SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon

Translated by cabinfourtranslations.

“Is that true?”

Lee Soojin’s face lit up with joy, but her expression darkened again when she heard my next words.

“Normally, around a popular store, other successful stores tend to emerge as well.”

“Wouldn’t that be against business ethics……?”

“That would be the case if it’s the same industry. This store doesn’t sell the same items as the one next door. What we’re targeting are the people in front of us.”

I smiled with a confident expression, hoping that would put her at ease.

“Since they’ve been waiting for a long time to buy souvenirs, it must be hot and tiring, so they’d probably want to rest while eating a shaved ice in a cool place.”

Lee Soojin’s eyes lit up. The positive words seemed to cheer her up a bit.

“So, about that. There are a few places that need some attention to make that happen….”

“Huh? Oh, tell me anything. Anything.”

First, I pointed to the thing that had been bothering me the most since earlier.

“Why did you turn off that light over there?”

“Huh? Isn’t it bright enough?”

“From the outside, the inside of the store looks very dark. From the look of it, it seems like the store is not open.”

“Really? I see!”

Lee Soojin hurriedly turned on the light switch. As the light at the entrance turned on, the inside of the store became much brighter.

“And … I think we should reorganize some items. For example, that sock rack.”

“But this tends to sell quite well if we leave it here.”

Although the bingsu sales were zero over the past month, she said a few pairs of socks were sold. It was truly a heartbreaking situation. Anyway, she did as I said and removed the sock rack.

The next problem was the menu…….

“Let’s get rid of the menu, leaving only three types of bingsu.”

“What? Isn’t that too little?”

“There are too many right now. Especially, the menu listed here is from wholesale¹, right?”

“Huh? Oh, this one … well, it’s because the younger sibling of the person from across the street’s friend offered it at a good price.”

I didn’t have to listen closely to hear what was going on to get a clear picture. I shook my head firmly.

“Wholesale isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s going to be difficult to manage inventory when there aren’t many customers.”

“I see! Yeah, it ends up getting thrown away because it doesn’t all sell.”

She nodded enthusiastically at my words, but she didn’t seem to have any hope or expectation that listening to me would actually improve the store. Obviously, a lot has happened in her life.

In a situation like this, she needed immediate results. Once she felt the sense of effectiveness, she might be more proactive.

But I couldn’t fix the store’s interior right away. It would be expensive and take a lot of time.

If I had to pick one last thing to fix in that situation, it would be…….

That’s it.

I looked at the large bingsu photo taped to the wall. Showing the menu through photos was never a bad idea, but the photo was too dull. The shadows were too intense, and the colors were off, making the bingsu look unappetizing.

“Did you take this picture yourself?”

“No, the supplier said they know a good photographer and got it taken at a cheap price.”

“I see….”

I could bet that it was definitely not a photo taken by a professional photographer. They probably overcharged her too.

“Well, let’s get rid of that picture, and use … Yichan-ah!”

“Uh, huh?”

“I need to ask you a favor.”

“What is it? What is it?”

Feeling bored just standing around and watching, Choi Yichan stepped forward and told me to ask for anything. I wrote down a few things I needed, and Choi Yichan quickly dashed out of the store.

A little while later, he returned with the items I had asked for: paper and some drawing tools. After spreading out the paper on the table, I looked at Kwon Jiwoon and Choi Yichan.

“Is there anyone here who is confident in drawing?”

“…….”

“…….”

Kwon Jiwoon and Choi Yichan only exchanged awkward looks instead of answering. Neither of them seemed to have any talent for drawing.

Should I do it? I wasn’t exactly confident in drawing either. But then again, we couldn’t just use that dull photo, which definitely wasn’t taken by a professional, as it was.

At that moment, Lee Soojin raised her hand slightly.

“So, we just need to draw the menu pictures, right? Is it okay if I try it?”

“Yes, of course!”

