo-ah and Suho.

A thought crossed my mind.

Do other people also have as many memories of the café as those two?

And what about Grandfather, who was at the center of it all…?

What does it feel like to build memories like that?

I suddenly remembered Soo-ah’s reaction when she drank the drink I made.

‘It might be fun.’