episode_0020

The existence of the Primordial Stone was revealed, causing a rapid upheaval in the world.

Leading the charge, numerous countries, spearheaded by the United States, began to actively reveal their ambitions to find other Primordial Stones.

Globally, the Tower conquest business, which had been mired in danger and substantial costs, regained its vitality.

As a result, regardless of rank, the positions of occupations related to Awakened individuals who could enter the Tower saw a significant rise…

That’s their story.

It was a matter that had little to do with an ordinary person like me.

“Are you ready to order?”

“I’ll have an iced Americano, please.”

Having become an adult, I started working part-time at a small private café near my house.

Usually, people work a lot of part-time jobs to earn tuition fees before entering college.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get into the university I wanted.

Although there was still time for regular admission, I didn’t even have the resources to prepare for it in the first place.

So, since things turned out this way, I immediately got a job with the thought of diligently saving money.

“As expected, money is everything.”

Before I knew it, I had completely adapted to working at the café and was leisurely attending to customers one day.

Ding. The paper hanging on the door rang, and someone called out a familiar name.

“Yoochan, are you busy right now?”

It was the owner.

“You’re here?”

The owner, despite being in her late thirties, was quite wealthy for her age. She didn’t seem to be stingy and occasionally gave out allowances, appearing quite generous.

Judging by her expensive accessories and luxury items adorning her body, as well as the expensive foreign car she always drove, it seemed like the café was more of a hobby for her.

“Were there any customers?”

“There were some until just now, but they were all for takeout.”

“Really? Was there any problem while I was away?”

Looking around the empty store, the owner took a seat on one side.

I quickly brought her a cool glass of water with a slice of lemon.

“Thanks to you, there were no issues today either.”

Then, with a sly smile, displaying a capitalist grin, the owner also showed a satisfied expression as she rummaged through her bag.

“Could you close the door for me?”

“Sure.”

Responding to the owner’s signal, I quickly locked the door and lowered the blinds.

The boss took out an e-cigarette from his bag and, with a strained look, gestured to me.

“Could you do me a favor today?”

“I’ll just wash my hands and be right there.”

“Alright.”

Being a smoker, the boss often smoked inside the shop, blatantly flouting the law and comfortably puffing away.

“Is this the luxury of running a hobby business?”

Initially, I struggled to adapt to this behavior, but after experiencing it several times, I gradually grew accustomed to it.

Most of all, when she smoked, she would make me massage her shoulders…

“Ugh… there. Oh, that’s good.”

“Are you okay?”

“Aah… that’s perfect. A little harder… yes, just like that.”

Afterward, the allowance I received was quite substantial.

“Wow, our Yoochan is getting better every time. Here, this is for your meal.”

“Thank you.”

Even my disgust turned into financial therapy.

“I can have chicken and beer with Leywon tonight.”

Having pocketed a hefty allowance, I resumed business, attending to occasional customers.

As the end of the workday approached…

“Oh, this is a big problem…”

Suddenly, the boss, fiddling with his phone, began muttering to himself.

“Where can I find someone…”

It seemed like he wanted me to hear.

It seemed like another shop needed staff.

“…Let’s pretend I didn’t hear. Let’s pretend.”

I had plans with Leywon after a long time, so I pretended to ignore her as I dusted off some shelves.

“Hey, Yoochan, can you come here for a moment?”

But there was a limit to ignoring her.

“Why are you acting like that?”

“Do you have plans for tonight?”

“Yes. I’m meeting a friend today.”

“I see. What about tomorrow?”

“Well…”

I thought I smoothly diverted the conversation, but unfortunately, I had no plans for tomorrow.

“I don’t have anything tomorrow… What’s up?”

“Really?”

The boss chuckled mischievously.

“Well, you see, the store I manage suddenly hit a snag. Can you sit down for a bit?”

“Oh… sure.”

I sat down abruptly and listened to a few things from the boss.

As expected, it was about an employee causing a sudden problem at the shop she managed…

“So, I was wondering if you could help out a bit.”

“Me…? Me?”

“I’ll pay you properly. Of course, it’ll be in cash on the same day. How about it? The work is really easy.”

Same-day cash payment.

Slightly shaken by the proposition, I decided to at least hear the explanation first.

“What kind of work is it?”

And then,

“It’s just a room bar. You sit with the customers, pour some drinks, take orders, that sort of thing.”

“…Excuse me?”

I momentarily doubted my ears.

‘Drinking with customers in a room?’

It was clearly an entertainment establishment.

“Oh my, you didn’t know? I run a bar.”

“Oh… I’ve never heard of it before.”

The owner, unable to conceal my flustered expression, chuckled as if finding me cute.

Then, smoothly, she began coaxing me, showing pictures of the establishment on her phone.

“You just need to sit here, chat with the ladies, and pour drinks.”

The room in the photos looked more upscale and stylish than expected, but the spread of snacks and liquor on the tables exuded a sense of vulgarity.

“You can easily earn hefty tips. The customers are all well-mannered upper-class people. There are separate incentives too. Our base pay is quite high compared to other places.”

“…Oh… I see…”

“How much does Yoochan make now?”

“…120…”

“Well, if you start tomorrow, I’ll add 30 more, making it 150. Oh, tips and incentives are separate. Where else can you easily make 150 a day?”

With a monthly salary of 120, just working for a day would yield 150, not to mention additional payments.

‘Does this even make sense?’

Thud. Even I couldn’t swallow this easily.

“How about it? Will you give it a try?”

Noticing my hesitation, the owner subtly coaxed me with a gentle smile.

And I…

*

“So, what did you say?”

