Yokai Come to the Countryside Café

Chapter 31: Rookie (1)

It had been a weekend like a storm.

The guild meetup was trouble I brought on myself, but everything that followed was a series of overwhelming events.

Thanks to that, I couldn’t even watch YouTube or get a good night’s sleep.

When I came down to the café under the refreshing morning sunlight after a long time, the Elder Gumiho and Ria were already sitting there.

“You’re here early?”

“Early, you rascal. The sun’s already high in the sky.”

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, and Ria, you’re up early too.”

Seven o’clock was far from what one would call midday.

“Would you like some coffee? I need a cup myself.”

“Brew me a strong one.”

I went into the kitchen, put water on in the kettle, and took out two coffee cups.

-Tak. Tatak.

The coffee powder, powdered creamer, and sugar went precisely into the cups without a single grain falling outside.

Not that it mattered much, but I found myself feeling a bit proud again.

I was no longer the me who used to fumble with the recipe notebook, counting out each measurement.

One shot, one hit.

Once I scooped with the teaspoon, it rarely missed the correct amount.

The two cups of coffee with a rich aroma were placed on the table.

“Did you see the news? Thankfully, it seems to have been handled well.”

“Don’t even mention it. That Mahyeon punk kept pestering me so much I almost went to confront his superior myself.”

I played the bookmarked news video.

(At around 8:30 last night, a dragon’s ascent phenomenon was witnessed in Siheung City, Gyeonggi Province. It’s called that because the swirling wind looked like a dragon ascending to the heavens. The vortex swept through a deserted plaza in Siheung and lasted about five minutes before disappearing. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but one vehicle was badly damaged, causing a brief commotion in the area...)

“To the eyes of ordinary people, it must look like just a natural phenomenon.”

“Heh, what else could it be? You think dragons just ascend out in the open? They’d all have been wiped out by the Dragon Catcher Corps before even getting off the ground.”

Is this some kind of natural selection evolution of yokai?

Yokai that caught human attention probably didn’t meet good ends.

Even we had once beaten a hidden dragon to a pulp after finding it.

“Still, it’s a relief that he made it to the Heavenly Realm safely. And Ria’s fine too.”

“What happened to the car?”

“Luckily, there was a repair shop that could fix it.”

“You’re really going to fix and drive that clunker?”

“The shop owner said considering it fell from the sky, its condition was miraculously good. If it can be fixed, it should be.”

The car that Yongman had ridden into the sky was found in an empty rice field, fortunately uninhabited.

I thought it had been absorbed into Yongman and gone with him to the Heavenly Realm, but unfortunately, it ended up crashed into a rice paddy with no driver in sight.

Thankfully, aside from the broken windows and a few dents, the interior was intact.

“Tch, that’s misery—it’s a disease. I thought you’d finally drive a sedan.”

“Still, wouldn’t it carry some good energy? It’s the Ascension Edition. A rare car you can’t buy even with money.”

It really was. Being over 20 years old, the car didn’t even have a resale value for insurance.

“Well then, fix your fancy car and ride it for a thousand years. Bring me another cup before you head to work.”

“You already finished? Drinking that much in the morning isn’t good for your health.”

“Your face says you’re annoyed. You charge a high price, but it’s always nagging, tsk.”

That’s right. The Elder’s coffee costs 4,000 won per month, while our café’s coffee is 3,000 won.

It was wrong from the start. Ever since I took that huge 5 million won for one cup of coffee.

Then came the Divine Tree Leaf, the ring made of Divine Stone, and finally the Dragon Pearl.

If it kept going like this, I had no idea what might come next.

It was time for decisive action.

After serving the Elder another cup of coffee, I came out holding a printed A4 sheet.

“What’s that?”

“It’s our café’s new business motto.”

『Let’s pay for coffee with money』

“You’re going to hang that up and run a business? Are you joking?”

“I’m serious. Look, I even found a frame in the storage.”

The slogan, printed in the biggest font possible, was hung next to the business registration certificate.

Business mottos are supposed to reflect progressive ideals, but not at my café.

Here, even the only other signs that read ‘Push’ and ‘Pull’ on the door weren’t properly followed, so if I didn’t post this, who knew what disaster would happen next?

I remembered seeing something at a self-owned café once:

‘A customer paid for food with a shoe gift certificate.’

‘A foreigner only has their country’s money—what should I do?’

Those cases now seemed like nothing compared to ours.

This couldn’t go on.

No more non-human customers.

-Ding.

Not long after Jinseong put up the notice and entered the study, the café door burst open energetically.

“I’m here!”

“Oh? It’s Sanyi!”

“It’s been a while.”

“It really has! Hmm, about this long!”

Sanyi tried to calculate the days and eventually just stretched her arms wide.

“Now that the raccoon dog is here, I should get going. With this phone, Mahyeon contacts me every hour. Jeez, if he’s so curious, why doesn’t he ask directly?”

“Oh? It’s a phone!”

“Oh right, you must not know because you were hibernating. Ria and I have phones now. How’s that? Cool, right?”

“Mine’s pink!”

To be honest, it wasn’t a phone worth bragging about. Especially the one Gumiho had, which was in such a terrible state that it was a wonder it even turned on.

