episode_0635

635

Shiwoo followed the young clerk sister and was guided to an empty table.

It was a corner seat next to a place decorated like a central stage, slightly off from the bustling noise and the gazes of people passing by.

Bookshelves erected to a moderate height divided the space like partitions or walls, naturally creating distance from the surroundings.

Yet, it was a place where the overall scenery of the cafe could be read as is, just by slightly turning your head or through the gaps between the bookshelves.

“Have a good time~”

The young employee sister who guided him greeted Shiwoo with a bright smile, then turned back toward the passage she had entered with Shiwoo.

Her alluring figure rippled seductively and softly, capturing Shiwoo’s gaze.

In that short time he was guided, Shiwoo felt as if he had glimpsed the existence of a world different from everyday life.

A subtle crack spread beyond a thin membrane, and a foreign air permeated through the gap.

Sitting down, Shiwoo’s gaze turned to the black curtains leading to the edge of the interior hall.

The thick blackout curtains hanging long from the ceiling to the floor felt like a boundary firmly separating the outside and inside spaces.

The cloth, so dark and thick as if not even a handful of breath could leak out, was located there like a stillness that secretly concealed suppressed emotions and unknown impulses.

If the curtains were drawn open and the lights inside were turned off, would the world of that blackout cafe that he had heard about from Cheoljin reveal its appearance in restrained silence?

Shiwoo, who was holding his breath while imagining the heat of desire and indulgence that would take place inside the dark cafe,

Shiwoo took his eyes off the curtains and slowly began to look around at the people sitting in the cafe.

The employees inside the cafe were wearing comfortable outfits with a slight medieval touch.

The light cream-colored shirts and dark brown aprons they wore gave off a cozy and friendly feeling, rather than an antique one.

Each of them was holding a menu board slightly, as if embracing it, and the fabric swayed softly each time they moved.

It was a warm and comfortable scene, as if a modern take on the daily life of a small medieval inn.

In the inner space of the cafe, which was entered through an interior door, there were few customers who seemed to have come alone like Shiwoo, as the employee sister had said.

Most of them were sitting with their families or chatting with friends while drinking tea.

Shiwoo looked around the inside of the cafe like that for a while.

Then, he saw a family that caught his eye.

The family was sitting side by side in a row on a long backrest cushion chair installed around the wall.

Siblings who looked to be around Sehee sister or Shiwoo’s age and a middle-aged couple who looked like their parents.

Leaning against the wall, reading books or using their smartphones, they looked comfortable and relaxed.

Of course, it was probably because they were sitting side by side on the long chair like that instead of sitting around a table, in order to use the space widely and comfortably…

What Shiwoo found unique was the arrangement of the seats and the way they were sitting.

The mother was sitting next to the son, and the father was sitting next to the daughter.

The two pairs of mothers and sons and fathers and daughters were leaning intimately against each other, and the blanket covering below their waists was adding a subtle warmth between them.

With one arm each under the blanket, they were doing their own things.

Perhaps, maybe the arms under the blanket were entangled and brushed against each other, or were secretly caressing each other?

In their expressions and gestures, which seemed to be flushed while pretending to be calm, Shiwoo felt a strange sense of bonding and intimacy.

Imagining the figures of the four of them intertwined the moment the lights went out, one side of Shiwoo’s chest heated up.

**

“Would you like me to help you order~?”

At that moment, while he was looking around and caught up in the heat, a kind yet clear voice came to Shiwoo’s ears as if digging in.

“Yes?! Ah, yes…”

Startled by the unexpected voice, Shiwoo quickly turned to the direction of the voice and answered awkwardly.

As Shiwoo pulled his bag to his crotch and pressed down, he turned his head and saw a female employee already standing there, approaching the seat where Shiwoo was sitting with a smile on her face.

It was a different employee from the sister who had guided him into the cafe earlier.

Wearing a light cream-colored shirt and a dark brown apron that matched the comfortable atmosphere of the cafe, and holding the menu board slightly as if embracing it with both hands.

The employee, who looked like a student from a high-end academy or a university student, was giving off a strangely attractive charm.

