“Absolutely don’t overdo it!”
“Yes, I won’t.”
When I spoke while waving the tools for wiping tables, the boss looked at me intently with eyes pondering whether or not to confiscate them. Then, smoothly, his gaze lowered beneath me.
“But Sola. Those puppies behind you, could they possibly be…”
“Puppies?”
The only things that could be called puppies are the Haechis, right? But there was no way they’d be here. Since I’d only be at the café today with no other schedule, I hadn’t particularly brought the Haechis along. I turned around.
– Gwung?
…Hm? Gwung? Why are these guys here? The Haechis at my feet, smiling brightly and wagging their tails, looked at the boss once, then at me once, and panted with sparkling eyes.
“Dal, Byeol. When did you get here?”
When I crouched down in confusion and hugged the Haechis, the reactions around me became strange. Should I say it became excessively quiet? Even the boss who had told me about the Haechis’ presence had a strange reaction. It was a reaction as if he’d encountered a sight he shouldn’t see. As if he’d seen legendary animals…
“Boss?”
“To think the day would come when I’d see Haechis… with my own eyes…”
Could it be that Haechis are precious beings even in this world? When I hugged the Haechis tightly and stepped back, a blanket suddenly fluttered over the Haechis cradled in my arms. The snake, flustered even more than me with his ears turning red, hurriedly pushed my shoulder weakly.
“Q-quickly, to the back…”
Seeing the shocked faces of the customers, I couldn’t bring myself to say it was okay, so I headed to the staff room while holding the Haechis. When I set the Haechis down on the floor, they wagged their tails vigorously, showing their good mood. So you guys really are precious beings. I thought I should ask Bihyeon about it later. Soon, I brought my cardigan that I’d left in the staff room, spread it on the floor, and placed the Haechis on top of it.
“Can you stay here quietly while I work?”
Or should I ask Munmun to open the door when work gets slow and put them in the palace…? While pondering, I sent a message to Bihyeon.
Bihyeon-nim, it seems the Haechis followed me..
But wait a moment. There’s no way he wouldn’t know the Haechis followed me.
Bihyeon-nim
They’re Sola’s guardian deities, after all.
Bihyeon-nim
(Fox covering mouth and laughing emoticon)
Wow, how does he even use an emoticon that looks so much like him? So in the end, he already knew the Haechis followed me but didn’t tell me.
You could at least tell me..ㅜㅜ
Bihyeon-nim
Those kids will keep following only Hansol from now on, so get used to it.
That means they’ll chase after me even when I come to work at the café. But what about when I go to school? That’s the human world, so won’t it be difficult? While pondering and tapping my phone, I came back out to the counter. After some time passed, many of the customers in the hall had left. Moreover, the shark who had been the only one to speak to me was also gone, nowhere to be seen.
Bihyeon-nim
They won’t be visible to humans, so don’t worry.
Aha, then I can take them with me when I go out or when I return to school. I checked the content through the preview on the screen and organized the coffee beans. But how does he know like a ghost what I’m worrying about? Since I’m working, I’ll reply later… I put my phone in my pocket and worked diligently while moving around, and the gazes full of anxiety from the snake and the boss followed me intently.
‘By the way, school…’
Since I’d attended until now, wanting to graduate anyway was the first reason, but there was also a kid who kept coming to mind. But you never know how things will turn out for people, right?
Even if I returned to school, I couldn’t be certain that kid would still be at school. I should have just given him my number when he asked. At the time, I was too busy, and I regretted deliberately rejecting his goodwill, thinking that someone like me shouldn’t give affection.
I was thinking other thoughts while even taking out a broom to sweep where customers had left. Suddenly, the boss grabbed my arm and pointed at the counter.
“Sola, you guard that spot today.”
“After I sweep this.”
“Why are you working so hard from the first day! Hurry to the counter. Shoo!”
“Boss… this is all for my salary, so of course I have to work hard. Oh, right. Can I use the oven?”
“Of course you can use it! But not today, do it once you get familiar. And you work too hard, you know? Hm?”
I feel like I’ll get familiar with the work quickly. Even now, isn’t my body moving naturally? But my heart softened at the worried gaze, so I eventually returned to the counter.
“Ah, um, th-there… during the day, there are a bit of u-unusual customers… they’re all k-kind people, but… humans are weak and… also get startled easily…”
When I went to the counter, the hesitating snake told me. It seemed to be his own way of handing over duties. Mm, listening to the content carefully, it seemed like he was worrying about me too. I smiled at the snake who was stuttering while watching my reaction.
“Yes, thank you for telling me. I’ll be careful not to get startled.”
I’ve already had a Golden Dragon by my side and even met the Twelve Zodiac Deities, so what more is there to be startled about… there could be. Quite a lot, perhaps. It’s a place where it wouldn’t be strange for anything to happen.
“When do you start working nights?”
“T-tomorrow.”
Then from tomorrow, we’ll only meet briefly when we’re changing shifts. I wanted to get close to him since he seemed to have guarded this place reliably while I was away, so I felt a bit disappointed.
“Oh, and, Sa-eon… ah, that man who asked for cookies earlier.”
“Yes.”
So the shark-like man’s name is Saeon.
“He’s a shark tribe prince, so his servants and even he himself might… c-come often… d-don’t be startled, I’m telling you in advance…”
I see. He was a shark tribe prince… wait… huh? Prince?
