Yokai Come to the Countryside Café

Chapter 38: Rookie (8)

I didn’t expect him to come again.

A man who lived without envy of others, wrapped tightly in pride.

So I figured he might at least offer a token of thanks for letting him sleep over last time—but to come in person like this? And without even calling first?

I couldn’t tell if he was being rude or courteous.

“Whatever the reason, come inside for now.”

“More importantly, here.”

Assistant Manager Joo Dohyuk opened the trunk and pulled out a bunch of shopping bags.

“Payment for the sleepover last time.”

“That’s not necessary. It was just a coworker spending the night. A thank-you coffee is more than enough.”

“I’m Joo Dohyuk of Daecheon Group. Coffee? Come on, I’ve got pride. And this isn’t for you, I mean, not for Manager Kim Jinseong. It’s for the kid. The kid.”

“A present for Ria?”

Unbelievable.

Among the items in the shopping bags, I saw several pink toy boxes that seemed like things a little girl would love.

But there were too many boxes. He somehow managed to load all of that into his car.

“Geez, so heavy.”

I blocked Assistant Manager Joo Dohyuk as he tried to carry the load into the café.

“What?”

“I really appreciate your thoughtfulness, but I can’t accept it.”

“I told you, it’s for the kid. Just think of it as paying for the ramyeon the other day.”

Yeah, I figured he’d pull something like this.

I pointed to the frame visible through the window.

“What? ‘Coffee must be paid for… with money’?”

“Yes, it’s the rule of our café.”

There wasn’t even a need to invoke the Divine Eye.

Once might be unavoidable. But there’s a saying that a second time is foolish, and a third time is being complicit. And here I was—this made four times.

At last, the motto of our café was about to shine.

“Are you joking? Do you even know how much all this is worth?”

“I don’t. And I don’t want to know.”

I couldn’t accept it. This time, I had blocked him before he could force it on us.

I felt sorry he went through the trouble of carrying it all, but since the tags were still on, he could just return everything.

“This is nuts. Fine—just one. I’ll leave just one! And if you say no, I’m tossing everything on the ground and walking off. Damn, now I sound like some salesman.”

While we were bickering, Ria came down from the second floor and gave a polite bow.

“Hello!”

“Huh? Oh, hey.”

“What’s all this?”

She asked as she picked up and organized the shopping bags scattered around the car.

“This uncle brought them all. They’re presents for you.”

Assistant Manager Joo Dohyuk shifted his approach to Ria.

“Then, are you rich?”

“Of course. These are really expensive.”

“Wow! You’re like Nicholas!”

“Huh? Who’s Nicholas?”

Instead of answering, Ria dashed to the bookshelf beneath the counter and brought back a faded fairy tale book.

“He’s the main character in this book! Saint Nicholas was super rich. But he gave presents to poor kids who didn’t have parents. That’s why I’m getting these, right? Right, mister?”

“Well…”

Eyes full of desperate hope. But I was just as flustered.

Regardless of whether I claimed to be her guardian, I wasn’t Ria’s parent.

It was hard enough to hear those words come from the child herself.

If even I felt like this, knowing she had no parents since birth, how would Joo Dohyuk feel?

“Then let’s pick just one. Okay?”

“Okay!”

No matter what she picked, it was worth hundreds of thousands of won. A bit much in return for a bowl of ramyeon.

But it was a gift wrapped in goodwill. That’s how Ria saw it.

A present for a poor, parentless child? It almost made the giver feel guilty.

“Pick this one. It’s the biggest and looks the most expensive.”

“No! Then the kids poorer than me might not get what they want.”

Well, it’s not like we’re that poor…

After much thought, Ria chose a small hair tie.

It was one of the cheaper items, even by department store standards.

“I’ll take this! It’s the smallest.”

“You picked it because it’s the smallest? It’s way too cheap. Pick another.”

“This is enough!”

It was a decision based on experience. From what she had seen at the toy aisle in the supermarket, the bigger the box, the more expensive it was.

“Thank you.”

“Well, hmm.”

Only after she accepted just one gift were we finally able to sit around the table.

“It’s not lunchtime yet, right? If you have time, stay for a meal.”

“Huh? Should I?”

What the—why is he so enthusiastic?

“There’s more, so let me know if it’s not enough.”

‘It’s not tonkatsu…’

What Jinseong brought out from the kitchen was kimchi fried rice.

A rough dish with kimchi, egg, and chopped spam served in the same stainless steel bowl we used for ramyeon before.

Ordinarily, he would’ve demanded a proper meal for bringing all those gifts. He’d gone shopping at the department store in the morning with that in mind.

But once he arrived at Jinseong’s café and the gift-giving was done, he found himself unable to say anything.

Now he was the one reading the room.

The pretty little girl’s chosen gift was worth maybe 100,000 won at best.

Even if you added up the cost of the night’s lodging and meals, it didn’t add up.

‘Geez, this shabby place. Whether it’s the owner or the girl… Still, it looks tasty.’

Like tonkatsu, kimchi fried rice was something you wouldn’t often see on a chaebol family’s table.

He’d never even thought of wanting to eat it.

But the moment that steaming spoonful of kimchi fried rice entered his mouth—

“Gasp!”

