The next day.

Han Jaechun barely slept. He tossed and turned all night, then opened his eyes at the crack of dawn.

—Starting tomorrow, come to our office. I’ll teach you a few things, just for fun.

Kim Muhyuk’s words kept circling in his ears, even after the drinking ended and he got back home.

“It wasn’t a dream...... right? It wasn’t, right?”

He didn’t even realize he’d muttered the same words hundreds of times through the night.

He’d been so drunk that his memory of how he got home was blurry, so maybe—just maybe—everything was nothing but his own delusion.

“Should I text and ask if he got home okay? No, it’s five in the morning.......”

Han Jaechun stared at his smartphone with an anxious face, then let out a long sigh.

Then, still hazy, he headed to the bathroom to pull himself together.

He took a hot shower and changed into the cleanest clothes he had. Before leaving, he tried to force himself to chew down some bread, but he had no appetite, so he set it aside.

“......Let’s just go.”

Han Jaechun arrived in front of the building that housed the Blue Wolves Office at seven in the morning.

It was too early; every light in the building was off.

Han Jaechun looked up at the third-floor sign and took a deep breath.

Don’t get your hopes up. Who’s the idiot that believes everything said over drinks?

Kim Muhyuk had probably said it while drunk, too. Maybe he didn’t even remember, or he regretted running his mouth.

What if I’m being tactless—what if I’m just bothering my benefactor?

Maybe I should just pretend this never happened and turn around even now......

“Huh? Aren’t you the guy who came looking for Muhyuk yesterday?”

A middle-aged man who resembled Kim Muhyuk was walking up with a grocery bag. A middle-aged woman walked beside him.

They were obviously Kim Muhyuk’s parents, so Han Jaechun bowed deeply.

“Hello! My name is Han Jaechun. Your son helped me immensely yesterday, so I came to at least thank him.......”

At the words your son helped me, their expressions brightened.

They were a little puzzled that he’d shown up at seven in the morning, but martial artists were strange people, so they let it slide.

Park Jiyeon smiled warmly.

“Ah, but what should we do? Muhyuk went to morning training—he won’t be back until after nine.”

“Ah, it’s okay. I’m the one who came too early. I’ll wait at a nearby park and come back.”

“Don’t do that—come inside. The first floor is the café we run.”

“Yes? I don’t want to be a nuisance......”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.”

Kim Chanho—social skills at max level—grabbed Han Jaechun by the arm and tugged.

Before he could even process it, Han Jaechun was pulled into < cafe Naru >.

After sitting him at a table, Kim Chanho asked,

“Jaechun. Have you eaten breakfast?”

“Huh? No.......”

“I knew it. Just wait a second.”

“I’m really okay!”

But Park Jiyeon had already tied on an apron and started making a sandwich, and Kim Chanho headed for the coffee machine.

A little later, Han Jaechun got to taste the very first sandwich and coffee made at < cafe Naru > that day.

“It’s...... good.”

He’d accepted it without thinking, but the sandwich was so good it made him blurt out admiration.

The coffee tasted... a little strange, but Han Jaechun wasn’t clueless enough to say it tasted bad.

Instead, Kim Chanho’s instincts were just terrifyingly sharp.

“Not good? I tried adding some protein powder and turmeric for the martial artists.”

“Mm....... It’s distinctive. People will either love it or hate it, but I think it’s good.”

“Want to drink one more? If I tweak the ratio a little, I think it’ll come out better— Gah!”

“I told you not to test new menu items on customers.”

After smashing her husband’s back, Park Jiyeon set down a normal Americano in front of Han Jaechun.

Sorry to the male owner, but this tastes way better.

And watching a couple who got along so well made a smile come to his face on its own.

After he finished his coffee, Han Jaechun carried his dishes to the kitchen himself.

“You look busy—should I help?”

“Oh, it’s fine. Muhyuk still has a long time before he comes back, so relax.”

“I’ll get bored just sitting around. I’ll just do the dishes and organize some things.”

Then he washed dishes and tidied up with brisk efficiency, and Kim Chanho and Park Jiyeon’s eyes widened.

