Chapter 4: A Stranger Behind the Counter

“Please take the owner’s words to heart once he’s said them.”

“I’m sorry.

I’ll be more careful next time.”

When customers came, they came in waves, and when it was slow, it was slow enough to feel the air turn crisp.

During those times, the staff could rest in the waiting area beside the counter, looking at their phones.

It was Seon Woo-min who, on behalf of the staff, had asked the owner to allow phones, but he himself sat empty-handed, gazing out the window.

His only interest was the Invincible Power Kitty Corps, and since he was in the middle of cosplaying as an ordinary person at the café, he had nothing in particular to do on his phone.

He didn’t like staring at his phone without purpose, so during breaks he usually read poetry, but today he’d forgotten to put the book cover on.

Sitting openly with a poetry book invited all sorts of questions, which was annoying, so he was just spacing out.

“Manager, as thanks, I was thinking of setting you up on a blind date.

Are you interested?”

The staff member who had approached him earlier finally brought up her real business.

“What exactly are you thanking me for?”

Seon Woo-min glanced around the hall to see if any customers were approaching the counter, then asked back.

The staff member cautiously observed his cool expression.

“For helping me out earlier when I almost got scolded by the owner.

If it weren’t for you, I would’ve been stuck there for 30 minutes.”

Glancing at the wall clock, the staff member continued.

“What style do you like, Manager?

Actually, my friend likes your type.

When I told her we work together, she asked me to introduce you.”

Seeing Woo-min trying to figure out what his own ‘type’ was, she quickly supplied it.

“A man who’s nonchalant and cool.

It’s attractive, you know.”

Woo-min just gave a vague smile and dropped it.

Even though he mediated between the owner and staff, faithfully acting as a buffer, what came back was the reputation of being ‘detached’ or ‘cold.’

As long as it didn’t reach his ears, he didn’t particularly care what people said behind his back.

He didn’t have the time to be swayed by reputation anyway.

“Maybe another time.

I’m not really interested right now.”

“Okaaay.”

The staff member trailed off, sounding disappointed, and went back.

Seon Woo-min turned his indifferent gaze back to the window.

The season had completely changed its clothes; the street trees were a patchwork of yellow and red, as if dabbed with a brush.

Just then, a man walking toward the café entrance caught Woo-min’s eye.

A two-tone wolf cut, piercings, wide jeans and an oversized shirt, long strides that seemed to bounce to a rhythm, and a headset hanging around his neck.

Even just estimating, he had to be well over 190 cm, and with his build, it was impossible to pretend not to see him.

At the pierced man’s cheerful wave, Seon Woo-min pulled up the corners of his mouth reluctantly.

He was an uninvited guest who had suddenly inserted himself into the café’s otherwise uneventful daily routine one day.

Barely suppressing a sigh, Woo-min headed to the counter.

“Welcome.”

“Hello.”

A hearty, friendly greeting.

The pierced man’s eyes, incapable of veering, bored into Woo-min’s.

That was what Woo-min found uncomfortable.

“You weren’t here yesterday.”

He hadn’t come to the café yesterday because it was his day off, but he didn’t feel the need to explain that to a customer.

“May I take your order?”

Seon Woo-min replied with a service-industry smile.

“Between the kiwi juice and the lemon-orange juice here, which sells better?”

Every time the man moved his lips, the round silver piercings glinted.

“The kiwi juice.”

“Then I’ll have the lemon-orange juice.”

His memorable appearance was one reason Woo-min remembered him, but the main reason was his order style, which seemed like a playful tease.

Even before they discontinued mango juice, he would ask the same kind of question and then choose the mango juice.

Woo-min couldn’t tell if this was an attempt to be friendly or if he was picking a fight.

Even though he seemed like a character out of place, he thought the guy was probably harmless, but maybe not.

“Yes, then I’ll prepare the lemon-orange juice for you.”

Seon Woo-min maintained a consistent tone as he entered the order.

Compared to this oddness, the pierced man’s other behaviors were relatively endearing.

Even though the Wi-Fi password was posted on the wall in huge letters, he’d come specifically to ask what it was.

When it was busy, he’d suddenly say things like, “Looks hectic, huh?”

He’d crouch down near the flower bed in the parking lot to give treats to the cats, and he’d let them know when the ashtray in the smoking area was full of butts.

To put it negatively, he was a busybody; to put it positively, he was a kind customer.

