Chapter 07
Kwon Woo found it subtly annoying that Jangmi consistently called him “mister” while naturally calling Seonho, who seemed to be around the same age, “oppa.”
Seonho, who entered with a kind smile, spotted Kwon Woo occupying a corner of the cafe again today, just like yesterday, and looked at Jangmi.
*He’s back again?*
Her eyes said it all.
Jangmi winked one eye as if to say not to worry about it.
“Coffee?”
“Yeah. But let’s have lunch first. You haven’t eaten yet either, right?”
“Yeah.”
*That guy still hasn’t left.*
Jangmi grumbled inwardly and glanced at Kwon Woo.
“Oppa, you haven’t had lunch either?”
“Yeah.”
Seonho fidgeted with the back of his neck for no reason.
“I was going to eat with you.”
His face turned red just from asking her to eat together.
Because the cafe wasn’t big, the conversation between the two carried clearly to Kwon Woo’s ears.
Thinking they were putting on quite a show, Kwon Woo involuntarily curled the corner of his mouth crookedly.
“Today’s special at the intersection restaurant is cockle bibimbap. You love cockle bibimbap.”
“Oh, really? Today’s special is cockle bibimbap?”
A look of delight appeared on Jangmi’s face, one Kwon Woo hadn’t seen before.
Seonho, who had won her favor with a menu she liked, cautiously asked,
“You’re coming with me, right?”
The daily special at the intersection restaurant was like a small event for Dongchon-ri residents.
It was a surprise menu that the owners would randomly offer in addition to the regular menu, and occasionally there were days when a dish perfectly hit Jangmi’s taste.
That day was today.
‘Cockle Bibimbap’
It was one of Jangmi’s favorite dishes.
“Of course. Let’s hurry.”
Jangmi’s eyes sparkled.
“If we’re late, they’ll sell out.”
Jangmi, excited as if she’d run out at any moment, suddenly hesitated.
*Ah, that guy…*
The problem was Kwon Woo, who was firmly planted in the seat right in front of the counter.
Normally, she’d just lock the door briefly and go, but with someone who was neither clearly a customer nor not, camped out in the cafe, it was awkward to close up and leave.
But she couldn’t give up the rare cockle bibimbap either.
Jangmi eventually turned toward Kwon Woo.
“Hey there, mister.”
Kwon Woo, not wanting to respond to being called “mister,” simply lifted his head without answering.
“It’s lunchtime now, so I need to go eat.”
“So?”
“Because you’re here, I can’t go.”
He lowered his hand, which had been resting on his laptop, and looked back and forth between Seonho and Jangmi.
The cockles were just an excuse; it was clearly a date for the two of them.
“If you’re going to stay camped out here, at least watch the store. We’ll be back after lunch.”
Jangmi, grabbing her wallet, spoke as if giving orders to an employee.
Kwon Woo’s brow immediately furrowed.
“Are you telling me to watch the cafe right now?”
I’m the Executive Director of Taesan Development, you know?
If you converted his hourly labor value into money, it would be enough to buy several of these cafe buildings.
And Jangmi was treating him like a part-time cafe worker.
Had he ever seen such a shameless woman?
“You said you were going to stay camped out here anyway.”
He was irritated for no reason and couldn’t bring himself to agree.
*Slap.* Kwon Woo closed his laptop and stood up.
Misunderstanding his intent, Jangmi inwardly cheered with relief.
“You’re leaving? Good choice. Staying here is just a waste of time anyway.”
She looked ready to escort him to the door, but the words that came out of his mouth dashed her expectations.
“I was getting hungry too. Which restaurant is it?”
Jangmi’s smile froze on her face.
“Excuse me? You… want to come too?”
“I like cockle bibimbap too.”
She was already sick of seeing him camped out in the cafe, and now she had to have lunch with him too? Jangmi’s jaw dropped.
Ignoring her reaction, Kwon Woo rose from his seat and headed for the door.
As he did, he thought to himself: he was only going because he was hungry and it happened to be mealtime, not for any other reason.
Like a triumphant general, Kwon Woo opened the door first and strode ahead with an indifferent expression.
