I’m a Human Part-Timer at a Non-Human Cafe, But… 11

“A price should be just right. It shouldn’t be too big or too small.”

“A price?”

“This flower is like a talisman that blocks curses and brings blessings. In our world, it’s an extremely precious item that you couldn’t obtain even if you gave all the treasures and money in exchange.”

“Then shouldn’t I be the one paying?”

Even that doesn’t seem like it would be enough.

I’m grateful just for blocking the curse, but blessings too? Something this incredible…? For someone like me who grew up without any luck, even a small blessing would be too much to be thankful for. Isn’t meeting a Mountain God in life actually tremendous fortune in itself?

“For now, let’s settle the payment with this… Later, make me a big walnut pie or something. He’ll really love it.”

“I… will.”

I entered the cafe and went behind the counter. Only now did I feel the warmth lingering where our hands had touched.

What’s wrong with me? This strange feeling… I paid for the cookies and drink and met Bihyeon’s eyes while gripping the card tightly.

“Would you like an iced Americano?”

“Yes. Oh, and the cookie too.”

I blinked at his request for a cookie too, then smiled.

“I was going to give you one anyway, so I hid one.”

“Why?”

He tilted his head slowly. It seemed to mean why would I hide something that’s for sale specifically for him.

“It seems like the increase in cafe customers is thanks to you, Bihyeon-nim. There’s a reason why they ask handsome celebrities to do promotions, after all.”

“Hmm… I don’t think that’s why though.”

Haha, Bihyeon laughed as he received the card and shrugged his shoulders.

What does he mean that’s not why? Does this person not know his own face is handsome? Seeing how all the cafe customers recognize him, his popularity must be tremendous too. I shook my head thinking how such a handsome person is even modest.

I took out the cookie I’d set aside separately and made the coffee.

“You don’t think it’s because of this?”

At those words, I turned around to see Bihyeon, who had been thinking about something, smiling and pointing at my cookies.

“I do think it’s thanks to my cookies too. But this kind of thing spreads by word of mouth very slowly. So right now, isn’t it more thanks to you, Bihyeon-nim?”

At my words, he muttered “Is that so…” then nodded and smiled.

“What are you doing after work?”

“After work, I need to go home and rest. In the afternoon, I’m going around to some part-time job interviews.”

“Hmm, then let’s go home together.”

“…What? Together?”

I don’t think he means let’s go to his house together.

Bihyeon, who received the cookies and drink, smiled slightly. Then he raised his wrist to check the time and immediately drank his beverage.

“I’m going to check what kind of curse is at your home. The price you gave is too large.”

“…To the Mountain God? All I gave you was a string though?”

“Didn’t you tear off something precious?”

It’s not like I gave him all the bookmarks, just the string attached to them…

Bihyeon unwrapped the cookie packaging, put one in his mouth, and crunched on it.

Looking at me as if my reaction was interesting, Bihyeon soon wrapped the cookie back up and tilted his head.

“I’ll come back later.”

“Yes… See you later.”

I was about to not want to go home again today, but if Bihyeon looks at it, that’s fortunate.

I’m not sure if it’s good that he’s looking at the curse, or if I’m looking forward to going home together. How strange. When did we get close enough for this…

But it does seem like he’s opened up a bit more than before, right?

I stared blankly at the door and a small laugh escaped, so I touched my lips for no reason.

***

Ding-a-ling-

“Hansol, good wor— Gasp! Bihyeon-nim…!”

Working frantically, it was already time to get off work. Bihyeon, who had been here an hour before my shift ended, was sitting at a table drinking a beverage when he made eye contact with the boss who opened the door and came in.

“C-could it be you have an appointment with Bihyeon-nim? It feels like he’s waiting for you…”

The boss walked briskly toward me and whispered very quietly.

“Yes. He agreed to look at the curse at my house.”

“Bihyeon-nim did? He’s helping a human?! No, if he looks at it, that would be really great but…”

Boss Ppik let out a squawk then quickly covered his mouth with a “hup” and glanced at Bihyeon.

After blinking, the boss pushed me into the staff room telling me to hurry and prepare to leave, and being quite flustered, took out a handkerchief and wiped his sweating face.

I went to the staff room, grabbed an empty shopping bag, gathered everything I needed, and came out. Then I pointed at the refrigerator.

“I set aside pudding for you separately in the fridge, Boss. Please have it.”

“Oh, tha-thanks. Rest well and see you lat— But what are you carrying right now?”

“Huh?”

