Since the customers are eating well, should I make cookies and pie today too?
There are still some ingredients left in the refrigerator. I had things I bought with my part-time earnings to practice during my breaks, and there were also things that friendly neighbors gave me whenever we ran into each other, so I should be fine for a while.
The boss said they’d fix up the oven at the café so I could use it…
I have no choice if I want to please the high-ranking person. No, let’s think positively. It’s good practice, right?
I was going to share it with the neighbors who usually take care of me anyway since I can’t eat it all myself after making it.
Smack. I licked my lips and entered the house, leaving all the cookies behind, then flopped onto the bed.
I could sleep for about two hours before going to my morning shift.
I was staring blankly at the ceiling when I saw a family photo placed close beside my blanket and let out a small sigh.
Even if it’s dirty and petty, there’s nothing I can do…
“Sigh…”
Without holding back the sigh that came out naturally, I turned off my phone and closed my eyes.
…Come to think of it, he’s even more annoying.
***
“Ohhh!”
“It’s really delicious, dear.”
Ta-da, what I took out was an apple pie made with the apples I’d been saving with great determination.
Thanks to that, the quantity was limited so I couldn’t share it with all customers, but I was quite confident, so I laughed ahaha while looking at the boss, fish, and mantis customer eating with happy expressions.
Perhaps because rumors about the cookies spread quickly, there were slightly more customers than yesterday, though just a little.
Since word got out that it’s delicious, that man can’t not come either.
The boss quickly sent the oven for repairs saying to use it comfortably, and at this rate, wouldn’t it just be a matter of time before I change that person’s mind?
…Contrary to that expectation.
1 o’clock.
2:30.
5:10…
Like yesterday, time passed quickly as I worked hard, but as expected, not even a single strand of that man’s hair was visible today either.
…Annoying. Really annoying.
I looked at the one remaining piece of apple pie for the man, sighed deeply, and prepared to leave work.
Am I going to get fired when the man comes on a day I didn’t prepare anything…?
And the next day.
Brownies I made while nodding off at home with the mindset that I absolutely cannot get fired.
Somehow there were even more customers than yesterday, and I handed out the snacks I made along with drinks and waited for that man, but today too there was no sign of him coming.
I looked at the brownie remaining until the end and sighed deeply.
I don’t have much ingredients left now either. When the ingredients I bought run out, that’s the end for me too. I’m definitely not going to make anything anymore.
And the day after that.
When I made walnut pie using the walnuts the lady next door gave me and went to work, everyone looked at me with sparkling eyes as if they’d been waiting for my snacks.
Since the boss had the oven repaired, they suggested, “How about selling them occasionally?” so I accepted. The condition was that they’d pay separately for ingredient costs and labor. There was no reason not to accept this.
Wow, I can practice to my heart’s content without buying ingredients!
‘But then… I really can’t get fired, can I?’
I prayed for him to please come today, but as expected, he didn’t seem to be thinking of coming today either. The boss said it worked out well instead… but is this right?
At this point, hasn’t he forgotten about my existence…?
And another day later.
Perhaps because the rumors spread favorably, there are quite a few customers whenever I come to work.
Above all, the best news was that the repaired oven arrived. The boss was startled and avoided me for the first time when they saw me smiling like a pervert while stroking the oven, but I pretended not to notice because the oven was too pretty.
That aside, as expected today too. He’s not coming.
At this point, it’s certain. He’s forgotten about my existence.
…Annoying, really.
And on a day over two weeks after starting the part-time job.
It was when it turned 4 o’clock, I sent the boss off, and I was left alone.
I was sitting in a chair, tapping the cookies I made using the money the boss gave me and the oven while sighing, when ding-a-ling— there was the sound of the door opening. Since there were usually no customers at all during this time, I stood up thinking how strange it was.
Oh, a man with a familiar yet familiar gorgeous face slowly entered.
It was that man called Bihyeon.
Wow, I almost forgot his face.
Perhaps because I’d been waiting every day, now that I’d developed some internal familiarity, laughter came before irritation.
It was like a drained laugh, but anyway, when I stood up smiling, the man tilted his head. He approached closer with a smile at the corners of his mouth. The frighteningly cold image and eyes that didn’t smile remained the same.
I smiled brightly toward the approaching man, mixing service spirit and gladness. Then I immediately held out the cookies I’d made.
The man made an admiring sound, oh, but didn’t seem to have any intention of accepting them at all.
“Wow, really… I made these diligently every day until you came so I wouldn’t get fired.”
I muttered in a tone that said I was upset to death and held out the cookies further forward.
The man was even smiling with his eyes while looking at me, but the look in his eyes still gave off a strong feeling of ‘Why would I trust you?’
“I didn’t poison it… Should I eat it first?”
“Human-nim. Iced Americano.”
“I’ll give it to you with the drink. You will eat it, right? I couldn’t even sleep properly baking this. At least for the sincerity.”
Of course, the reason I couldn’t sleep was that I couldn’t adapt to the night shift. Even that was only for a few days but… It’s okay to exaggerate a little, right?