And then, unexpectedly, she drew a wonderful picture of bingsu. It was simple but cute, with an artstyle that stood out and was easy to understand. I wrote the name and price of the bingsu below the picture and then put it on the door.

“Okay, now it’s done.”

After solving a few minor issues, the store preparations were complete. We decided to open the store door and wait for customers to come in.

“…….”

“…….”

Even though we organized the store and opened the door, customers didn’t immediately rush in. The people who had been blocking the store front just thought ‘oh, looks like they’re open for business‘, and moved aside a little.

Amidst the long line in front of the neighboring store, this shop stood alone for quite a while.

And it was around the time when a shadow began to fall more heavily over Lee Soojin’s face.

“Can I get bingsu here right now?”

“Yes, right away! Welcome!”

The customers came.

The first customers were a mother and daughter who had come to buy souvenirs from the neighboring store. The child, who looked to be around elementary school age, was whining that her legs hurt, and instead of heading home right away, the mother decided to rest for a while and have some bingsu.

“You want to eat that? Okay, sure.”

“Wow, the bingsu looks delicious!”

The customer took a seat near the door, pointed to a picture on the wall, and asked for red bean bingsu.

“Yes, please wait a moment.”

Lee Soojin quickly pulled out the ingredients and started the bingsu machine.

Soon, I realized the real reason why her business hadn’t been going so well.

Everything was fine until she put the bingsu in a glass bowl and added red beans, rice cakes, and condensed milk. The problem came when she tried to serve the bingsu to the pair of mother and daughter.

“Aak!”

Lee Soojin’s hands shook violently and she dropped the tray.

Luckily, Choi Yichan was quick to catch it, and the bingsu made it to the mother-daughter table safely. However, the look on Lee Soojin’s face was nothing less than devastating.

That’s when I remembered that she had dropped the tray twice while trying to make coffee mix. I had thought it was just a mistake from rushing, but it seemed like it wasn’t the case.

“Boss……! Are you hurt?”

I hurriedly ran to Lee Soojin.

Lee Soojin’s hands kept shaking. It was a tremor at a level that was clearly abnormal. Not only that, but she was biting her lip to keep from crying out in pain. It seemed like the scar on her face was hurting.

Ah.

I realized what she was really trying to hide when she talked about being scammed and losing money in a nonchalant tone.

Hand tremors and phantom pain at the site of the scar. The cause is probably psychological.

Why didn’t I think of that? There must have been a reason why she retired early from her hunter career, even though her Awakened abilities were still intact.

With her current condition, working in hospitality industry was impossible. Not only was serving difficult, but even having natural communication with customers seemed too much for her.

Is there no other way?

Kwon Jiwoon offered to check if he could treat the scar, but Lee Soojin firmly refused. She seemed unwilling to reveal her condition. We were the son and niece of her long-time acquaintance, so she probably wanted to appear fine in front of us, at least.

“What? Why would you even use a healing skill? I just got a little startled, that’s all. I’m fine now, so don’t worry about it.”

However, she still frowned as if trying to endure the pain. It was clear that she was lying.

Suddenly, I remembered how my uncle had given Lee Soojin an empty promise, saying he would help her make 10 billion in sales.

My uncle often said strange things, but he wasn’t not the type to tell lies. He’s also quite perceptive. Considering his personality, I wondered if he knew what Lee Soojin was trying to hide and sent Kwon Jiwoon under the pretext of helping with promotion.

It’s not that I dare to feel pity or sympathy for this person, it’s just….

Just, I felt like I wanted to help.

I could think about it later, I had to calm Lee Soojin down first.

I picked up the cup of coffee mix that was left on the table, which had been meant for Lee Soojin. She probably didn’t like coffee mix much, as it hadn’t been touched even once.

Since it wasn’t made at Cafe Rieul and had been left out for a long time, its quality had dropped. It wasn’t a menu item that would help with her symptoms either. But, given the current situation, this was the best option.

“Boss, please drink this all.”

