L-Chan Cafe was a place where Sim Seowoo had worked part-time in the past. It was a shop jointly run by a friendly foreigner with light blond hair and green eyes, and a Korean owner with dark hair and a slightly sharp impression — decorated with a Christmas concept as its centerpiece, and particularly famous for its desserts, word of mouth having spread quietly.
Sim Seowoo had started working there about three years ago. Even though he’d quit each semester saying he was going traveling during the breaks, they always offered him a job again whenever he came back. The reason was that business picked up whenever he was around.
So after working there for quite a long time, once he became a 4th year he’d been taking a break from it entirely. Graduation and job-hunting prep were the official reasons, but in reality, he’d just been strangely hazy throughout this year for no particular reason.
“I know you’re going to be busy with the job hunt, so I can adjust the schedule to fit yours as much as possible — I’ll make sure the conditions are good, so if you ever feel like working, give me a call!”
“Wow, it’s kind of crazy that a part-timer can get this much consideration.”
“It can’t be helped. It just so happens that a customer was asking about you just yesterday. They were saying, ‘isn’t the brown-haired part-timer not working anymore?'”
Park Dongju exclaimed in amazement, and So Dahyeon answered with a warm tone. It was only natural that they’d accommodate every condition in order to hold onto a part-timer who drew in customers and turned them into regulars.
Yang Gayeong also nodded in agreement while dipping her tonkatsu into red sauce bite by bite.
“Seowoo really does bring in a lot of customers, doesn’t he. I was surprised every time I stopped by…….”
The cafe was always bustling during the hours Sim Seowoo worked part-time.
He’d actually felt it since their first year of university. Sim Seowoo was the kind of person whose very existence seemed to draw people in — the space around him was always crowded with people, and it was no different here at this restaurant either. It was a weekday afternoon, yet somehow the place had already filled up.
While the three of them took a fresh look around the restaurant, Sim Seowoo looked down at his palm. It was because the news So Dahyeon had shared reminded him of a similar offer he’d received not too long ago.
‘If it’s alright, feel free to reach out again later. If you develop an interest in the industry, or if you have any questions, anytime! The offer I made to you is sincere! I’ll accommodate whatever conditions you have!’
……It had already been three days, hadn’t it.
Conscious of the time that had slipped by so quickly, he opened and closed his hand repeatedly. The people from Heun had told him he had a very special and rare ability, and while he’d been dazed when he first heard it, it still felt just as puzzling now. Honestly, at this point it had become vague at best.
Did he truly have that kind of power? Sim Seowoo wiped the table with his hand, brushing it back and forth, and checked whether it had come clean. It had been a neat table to begin with, so naturally there was no noticeable change. And lately nothing strange had been showing up anymore, so he couldn’t quite shake the feeling of uncertainty.
In truth, more than anything, Heun’s offer was far removed from anything ‘ordinary’…….
Sim Seowoo was someone who genuinely dreamed of living an ordinary life, so honestly, the offer from HN didn’t move him much at all. After much deliberation, he answered So Dahyeon.
“I’ll try contacting the owner tomorrow.”
This break, he’d work and figure out his career path little by little. Last break he’d been wandering around for too long, after all. Sim Seowoo set his resolve and looked around him.
A light weariness settled into his light brown eyes as they swept over the bustling shop — only to be pressed firmly down beneath his palm a moment later.
After finishing their meal, they all headed to the movie theater together.
They’d planned to make the most of the afternoon to celebrate the end of the semester. They browsed through the shops along the way from the restaurant to the theater, grabbed takeout drinks from a cafe that was trendy these days, and at the movie theater they bought a big bucket of popcorn. Sim Seowoo chose the caramel flavor.
The movie’s genre was a comic thriller.
It was about high school students who went on a school trip and got trapped in a training camp — the story followed a bespectacled protagonist who regressed eleven times trying to find a way to escape. The monsters that appeared in the training camp were grotesque enough that his friends flinched repeatedly, but Sim Seowoo simply watched with a pang of concern for the high schoolers not being able to eat properly.
