Episode 7

The cat didn't just hate the dog; it was so disgusting. It was so obvious that even I, a mere guest, could tell right away.

Well, it must be frustrating. He looked like an ace who was good at his job, but he had a dog that looked like a torturer right next to him.

In terms of Leore, it was like a diamond ADC and a bronze support forming a bot duo, and in terms of singing, it was like a king-level singer dueting with a tone-deaf person.

They were on the same team and had to do something, but one of the two was not a person, just a sandbag or a piece of luggage.

If they were okay with each other, there wouldn't be much of a problem, but unfortunately, for some reason, the cat didn't seem to like the piece of luggage dog very much.

And the piece of luggage dog not only had low skills, but also seemed to have low self-esteem.

I knew the relationship between the two at a glance, and I was trying to stimulate the cat by praising the dog on purpose. It was part of a bigger picture to get the dog adopted easily.

How could it be difficult? If a dog that had been teased by a bad cat was stuck in an alley and crying, I could win the dog's heart by just approaching it and patting its shoulder. I know this because I have low self-esteem, but this method definitely worked.

Of course, the probability of things going as planned was low, but it was worth casting a fishing rod and giving it enough evidence.

"Oh… that… thank you!"

The dog bowed its head deeply and thanked me in a loud voice (for her) as if it was really happy to be praised by me.

How would she accept it? Since it was the last comment before going to the table anyway, it would be okay to go a little overboard and be a little bit sly.

"What? The cafe sales will go up a lot in the future. "The part-timer is so cute and good at his job."

"Huh?… Ahh… That… That…"

The puppy didn't know what to do at the buttery comment. Of course. My cheeks are burning a lot too.

"You said you'd bring me coffee if I sat at the table, right?"

"Huh? Yes!"

I turned around and walked to a table near the counter and sat down.

Thinking about it again, I cringed. I had intentionally thrown out the comments because I thought the puppy type would respond well to blatant compliments, and the effect seemed pretty good, but my body couldn't handle it.

'But what can I do? If there's a chance to make money, I have to grab it.'

Yeah, what can I do? This is also a way for me to make money. And it's not just any money, it's a huge amount of money with thousands at stake.

Honestly, even if I had 10 million won, I could have sucked the toes of people passing by, but this level of work commentary wasn't difficult or great. No, if you look closely, it was far from enough.

How much money was involved, and why is this such a crappy comment? Next time, I'll analyze it a little more systematically and come up with a more plausible comment that can deeply touch my emotions…

"Yeonju! You spilled all the ice on the floor!! You said that earlier, so why can't you do something like this? Are you retarded?"

"Sorry… I'm sorry…"

Whoa, the cat started to get really angry because the dog made a mistake while making a drink. The comment that he was retarded because he spilled some ice on the floor was really artistic.

I pretended not to hear the loud voice coming from the counter and naturally took out my Bluetooth earphones from my pocket and put them in my ears. To make it more certain, I went on YouTube, played a random video, and placed my phone playing the video on the table in a pretty way.

I pretended to be watching the video intently, but instead, I turned the volume of my earphones to mute.

Sseuugh-.

As expected, I could feel the cat's sharp gaze as it glanced around the store. Judging from the way it was taking in the atmosphere, it seemed like it was definitely planning to control the puppy next to it.

There was nothing in this cafe that the cat would notice. High-class jazz was playing from the store's speakers, and there were only two tables of customers besides me, both of which were located near the store's entrance, so they were far from the counter. And I, sitting at the table closest to the counter, at least on the outside, had my earphones plugged in and was watching the video. In other words, I had a good sense of humor.

The cat must have finished assessing the situation, so it started speaking again.

"Yeonju… Honestly, you don't want to do something this shabby, right? Right? You don't want to work, so you act like a dumb bitch on purpose, right?"

"… That's… not like that… "

The puppy's name seemed to be 'Yeonju'. Okay, memo.

By the way, I had expected it a little bit from the face, but Ace Cat is not only good at work, but also good at dealing.

The choice of words was fierce and extreme, but on the other hand, the voice was not loud and the tone was very calm.

To tease someone with just words like that was really an advanced skill.

When you hit it like that, the words were firmly embedded in your mind and it was hard to erase them easily.

"You did well earlier, right? Huh? When a handsome guest came just now, you did well as I taught you, so why are you doing this again? Huh?"

"That… That's not it…"

"Ah~ Yeonju, you're the type that suddenly increases your intelligence when you wag your tail at a man. Right?"

