11. The Uninvited Guest
Jeong Yeon-jae shook the coffee grounds filling the pour-over filter.
She wiped the filter clean and placed it back into the espresso machine, her gaze constantly drifting toward the phone resting beside her.
Even until morning, the phone had been ringing, but now it was silent.
The two calls from last night and early morning.
It was an unregistered number, but Jeong Yeon-jae knew exactly who it belonged to.
Even after five years, the man's number lingered in her mind like a haunting memory.
She didn't want to feel remorseful thoughts.
So she deliberately didn't answer and sent a rejection message.
[We have no intention of signing the contract with the Gu-il Foundation. Therefore, we will destroy the contract you sent.]
In fact, the contract was destroyed right there.
It was the best response Jeong Yeon-jae could have given.
And the man, seeing the message, didn't call again.
Jeong Yeon-jae reached out and picked up the phone.
She thought there might be a reply to the message, but there was none.
“...... Now, has he given up?”
“Huh? What?”
“No, manager. It was just a monologue.”
Jeong Yeon-jae smiled awkwardly at the manager who had approached unnoticed.
At the same time, she placed the phone she had been fiddling with back down.
The man hadn't experienced rejection before, so he might be upset.
Thinking that this connection was now over, Jeong Yeon-jae pressed the shot extraction button.
Watching the espresso divided into two cups, Jeong Yeon-jae scanned her surroundings.
The interior of the cafe with about eight tables came into view.
Including the terrace seats, the scale was quite large.
It was the cafe where Jeong Yeon-jae worked part-time in the morning.
She worked until late lunch, then had piano lessons in the afternoon. Excluding the one-hour break in between, Jeong Yeon-jae's schedule was packed with work.
Even though she was so busy eating and living.
As she comforted herself that there was no time to think about Je-heon.
Jeong Yeon-jae put ice into the cup.
She placed the completed Americano with the cup holder on the counter.
Then, looking at the order slip, she prepared the drinks that needed to be taken out together in order.
“Jeong Yeon-jae, that man over there is really handsome. He looks like a celebrity.”
“Is that so?”
Jeong Yeon-jae kept her gaze fixed on the drinks and answered casually.
She wasn't originally good at multitasking, but she had been distracted since morning.
“It's the first time I've seen his face. Is he a rookie? Look.”
The manager tapped her shoulder and asked, and Jeong Yeon-jae slightly lifted her head.
Her gaze reached the man reflected in the cafe window.
A man with a height that seemed to exceed 180cm, standing with his back to them.
It was definitely not the kind of height an ordinary person would have.
He stood out like a model, but the interest soon faded.
Because she had met Je-heon, other men didn't register in her eyes for long.
Jeong Yeon-jae's gaze, losing interest, returned to the drinks.
“Just a little faster. He turned around. I saw his front.”
“Is that so? But is there an entertainer here?”
Seoul wasn't even the place, and it was a weekday morning.
“Yeah, there are no cameras. Ah. A man like that probably has a girlfriend.”
Jeong Yeon-jae's lips curved slightly as she listened quietly.
The manager was looking for a new lover after breaking up with her long-time boyfriend.
Even if it was a bit sudden, she said she missed her ex and needed hot love again.
Jeong Yeon-jae knew what that feeling was like.
It was so hot and intense that she didn't know if such love could happen again.
“If you're curious, ask.”
“Really? Ah, coming.”
The dream catcher hanging on the door swayed gently, and a refreshing sound echoed.
Whether it was really coming, the man's footsteps approached gradually.
“What would you like to drink? This is the first time you've come to our store, right?”
“......”
“We roast our own beans, so the coffee beans are different every day. If you don't know, I can recommend some?”
The manager's gentle voice came from behind her. The tone was higher than usual.
Jeong Yeon-jae held back a smile leaking out. She was pouring a smoothie into a cup from the mixer.
“Nice.”
Jeong Yeon-jae's hand that was pouring the drink paused at the voice that tickled her ear.
Even though it was just three letters, her heart pounded.
“I'll recommend it to this staff.”
“Huh?”
A look of confusion appeared in the manager's voice as she asked back.
Even though the mixer was empty, Jeong Yeon-jae's hand froze in mid-air.
She hadn't turned around, but the owner of the voice naturally came to mind.
There was no doubt.
There was only one person in this world who could make her heart race like this with just a voice.
“Jeong Yeon-jae.”
Jeong Yeon-jae gripped the mixer tightly in her hand.
“You recommend it.”
She stood frozen in place.
The manager who had approached unnoticed spoke in a voice that only Jeong Yeon-jae could hear.
“What? You knew Jeong Yeon-jae?”
“That... I'll tell you later.”
Reading the manager's eyes full of curiosity, she sighed.
The two people's connection was too deep to explain in front of Je-heon.
Jeong Yeon-jae placed the mixer she was holding down to the sink.
As she turned, the scenery came into view one by one.
Her gaze that was toward the manager slid and reached beyond the counter.
The moment she noticed Gu Je-heon in a suit, a hollow smile formed at the corner of Jeong Yeon-jae's mouth.
