These days, Sereuhi had no interest in anything besides entrance exam studies.
He only shuttled between home and the company, and his only conversation partners were Gidan and Geuru, who were relatively close to him.
Was the reason the quest hadn’t been completed because Sereuhi still hadn’t opened his heart?
Or perhaps Gidan and Geuru were still too young to be called people he could rely on.
‘It might take an incredibly long time…….’
Just then, Nayeon, who had been sharing tanghulu with Romi, asked.
“Right. Geuru, where did you say Dani’s class cafe was?”
“U-um.”
Geuru looked around the school building, trying to recall the map.
Then she pointed beside the clock tower that soared like a spire.
“Over there!”
“There?”
“Huh?”
Romi furrowed her brow and slightly lowered her sunglasses.
Geuru understood Romi’s reaction.
“They’re running a cafe on that deserted island?”
No matter how you looked at it, that place was the remotest corner of all corners. It was the worst possible location for a cafe.
*
Gidan covered his mouth as he looked at the ingredients piled up like a mountain.
“So this is all……?”
“Yeah…….”
“Crazy. Do we really have to sell all this?!”
“Yeah……. They said they added one more zero when placing the order…….”
“And we can’t return them since they’re fruit.”
The children of the class surrounding Gidan rattled off the circumstances.
What the first-year Class S had decided to open for their class booth at this festival was, predictably, a safe choice: a cafe.
Instead of coffee, they had agreed to prepare a different menu and ended up choosing fruit bingsu.
Class S was filled with high-level Awakeners, and ice was something magic-type Awakeners could create as much as they wanted!
But due to their lack of experience with their first festival preparations, they had caused a disaster.
“Dana…….”
“Gidan…….”
The children called out to Gidan in unison. No matter where he looked, they seemed to want something from him.
Gidan averted his eyes with a clouded gaze.
“You’re the only one we have.”
“You’re the face of our class. If you’re not here, no one will come to our class cafe.”
Gidan backed away, avoiding the children approaching him like zombies.
“No……. Hey, guys. We agreed not to do this. Don’t you remember?”
“Gidan, don’t tell me you’re betraying us?”
The class president stepped forward.
“We even covered your proxy attendance when you weren’t here……. So you’re going to throw away the wife who supported you all this time? Fine.”
Suppressing his disgust at the term, Gidan grabbed the tearful class president’s shoulders and turned him around.
“Throw away? What do you mean! Why are you saying such scary things?”
“Gidan, honey, these are our fresh babies that were just born. You’ll take responsibility with me, right?”
The class president pointed at the fruits.
“Honey, are these really our babies? No matter how I look at it, they seem to have many fathers…….”
“Are you doubting our love right now? Should I stop the proxy attendance?”
Gidan swallowed dryly.
“……I do doubt it. But will anyone even come all the way here?”
The school was already large; there was no reason for anyone to come to such a remote corner.
But the class president, who had drawn the remote Life Sciences Building in the corner of the school through an astonishing lottery, spoke proudly.
“That’s for you to make happen.”
You bastard of a class president. Just as Gidan was struggling to hold back the curse that had risen to his throat—
—a guy burst in past the partition, panting.
“Outside right now……. It’s crazy. So sexy.”
There was no need for further words. Without distinction of gender, all of Class S rushed outside.
At a table covered with a white cloth to make it presentable, two women wearing heart-shaped sunglasses and a baby wearing star-shaped sunglasses were sitting huddled together.
Nayeon slightly lowered her sunglasses as she looked at Gidan.
“Aren’t you taking orders? Is this cafe not open yet?”
A smile spread across Gidan’s face.
“Nayeon-noona? Geuru?”
“Hel-lo.”
“Tada!”
Nayeon and Geuru waved their hands.
*
“What?”
Having heard the whole story, Nayeon and Geuru let out exclamations as they looked at the mountain of fruits.
‘We have to sell all of that?’
It was impossible. Geuru thought it was impossible, though it was regrettable.
Seeing that not a single customer had entered even now, the outcome was obvious.
“Aww, I was looking forward to the school tour that Dani-oppa would give me.”
“Sorry, sorry. If you come visit next time, I’ll show you around properly.”
“Dana, but can you really sell all of this?”
“Well, I have to try, I guess.”