After a blank expression for a moment, I equipped my service smile and made the drink while placing the cookie beside it.
He could have sat down in a chair, but as expected, perhaps to monitor whether I was poisoning it or not, the man who had been watching my actions shifted his gaze to the cookie.
Will he really not eat it? Am I getting fired like this? Actually, if he’s let it go this far, it doesn’t seem like he’d fire me. Sigh, oh life. I pushed the drink and cookie in front of him, made a harmless service smile, then pointed at the cookie and emphasized without emphasizing.
“I really didn’t poison it, so don’t worry. Other people line up to eat this…”
Really. How popular what I make is here. You can’t fire me like this, okay?
After making them diligently for several days, now even the boss seemed to wait more for my cookies than for me…
Hmm, the man who had been contemplating and was about to just take the coffee and leave turned around and tore open the cookie packaging right there as if to show me, putting it in his mouth. I looked at the man with sparkling eyes, took a step closer, and waited for his reaction. The man who was chewing without much change in expression immediately took a sip of coffee and said one thing.
“It’s sweet.”
“…Pardon? I made it as not sweet as possible… Oh, you really, really hate sweets.”
“Yeah.”
I nodded my head greatly at the man’s eyes looking at me while smiling.
Looking at his reaction, rather than disliking it because I made it, it really seemed sweet to his taste.
“Then I’ll make it even less sweet for you tomorrow.”
Perhaps because he ate it anyway, the feeling of injustice I’d felt until now felt resolved.
When I spoke with confident eyes, the man shrugged his shoulders, re-wrapped the remaining cookie, turned around, and left the café.
Hmm, looking at his expression, I can continue working, right? For the first time, I smiled slightly while looking at the empty shopping bag and moved my steps alone with cleaning supplies for closing.
I’m proud, so I keep laughing for no reason.
***
And the next day.
This time too I was prepared to wait several days, but the man unexpectedly visited at a slightly early time.
I held out the iced Americano and cookie together, then smiled and pointed at the cookie.
Today I really made it less sweet. To the point where I, who like sweet things, wondered if this is even a cookie?
“By my standards, I just removed the sweetness. Yesterday was honestly delicious too, right?”
The man tore open the packaging and put one in his mouth.
Crunch crunch. He chewed the cookie with an expression showing no change, then took a sip of coffee and smiled while speaking.
“Yeah, it’s less sweet.”
…I glanced at the man who ate just one bite and re-wrapped it again. He’s not going to take this and throw it away, is he? I gently tapped the man’s arm lightly, tap tap. The man tilted his head as if wondering what this action was.
“If, if you’re going to throw it away, give it to me.”
“Hm? Throw it away?”
“I made it diligently, so it’s a bit of a waste to throw it away… It seems like you won’t eat more anyway.”
I felt it was a waste for what I worked hard to make to be thrown away, but the moment of realizing that fact seemed like it would hurt my heart more. Then the man who had been looking at me as if asking what strange thing I was saying laughed, haha.
“I’m not that much of trash.”
“…Will you eat it all?”
“You’ll be punished by heaven if you leave food.”
“Huh? Then did you eat all of yesterday’s too?”
“Didn’t you give it to me to eat it all? I ate it diligently in my own way.”
What! He’s kinder than I thought.
When I smiled brightly at those words, the man stared at me intently.
“Since you made it yourself, I’ll eat it all. Today’s suits my taste too.”
He took out one more cookie, put it in his mouth, waved roughly at the boss, and left the café.
Right. You’ll be punished if you leave food. As I was laughing foolishly, the boss and customers whose faces had become familiar jumped up and approached, then slapped my arm!
It didn’t hurt, but it felt very strange being hit by a frog.
“I’m really on edge because of you! What if he has a change of heart and sends down heavenly punishment on you or something?”
“Huh? I’d receive heavenly punishment?”
I’m only guilty of baking something delicious, but I’d receive heavenly punishment…? That’s somewhat unfair then.
And although it’s only been two days, looking at that man, he doesn’t seem like he’d give me heavenly punishment now. If he disliked me, wouldn’t he have ended up accepting it because I made it diligently?
He doesn’t seem to be as cold and scary an existence as I thought…
Maybe I’m opening my heart too much just from the fact that he accepted the cookies.
“Yes! How amazing is that person! Not only us, but humans too—he can obliterate them without a sound. That person is one who judges.”
“How amazing is he?”
“Oh my, you fool. You confronted him without knowing that! Just looking at him, he overflows with divinity! That person is…!”
It’s not like I have the ability to notice that…
No, honestly, I did notice to some extent as soon as I saw him, but since I’m ignorant about this world, I don’t know what his identity is.
And I’ve never confronted him. I just lived diligently to not get fired.
“First, calm down, Boss Ppik…!”
The fish customer who had been stopping the boss, who was thumping their chest as if frustrated, looked at me with an awkward smile.
“Still, looking at that person’s reaction, it really seems like you don’t have to worry about getting fired. That’s fortunate.”
What, why are you stopping mid-sentence to make me curious? Koreans hate it when you stop mid-sentence.