Both of them had only ever done office work. Self-employment was new, so there were clumsy parts—and Han Jaechun took one look and pointed them out.

“If you put the cups and plates over here, your flow will be easier. And if you keep using the table fridge like this, it’ll be inconvenient. The ingredient boxes would be better if you rearranged them a bit......”

“......How do you know all this?”

“I worked part-time at a café in high school. And besides that, I’ve done every part-time job you can think of.”

While waiting for Kim Muhyuk, Han Jaechun chatted with them about this and that.

They said < cafe Naru > was currently in a soft-opening state.

They planned to prepare for about one more week, then open officially. At first, they’d start with just the two of them, and if they needed help, they’d hire a part-timer.

“But how old are you, Jaechun?”

“I’m twenty-six this year.”

“I could tell you were young from the start. If you just clean up your beard and hair, I’d believe you if you said you were Muhyuk’s friend.”

“Haha, it’s not that bad.......”

Han Jaechun laughed awkwardly, embarrassed.

This—right now—was closer to Han Jaechun the human being, not Han Jaechun the drifter.

While he waited for Kim Muhyuk, Han Jaechun realized a lot of unusual people came into < cafe Naru >.

“Uncle, auntie! Good morning~!”

Around eight, Kim Bokja swept into the café, red hair flying, wearing a studded leather jacket.

Han Jaechun’s eyes were drawn to her flashy outfit without him even meaning to, but Kim Chanho and Park Jiyeon greeted her like it was normal.

“Bokja, you’re here? I’ll fix you breakfast—go sit.”

“What’s on the menu today?”

“Blueberry jam sandwich—the one you like—and a sweet vanilla latte.”

“Yes!”

Kim Bokja bounced on her feet as she waited for her sandwich and coffee before heading up to the second floor for work.

Then she spotted Han Jaechun late and narrowed her eyes.

“But who’s the uncle next to you? Don’t tell me he’s a part-timer?”

“This is Han Jaechun. He’s the one who came to Muhyuk’s office yesterday. Things got resolved well, so he came to say thanks.”

The moment Han Jaechun met Kim Bokja’s eyes, he flinched.

Th-those pupils just now.......

For an instant, it felt like they’d shone a vivid blue—was it his imagination?

While Han Jaechun told himself he must’ve seen wrong, Kim Bokja addressed him in a slightly curt voice.

“You look like a drifter. Seems like you’re carrying an artificial lower abdomen.”

“How did you know?”

“You’ve got that distinctive junk-food kind of energy. You’re Kim Muhyuk’s client?”

Kim Bokja didn’t trust drifters from the underworld.

Not all of them were bad, but the worst types—give them money and they’d become contract killers—were common enough.

She didn’t like that there was a drifter in < cafe Naru >, but at the words Kim Muhyuk’s client, she swallowed it down.

Even so, her gaze alone was enough to cow Han Jaechun.

A master.......

Just being stared at made his vision feel dizzy. Han Jaechun lowered his eyes slightly.

“Hey.”

“Yes, yes?”

While Kim Chanho and Park Jiyeon weren’t looking, Kim Bokja pointed at her own eyes with her index and middle fingers, then pointed at Han Jaechun.

It was a gesture that clearly meant: I’m watching you.

Gulp.

He had no intention of doing anything bad in the first place, but Han Jaechun nodded hard anyway.

Apparently satisfied, Kim Bokja grinned and stood up.

“I’m going to work. I’ll be on the second floor—if something happens, you know how to use the talisman I gave you, right?”

“Honestly, Bokja worries too much.”

“What could even happen in the middle of Yeonnam-dong?”

When her eyes swept over him one last time, Han Jaechun broke into a cold sweat.

“Whew.......”

And just as the sweat Kim Bokja caused was finally drying—

Choi Geon came into the café.

“Teacher, you’re here?”

“I stopped by before I go to the Martial Alliance. Hm? There’s a friend I haven’t seen before.”

Choi Geon didn’t threaten him. He didn’t even say anything special.

