Chapter 3 ….
Of all places, the café was quiet enough that their entire conversation carried.
“No, it’s someone I don’t know. I just saw someone fall really hard on the street a few days ago, and they looked similar.”
“What do you mean? You even remember the face of the person who fell?”
“They practically flew. It was memorable, wasn’t it?”
He was clearly pretending not to recognize her while actually knowing, probably because his girlfriend was in front of him.
Haeju didn’t want to stir up any trouble either, so she quietly prepared the drinks that had been ordered.
“Wow, that must’ve been so embarrassing for them.”
His girlfriend let out an unfiltered exclamation.
Haeju focused on preparing the drinks, growing serious despite whatever they said.
I really need to return that umbrella.
Thinking of the cost of the umbrella he had given her, she decided it would be best to carry it to and from the café for the time being. After all, if this café was within the man’s usual range, there was a good chance he’d visit again soon.
The coat rack looked decent, so even with sweatpants over her uniform, she appeared presentable. She didn’t dwell on his financial situation. He wasn’t the shameless type who would accept a pricey umbrella from a poor customer and pretend not to know.
I don’t want to get further involved either.
He clearly seemed to have a complicated romantic life. And he wasn’t exactly a financially responsible “cafè poor” type. She didn’t want to get close to him as a friend or acquaintance. A strong premonition told her that getting involved with him would only complicate her already chaotic life.
After placing the finished drinks on the pickup counter, she pressed the buzzer.
The man picked up the vibrating buzzer and walked toward the pickup counter. Haeju, fearing he might speak to her, subtly stepped aside as if she had other things to do.
Ding, ziiing.
The sound of the buzzer landing on the counter rang out.
She pretended to be organizing the machine for a moment, and just as he returned to his seat, she turned back toward the pickup counter.
Her eyes met the man’s directly. He was standing there, staring straight at her.
His dark eyes locked onto hers.
“I’ll enjoy this.”
“….”
A faint smile curved his lips, and he nodded slightly in greeting.
Before Haeju could even move her lips, he grabbed the tray and headed back to his seat.
Ziiing…
She quickly returned the buzzer to its place on the counter.
Strangely, her palms were sweaty. Maybe she had set the heater too high; it was a bit warm. She lowered the temperature by one level and resumed washing the few remaining dishes.
How can someone be so shameless?
Haeju was unusually free, and the café only had one table occupied. She pretended to be busy, inventing tasks, while stealing glances at the poor guy’s table.
The man had been sitting there playing a mobile game for an hour straight.
His girlfriend, sitting opposite him like a screen, kept her eyes fixed on her phone and barely spoke, except for brief, short responses.
She seemed cheerful when smiling, but ever since sitting down, she remained expressionless.
Without a smile, his cold features made him look detached, but somehow, only around him the temperature seemed higher.
When he smiled, it was like a summer meadow; when expressionless, he reminded one of the shadowy, cool alley cast by harsh sunlight.
Either way, he didn’t seem at all like winter.
The girl tried talking a few times but gave up after receiving indifferent responses. Over an hour had passed with almost no conversation.
The iced Americano he had chugged immediately after sitting had melted entirely, leaving only water.
Does he rely on his looks and drinks for that kind of confidence?
He was undeniably handsome.
Even slouched in his chair, head down, playing the game, there was no awkwardness in his posture.
He was tall enough that his legs could reach the opposite chair with ease. With such a face and body, he could easily be a model or actor, yet what exactly did he do for a living?
Maybe an unknown celebrity. Surely, a local student wouldn’t live a “café poor” life…
Hopefully, he wasn’t some kind of host club professional.
She didn’t want to dwell on it, but as they were the only remaining customers, her gaze kept drifting toward them.
Closing time was approaching, and it seemed she should start tidying up the café.
After cleaning everything except the couple’s table and tying up the trash bag, she heard a low voice from the café.
“Kim Suhee.”
So the girl’s name was Suhee. She learned the girlfriend’s name before the guy’s by accident.
“Huh?”
“Do you still want to date me, even if I act like this?”
“Why… all of a sudden?”
He smirked.
“It’s not really ‘all of a sudden.’ You said if I did everything you asked, we’d break up neatly before the semester started. So I did everything.”
“You don’t talk about breakups while gaming.”
“Then when should I?”
Without looking at the other person, the café poor guy responded expressionlessly.
“It’s closing time. Let’s step outside to talk. Or, it’s cold—shall we continue tomorrow? I’ll go out and wait first.”
Clang. The other person jumped up as if fleeing and left the café first.
Thud. The man tossed his phone onto the table.
“Sigh…”
He brushed his hair back with one hand, leaning back in his chair. His tense expression and hardened eyes looked tired, as if from an all-nighter.
His head slowly tilted toward Haeju. Feeling their eyes might meet, she quickly looked away.
Why isn’t he following her out?
Uncomfortable with being the only ones left, Haeju hurried outside with the trash bags. She planned to quickly dispose of the garbage and leave him inside alone. Both bags were quite heavy.
As she pushed the door open with her shoulder, the weight lifted instantly. Cool winter air flowed in.
She looked up and saw the man in sweatpants holding the door.
He seemed large sitting down, but standing beside him, he appeared even bigger.
Though Haeju was tall for a girl, she had to tilt her head to meet his gaze.
Seeing her eyes, his expression softened slightly.
“You work here part-time?”
“Yes.”
“Much better suited than committing insurance fraud.”
“I’m not committing insurance fraud.”
He smirked.
Whether he went to calm his girlfriend or end things, leaving her outside in the cold while chatting with another woman was strange.
His gaze shifted to the trash bags Haeju was holding.
“Those look heavy.”
Whether he meant her arms or his own, Haeju quickly greeted him and brushed past, heading outside.
“Huh… sniff…”
Turning the corner toward the trash bins, she saw the man’s girlfriend crying under the streetlight.
Standing outside in the cold, her face and fingertips were red from freezing. Her sobs scattered into the air with her breath.
Her carefully applied eye makeup had been ruined by tears. She must have spent a long time on it—what bad luck to meet such a guy.
Haeju passed by her and went toward the trash bins in the alley.
The girl likely stepped out to avoid showing such vulnerability to her, so Haeju intended to quickly dispose of the garbage and leave. She was also cold without a coat.
Closing the trash bin lid, she turned and heard a voice right at the alley’s entrance.
“Sniff… do we really have to break up? I tried so hard…”
“Don’t cry.”
The man’s deep voice was firm.
The girl wiped her tears with her palms and spoke in a trembling voice.
“Fine… I really can’t take it anymore. Let’s break up. I’m tired of this so-called ‘date.’”
As she declared the breakup, Haeju looked toward the other side of the alley.
The path toward the trash bins was completely blocked.
Café poor guy replied calmly, out of place with the situation.
“Okay. You did well. Take care.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“You just dumped me. I got dumped. We said our goodbyes. Isn’t that enough?”
…And just like that, they were trapped in the alley.
The narrow alley, blocked at one end by the trash bins, left only the path they were standing on as the exit.
With her escape blocked, Haeju ended up forced to witness a full-blown lovers’ quarrel.