"That's it!… It's not like you wag your tail or anything…"

"What's wrong? You were trying to seduce him while smiling slightly. Do you think I don't know? You pretend not to know anything, act cute, and every time I get compliments, you turn into a sea worm… I almost threw up because it was so disgusting. If you like a man that much, why don't you just go and ask him to eat you right now? If you ask him with that disgusting eye smile, I think he'll listen."

Wow, this is worse than I thought… .

I honestly feel good that you mentioned that he's a handsome male customer, but as I listened, I started to feel sorry for Yeonju.

Even though it was a situation I designed, I never thought that the cat's dealing would be this strong.

To put it slyly, you're turning the kid into some kind of rag… .

I'm the one who really did the rag thing. Ah, it's my conscience.

"Jeong-hye… Your words are too harsh…"

"It's harsh, Yeonju's intelligence level and the disgusting rag smell coming from Yeonju's body are much worse. Do you get it? And, why do you keep talking back to a retarded person who can't even do simple things properly? Oh~~ You rely on the boss's connections, right? Right?"

"Why are you talking about my mom here…"

Another noteworthy thing came up. It seemed that Yeonju's mother was the owner of this ultra-luxurious cafe in the middle of Cheongdam-dong.

Yeonju, you're cute and you came from a very wealthy family. Hmm, I'm liking you more and more.

"But what should I do? The boss doesn't really like Yeonju. He told me that he was going to make me a part-timer who doesn't do anything at home, and if I didn't do it, he would just scold me severely. Oh, and the boss actually told me that I was retarded first. Well, judging by the way Yeonju acts, I think I would have figured it out right away even if he hadn't told me."

"Retarded… I'm… retarded… no…"

"Is that so? Then, can you at least speak properly? You're slow, you stutter… Speak properly. I don't even want you to be good at your job."

"I… I… I mean… I just…"

"Look at that. Look at that. Gosh~ What good would it be for me to talk to a retarded person? But I'm still jealous, Yeonju. Yeonju, if you weren't born into a rich family, you wouldn't have been able to make a living because you were so stupid, but you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, so you can work part-time at a cafe like this. Do you think you're blessed? Do you know how hard I've worked to work here? Don't you know how shitty it feels to be getting the same hourly wage as Yeonju, who has nothing but her parents' connections?"

"… … "

The cat… the employee called Jeonghye seemed to hate Yeonju beyond simply disliking her because of her inferiority complex.

She worked really hard to get here, but when Yeonju, who didn't look like much, suddenly came here to work part-time because of her parents' connections, Yama must have gone crazy.

Well, it didn't make sense to be so harsh on someone just because they were bad at their job and a little sloppy. It was almost like beating someone to death with words.

"Oh my. Are you nitpicking? Did I speak too harshly? Well, if you can't stand it, you can just leave now. You didn't come here to make money anyway."

"… I'm not crying…"

"Really? Then serve this. You're waiting for the customer. If Yeonju had a conscience, she could do this much."

'You're doing it again because I told you to. Ugh.'

I was so frustrated that I stopped pretending to watch the video and stared at Yeonju as she came to serve me.

Yeonju started walking toward the table I was sitting at with a tray from the counter, but the way she walked was not ordinary.

Her head was bowed as if she was holding back tears, and her legs, which were walking slowly, were not only shaking from side to side, but also creaking up and down.

Of course, the iced Americano on the tray was shaking precariously with each step she took, but judging from the fact that the drink didn't spill out of the cup, she seemed to have some kind of serving skill… .

No, wait a minute. She clearly said today was her first day of work, so how could she have any serving skills?

Chin-.

"Ouch!!"

Yeah, shit. I knew this would happen.

It was as if she was caught in slow motion. Maybe it was because the scene unfolding before her eyes matched what she had expected so perfectly.

Yeonju, who was walking precariously with her head bowed, ended up tripping on the leg of the table right next to where I was sitting.

Fortunately, she managed to put her other foot down before completely losing her balance, so Yeonju didn't fall completely.

I was holding on tight and didn't even let go of the tray, but the problem was the iced Americano on top of it.

Swoosh-.

The long cup that fell over on the tray like a bowling pin that had been struck floated in the air, and soon, according to the law of gravity, the contents inside the cup began to pour out on me like vomit.

The expected landing point was near my T-shirt. Fortunately, it wasn't the side of my head that I had just touched.

