Chapter 03
Her face, which had been so gruff just moments ago, brightened as if that had never been the case.
The warmth in her voice made it clear she was happy to see him.
Seonho, who appeared with a gentle smile on his soft-featured face, approached the counter where Jangmi sat.
“Wow, it’s incredibly hot today.”
Before he even finished speaking, Jangmi grabbed the remote.
*Beep. Beep. Beep.*
She even raised the fan speed by two levels from the ‘Turbo’ mode that Kwon Woo had only managed to get after paying 50,000 won.
Watching this, Kwon Woo’s eyebrow twitched and rose.
And that wasn’t all.
Without even being asked, Jangmi scooped a generous amount of ice into a cup, quickly made an iced Americano, and handed it to Seonho.
“Drink this first to cool down.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Seonho took the iced coffee from Jangmi, took a refreshing sip, and smiled brightly.
Kwon Woo watched with an incredulous expression as Jangmi, who had been so curt with him, chattered intimately with this suddenly appearing pale-looking man.
Who are they? Lovers?
They’re both customers, isn’t this a bit too much?
He had to pay just to get the air conditioner turned on. But that guy, the moment he walked in, was treated differently.
She raised the air conditioner speed by two levels for him. She even made him a coffee without being asked.
The blatant discrimination was so absurd that Kwon Woo let out a dry laugh.
The Executive Director of Taesan Development, ranked third in Korea’s business world, was being treated with such discrimination in this backwater cafe.
Kwon Woo crossed his arms, sat slanted, and watched the two with an annoyed expression.
Sensing his gaze, Seonho, who had half-emptied his coffee, glanced at Kwon Woo.
His expensive attire stood out in this neighborhood, so Seonho asked with his eyes.
“But who is that guy? He doesn’t look like he’s from around here.”
Following Seonho’s gaze, Jangmi briefly glanced at Kwon Woo and replied quietly.
“A con artist.”
Though she whispered, the small cafe had no customers, so the sound reached Kwon Woo.
At the absurd remark, Kwon Woo’s mouth dropped open.
*Heh, I’m a con artist?*
Didn’t I give her my card earlier? Did she forget already? Or can she not read Korean?
He couldn’t exactly go over and say, ‘I’m a chaebol’s grandson.’ That would be beneath him.
Kwon Woo let out a scoff and gulped down his coffee, which was mostly melted ice by now. No matter how much she worked in a country cafe, her judgment of people was just terrible.
He was clicking his tongue inwardly when something even more ridiculous happened.
Seonho was nodding without any suspicion.
“…Ah.”
Seonho looked at Kwon Woo with pitying eyes.
A look that said, ‘You look perfectly normal, why would you do that?’
*Ugh! Should I go over and set the record straight?*
As Kwon Woo, his pride wounded, was seriously contemplating it, the two quickly lost interest in him and continued their conversation.
“Where’s Auntie?”
“Peach work.”
“She’s been going a lot lately.”
“Before I came down, she couldn’t move a muscle because she had to keep the cafe open no matter how few customers there were. But these days, she parks me here and goes running around everywhere, having a blast.”
“She might say that, but she’s going to earn some wages. Still, it must be tough since it’s something new for her.”
“Tough? She’s having a great time, says time flies much faster chatting with the other ladies there than sitting in this empty cafe all day with just the flies.”
“That does sound like Auntie.”
Seonho smiled warmly and placed a book he’d brought on the table.
“Oh, this. The book you said you wanted to read last time.”
“Oh my, it wasn’t at the library. Is it a new arrival?”
Jangmi picked up the book happily, but there was no library label on it.
“I ordered it along with my own books. I figured it would take forever to wait until it was available at the library here.”
Kwon Woo’s gaze casually landed on the book’s cover.
He’d expected it to be some romance novel or comic book, but the title of the brick-thick book was unexpected.
*Spinoza’s Theory of Emotions: A Modern Interpretation.*
There’s no way a country cafe cashier would read such a book for fun.
Did she get it to use as a pillow when she got sleepy from having no customers?