But just as the movie was getting exciting heading into the second half, Sim Seowoo had no choice but to leave the screening room.
“Why does my eyes hurt…….”
He stepped into the restroom and checked his eyes in the mirror. His eyes had been bothering him since the restaurant, and the symptoms had been getting progressively worse. It wasn’t as though anything had gotten into them — his pupils felt dry and heavy, and even after putting in artificial tears, there was no improvement.
He hadn’t even had that dream today, so why was this happening?
It had been fine for nearly three days since the last time. The suffocating feeling of looking out at the world through a dust-caked window had completely disappeared. It was as though the other side of the world had been tidied up cleanly, one might say.
But now, like a rebound from those few days of quiet, the eye pain had come back. Was it because he was tired from being out somewhere with so many people after a while? From the restaurant to the cafe to the movie theater, everywhere had been packed with crowds, after all. Or maybe the air in the movie theater had been stuffy.
Swoooosh——
Planning to hold out until the movie ended and go home to rest properly, Sim Seowoo was washing his hands when someone spoke to him from beside him.
[Hyung. How do you use this sink?]
“Oh, this one works on a sensor — if you hold your hand close to the faucet, the water comes out.”
He hadn’t even sensed anyone entering the restroom, yet there was a boy right beside him. Sim Seowoo answered the boy’s question reflexively as he turned his head — and froze.
The boy had no shadow.
[You can see us, so why are you pretending you can’t?]
The ghost grinned. It was as though he’d caught definitive, irrefutable proof, splitting his lips into a grin that stretched all the way to his cheeks — though for Sim Seowoo, it was nothing more than a bewildering observation.
“……Pretending I can’t?”
[I’ve been following you since the restaurant. I even got close on purpose at the movie theater, and you ignored me the whole time. How persistent!]
The ghost shouted indignantly. It was clear from his expression that he was frustrated — it seemed obvious that Sim Seowoo could see ghosts, yet he hadn’t reacted at all. But honestly, Sim Seowoo had been genuinely caught off guard. None of this was truly incomprehensible, was it? Out of all the incidents and accidents that happened in the world, how many things lacked any logical explanation — and this situation even had a perfectly reasonable backdrop to it.
And on top of that, encountering ghosts again after not seeing them for a while was disorienting in itself. Why suddenly? Could it be that the tension had lifted now that exams were over?
[I approached because your soul is pure, yet you dare react to me with such an absurd attitude?]
“I appreciate the compliment, but the self-importance is a bit much…….”
[Hiiiiik, your brain must be just as clear too!]
If Sim Seowoo’s number one motto in life was ‘don’t overthink,’ then his number two was precisely ‘prevent self-importance and find enlightenment.’ So when he reflexively pointed it out without even realizing it, the ghost reacted with great indignation.
He stomped his feet so hard it was like a tantrum, and Sim Seowoo met his gaze with a bewildered stare. Honestly, the reason he’d realized the boy was a ghost in the first place was simply because the boy had approached so quietly at first that Sim Seowoo had glanced down to check his shoes, and that was when he noticed there was no shadow.
And unlike the ghosts he’d seen before, this boy looked far too normal — too human. There was nothing off about him, like tangled hair or clothes worn inside out.
The boy appeared to be around ten years old, wearing a plain short-sleeved shirt and shorts, and perhaps a ghost that so closely resembled a human as to be indistinguishable was even more dangerous…… just as that thought was beginning to surface —
Swirling, swirling— a pitch-black energy began to seep out from the ghost. The moment he noticed it spreading like fog, a sharp sting shot through his eyes.
“Ah.”
The moment Sim Seowoo let out a short gasp and covered his eyes, the boy’s lips curled up into a smirk.
[Ah, so that’s what’s been covering Hyung’s eyes. I was wondering how you could see me and still act so calm — so that was the reason after all.]
As though he’d finally found the answer, the boy laughed gleefully and pointed at the mirror. Drawn by his fingertips, Sim Seowoo followed his gaze — and had no choice but to press his lips tightly shut.
In the mirror, pitch-black masses were writhing densely, squirming all over the place.
oh dear