If that had been the case, no matter how cute Yeonju was, I might have been angry and slapped her cheek hard. Well, I wanted to hit her even if I wasn't angry…

Swaaaaaaah-.

Finally, my white sweater (which I wear on days like this, it's always white) was filled with coffee and ice cubes that had been freely falling from the air. Time, which had been passing slowly in slow motion, began to flow properly again.

"I'm… sorry!! I'm really sorry!!"

"No, it's okay."

Yeonju, who had been watching the coffee spill on my clothes with a bewildered expression, bowed her head deeply and apologized like a great sinner.

But I was really okay. In fact, things were going better than I had planned, so I felt good.

I thought that I could naturally get her contact information by talking about laundry expenses and such, and that I could gain an advantageous position in my relationship with Yeonju by giving her a debt of gratitude. It was more than enough for a little coffee on my clothes.

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry."

"I'm really, really okay? You don't have to apologize so much."

"I'm still sorry. I'm really sorry."

I was laughing inside, but Yeonju must have been dying, because she kept repeating the words "I'm sorry" with a completely devastated expression.

"Sir, are you okay? I'm really sorry. Because of our staff… I'll clean it up for you."

"Huh? No, I'm okay… "

Jung-hye, who had rushed over from the counter, pushed Yeon-ju's shoulder away, who was bowing her head in front of me, and approached me.

Jung-hye knelt down in front of me even though I said it was okay, and started wiping the coffee off my top with the napkin she was holding.

"I'm so sorry. Our employees make so many mistakes… I really made a big mistake for the customer."

"I understand, but I said it's okay? Just give me the napkin. I appreciate it, but it's a bit burdensome."

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry."

Jung-hye obediently handed me the napkin and got up, and I wiped the coffee off my clothes with the napkin I was given.

The reason I insisted on wiping it off was because Yeon-ju was standing next to me, holding her hands together politely and staring blankly at me with her dead eyes.

I'm not a mind reader, but I could easily guess what Yeonju was thinking.

'I should have wiped it like that. I was busy apologizing… Am I really that retarded for not even thinking about this…? Someone like me might be better off dead…'

It might not be 100% the same, but it would be something like this.

Judging from her standing posture, her facial expression, and her body shaking slightly, she seemed to be in a really serious state of panic.

Even without that, the words that Jeonghye had been trying to say must have been engraved in her mind, and since she trolled him so hard at that perfect timing, it was understandable.

And that's why it was really dangerous to go any further.

Now, it was best to end the situation quickly so that neither Jeonghye's competence nor Yeonju's incompetence would be revealed, regardless of the big picture.

If I had provoked her any more, Yeonju would have thrown herself into the Han River, saying she wanted to check the water temperature herself tonight.

"Ms. Yeonju. Apologize to the guest properly."

"…"

"Ms. Yeonju. Can't you hear me? Apologize properly!!"

"Sorry… Sorry… Sorry…"

"Just do that much. I'm fine."

However, unlike me, Jeonghye couldn't stop herself from wondering if Yeonju really wanted her to check the temperature of the Han River.

Jeonghye's angry scream really scared her, and Yeonju's body, which had been shaking slightly, started shaking like a cell phone that had been invited to a group chat and was being terrorized.

No, how could she possibly apologize properly in that state?

Jeonghye, you're a bitch that even Satan would admire and give you a double-tap.

Well, I'm thankful that you've used all your strength to drain Yeonju's blood, making it easier for her to get the last blow.

"Sorry… Sorry…"

"Ha, seriously. This is driving me crazy. Don't you know how to apologize, Yeonju? To a customer, like this…"

As Yeonju kept stuttering and stammering, her eyes rolled back, and Jeonghye grabbed Yeonju's head and forcibly pushed her head down.

"You should bow your head and apologize."

"I'm sorry… sob… I'm sorry… sob…"

"Don't cry and apologize, I told you. Okay? The customer was the one who suffered the damage, so why are you crying, Yeonju?"

Okay. That's it.

No matter what, it was clearly Jeonghye's mistake to forcefully push her head back.

I was already just waiting for the timing, but if she gave me a chance to intervene like this, there was no way I could tolerate it.

"Let's see. Excuse me. Are you kidding me?"

"I'm sorry, customer. I've been training my employees well…"

"No, you. What are you doing right now?"

"Yes…?"

Thump.

I couldn't stand it any longer, so I jumped up and slapped Jeong-hye's wrist, which was pressing down on the back of Yeon-ju's head.