The issue, if any, was that his behavior patterns were unpredictable.

He always asked for an extra cup of ice, so one day Woo-min gave him one without being asked, and then he said he didn’t need it.

Sometimes he came with a friend, other days alone, and on others, he led a group of several people.

He often asked for wet wipes, so Woo-min purposely placed a wet wipe case next to the napkins, and then he didn’t touch it.

The pierced man had been coming to the café for a little over a month.

Perhaps because of his striking appearance, he was already a well-known customer among the staff, and most of them liked him, but Seon Woo-min wasn’t entirely comfortable with him.

The fact that he was unpredictable was a big part of it, but the decisive reason was their first meeting.

Aside from the typical pattern of a man trying to pick someone up—looking them up and down—on that first day, this stranger had looked at him as if he knew him, and more than that, had even muttered his name.

What had slipped from those lips was clearly ‘Min,’ his name.

He had tried to address him as if he knew him.

Fortunately, after that day, he never acted like he knew him or crossed a line, but having had a stalker in the past, Woo-min couldn’t let his guard down.

“Here’s your drink.

Enjoy.”

“Thanks.”

Lee Do-kyung took the drink with a cold demeanor that was 180 degrees different from when he’d ordered it.

Seon Woo-min mentally filtered the man in front of him to black and white.

To make an impression on him, he had to leave a strong impact one way or another.

Being thought of as a unique and annoying guy was better than not being remembered at all.

It had been a month since the day Lee Do-kyung visited Woo-min’s empty grave, and today, one month later, he had gradually been digesting the situation he was in.

Watching the pierced man open his laptop cover as soon as he sat down with an indifferent look, Seon Woo-min soon lost interest and began washing cups at the sink.

***

After finishing his shift at the café, Seon Woo-min headed to ‘Anime Friends.’

It was a shop that sold anime merchandise.

It wasn’t payday, so his visit was more about enjoying a small pleasure than actually buying something.

Even the smallest keychain started at several tens of thousands of won.

So, his reason for visiting the goods shop today was the limited-edition special figure of the Invincible Power Kitty Corps that had gone on sale yesterday.

SNS and fan pages were abuzz with certification posts from fans who had purchased the figure in the open run and comments from fans who failed to buy it, expressing their envy.

The figures would probably all be gone anyway.

Woo-min had also resolved never to collect goods until he moved to a place with enough space for display cases, so he planned to just look fondly at the spot where the special figure had been—the historical scene itself.

It stung a little not to own the limited edition, but if it was true destiny, he’d be able to get it somehow in the future.

Even if it came with a huge premium, he’d definitely buy it then.

Seon Woo-min entered the Invincible Power Kitty Corps section among the areas divided by series.

Expecting the display shelves to be empty, his eyes widened in shock.

Mung Bean…?

The barren shelves, swept clean as if by a giant broom, held only a single box—the Mung Bean figure.

The Invincible Power Kitty Corps consisted of five cats: Cherry, Young Radish, Taro, Green Laver, and Mung Bean.

Among them, ‘Mung Bean’ was Woo-min’s favorite character—a cheese-colored cat who wielded a red gemstone sword.

Unfortunately, being the least popular, being a fan of Mung Bean wasn’t easy.

Among the five characters with individual accounts, Mung Bean had the fewest followers.

In fan art, he mostly just appeared earnestly in group shots; there were no skilled artists who drew only Mung Bean or created shorts dedicated to Mung Bean clips.

Most opinions about Mung Bean were that he was slower and more awkward in speech compared to the other warrior cats.

The occasional lines Mung Bean uttered—which Woo-min found very profound—were often criticized as being nonsensical and out of place.

His form when wielding his sword against villains was also considered unimpressive, frequently circulating as a ridiculous meme.

Every time Woo-min saw that, his heart ached.

People didn’t try to understand Mung Bean’s true nature.

Even though Mung Bean was awkward, slow, and seemed out of place, his determination was stronger than anyone else’s.

Mung Bean also had a solid inner strength.

In the process of protecting his comrades and defeating the Great Demon, Mung Bean was the only one who never gave up, encouraging the warrior cats.

Cherry might be the official leader, but the spiritual pillar was Mung Bean.

At least in Woo-min’s eyes, that was clear.

And there Mung Bean was, left behind all alone, like an unsold cake on the day after Christmas.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Heemin’s One-Sided Love

AdultBoys LoveDrama

Read Now →
Not interested