Her impression was similar to that of the sister from before, but the atmosphere she gave off felt slightly different.

“If you order an event drink now, we’ll give you a tarot card reading as well~”

The female employee lifted the menu board slightly and smiled softly.

“Tarot cards?”

Shiwoo looked at the female employee with a look that seemed tempted by the words “tarot cards”.

“Yes, it’s a special event that’s only happening today~ The interns are doing it, so the price is really cheap~! We’ll even give you a coupon that you can use when you come again next time.”

The female employee smiled playfully and leaned slightly toward Shiwoo.

“Who knows when we’ll do it again if you miss it today~? You might really regret it if you just leave~”

She brought her lips close to Shiwoo’s ear as if whispering, and spoke as if telling a secret.

It was a slightly excited and coquettish tone, but inside, there was a sense of brazenness trying to push forward shamelessly.

“I recommend this drink! Roseberry Cream Soda! It’s what I really like~”

“I think it would suit you well too~ How about it?”

The female employee straightened her slightly leaning body again and tapped the vibrant photo on the menu board with a triumphant smile.

“Th, then… I’ll have that.”

When she winked as she playfully led the conversation, Shiwoo stared blankly for a moment, then nodded awkwardly.

“I’ll prepare your drink right away~ I think you’ll need a blanket too, so I should bring you one.. Eekugung~”

She glanced at Shiwoo’s bag, which was blocking her way, and spoke in an exaggerated tone as if embarrassed.

“Kukut!”

Then, as if she was satisfied with her own over-the-top lines and acting, she immediately gave a playful smile.

“Y, ye…yes…”

Shiwoo pulled his body forward as if hiding it and answered awkwardly.

The conversation with the female employee, which had passed in an instant, was tingling and spreading in one corner of Shiwoo’s chest.

Even though it seemed like she had caught him being erect and was teasing him…

Shiwoo felt a strange sense of relief filling his chest, rather than feeling ashamed and embarrassed.

In the midst of the confusion, Shiwoo looked at his smartphone to check the time.

It seemed that there was still quite some time left before Seyoung finished her academy.

A tarot card reading that was suddenly unplanned…

Excitement and an unknown anxiety mixed together, creating a subtle tremor.

Recalling the crystal ball reading he had when he first visited the magic academy, Shiwoo looked around with a feeling of hope.

Just then, at the table across the way, a woman in a witch costume was sitting face to face with a customer who looked like a lover and was spreading out tarot cards.

A small girl around Seyoung’s age, wearing a plain gray robe and hat.

She was probably an intern from the magic academy, as the employee who took his order had said.

The girl’s hand movements as she carefully spread out the tarot cards one by one had a cautious feel to them.

The delicacy and concentration felt from her small fingertips each time she spread out the cards were as skillful as if she were carefully displaying a technique that she had refined for years.

It was somehow awkward and comical to see a girl who looked to be only around Seyoung’s age giving a tarot reading seriously in front of a mature couple.

Nevertheless, from her silhouette wrapped in a loose robe, a maturity that was somehow incongruous with her small frame and youthful face was revealed.

Perhaps that girl, who looked to be around the same age as Seyoung, was also doing those kinds of things inside the blackout cafe?

At some point, Shiwoo imagined putting the girl in the witch costume on his lap in the dark and piercing through her center.

At that moment, as if sensing Shiwoo’s gaze, she, who was spreading out the tarot cards, turned her head slightly to the side and looked at Shiwoo.

The two people’s eyes met.

In an instant, a smile seemed to flicker across her face.

The smile gave the feeling as if she had intentionally confirmed Shiwoo’s existence.

Shiwoo shuddered at her gaze.

And immediately blurred his focus as if avoiding it and turned his head diagonally.

She looked ahead again and concentrated on the tarot cards as if nothing had happened.

It seemed as if she had naturally returned to the world she belonged to, as if the brief eye contact with Shiwoo had never happened in the first place.

**

“Roseberry Cream Soda is here~!”

At that moment, the female employee’s voice came to Shiwoo’s ears.

The female employee approached the table where Shiwoo was sitting with a playful smile and put down the drink.