episode_0076

Last night, I had to deal with Mirae, who was very venomous, until 2 AM before I could fall asleep.

Hanna Yeon and Na Rin got tired of watching and went to sleep first, and Mirae kept on attacking until she won.

So, even if I pretend to lose by a narrow margin, he will notice like a ghost and glare at me, telling me to do it right.

It was truly hell… .

Even if I worked overtime for two days in a row, I came home late the day before. Of course, it was entirely my fault for sleeping late last night.

“Ugh… .”

Mirae is still at an age where her blood is boiling, so it’s okay to push herself for a day or two, but I’m at an age where I need to start taking care of my body.

This means that you are starting to feel the limits of your physical strength.

I was fine until I got up in the morning and sat down, but after about an hour I started feeling a little queasy.

My eyes are blurry because of my tired eyes, and my mind keeps drifting away.

“Mr. Haru, where does it hurt?”

Just as my vision was starting to darken, a worried voice from the side woke me up.

“Oh, no? Why are you doing that?”

“No, it’s just like a zombie.”

As I shook my head and forced my eyelids open, Im Seul-gi came towards me, waving her hands.

zombi….

It’s definitely not normal.

“Actually… I couldn’t sleep well… .”

As I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand and smiled weakly, Im Seul-gi, who had dragged a chair and come closer to me, coughed in vain as if she was embarrassed.

“Want to take a break? Buy me some coffee. I don’t have anything to do right now.”

If the receptionists are responsible for the hero’s mental health, then Im Seul-gi is in charge of taking care of the receptionists’ mental health.

Moreover, since the most senior employee retired recently, Im Seol-gi is taking even more careful care of the receptionists.

The sense of responsibility as the oldest member. It must be a heavy burden, but he carries it out silently without a single complaint.

“No! It’s okay.”

So, I couldn’t complain to Im Seul-gi either.

At least I should do my job properly.

“I have to finish these statistics too… .”

The job of compiling statistics on the areas where demons and monsters appear, their frequency, and their danger levels. It is about deriving objective data based on the information received.

Areas where demons have appeared once have a high probability of appearing again, and the risk level is also likely to remain constant or increase slightly.

In particular, since monsters are ultimately human, they often show regularities, and this is said to be helpful in discovering monster hideouts. Of course, since they are human, there are times when they show behavioral patterns that are difficult to understand.

“I haven’t been making any progress since a while ago, and is this correct?”

Im Seul-gi pointed to my monitor.

Exit 1 of East Station, the number of demons that appeared in one month is 22,222,222.

For this number to be reached, an average of more than 740,000 demons would have to appear every day.

It is already a high-risk area, to the point where there are talks of moving the location of the East Station, but if it exceeds 741,000 per day… .

“If things were like this, Easty would have been in ruins long ago?”

“Oh, sorry… .”

I must have dozed off for a moment and was holding down the number keys.

I hurriedly erased all the numbers except the very first digit.

The number of demon appearances at Exit 1 of Ist Station in one month is ‘2’.

If you look at just this one place, it may seem like a very small number, but since the areas are so densely divided, the number is quite large when you look at the entire Easti.

“Go rest. I’ll finish it up.”

As I was checking the numbers again, Im Seul-gi pushed in and took my seat.

Certainly, if things continue like this, it will only cause trouble. And there is no guarantee that the same mistake won’t happen again.

“Thank you… . Oh, would you like some coffee?”

He got up from his seat with a bitter smile.

The only reason I couldn’t focus on my work was because of the game. I couldn’t look at Im Seul-gi properly because of the guilt that was washing over me.

“Then I’ll ask you to do it.”

Lim Seul-gi is already working on her keyboard with her hands up and working skillfully. I thought she was just playing card games next to me, but a veteran is a veteran after all.

Well then, first, a glass of iced Americano… .

“Oh, Mr. Haru’s cafe? I’ll just get an iced Americano, too! I’ll send you the money separately.”

The receptionist raised her hand when she saw me get up from my seat.

I felt really uncomfortable thinking that I was the only one having break time, but I felt a lot more relieved when I started taking orders from other people.

“I would like to ask Shin Ha-kyun for the same thing!”

“Ah, senior! I’ll be back!”

While the receptionist colleagues were taking orders one by one, Kim Min-ji suddenly got up as if she was going to run towards me.

“Minji, you were learning this, right? Where are you trying to get away from it.”

“That’s not it… .”

But there was another senior next to her, so Kim Min-ji sat down in front of the computer again with a desperate expression.

“No, I’m on the second floor anyway. Just a moment, let me make a note… .”

He waved his hand and took his cell phone out of his pocket.

A total of 8 orders.

Except for one vanilla latte, all are iced Americano.

Is there any benefit to iced Americano?

After taking all the orders, I headed to the cafe on the second floor with languid steps.

“Hey, Mr. Iharu…!”

A rather rare combination was waiting for me inside the cafe.

Hanna Yeon and the branch manager standing side by side in front of the counter.

In particular, the branch manager came running to me as soon as he saw me.

“Hey… Did something bad happen to Chef Hanna Yeon?”

He brought his lips to my ear and whispered very carefully.

“Yes… ?”