It had been two years since she started working at the cafe, and there was no employee who commuted in a suit.
Especially someone dressed so neatly, as if measured with a ruler.
How could she not notice that this man was him.
Jeong Yeon-jae swallowed the sigh that kept wanting to escape and opened her lips.
“Recommend it to the manager. As you can see, I'm working.”
She held up the cup in front of her to Je-heon.
It was a cup filled with freshly made smoothie.
“That's what I'll finish! Jeong Yeon-jae, go take the order.”
The manager picked up the plastic cup from Jeong Yeon-jae's hand and took it.
Then she lightly pushed her back.
“Huh? If this happens, the order will pile up. It's almost lunch time.”
Jeong Yeon-jae stared at the clock on the wall. It showed ten minutes before noon.
Since there was a city and companies gathered, there were many customers during rush hour or lunch.
That's why she was hired.
Je-heon pointed to the counter with his chin.
Seeing the man who wouldn't back down, Jeong Yeon-jae reluctantly moved her steps.
“Order.”
Jeong Yeon-jae standing at the counter asked dryly.
“Recommendation?”
“I can't recommend. Please choose yourself.”
“Sir, this employee seems to be slacking off.”
Jeong Yeon-jae's face, which was operating the machine, hardened noticeably.
“Why are you like that, Jeong Yeon-jae.”
The manager who was washing dishes from behind approached with a troubled face and asked.
Jeong Yeon-jae had never been impolite to a customer, so the manager seemed quite troubled.
Jeong Yeon-jae's gaze went to the coffee bean storage container next to the grinder machine.
“We only have beans like Yirgacheffe and Kenya.”
Je-heon didn't drink coffee if there was even a slight bitterness.
“Good coffee originally has acidity. This one has a fruit scent, it's good. Just one sip...”
“Enough. You drink it.”
The man rejected it outright even with Jeong Yeon-jae's suggestion.
So the beans prepared for residence were special beans with a heavy sea-like feeling.
In fact, she liked the bitterness, but she made it for him.
Jeong Yeon-jae felt a pain in her stomach at the memories of subtly raising her head.
She hoped she would forget this now.
“I don't like the bitter...”
Jeong Yeon-jae, who habitually considered his preference, closed her mouth.
Je-heon's gaze looking at her had a subtle light in it.
“Ah, no. An iced Americano is fine, right?”
And why are you thinking about it, Jeong Yeon-jae.
Jeong Yeon-jae selected an appropriate menu. And without hesitation, she turned back.
“I’ve been working at this cafe for 7 years. The first time I've ever sold out of beans while living.”
A sigh mixed with admiration came from the side, and Jeong Yeon-jae paused.
Turning her head, the manager leaning on the counter and looking outside appeared.
At the end of the manager's gaze resting her chin, Je-heon was there.
A man fiddling with his phone while sitting on the sunlit terrace seat.
Even though the ice had melted, the coffee in the cup didn't decrease at all.
“Jeong Yeon-jae's ex-boyfriend is really hot.”
“Manager!”
Jeong Yeon-jae, knowing he was on the terrace, was startled and stopped her.
“Keep the secret, okay?”
“I know. I have eyes too.”
Jeong Yeon-jae had casually mentioned Je-heon to the manager before.
She didn't know about Ji-woo's father, but if she had known he would come like this, she wouldn't have said it.
Of course, she knew the manager wasn't the type to talk lightly, but it was hard to shake off the anxiety growing in one corner of her heart.
Moreover, as quitting time approached, the impatient feeling swelled together.
“Send the item. Jeong Yeon-jae, go home.”
The manager who had approached said.
“Today's business is over. When the customers leave, close the door and start roasting, so go early.”
The sales were more than double.
At the center of that sales was Je-heon.
It was because he had ordered all the remaining beans, as if he was waiting but found it troublesome.
Jeong Yeon-jae's face darkened with impure intentions.
She wanted to go home early because of what that man wanted.
“It's okay. Then I'll help with the roasting.......”
“No. Go home.”
Even though there was one hour left until quitting time, the manager took Jeong Yeon-jae's apron.
And she took the bag and hugged her.
“There is someone protesting outside like that. And Jeong Yeon-jae is also worried.”
Jeong Yeon-jae flatly refused to Je-heon, who said she would talk briefly on the terrace while looking for drinks.
She didn't know it would lead to the beans selling out.
As the manager said, it was like protesting.
“Ah, he's looking at me again. Go quickly.”
Her hands moved busily, but all her nerves were directed outside. As the manager they had worked with for two years, she seemed to have noticed.
Without room to deny, Jeong Yeon-jae was pushed out of the store.
After taking a deep breath, fresh air rushed in. Jeong Yeon-jae, standing straight with balanced posture, tried to lift her head.
“Time's up now?”
With the sound of a chair being pulled back, a familiar voice came to her ear.
“Yeah. There's something to talk about.”
Jeong Yeon-jae's gaze as she lifted her head met Je-heon.
He had stood up, and with indifferent eyes, pointed to the car behind him.