“Huh? This coffee? Why…….”

“Just drink it and then we’ll talk.”

“Uh … huh, okay, I will.”

Gulp, gulp…….

Lee Soojin drank all the iced mixed coffee I made for her. Her expression softened, as if she felt a little better.

Then I called out to Choi Yichan, who had been watching from the sidelines, “Yichan-ah.”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Can you move this table and counter, from this side to that side?”

Draaag. Choi Yichan moved the tables around without a word as I requested, and the arrangement was quickly finished. A small table was attached next to the counter to be used as a pickup table. This way, the distance between the bingsu machine and the pickup table was shorter.

“Boss, try moving the tray from here to just here. Then, let the customers pick it up themselves. How does that sound?”

“Oh …… all right.”

When I didn’t ask any more about her hand tremors, Lee Soojin nodded with a somewhat relieved expression. Then, she made a bowl of bingsu as practice and tried to move it. She was shaking, but she was able to place it on the pickup table without spilling it.

“Okay, it’s done!”

“Wow, this should work perfectly as it is.”

But…..

“I’ll have a red bean bingsu, please.”

“…..Ugh!”

“There’s a bingsu place here? Can I have one with rice cake, please?”

“Ouch! Huh, huhuh…..”

In the presence of customers, her body wouldn’t move the way she wanted. Several times, she nearly spilled the bingsu, but Kwon Jiwoon and Choi Yichan, who were watching nearby, stepped in to save it. It was only a few steps away, but to her, it seemed unbearably far.

“It’s okay. Boss, try it again slowly.”

It was at that moment, after anxiously watching her actions several times…..

Clink. Lee Soojin quietly set the tray down on the pickup table. Her movements were flawless.

And then,

Tiling!

[Congratulations! You have completed ‘6. Show Me Your Skills’.]

[You have completed all the stages of ‘Sub Quest: For a Perfect Summer Vacation’.

Congratulations! Please collect your reward.

Check the location ☞ Click]

The quest completion notification popped up with a happy sound. But instead of reading the notification, I walked over to Lee Soojin and grabbed her hand.

“It worked, you did it! Now there’s really no problem at all.”

“Haha …. thank you.” Lee Soojin said with a bright smile. She looked proud.

The store, now much more pleasant than before, was gradually attracting customers. At this rate, even if this place couldn’t become an instantly popular store with long lines, but it seemed like it would be able to continue operating.

‘We’ll have to deal with the scammers too, but…..’

Let’s leave that up to uncle.

It was time to get ready for the next customer.

Zap!

The store’s lights suddenly went out. I pressed the switch again, but they wouldn’t turn on. It was a blackout.

If you enjoy this translation, you can buy me cup of coffee through /cabinfour!

Translator’s Corner:

1. Wholesale is basically … reselling. They bought products from others and sold it. ↩︎

ngl this is lowkey nostalgic how the coffee mix solving the last crisis … just how like it solved the first problem Rieul experienced 200 chapters ago. We really came a long way …… 2 chapters left ….

also anyway did I just jink myself (again) in the last chapter rants … I just said I’m happy in the last chapter that I could stay for another month before deciding where to move, but now I’m pretty depressed because apparently all my housemates (who also friends from the same department and graduated at the same time with me) already moved out, either getting job in another city or coming back to their hometown akjhdjkfhjd no one gave me long mental preparation and suddenly told me a night before they left so now I’m ???????????? I’M SO SAD I DON’T WANT TO STAY HERE ANYMORE T_T CAN A JOB COME TO ME ALREADY TOO T_T turned out it’s pretty depressing to be the only one left behind. I really need to be careful for what I wished for …. just a week ago I wished I could stay a little longer but now I’m dying because I need to stay alone here …….. jkshdkjhdd humans are ungrateful creatures and sadly i’m human too

(also if you followed this blog, that’s the exact reason why I’m doing mass uploads on my new series, I need distractions) (please read it, I’m really obssesed with that series)