I Quit My Job and Open a Café

It took a long time to finish organizing.

After saving the memo and looking around the café…

Luckily, the customer had finally finished drinking and resting.

She even ordered a takeout drink.

“Your drink is ready.”

“Yes! Thank you!”.

The customer took the drink, bowed, and held the door handle.

Then—stop! She suddenly turned around and shouted.

“Boss! I had such a good rest! I’ll come again next time!”

“…Thank you.”

She said she had rested well in a bright voice.

She really did look full of energy.

Come to think of it, was that her real voice?

Before, it was rough and broken, like a mole coming out of the ground.

She couldn’t talk well, and her face looked strange.

But after drinking the beverage, the dark energy around her disappeared, and she became much brighter.

Of course, her overly cheerful attitude was a bit strange, but still…

‘The drink’s effect is stronger than I thought…’

It seemed really powerful.

And more importantly…

Instead of the dark, heavy energy, a fresh green aura was now surrounding her.

It was light, but clear enough to see.

The floating text box still said the mint drink was working.

But she didn’t seem to notice anything.

Neither the aura nor the text box.

Well, that was normal.

It seemed like only I could see all this.

The customer probably just thought the drink refreshed her.

That the café gave her a good rest and made her feel lighter.

Ding~ Ding~

The customer opened the door while saying goodbye.

The clear sound of the bell rang through the café.

Then, she really left.

What a strange experience.

So many things had happened in such a short time…

There was a magical plant in the backyard.

The drink made from it filled people with energy.

Would anyone even believe me if I told them?

“Haaah—.”

I let out a sigh and sat back in my chair.

Even though the café wasn’t busy, it felt like I had just gone through something crazy.

And there was only one customer.

‘Let’s think for a moment…’

My mind felt blank.

Now that everything was over, I felt the aftershock.

Anyway…

‘How is this even possible?’

The more I thought about it, the less I understood.

It was such a magical thing that I almost wondered if I had gone crazy.

But I felt completely normal.

I stared blankly at the ceiling.

My grandfather’s ceiling was spotless, without a single speck of dust or spiderwebs.

‘Grandfather.’

I imagined his face, smiling playfully from above.

What had he left behind for me?

Now I knew this place wasn’t just about shared memories.

Then what exactly…?

—“You foolish boy! Life is short! Why make it so complicated? The most important things are simple!”

The grandfather in my mind told me off with a smile.

I snapped back to reality.

The most important thing.

What was truly important here?

I looked at the door where the customer had left.

Her steps had been light and bright, so different from when she entered.

Like how I felt after resting in the open field.

Slowly, I looked over to where Soo-ah, Suho, and Rangi had stayed.

They had been noisy and tiring, but…

Thanks to them, my sad mood had lifted a little.

‘Keep it simple.’

Thinking like that, as Grandfather said, made my mind feel clearer.

I was the one making this complicated, not the situation itself.

There was no need to stress over what had already happened.

And the answer was simple.

‘I just need to run this café.’

It didn’t matter if this place was special or strange.

Like Grandfather did, I would welcome customers and make new memories.

I can’t believe I kept going in circles just to figure this out…

Maybe I really was a fool, just as Grandfather said.

‘Now, I need to understand this power properly.’

If I was going to run the café, this power was going to be important.

Even today, it has done amazing things.

How could I use it?

Many thoughts ran through my mind.

Come to think of it, did Grandfather know about this?

If so…

“He must have left some clues.”

Grandfather loved playing tricks.

He must have hidden hints somewhere.

Just like how he never told me about the café’s power.

I imagined him clicking his tongue, saying, “You just realized this now?”

I started cleaning up the customer’s table and checked around the café.

The floor, the chairs, the decorations…

Even the window frames and shelves.

But there was nothing unusual.

‘Did I guess wrong? No, that can’t be…’

I had moved around a lot, so I decided to rest a little.

Those clues wouldn’t run away, after all.

I sat down in a nearby chair, leaned back, and stared at the ceiling.

Then—

“Huh?”

Above the small ceiling window, something big and white was hanging down.

It looked like a giant rice cake.

‘What is that?’

It couldn’t really be a rice cake.

I quickly stood up to check, but just then—

“Ahem! Hmm!! Is anyone inside?”

“Hm?”

Before I could think, I heard a voice from outside.

It was a familiar voice.

I turned my head.

Outside the door, I saw a familiar face.

And that face…

Belonged to a muscular man with a sharp grass cutter in his hand.

* * *

His body moved in a way that was as powerful as any bodybuilder.

If he were on a famous gym’s poster in Gangnam, he would fit right in.

With hands that looked like they should be holding dumbbells or barbells, he was holding something unexpected—a farming tool, not gym equipment.

Had he been working instead of exercising?

Anyway,

His body, covered in sweat, made his muscles stand out even more.

This strong man was none other than our village chief, who I would be relying on for a while.

“Chief?”

“Oh! I saw the sign that said ‘Open,’ so I came in… Are you the one continuing this place?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Ah, I see… So that’s how it is. Then, are you open right now?”