But that calm, lingering gaze was several times more frightening than Kim Bokja’s.

If I get on this man’s bad side, I die!

Han Jaechun’s drifter survival instinct kicked in. He introduced himself desperately.

“Hello! My name is Han Jaechun. Kim Muhyuk the martial artist helped me greatly, so I came to thank him. I arrived earlier than expected, so I’ve been helping with the café work.”

“Oh? So you’re Muhyuk’s friend.”

In that moment, Choi Geon’s blade-like eyes softened.

He looked over the injuries on Han Jaechun’s body and his limping leg. After exchanging a few words, he spoke as if he found it regrettable.

“You hide a gentle nature under a rough exterior. If life on the edge of a blade grows too hard, come by for a cup of tea now and then.”

“......Yes. Thank you.”

He seemed to have noticed Han Jaechun was a drifter without anyone needing to say it.

Choi Geon chatted with the three of them for a while, then rose.

“When Muhyuk comes, give him my regards. And this—boil it down and drink it, you two.”

Saying it was medicinal herbs that were good for the body, Choi Geon left a box wrapped in cloth behind.

The visits from unusual people didn’t end there.

“Twenty cups of ginseng-ginger coffee from Songwol Gate?”

“Our elders really love the ginseng-ginger coffee you make, sir. So I’m buying some for the seniors, too.”

“Really? I’ll add extra ginger powder as a service!”

“Ah, mine should be a normal Americano......”

Oh Jungmin from Songwol Gate stopped by on the way to work and took twenty coffees to go.

Then—

“Yeonha. Isn’t it too much to keep bringing things like this?”

“Last time I looked, I thought you might need more napkins. We were ordering ours anyway, so I ordered them together.”

Bu Yeonha from AZURE SKY SWORD GATE left several boxes of napkins behind.

As he moved the boxes and looked again, Han Jaechun noticed the AZURE SKY SWORD GATE logo stamped clearly on the side of the café refrigerator.

What even is this place......?

People kept coming to a café that hadn’t even officially opened yet.

They were people tied to mid-tier sects and the Eight Great Sects—names famous enough that even Han Jaechun knew them—and even the Martial Alliance.

Was this a place where orthodox figures held secret meetings or something?

At some point, Han Jaechun stopped taking off the apron.

Until Kim Muhyuk came, he helped with the shop work—and he even tied his hair neatly again, and went to the bathroom to clean up his messy beard.

After that, anyone would think he was a café part-timer. And even without being told, he handled whatever needed doing.

The way Kim Chanho and Park Jiyeon looked at him gradually shifted—past admiration, into being moved.

“Um, Jaechun.......”

“Would you be willing to work part-time?”

“Huh? Haha—if someone as rough-looking as me works here, you’ll ruin the café.”

Han Jaechun laughed it off, thinking they were joking.

Then, after ten in the morning—

After sweating out last night’s alcohol, Kim Muhyuk arrived later than usual.

He had no idea what had happened while he was gone.

The moment he opened the door and stepped into the café—

“I’m here...... huh?”

“Welcome!”

Kim Muhyuk met eyes with Han Jaechun, who was wearing an apron and wiping down a table with a rag, and tilted his head.

“You’re Han, right? What are you doing here?”

“Ah, well.......”

Before Han Jaechun could answer, Kim Chanho and Park Jiyeon strode over with sharp expressions.

“Han? Muhyuk, you’re talking to someone six years older than you like that?”

“Huh? We agreed yesterday to speak casually.”

“Even so, that’s still too much.”

Even Park Jiyeon—who normally would’ve listened to her son first—crossed her arms and glared at Kim Muhyuk.

“Not ‘Brother Jaechun’—just ‘Han’? Even if you’re close, you still have to keep the bare minimum of manners.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. So your martial arts are a little strong and you think that means you can act like that? No. You can’t. Is that what your dad taught you?”

With his parents flanking Han Jaechun and glaring at him with axe eyes, Kim Muhyuk felt wronged and dumbfounded.

“Did you bribe my parents or something?”

Han Jaechun, still in his apron, could only give an awkward smile.