Chapter : 14
And so, now.
Resting my chin on my hand, I looked at Parhan. His eyes were closed as he offered a prayer to God.
Did he say he couldn’t perform the afternoon prayer because of me?
Parhan had asked for my understanding, saying that he gave up the afternoon prayer time in order to participate in my little performance. And now, inside the carriage heading toward the café, he was praying.
That much, I could understand.
After all, a devout believer had given up an important moment for my sake.
Thanks to that, hadn’t I gained some breathing room myself?
This was mutual benefit—win-win for everyone.
From now on, Parhan and I would be helping each other out. What we’d done today in the plaza was merely laying the groundwork for that.
I mean, the fact that Parhan mentioned both my coffee and God at the same time, and then came to the café with me.
That alone would spread word of the café on its own. And the reed field—just the fact that Parhan looked at it would turn it into a place people flocked to.
What a perfect two-for-one deal.
So this is why everyone uses famous people for promotion.
When people focused on our conversation, the thrill was indescribable.
All of it was thanks to Parhan.
I watched the man, who seemed to melt sunlight into softness, then turned my head to look out the window.
It looked like we were almost there—the surrounding scenery was coming into view.
The dense buildings gradually thinned out, replaced by more and more nature. When the surroundings started to feel sparse, that meant we were about to arrive at the café.
Which was exactly now.
“Hiiiiiing!”
At the driver’s command, the horse slowed down. Sensing the carriage decelerate, Parhan slowly opened his eyes.
“Did your prayer go well?” I asked.
“Of course. Thanks to you, Miss Leila.”
“I didn’t really do anything,” I said, giving a light shrug.
Parhan let out a small laugh.
“So, once we arrive at the café, what should I do? This must be everything we agreed upon, so please feel free to direct me.”
“Well, what you need to do now is…”
He leaned his upper body forward slightly to listen more closely. Seeing that, I leaned in as well, closing the distance between us, and whispered softly.
“Now, you can just sit back and enjoy.”
“…Is that so?”
“I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”
Parhan chuckled quietly.
I raised my thumb with a confident grin.
This kind of thing was all about momentum. When you’re confident, even troublesome people hesitate to act up.
As we were talking, the carriage came to a complete stop and the door opened. Parhan and I exchanged a brief glance before stepping down.
And then we saw it.
A considerable number of carriages that had followed us.
Yes. This is it.
This was exactly why I’d gone out of my way to have that conversation in the plaza—to make sure at least one person followed us.
So that crowd psychology would kick in.
Watching it activate so perfectly, I smiled in satisfaction.
If we’d made it this far, we were halfway successful.
Now all that remained was to properly captivate them.
If I handled things well now, customers would keep coming even after the official opening. I might even secure regulars before opening day.
With a very gentle smile, I guided Parhan and the people forward.
“The inside of the café is still under construction, so we can’t go in yet. Instead, I’ve prepared things so you can enjoy yourselves picnic-style.”
I pointed to the picnic area set up in front of the mini bar. These were things I’d prepared as soon as my little act with Parhan was confirmed.
I’d taken out the Craftsman’s All-Purpose Hammer and repaired whatever usable broken furniture I could find inside. What I managed to salvage were two tables, eight chairs, and four tablecloths.
I wanted to find more, but I didn’t have the time. I still had to work at the street stall until today, after all.
With what I’d repaired, I simply decorated the front yard of the mini bar. Millun carried the heavy items, while I spread the tablecloths on the ground.
Pointing to the finished setup, I continued explaining.
“You can sit wherever you like. However, there’s one announcement.”
As the people began murmuring, Parhan asked on their behalf.
“What is the announcement?”
“Well… since we haven’t officially opened yet, it’ll be difficult to serve coffee to everyone. Due to supply issues, we’ll only be selling exactly twenty cups from now until opening.”
A collective sigh of disappointment escaped. Since we hadn’t opened yet, it seemed everyone had expected this.
But that wasn’t the end of the announcement.
“However! For those who are disappointed, I’ve prepared something! For those of you who came all this way, I’ll be providing ice cream.”
Since everyone following us had already tasted the ice cream once, the reaction was very positive.
Of course, I couldn’t just give it away freely.
“But! The ice cream will only be provided to those who watch the sunset in the reed field behind Yonggari Café, so please keep that in mind.”
I had to promote the reed field too—no helping it. That way, even those who couldn’t drink coffee would stay nearby.
The more people there were, and the stronger their sense of missing out…
…the better the café promotion would be.
After finishing the announcement, I looked around and met Parhan’s eyes. He leaned down and whispered near my ear.
“Do I need to pay as well?”
“You helped out, so I should sponsor you. But you have to enjoy it very deliciously, okay?”
“That won’t be a problem.”
He smiled as if to say, Leave it to me.
Now it was time for me to move quickly. I counted the number of people.
Since there were twenty cups, I limited orders to one per person.
The menu was still only drip coffee, but no one complained.
Even after taking all twenty orders, about ten people were left. Though disappointed, they said they’d at least have ice cream and took seats around the café.
I began brewing the twenty cups of coffee. The rich aroma spread everywhere.
Thank goodness this is still the tutorial stage.
The taste was fixed at “best possible,” after all.
Thanks to that, I brewed the drip coffee quickly.
After serving coffee to those who ordered, I handed one to Parhan as well.
His was specially prepared as a “carefully crafted drip coffee.”
Parhan thanked me and took a sip.
I could tell what he thought just by looking at his face—his eyes widened, surprise clearly written across his expression.
It wasn’t just Parhan. Everyone who drank the coffee reacted the same way.
Even though I had the system’s help, I still felt inexplicably proud.
Time slowly passed, and finally, sunset approached.
The sky gradually began to染 itself in sunset hues. Soon, the reed field sunset that Huga had bragged about so much would unfold.
Some people settled between the reeds with excited expressions.
Others clicked their tongues, saying a sunset was just a sunset.
Still, one thing was certain.
Everyone here was waiting for the sunset.
With a fluttering heart, I waited for the sun to sink into the reed field.
Come to think of it, this was my first time truly watching a sunset.
For someone worried about surviving until tomorrow, natural scenery was a luxury.
So I rarely looked at the sky. Whether the weather was good or bad, I never had the leisure for it.
Even after becoming Leila Token, that hadn’t changed.
I’d repaired buildings as soon as I arrived, been busy trying to recruit Millun…
Because of that, spending time so leisurely like this felt unfamiliar. Just to watch the sun set.
Was that why my heart was racing?
Because I could finally see a view that had once been a luxury to me?
Complex emotions surged up all at once.
Then—
“Look over there! There!”
The setting sun revealed itself between the clouds. Burning red more than anything else, it appeared before our eyes, wrapped in warmth.
The orange glow deepened, and the reed field slowly became dyed in sunset colors.
The deep hues of the reeds met the warm light, becoming one. A gentle breeze created waves of golden light.
Those waves reached me.
It was truly a breathtaking sight.
If I could live while watching scenes like this every day… working would actually feel worthwhile.
…It’s nice.
I stared blankly at the sunset, then looked around.
The dazed expressions on people’s faces.
A landscape so beautiful it inspired awe.
This moment, at least…
…would be remembered for a lifetime by everyone who came here.
That was true for me as well. And because of that, one small regret remained.
“…I can see why Huga bragged so much about this.”
It would’ve been nice if we’d seen this together.
I found myself missing Millun and Huga, who were away.
They’d already seen this beautiful sunset, no doubt—but good things are meant to be shared.
Just then—
Ding!
A familiar notification sound echoed inside my head.