But to Sanyi, whose only electronic device was a headlamp given by Jinseong, it looked like a brand-new multi-million won smartphone.

“That’s so unfair! You said you wouldn’t get me one because it was a hassle!”

“I didn’t buy it. Jinseong gave it to me. So, see you later, phone-less raccoon dog. Heh.”

“Take care!”

“Right, I’ll come tomorrow. Call me if anything happens.”

Gumiho waved her phone smugly until the end and exited the café.

“Where’s Jinseong? I need to get a phone too.”

Such confidence.

She looked like a rightful heir returning to reclaim her throne.

“He’s working right now, so you can’t. He said not to come in when he’s working.”

“Then I won’t go in. I’ll just ask from outside!”

“Huh?”

“Jinse—hmph!”

“No!”

Just as Sanyi was about to shout in front of Jinseong’s study, Ria hurriedly covered her mouth.

‘This is bad. Sanyi keeps trying to cause trouble. What do I do?’

It was something she normally wouldn’t have worried about, since she wouldn’t be the one getting scolded.

But now that her body was inhabited by a soul, Ria began to think more deeply.

“There are too many things I can’t do.”

“There are only two. Don’t go into Uncle’s room. Don’t make a fuss. Easy, right? Let’s play house. Then he’ll come out soon.”

“Play house?”

“Yeah!”

‘Now she won’t go in, right?’

A gentle lecture, tailored to eye level, and subtle coaxing.

Play house was Sanyi’s favorite game, especially because she couldn’t go into Ria’s room. She would be so absorbed that she’d forget all about barging into Jinseong’s study.

However, this was a naive underestimation of Sanyi.

The determination held by a Divine Beast who had lived for over a thousand years was far stronger than what Ria, who wasn’t even a year old, could have anticipated.

“I’ve thought of a way!”

“No! Don’t think of anything!”

-Dododododo.

It was too late to stop her. Ria tried to grab her, but Sanyi had already run up to the second floor.

“Ugh, what is she trying now?”

“I need paper and a brush! And I need some rope too!”

“Th-this?”

“That’s right!”

The items Sanyi asked for were easy to find. The leftover A4 paper from when Jinseong printed the business motto, a pen, and a clothesline stood in for a brush and rope.

“Now I’ll slide down the rope from above. Then I can meet Jinseong right away.”

“Ah.”

It was clearly something she shouldn’t do.

Ria couldn’t explain why exactly, but instinctively knew this was a very bad idea.

Yet she had no grounds to stop it.

She herself had stated the two rules, and Sanyi’s plan cleverly exploited their loophole.

“I’m tying the rope here.”

“Wait, that’s way too dangerous!”

“I’m a Divine Beast, so it’s fine. Now give me the paper.”

Reluctantly, Ria handed over the paper she was holding.

『Buy me a phone too』

“Then I’m off!”

-Piiing.

As Sanyi descended, the clothesline pulled taut.

Worried it might come loose, Ria clung to it with her tiny hands, holding on desperately.

How much time had passed like that? Just as her hands began to go numb, Sanyi came back up.

“The rope’s too short!”

Then she went up to the roof and cut the clothesline, extending it to the railing.

But even after going down again, Sanyi had to return.

“This time it’s too long!”

‘Wait, is she trying to get the length exactly right?’

For the first time since she gained a soul, Ria was faced with overwhelming fear.

The fear that she had been living and laughing alongside something completely beyond reason or logic.

(Manager Kim, aren’t there a few documents missing here?)

(You’re right.)

“The recent project from Samjung Construction was missing profitability analysis in the feasibility review. The sales department hasn’t sent all the materials yet. Also…”

(Manager Kim! Behind you! Behind you!)

“Behind?”

He turned his head, but saw nothing.

He wasn’t the type to decorate, so nothing was visible except the window.

(I swear I saw something dark at the back window just now! Assistant Manager Lee, didn’t you see it?)

(Manager, are you teasing Manager Kim again for working alone in the countryside? Don’t you get tired of that?)

(No, I’m serious! Come on, listen to me!)

“Shall I continue?”

(Oh? Uh, yes.)

“It was a rushed order, so the planning team began working right away, and the documents are being…”

(Aaaaah! There! There!)

But again, nothing appeared.

Was he really being messed with?

(You should’ve turned around faster!)

“If you’re that worried, I’ll step outside and check real quick.”

(Don’t! That’s exactly what the first one to die in horror movies does! Just stay there and watch the window! Don’t even open it! No, wait, call the police first!)

(Deputy General Manager Cha, are you slacking off again?)

(I’m telling you, something weird was at Manager Kim’s place! Black, or maybe brown? Anyway, it was fluffy—aaagh! There it is again!)

Fortunately, he didn’t miss it the third time and caught sight of the mysterious thing the manager had been talking about.

The cause of the commotion was Sanyi. Desperately clinging to the rope, flailing in the air.

You never know what you’ve got till it’s gone—was that how it went? I had missed Sanyi.

Even amid all that chaos, there had been moments when I longed for her innocent voice.

But this was never the way I wanted to see her again.

Never.