~Chapter 37~
‘A customer just walked in?’
Riden and Glen stared at the man with puzzled expressions.
Since it was her café, Riden was curious about the new customer’s reaction. She pretended not to look but watched him closely.
Glen, however, seemed to lose interest quickly and turned his head.
He leaned in and whispered so only Riden could hear,
“Miss, why are you staring so hard? He’s not much to look at…”
If she had to categorize him, the man wasn’t ugly. Just… average.
Riden continued watching as the man placed his order and explained to Glen,
“It’s not that kind of interest. I just want to see if someone else finds the dessert tasty like I did. That’s all.”
“Oh, I see now.”
She scrunched her nose and stole another glance.
Unfortunately, the man ordered takeout, so she couldn’t watch him eat.
“Too bad. He’s taking it to go. Glen, can we have more dessert and drinks?”
“You want more? I’d love to!”
“But let’s go somewhere else this time.”
Since she planned to revive the café, Riden decided to survey the market and visit other dessert spots.
Her destination? The legendary Hagens.
Glen had once said that even noble ladies who didn’t care for the Imperial Palace insisted on visiting Hagens at least once.
It was also the dessert shop Riden had wanted to visit since her first day on the avenue.
It was just across the street—an easy walk.
“See? I told you it’s amazing, didn’t I?”
“No kidding…”
Standing before the Hagens building, both Riden and Glen tilted their heads back.
‘Why is a three-story building so tall?’
It looked nearly twice as tall as an average three-story structure, with elegant white marble walls radiating luxury.
It had been five years since Hagens opened.
She thought surely there would be dozens of copycats by now, but there were none. The reason became clear as she stared.
‘It’s not something that can be copied with mediocre capital. Who in their right mind uses expensive marble for an exterior?’
They entered and scanned for empty seats. Luckily, a couple was just getting up.
Glen rushed over cheerfully and pulled out Riden’s chair first.
A staff member approached with a menu.
“Which floor’s menu would you like?”
Riden blinked.
“Wait… the menu is different by floor?”
“You two must be first-time visitors. Allow me to explain.”
After hearing the full explanation, Riden asked for all the menus.
According to the staff, Hagens used a tiered luxury strategy by floor.
While the menu items were the same, prices varied depending on the floor. The third-floor terrace was the most expensive.
The first and second floors were open seating, but the third required a reservation.
‘They really set it up like this?’
A two-scoop ice cream set cost 2 gold on the 1st floor, 4 gold on the 2nd, and a whopping 10 gold on the 3rd—but it was so exclusive that even if you wanted to pay, you couldn’t get in without a reservation.
At a neighboring table, noble ladies were whispering about how difficult it was to score a spot.
‘Same menu, different prices, and this place is packed?’
She looked around skeptically. The café was full, and a line had formed outside.
‘Let’s just try the dessert quality today and move on.’
She ordered eight flavors of ice cream, and while waiting, Glen whispered, eyes darting nervously.
“Miss, that man who bought dessert at your café… he’s first in line outside.”
Truthfully, Riden had already noticed.
It felt like he had been following them, but she brushed it off as a coincidence. Maybe he was just a dessert maniac with similar taste.
“Maybe he just followed you. Am I imagining things?”
“Probably not. I mean, he bought dessert at my café when no one else did. He’s probably just crazy about sweets.”
“Still, it feels suspicious.”
Riden tried to calm Glen.
“Relax. There are so many people here. What could happen? If anything does, I’ll call the knight waiting with our carriage.”
As she reassured the anxious Glen, their ice cream arrived.
The bright colors instantly cheered Glen.
“Didn’t you say you don’t like sweets?”
“I like ice cream.”
“Fair.”
Riden took a spoonful and melted into bliss.
‘This tastes better than anything I had in my past life!’
She also ordered the breads that overlapped with her own café’s menu.
As she devoured the ice cream, she noticed:
Every table had ice cream—and only ice cream.
Thankfully, aside from the ice cream, the other desserts were just average.
‘If our main menu had been ice cream, we’d have no chance. But with things like cake, I think we can compete.’
Of course, her café didn’t have the grandeur or brand name of Hagens, but still—
‘We’ll win them over with fabulous takeout packaging!’
Just as she began planning her operations, she exchanged a satisfied smile with Glen, who was finishing his ice cream.
That’s when they heard a chair scraping beside them.
The man from earlier—the suspicious “dessert maniac”—had ended his wait and sat at the table right next to them.
Riden pretended not to notice and kept her cool.
Until the man stood up and approached her table.
“A greeting to a flower-like lady.”
He placed the dessert he had brought on their table.
“It’s bread. I thought you might enjoy it—the aroma was lovely.”
“Thank you, but I’m with someone. Please return to your seat. And take the bread with you.”
The man’s smile cracked slightly, but he kept a grin on.
“Ah, perhaps you react that way because I haven’t introduced myself yet.”
She had already asked him to leave. But he ignored her, pulled out a chair, and sat at her table.
‘This is exactly like that time…!’
It reminded her of when she was Dain in her past life.
She had a meeting with a vendor at a café when her ex-husband suddenly texted her asking where she was. She told him.
Then—his older brother Byungmin showed up.
“Oh, there you are, sister-in-law! And this must be a friend? I should introduce myself—I’m a department head at a major corporation…”
The woman with her wasn’t a friend. Just someone she worked with occasionally.
The vendor glanced nervously between them.
“Uh… we’re not really friends.”
“You’re chatting in a café, aren’t you? I’m paying, so order anything you want.”
“Byungmin, can I talk to you for a sec?”
Dain pulled him aside.
“We’re not friends. This is a business meeting. Please leave.”
“Come on. You always say every pretty woman isn’t your friend. Look, your brother’s trying to get married—can’t you help him? Why are you being so selfish?”
‘Are you insane? Why would you pull this crap on a stranger?!’
Still, Byungmin stayed until the vendor left.
His name was Hwang Byungmin.
A permanent assistant manager at a big company, only hired during an economic boom. He was the kind of guy who would never get a job in today’s competitive market and envied new hires for their skills and youth.
He eventually got fired for hitting on female newcomers—despite being a balding, beer-bellied man nearing forty.
Riden saw a shadow of that awful brother-in-law in the man before her, and she felt bile rise in her throat.