Han Ryewon, sipping her beer, asked with a serious expression.

I calmly replied while spearing a potato wedge with my fork.

“I declined the owner’s offer.”

“Ah… really… I was so surprised!”

Han Ryewon seemed to breathe a sigh of relief before shooting me a sharp glance.

“Did you think I’d go?”

Asking playfully, she furrowed her brows and started lecturing me.

“Talking as if you’re definitely going. What a fool!”

“Oh, sorry.”

Thunk. She picked up the can with a disgruntled expression, using the cushion I had given her to support her shoulder.

‘Cute.’

It’s like there’s a satisfying impact from long ago. It was fun to tease her.

“Anyway, after hearing that story, it seemed strange, so I decided to just let it go.”

“You did well! I knew from the time she started asking for pocket money when she patted your shoulder. That girl, she’s not in her right mind.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Clank! I clinked the beer cans and took a refreshing sip.

Phew. Hanryeon, who exhaled a refreshing breath, suddenly put down the can and cautiously broached the subject, glancing around.

“…But, did you hear about that?”

“Hear about what?”

“Mayeonseo… I heard she went to the US this time…?”

It was a story about none other than Mayeonseo.

“Ah… I heard about that.”

I couldn’t have missed that story.

Mayeonseo, who had become an S-class Awakener early on, hadn’t shown much activity, but this time, suddenly used her citizenship to move to the US.

Perhaps to conquer the tower and join the Dream Team for the Origin Stone.

As a result, there was a lot of noise due to the brain drain.

Thanks to that, I could hear news about her too.

…Anyway, I was relieved that she seemed to be doing well.

“But why bring up that story?”

I glanced at Hanryeon while sipping my beer.

“Well, it’s just… I mean, she’s living her life now… and you, shouldn’t you live your own life now too?”

Glancing into her eyes that seemed to want to say something, I quietly turned away, avoiding a direct answer.

“I’m already living well, so…”

But Hanryeon persistently continued the conversation.

“Besides that, don’t you need to find new connections now too?”

“It’s not bad being alone.”

“You’re not going to live alone forever, are you? Are you really never going to date for the rest of your life?”

“That’s not it. I just don’t have any plans for now.”

“How long is ‘for now’ going to last…!”

“…Who knows.”

As I continued to evade her questions, Han Ryeowon finally spoke with a serious expression that seemed genuinely angry.

“Can’t you at least consider the feelings of the person waiting by your side…!”

For a moment, a heavy silence filled the room.

“…You’re drunk. Let’s stop here.”

I tried to smoothly end the conversation and bring the drinking session to a close.

However…

“Kang Yoochan!”

She grabbed my arm and, coming closer, abruptly pushed her face towards mine.

“Do you have any idea how much I’ve been enduring? Do you know how lonely I am every single night?”

“Ryeowon…”

“People at school keep asking me! Why don’t you date anyone? Is there someone you don’t want to date? I want to date just like everyone else!”

Unable to respond, I could only scratch my head in frustration.

In reality, Han Ryeowon, now a college student, had once again blossomed into full bloom with her already stunning beauty.

Her chestnut brown hair cascaded down to her chin, slightly covering her forehead with a cute charm, and her appearance was akin to an adorable puppy.

From her eyes as white as snow to her perfectly proportioned figure, she was flawless in every way.

It was quite surprising that such a girl still didn’t have a boyfriend.

…Although 90% of that surprise was due to my own involvement.

“You… really… ugh…!”

With a flushed face, Han Ryeowon struggled to continue speaking but eventually closed her eyes tightly and shouted, “Don’t I even cross your mind!?”

Speechless, I looked at her, and feeling unjustly treated, she grabbed my hand and pressed it against her chest.

“Hey, hey!”

A firm sensation, characteristic of lingerie, greeted my fingertips after a long time.

“It’s, it’s quite firm.”

Startled by this unexpected sensation, I quickly withdrew my hand to try to calm her down.

“Ryeowon, you’re quite drunk right now…”

At that moment…

“Sob…”

She began to shed tears.

“Hey, hey, don’t cry. Why are you crying?”

“You fool… sniff… it’s all because of you! Sniff…”

“Oh, come on…”

First, I tried to comfort her and lightly embraced her.

“I’m sorry. Huh? No more tears.”

“Sob… I don’t know. This idiot… sniff…”

But she had been so distressed for a while that her tears just wouldn’t stop.

Feeling sorry for her, I hesitated to reach out, despite my desire to do so.

It might sound like a lame excuse, but after the terrible end of my first relationship, I just couldn’t bring myself to start another one.

Maybe it’s because the whole idea of being someone’s “significant other” feels too unstable.

So, even though I sensed her feelings, I couldn’t give her a clear answer.

It was entirely my fault.

“I’m sorry.”

“…Sniff…”

“Even if you were to go to someone else, I wouldn’t have anything to say.”

“…Are you kidding?!”

“I mean it.”

As she shot me a piercing glare, I gently embraced her and flashed a faint smile.

After a while of quietly holding her in my arms, she suddenly stopped crying.

“Yuchan…”

She spoke very cautiously.

“You… said you don’t want to date…”

“Yeah.”

“So, can’t we not date and still like each other?”

“……Huh?”

I felt her hand grabbing onto my clothes.

Carefully lifting her head, she whispered with a disheveled face, looking into my eyes.

“I… I don’t mind not being your girlfriend.”

“Oh…”

Slightly flustered, I quickly pondered my response, rolling my eyes here and there.

“That’s too irresponsible…”

Just as I was about to come up with a carefully organized response…

“…Mwah!”

She covered my lips.