If it was for the sake of proxy attendance. Gidan smiled faintly as he received a black apron.
‘Dani-oppa is already turning into a zombie……!’
To think he had such a haggard face before they had even started.
Then, a friend hung a sign around Gidan’s neck advertising the Class 1-S cafe.
“Have fun. Okay?”
Gidan, who looked as pale as when he had been dragged off to the publicity team, stroked the head of the worried Geuru.
‘Geuru wants to help!’
As if responding to that heart, a quest popped up.
Ding!
[Emergency! Detecting danger to the Caregiver!]
[A beginner merchant’s common mistake—ordering too many ingredients—has brought bankruptcy to the doorstep. Overcome the crisis together with the Caregiver!]
[Reward: 500 Filial Piety Points]
‘Great!’
Geuru raised her arm high.
“Geuru will help at the cafe!”
Nayeon bent down at the waist.
“Geuru……. It seems like it would be hard to sell everything even if you help; are you sure you’ll be okay?”
At Nayeon’s sharp remark, Gidan closed his eyes and nodded as if in agreement.
“Dana, should I just buy it all?”
“Nah, it’s fine. We can sell it. Probably…….”
“Oppa, Geuru can buy it too!”
Because Geuru is a rich kid!
“Hey, I’d suck the liver out of a flea.”
“Geuru, a flea?!”
Meanwhile, Romi, who had been watching Nayeon, Gidan, and Geuru’s scuffle from behind, narrowed her eyes. It seemed that enjoying the festival was already a lost cause.
“Jjang Nayeon, come here for a second.”
“Huh?”
As Nayeon scurried over, Romi put her arm around her shoulder and snapped a photo with her phone.
Romi posted the photo they had taken together on Inbyeol and said,
“Guys, a cafe is all about marketing and vibes.”
Swinging Nayeon by her side, she spun around and looked at the first-year Class S students.
“Is anyone here on the school community? Could you take some photos? If you post that we’re here on the community, it’ll be good publicity.”
A few students brightened up and took photos.
Romi gave instructions to the children writing posts for the community.
“No, don’t post the cafe menu; say that Lee Romi is prettier in person…… Yeah, like that. Good job.”
Romi smiled and patted the student’s back, and the class president blushed.
“Jjang Nayeon and I will serve, so just give us two aprons. And Hunter-nim Gidan and the baby are…….”
Romi carefully watched the sign hanging around Gidan’s neck, then snatched it away and hung it on Geuru.
The sign that had covered Gidan’s upper body covered Geuru from her neck to her ankles once hung on her.
‘So long…….’
Because the sign covered even her legs, Geuru waddled around in a circle.
Sticking out only her face and arms from above the rectangular box, exclamations burst from all around.
“So cute.”
“Adorable!”
“Wait, baby. Look over here.”
Click, click. From all directions, phones were raised to take pictures of Geuru.
Hee-hee. Geuru smiled and made a V-sign.
Lee Romi smiled too, took several photos of Geuru, and then beckoned her over to explain.
“With those duck tongs…… got it?”
“Yup!”
Geuru’s eyes sparkled as she nodded repeatedly.
“Good, then.”
Lee Romi tapped Gidan’s back.
“Now go promote together.”
*
Ham Honggi yawned as he watched the girls swarm, saying, “They say Gidan is over there.”
If it weren’t for attendance, he wouldn’t have come to this boring festival.
His compulsion to do good deeds made him sensitive to attendance as well.
Then, his gaze turned to where the female students had swarmed earlier.
Hadn’t they gone to see Gidan?
For some reason, Gidan, the star of the commotion, was merely standing blankly to the side.
Instead, people were surrounding a small child in the center, taking photos and talking to her.
‘What’s that?’
Ham Honggi stretched his neck, and a tiny head appeared and disappeared between the people.
Wait a minute.
‘……That tiny head?’
Platinum blonde hair close to beige.
For a moment, light coral-colored eyes appeared between the people. Round eyes found Ham Honggi and grew wide.
Damn it.
He had to pretend not to know!
He immediately turned around.
But…….
Waddle, waddle.
‘What!’
Waddle, waddle.
Ham Honggi increased his walking speed to avoid the four-year-old waddling after him.
‘Why, why does she keep following me!’