“Yes, I am.”

“…Really?”

The village chief tilted his head and asked.

His reaction was strange.

Then I realized why.

A café owner should be at the counter, not sitting on a chair, leaning back with his head tilted.

I had just helped my first customer, but from his side, I might have seemed like I was doing nothing.

It felt unfair, but I could see why he thought that.

I quickly got up and said,

“Oh! Wait a moment. Please come in.”

“No, no. I’m fine. But tell me, was that young lady who just came down a customer of yours?”

“A young lady…? Yes, I think so.”

“Hmm, I see.”

What was that?

From his reaction, it didn’t seem like she had just stopped by for a drink.

It felt like he had something to say.

“I don’t know if your grandfather told you, but cars shouldn’t be parked by the road down there. Tractors and combines pass through, and it’s a curved road, so it’s dangerous.”

“Oh!”

Hearing that, I immediately understood.

Parking.

That’s always a big problem in cities.

And it seemed like it was a problem even in the countryside, though for a different reason.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that. I’ll make sure to put up a sign.”

In situations like this, it was better to apologize first rather than argue.

The village chief waved his hand.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. That’s understandable.”

“Could I ask how my grandfather handled it?”

“He used to put up a sign every time someone came up. Also, a bit further down the road, there’s an empty lot. He told people to park there. Regulars knew, but new customers didn’t.”

“Oh! Thank you.”

As soon as I asked for help, the village chief kindly explained.

That seemed to be the reason he had come in the first place.

Even though he had big muscles and a grass cutter in his hand, he looked really scary.

“Still, it’s nice to see this place open again.”

The village chief looked around the café with a nostalgic expression.

Oh no.

This wasn’t the time to just stand around.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll get you a cold drink.”

“No, no. If I stay any longer, my muscles will shrink. I’ll drink something next time. I should go now. Ahem! Hmm! Ugh, the grass has grown too much. Looks like ghosts could be hiding in there. Ghosts, I tell you. Ahem, ahem.”

I quickly went to the kitchen to prepare a drink, but—

The village chief waved his hand again and walked away.

He calmly disappeared down the path.

But the last thing he quietly said—

He definitely wanted me to hear that, right?

It felt a little unfair, but honestly, I had been thinking the same thing.

‘I should clean that up anyway.’

After all, that was where I first saw that strange floating window.

Maybe I would find more than just mint plants.

Alright.

I’d clear the overgrown grass and check if there were other special plants.

But first…

I looked up at the ceiling.

Before the village chief arrived, I had seen something big and white there.

“Huh? It’s gone.”

That strange, rice cake-like thing was no longer there.

I checked carefully again, but now there was only the transparent window.

‘Oh well.’

I had already learned my lesson.

There was no point worrying about something that had already disappeared.

If it showed up again, I’d check then.

For now…

‘One step at a time.’

I made a list of things to do.

—Find out why these strange things are happening and learn more about this place from my dreams.

—Figure out the special abilities I gained here and write down anything unusual.

—Clean the overgrown path leading up here.

—Organize the backyard and look for special ingredients like mint.

—Set up signs for visitors and check the parking area.

The first two would take time and thinking, so I just wrote them down for now.

The rest…

“I’m going to sweat a lot.”

The season was shifting from late spring to early summer.

It wasn’t too hot if I stayed out of the sun, but these tasks couldn’t be done in the shade.

Still, if I finished today, tomorrow would be easier.

Alright.

“No point in delaying it.”

I decided to get started right away.

Since this was my business now, my body moved naturally once I made up my mind.

‘There should be some tools.’

I couldn’t do this with my bare hands, so I needed to find where the tools were kept.

I pictured the café’s layout in my head.

When I was in the backyard earlier, I had seen a small wooden storage shed to the left.

I went out the back door.

Just as I remembered, there was a shed that looked like something from IKEA.

It didn’t seem to be locked.

I walked over and opened the door.

“Ah, seriously. What a mess…”

It looked like my grandfather had just tossed things in here without organizing.

The inside was messy with all kinds of things.

Like a hidden part of the café that he didn’t want to show.

So different from the neat and tidy interior.

Still…

“Oh, is this the sign the chief was talking about?”

I quickly found the sign my grandfather had used.

It was placed right near the entrance, probably because he used it often.

I pulled it out—

Crash!

“Ugh!”

Something got stuck, and when I pulled it, I lost my balance and fell backward to the ground.

Bzzzz—!

“…Sigh.”

Today was just full of unexpected events.

Lying there, I looked up at the sky.

The clear blue sky stretched out above the roof.

So bright.

At that moment—

Bzzzz?

Something peeked down from the roof.

It was Rangi, with just his head poking out.

He tilted his head, looking at me curiously.

When did he get up there…? Ah!

Now that I think about it, that white rice cake on the ceiling…

Could it be his belly fat?

The size matches exactly, and he was rolling around on the window earlier.

His belly is white, unlike the patterns on his back, and now he’s on the roof…

“It was you.”

Bzzzz~?

He was probably just meowing out of curiosity, but for some reason, I felt emotional.