“Pardon…?”
“He said the cookies here suit his taste perfectly… wh-what I made was also made with the recipe you gave me. Anyway, so he comes p-pretty often…”
The snake’s ears were red as he hesitantly hung his head low.
“S-since he hasn’t been out of Atlantis for long… he’ll probably keep coming for a while. Um, uh… mm… the next time the path opens is in about 2 years in human time…?”
Atlantis? Wh-what is that? I looked at the snake with serious eyes and then squeezed my eyes shut. No, let’s not ask deeply. I felt like I’d hear information I shouldn’t know again. Let’s work for now. To deliberately turn my thoughts elsewhere, I worked hard moving around even at the counter looking for tasks.
Had I gone back and forth at the counter for quite a while? Around the time I was organizing cups while reciting drink recipes that were in my head but a bit confusing, a ding-a-ling sound rang and a familiar beautiful blonde man entered the café.
“Bihyeon-nim.”
Silence. As soon as he arrived, stillness visited the café once again. When our eyes met and I smiled brightly, Bihyeon tilted his head and grinned widely. But somehow his gaze was…
“I told you to work moderately, but it seems you really worked hard.”
“I worked moderately. I didn’t wipe the tables myself, and I didn’t take any customer orders…”
“But why do you have a fever?”
Bihyeon, who raised his hand and placed the back of his hand on my cheek, lifted the corners of his mouth. His eyes weren’t smiling at all, giving off a chilly atmosphere.
“I… suppose…?”
It’s strange. I didn’t work that hard. I touched my forehead following his lead. It was definitely hot.
“F-fever? You have a fever? I knew this would happen! I should have sent you back earlier…!”
Hearing those words, the boss looked at me with shocked eyes and then hurriedly pushed my back.
“You go quickly! Go and rest!”
“Boss, wait a moment. Just…”
As I was pushed toward the door, the Haechis came running out from behind and jumped into my arms.
“Tomorrow just rest well and let’s see each other the day after!”
After greeting the boss who was waving his hand, I crossed through the door while being held by Bihyeon’s hand. When I blinked, I saw Bihyeon’s house. The fox who had been heading to the kitchen holding dishes smiled brightly and greeted me.
“You’re back?”
“Ah… I’m back.”
It felt like I’d just had a short dream. A dream about going out to the café to work. Is it because the location changed so quickly that it felt even more unreal? Everything just feels like a dream. Even coming to this place.
“Please make some porridge. And call Malgeum.”
“Oh my, is Sola’s condition again…”
I was touching my forehead when someone from behind suddenly lifted me up. Uwah. Flustered, I flailed my arms in the air and looked back. The tiger I met while blinking wordlessly moved me to the room.
“You’re too weak.”
Yes… I do seem to be weak. To think my fever rises like this after working just three hours. Still, it seemed like before I was healthy enough to be called a corpse if you took away my stamina.
“Mm… it’ll take a really long time for me to return to being healthy, right? Being weak is more inconvenient than I thought.”
It was Bihyeon who lifted me up again when my feet had just touched the room. Without answering my question, he smiled faintly and walked with large strides to the bed, laying me down. Mm, this means it’ll take a long time. Sigh. The Haechis jumped up beside me as I sighed and leaned close against my body. Thanks to that, I felt their warmth and it was cozy.
– Kiiing…
“I’m okay.”
Perhaps because the tension released, I felt a bit languid too.
“I’ll wake you when the porridge comes, so sleep a bit.”
Should I? Actually, my eyes were heavy, so I felt like I’d fall asleep soon. I heard footsteps of what was presumably Malgeum approaching faster and faster from far away. I want to tell him not to worry too much. Drowsiness rushed in, so I closed my eyes completely.
* * *
Mm, this should be enough. My body moves well, and there’s no drooping either.
“Today I won’t come straight through that door.”
“Hm?”
It was when I was eating at the dining room after getting up on the third day, having spent two full days lying in bed. When I spoke while chewing porridge, Bihyeon, unlike usual, put down the cup he was drinking from and grinned. Somehow his mouth was smiling but his eyes were scary.
“Since my body has gotten a bit better, I’m going to look around to buy some gifts after work.”
The gaze staring at me seemed to ask, ‘Is that what you call better?’ but I deliberately ignored it. However, I didn’t know when my body would completely heal, and I felt like if I kept postponing it, I’d eventually forget about the gifts. Since Malgeum-nim said my fever completely went down this morning, wouldn’t it be fine if I came back quickly?
Lost in thought, I was chewing on my spoon when Bihyeon went “Hey now,” and removed the spoon from my mouth. Still sending a gaze that said he didn’t like it. I was planning to go alone since I’d be buying his gift too. Somehow, seeing the atmosphere, I felt like I’d absolutely never get permission. It seemed like I’d barely get permission even just to go buy gifts…
“Surely our Sola wouldn’t say something so conscienceless as going alone.”
Looking at Bihyeon who was grinning while speaking in a low voice, it really seemed like it wouldn’t work. I smiled awkwardly and smoothly averted my gaze.
“Alone… won’t… work, will it?”
“Did you think it would?”
Still, I thought he might permit it since I have the Haechis. When I silently lifted Byeol while sparkling my eyes, he looked at me with eyes that said ‘not a chance’ and took Byeol from me, carefully setting him down next to Dal.