It was so delicious it made his head tingle.

Most of Jinseong’s dishes included a generous dose of MSG. It was a vivid flavor you couldn’t find in the fine cuisine Dohyuk was used to.

Moreover, the kimchi was the homemade kind Jinseong brought from the market—full of salted seafood, just like Grandma’s recipe.

In the blink of an eye, only an empty bowl remained in front of Dohyuk.

“Would you like some more?”

-Sliiide.

Without a word, Dohyuk extended his empty bowl.

Only after eating two more bowls did he finally set down his spoon.

“Looks like it suited your taste.”

At Jinseong’s question, Dohyuk gave a small nod. Even he felt quite embarrassed about having cleared three bowls.

“I thought chaebols didn’t like this kind of food.”

“We’re still human, aren’t we?”

“But in movies, they’re always cutting steak.”

“Ha! That’s all exaggerated.”

‘It’s the first time he’s talking with someone like me, yet he’s sharp.’

They say reality can’t surpass fiction.

If he racked his brain, he might recall having tried it once, but Jinseong was right—this wasn’t a dish Dohyuk ate regularly.

On the other hand, Dohyuk, who was getting a brief glimpse of common life at Jinseong’s café, received a shock he hadn’t anticipated.

It all began with Ria’s innocent question.

“But what’s steak?”

“It’s when you cut a big piece of beef and grill it. Want to see? How about it?”

“The meat’s so big!”

“That one plate probably costs about twenty bowls of ramyeon.”

“Wow!”

‘What the hell, she’s never had steak? Not even once in her life? Is this what life for commoners is like?’

Luckily, he kept the question to himself.

She looked to be at least five. A child that age never having tasted steak—this went far beyond sympathy.

‘Still, doesn’t our company’s salary start at about four million won? One plate of steak at All-Four-Gang is two hundred thousand, so I guess it makes sense they can’t afford it. Wait, hold on. Can you even live on four million won? You can’t even buy a decent set of clothes with that.’

The difference between vaguely assuming someone had it hard and understanding the reality through concrete numbers was like heaven and earth.

To Dohyuk, for whom the luxury section was a place to buy daily necessities, four million won was an absurdly small amount.

He had no idea that the pitiful father and daughter before him were getting a monthly allowance from the National Intelligence Service roughly equivalent to a professional salary—just for coffee.

At the same time, on the second floor of the café.

Sanyi had her ear pressed to the floor, attempting to eavesdrop(?).

“It’s quiet now. I think they’re gone.”

“Who said they’re gone? The car’s still parked right outside.”

“Sniff sniff, now I smell food too!”

“I see.”

-Growl.

“Hiiing, I want to go down. I’m getting hungry.”

“Even if I don’t mind, if you go down, Jinseong’s going to be in trouble.”

Though he said that, it wasn’t exactly easy for the Gumiho to go downstairs either.

If he had been a guest from the beginning, that’d be one thing, but for a stranger to suddenly come down from the second floor—it would be awkward no matter what excuse he came up with.

The two Divine Beasts, who had to avoid contact with ordinary people as much as possible, really had no option but to stay quiet and wait.

And for Sanyi, who couldn’t resist food, it was a torturous time.

“I’m going down.”

“I told you, no.”

“If I just climb down this rope sneakily, I can go straight into the kitchen and get the food. Guests don’t usually go into the kitchen, so I won’t get caught.”

“Your mouth sure runs smoothly.”

Reluctantly, he had to admit Sanyi had a point. And it wasn’t like anyone would suffer because of it.

As long as she managed to enter the kitchen without a hitch, she’d get some food.

Besides, the one doing the hard part was the raccoon dog. He’d just sit back and enjoy the show.

“Then go ahead.”

“Ehem, just trust me! I already measured the rope length—just climb down.”

Sliding down the clothesline, Sanyi easily made her way into the kitchen.

It helped that Jinseong always left the window wide open while cooking.

‘Hoooo! That rice looks delicious!’

Instinctively, Sanyi started eating the kimchi fried rice with her front paws instead of using a spoon, so she wouldn’t make noise.

‘Phew! Now I’m full.’

Stuffed, Sanyi strained to climb back up the clothesline.

“Did you bring it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said you’d bring back some rice, didn’t you?”

“Oh!”

“You didn’t…!”

“I couldn’t help it. It was too delicious—I forgot I was a fox.”

“Quit talking and go back down.”

“No way. I’m too heavy. I barely made it back up.”

“I didn’t ask.”

The Gumiho placed his hand firmly on Sanyi’s head as she clung to the railing.

“Get your hand off me! I’ll fall! Ahh!”

-Crash.

And Sanyi, of all places, fell straight into a pile of miscellaneous junk.

The crash was loud enough that it was impossible to cover up, and soon, the first floor was in chaos.

“What was that noise? Huh? It’s the raccoon dog. Is that the one Deputy General Manager Cha said he saw? What the hell did he eat to get that fat? Wait, a photo!”

Enduring all sorts of personal insults and even getting photographed, all Sanyi could do was run away from the café with tears in her eyes.

Even then, her waddling steps were slowed by the amount she had eaten.