“It’s definitely not the kind of book you’d find in the local library. Thanks. I’ll read it clean and return it.”
Jangmi beamed, quickly flipping through the pages with delight.
Curiosity flickered in Kwon Woo’s eyes.
“Isn’t it your clinic hours? Did you come all this way just to bring this? In this heat, you could have just texted and I’d have come to get it in the evening.”
“At this time, it’s so hot that there are hardly any patients. They usually start coming after the sun goes down a bit.”
Seonho grinned and downed the rest of his coffee.
Even as he drank, his eyes remained fixed on Jangmi, and a faint blush spread across his face.
He’d used the book as an excuse to drop by, but a patient might have come in the meantime, so Seonho hurriedly finished his coffee.
*Clatter.*
Seonho set the empty cup, now only ice, on the table.
“I should get going now.”
“I’ll make you another one. Take it with you in this heat.”
“Oh, should I?”
Smiling as if he couldn’t bear to refuse anything Jangmi said, Seonho pulled out his card and held it out to her.
Actually, he was sensitive to caffeine.
So one cup a day was enough.
Yet he didn’t decline because he wanted to help boost the sales of this fly-infested Eunhasu Cafe, at least a little.
But mostly, he just didn’t want to refuse Jangmi’s offer.
When Seonho held out his card to pay, Jangmi shook her head.
“Forget it. Don’t be so formal between us. You came all this way in this heat just to bring this. It’s fine, put it away.”
“Hey, you can’t do that when you’re running a business. Let me pay.”
“I said it’s fine.”
They went back and forth, pushing the card, making quite a fuss.
Watching the scene, Kwon Woo clicked his tongue inwardly again.
Earlier, when he’d held out 50,000 won to pay for the air conditioner, she’d taken it without a second thought, no intention of giving change. And now, she was bickering with that guy, offering him not one but two cups for free.
It wasn’t about the 50,000 won; it was the blatant discrimination that made his stomach churn.
Jangmi refused to let him pay until the end and slipped the card back into Seonho’s pocket.
In doing so, her fingertips touched his, and Kwon Woo didn’t miss the slight tremor in Seonho’s eyes.
If they weren’t lovers yet, it was clear that the man was interested in the woman.
‘Just like a country cafe. What a sight.’
The man who’d reluctantly taken back his card had his gaze drift to Jangmi’s chest, which was now quite close.
“Hey, your clothes are…”
“Oh, this.”
At Seonho’s pointing, Jangmi pulled her shirt away and stepped back.
“Ice. Because it’s hot.”
Seonho subtly glanced at Kwon Woo and said,
“It’s wet, shouldn’t you change? I’ll watch the store, so go change and come back.”
Not catching Seonho’s intent, Jangmi brushed it off.
“It’ll dry fast in this heat, so it’s fine. A patient might have come in the meantime, so hurry up and go. I’ll read the book fast and return it.”
“You don’t have to return it. I bought it for you to read.”
“Hey, I can’t do that. I’ll return it when I’m done. Hurry up.”
Seonho, hesitant to leave Jangmi alone, glanced one more time at Kwon Woo, then reluctantly headed for the door.
“The health center is just around the corner, so if anything comes up, call me right away.”
That was a request to Jangmi, and a warning to Kwon Woo.
A warning that he was close enough to come running at any moment, so he shouldn’t even think about messing with Jangmi.
Kwon Woo, who had watched Seonho leave the cafe with his intentions fully exposed, called out to Jangmi in disbelief.
“Excuse me.”
Jangmi, who had been looking toward the door as she saw Seonho off, turned her gaze to Kwon Woo.
“Did you contact the owner?”
“Yes.”
Jangmi answered Kwon Woo’s question half-heartedly.
“I didn’t see you make a call.”
Convinced she was lying, Kwon Woo pressed her.
Without changing her expression, Jangmi made an excuse.
“I sent a text. Saying a customer is here waiting.”
“For your information, I’m not a free man.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure you’re not.”
If you’re going around to the countryside to pull a scam, you certainly wouldn’t be free.