“I feel angry for some reason… and the answers are blunt… .”

Hanna Yeon standing blankly in front of the counter.

Are you just spacing out?

Since the branch manager and Hanna Yeon had not met face to face much, it seems that some kind of misunderstanding arose between them.

“Um… That’s just my personality… .”

Our Nayeon doesn’t ask.

To tell her that fact in person, I passed the branch manager and approached Hanna Yeon.

And the order that follows naturally.

“Oh, so… seven iced Americanos… one vanilla latte… and a caramel… please… .”

In fact, it wasn’t natural at all.

I don’t know about the branch manager, but to me, the cafe staff felt like it was much more difficult than Hanna Yeon.

“Would you like your vanilla latte and caramel macchiato iced?”

“Uh… Yes, yes! Ice! With ice in it… .”

“Size is….”

“That… Give me all the medium ones. Medium size… .”

“Okay, I’ll take seven iced Americanos, one vanilla latte, and one caramel macchiato. I’ll help you pay first.”

Phew… .

Cold sweat is running down my spine.

Even though I can do it in my head as if it were flowing water no matter how many times I do it, when I am suddenly bombarded with questions, my response becomes slow. Especially since I rarely order this many things at once like this.

“I’ll calculate it.”

“Oh, no! Don’t worry about it! We all split the bill and live together… .”

The moment I was about to place my phone on the terminal, a small hand suddenly popped out from underneath and inserted a card.

“I don’t want to be called a boss who doesn’t buy me a cup of coffee even though we came to a cafe together. Please save some face here. Okay, Haru-ssi?”

The branch manager, who applied subtle pressure with a smile, nodded and told the employee that it was okay to pay.

There’s no reason to refuse so many times, since you said it like that… .

“I will drink it gratefully… .”

“Yeah, you should have done that a long time ago.”

Only then did the branch manager look satisfied and take a step back.

But… why are Hanna Yeon and the branch manager waiting while holding coffee?

“Hey… It’s okay to be alone… .”

“Huh? Aren’t you waiting for Mr. Iharu?”

As he spoke, the branch manager took a sip of the black water that looked like chocolate latte, then headed back to the counter.

“Can you pack a piece of cake? With the chocolate mousse over there… .”

Chocolate latte, chocolate cake, and a smiling branch manager.

I almost felt embarrassed because I thought I had overinterpreted it, but my heart melted when I saw the branch manager like that.

Of course, if I tell this fact to the branch manager, he’ll be in big trouble.

“What time did you go yesterday?”

I took my eyes off the branch manager and sat down on the chair, when Hanna Yeon quietly approached me and spoke to me.

“Around 2 o’clock… .”

He muttered, lying face down on the table.

Oh, I shouldn’t have sat down.

The cafe was filled with the faint aroma of coffee beans. Soft classical music followed. Even the chairs were made of sofa material, so I had a strong urge to fall asleep here.

But I don’t want to get up… .

“You must be tired.”

“Yeah, I’m sleepy… .”

He smiled faintly and half-closed his eyes.

As Hanna Yeon’s low voice caressed my ears like a lullaby, I began to think that I was really wrong.

“Hey… What did you two do until 2 in the morning?”

Suddenly.

No, what’s wrong with that? This is a place you come to work.

I jumped up from my chair at the sound of the branch manager’s voice.

“I went to a housewarming party and… I played some games… . Sorry… .”

It’s amazing even to think about it.

You’re not even a high school student, so why are you bragging about staying up late after playing games?

But I couldn’t cover it up with a lie, so all I had to do was bow my head.

You even bought me coffee… .

Now I really shouldn’t touch games on weekdays.

“No, I didn’t mean to scold you… . Rather, is it a housewarming party… .”

The branch manager looked around with a somewhat embarrassed look on his face, then hurriedly changed the subject and slowly approached me.

“Yes, housewarming… … .”

Something feels uneasy.

Shadows cast under the hair.

Soon, the branch manager stopped right in front of me and began to talk to himself in a low, sinister voice.

“I didn’t invite you when Yeon-i got married… Well, she feels more like an old colleague than a friend… Hehe… It’s a housewarming party at a friend’s house… I’m not particularly jealous, but I’m curious about what it’ll feel like… Experience is important, after all… ”

All I could really understand was that experience is important in anything.

It’s a bit awkward to ask again, and it’s difficult to respond… .

“Guest number 26!”

“Ah, the coffee is here.”

Fortunately, the coffee came out a little faster than the branch manager’s darkness would have consumed me.

This time I survived.

When I happily went to get my coffee, a whopping 9 cups of coffee greeted me.

They were divided into 6 and 3 pieces on each coffee tray, and the 6-piece coffee tray was definitely quite heavy.

“Hanna Yeon, I don’t think I can make it to lunch today.”

“Okay.”

I guess I’ll have to sleep in during lunch today. That way I can concentrate on my work this afternoon.

“Then, Branch Manager, I’ll excuse myself first!”

After grabbing my coffee, I bowed to the branch manager and hurriedly walked away.

“Housewarming… Chef Hanna Yeon, do you have a moment?”

“Ah… .”

Trying to ignore the ominous feeling behind my back.

Hanna Yeon, I’m sorry… .