“Something incredibly sacred and incredibly pure… Anyway, something tremendous is being felt…?”

Ah, if it’s something tremendous, he must be talking about the flower I put in the shopping bag.

I wondered if it was okay to openly say I received this, so I awkwardly changed the subject.

“Oh, um… I’ll see you later. Oh right. And that son of yours who wanted to work part-time came again earlier. He said he wants to learn cookies from me.”

“Oh… What’s gotten into that guy… What do you think? Doesn’t he seem too timid?”

While still staring at my shopping bag, the boss nodded and asked worriedly.

“Well, he does seem timid, but it seemed like he genuinely wants to learn.”

“…Hmm, if you say so, I’ll think about it more.”

“Yes, I’ll be going!”

I smiled and waved my hand, bowed at the waist, then left the cafe with Bihyeon.

I walked slowly to walk a bit behind. Bihyeon, who had been walking normally, stopped abruptly and looked back at me. His drowsy eyes from the morning tilted his head as if asking, why?

“You’re uncomfortable.”

“Just walk next to me. How would I know where your house is to lead the way?”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Now that I think about it, that’s true. I nodded and stood next to Bihyeon.

He doesn’t say anything even when I’m close. So I have become a bit more comfortable? We must have really gotten closer. Smiling secretly like that, I walked slowly toward home.

Walking through the alley, passing the crossroads, we arrived at the old apartment.

The elevator was broken, so I climbed diligently up the stairs to the third floor. As soon as I stood in front of my home, Bihyeon looked at the door and made a “hm?” sound.

“Why so much… Did you really hit someone from behind or something?”

“What…? Who hit what? Me? I did?”

“Let’s go in.”

Bihyeon, who touched the door with his hand with a thud, smiled and gestured with his head as if to hurry and open it. I entered the password and opened the door, gesturing politely for him to enter first.

“By any chance, weren’t there any talismans? Something that looked ominous to look at.”

“There were. About two. I tore them up and threw them away though…”

Bihyeon didn’t particularly refuse and took off his shoes, went inside, checked if there were any curses in the house, then turned around and pointed at the crude talisman stuck on the inside of the front door.

“What’s that?”

“Ah, that’s a talisman I drew roughly from memory.”

Since I kept feeling strange gazes in the house, I drew a talisman I’d roughly seen with my eyes and stuck it on the door. I felt like I absolutely shouldn’t leave the paper Bihyeon gave me lying around at home, so I drew this as a temporary measure…

“It’s plausible… Give me the flower the Mountain God gave you and the paper I gave you.”

“Here.”

Bihyeon approached the front door, peeled off the talisman to check it, then smiled and shook it before holding out his hand. I placed everything he mentioned on that hand.

He attached the flower and even my crudely drawn talisman on top of the paper, then held out his hand toward me again.

Thump. This time I naturally gave him my hand.

“Tape… Hm?”

I met the eyes of Bihyeon, who tilted his head and smiled. Ah, I turned around, took out tape from a drawer, and gave it to him. He meticulously stuck it where my talisman had been.

Then he crunch, bit his finger hard. And with the blood flowing from his hand, he drew something over the talisman I had drawn.

Eek.

“…What are you doing!”

I jumped up and brought the first aid kit, and he, who had completed the talisman with his own blood, smiled as if satisfied.

“Have you learned to draw talismans before?”

“No. I just… roughly watched my aunt draw them…”

She mainly drew talismans full of curses, but very occasionally she would also draw talismans that remove curses.

But that wasn’t the problem right now. Talismans or whatever. I grabbed his bleeding hand, wiped it with wet wipes, and first took out disinfectant. When I tried to pour it, the wound on his hand disappeared in an instant and the flowing blood scattered into the air.

…Huh?

As I gripped the disinfectant tightly and leaned my face in to look closely at where the wound had been, Bihyeon laughed lowly.

Ah right. This man isn’t human. I smiled awkwardly, but then felt relieved and let out a sigh.

Mm, but I’m still concerned. He saw blood trying to draw my talisman for me.

“Is that really okay?”

When I looked with suspicious eyes, he raised his hand and showed me by clenching and unclenching it.

Looking again, there’s no blood… and no wound either.

“This doesn’t remove all curses, it blocks them. So always be careful.”

“…Is it impossible to remove them completely?”

“For ordinary humans, it would be impossible. It’s a curse that uses even human corpse blood.”

They even used a corpse?

The only person I could think of who would go this far was my aunt. Should I go back to that house sometime? Why on earth…