Jangmi let out a disbelieving laugh, but since he was going on his own, she couldn’t exactly stop him.
So she had no choice but to go along.
Though she wasn’t thrilled about it, Jangmi and Seonho ended up following Kwon Woo, who had gone ahead.
“Oppa, let’s go.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
A hint of disappointment crossed Seonho’s face, as he’d been looking forward to a cozy meal alone with Jangmi.
But he didn’t show it and left the cafe with Jangmi.
On the way to the intersection restaurant.
Kwon Woo was walking ahead, as if leading the charge, in front of the two Dongchon-ri natives.
His back, leading the way without even knowing where the restaurant was, looked like a leader heading to command a billion-won project.
The only problem was that he didn’t know the area.
“Mister, that way is a rice paddy. Turn right.”
When Jangmi called out from behind, he turned right as she’d said.
Jangmi continued giving instructions to the back of his head.
“Mister, left. Mister, straight ahead from there. Mister, ten o’clock from there.”
No sooner had Jangmi’s words fallen than Kwon Woo instantly changed direction.
Watching the scene, Seonho, walking beside Jangmi, burst out laughing.
“You look like you’re out walking a dog.”
“Then is that guy a large breed? A dog that doesn’t listen well.”
“He seems to listen to you well though. Right, left, straight. He goes wherever you say.”
“Now that you mention it, yeah. How did I end up playing dog owner when I don’t even have a dog? Hey, hey, mister! Not that way, ten o’clock! See the blue sign?”
Cutting off mid-sentence in reply to Seonho, Jangmi shouted.
Without looking back once the entire way, Kwon Woo saw the sign for the ‘Intersection Restaurant,’ missing the character for ‘market’ from its faded sign.
Arriving safely at the destination, Kwon Woo opened the restaurant door and strode inside like a triumphant general.
—
“Welcome!”
As Kwon Woo entered the restaurant, the warm greeting of Yoon Deok, the owner of the intersection restaurant, rang out.
“Are you alone?”
Just as Kwon Woo was about to answer the question about the number of people, Jangmi and Seonho entered in succession, and Yoon Deok’s gaze turned to them.
“Oh my. Mr. Kim and Jangmi.”
“Hello, Auntie. I heard today’s special is cockle bibimbap, so I came.”
“Yes, good timing. But are you with the man in the suit?”
“No, I don’t know him.”
Jangmi denied it, and Kwon Woo turned his head toward her with a frown.
“Oh dear, what to do. There’s only one table left.”
Soon-deok made a troubled face and looked at Kwon Woo.
“Sir, there’s only one table left, so you’ll have to share with these two. Is that alright?”
“Yes, fine.”
“See? In a small restaurant like this, you sometimes share a table with strangers.”
Yoon Deok smiled contentedly and pointed to the remaining table.
“Come sit over here. You must all be hungry if you haven’t eaten by this hour. Better to share a table and eat quickly than wait for a table to open up. And besides, he’s handsome enough to be grateful for sharing a table with. Right, Jangmi?”
Yoon Deok, who always said that ‘when it comes to men, it’s all about the face’ and couldn’t keep her mouth shut when she saw a handsome man, tapped Jangmi’s shoulder and winked.
Filled with the ulterior motive of ‘you’re lucky today.’
*Ah, this auntie is at it again.*
She’d been divorced three times because of her obsession with handsome men, yet Yoon Deok’s taste remained unchanged.
Jangmi clicked her tongue inwardly and had no choice but to sit across from Kwon Woo at the same table.
But the one who was least happy about this arrangement wasn’t Jangmi—it was Seonho.
He’d wanted to say he’d wait until a table opened up, but Jangmi had already taken her seat.
It seemed he’d have no choice but to eat with Kwon Woo.
But even though they had to share a table, he was determined to secure the seat next to Jangmi, not Kwon Woo.
At that moment.
Watching where he sat, Kwon Woo’s brow wrinkled slightly.
Seonho didn’t miss that expression.
*Who is that guy?*
Didn’t she say he came to see the auntie on business?
Seonho instinctively realized it.
That a rival had appeared.
Male intuition was surprisingly accurate.
