I installed a vending machine in front of the store as a last resort.
To be precise, it's a manually operated vending machine. It only has a button on a plastic box, and there's nothing inside.
I put a large sign on the front that read, "Free Coffee," "Help yourself." The idea was that when a customer pressed the button, I would quickly make a cup of instant coffee and place it there.
However, not a single person has pressed the button so far.
Not a single person!
Yesterday, some Hunter Guild staff members passed by here. I watched anxiously as they discovered the coffee vending machine (manual).
"Hey, it's free coffee! Do you want to try it?"
"Nah, those are just baits from phone salesmen."
"Really?"
"They give you a cup of instant coffee and then try to convince you to buy a 2 million won phone on a 36-month installment plan."
"Wow..."
No, I'm not a phone salesman. My phone is three years old, and due to the regression, it feels like six years.
If I don't sell phones, can't you just have a cup of coffee?
'...That would sound suspicious, right?'
'Meow. Do you call that a question?'
Instead, I wrote a large sign on the vending machine (manual) that read, "Not a phone salesman" after they left.
However, no one has passed by here again.
One day, while I was progressing with the quest in a lackluster manner,
The store had become quite presentable. The cleaning was done, and the coffee machine was working fine. The old but cozy interior reminded me of the time when Grandma was still around.
At least, I won't be mistaken for a phone salesman anymore.
But with only instant coffee as the recipe...
* * *
I drank the last cup of instant coffee for today. As I gulped it all down, a quest notification popped up.
I still have a long way to go to reach 100 cups.
The instant coffee is very delicious, and the sweet and smooth taste is fantastic... but now I want to try other drinks.
"Do you really need to rush?"
Miyumi, sprawled on a soft cushion, said. She seemed to like the cushion, as she purred.
"You said you wanted to rest. Sometimes it's important to take it easy. Meow."
I got another lecture from the cat.
Indeed, I want a life with less work and more rest. That's why I opened a cafe here. I have no intention of working hard.
But...
The quest window blinked in front of my eyes.
Not even completing the tutorial quest in one go. The soul of a K-gamer with a short temper cried. Can you sleep with an unfinished quest?!
No, it's normal not to be able to. Even when lying down with my eyes closed, the thought of leveling up at this time is normal.
While I was thinking about this,
Bang! Clatter.
"Meow! What's happening?"
A loud noise came from outside. Startled, Miyumi jumped up from the cushion and bristled. What's going on?
It was already dark outside. The only other presence was a cat licking cereal crumbs.
Despite my fear, I cautiously checked outside.
Someone was lying on the ground in front.
"Ugh... Black, ugh..."
I could hear this mysterious groan. Should I ignore it and call the police?
No, wait... a person?
And a very tired and exhausted person at that.
The moment I saw that exhausted look, an idea came to mind.
The perfect subject to test my coffee.
Moreover, the clothes he was wearing were familiar. It was the uniform of a regular civil servant from the <Dungeon Management Bureau>. What, an overworked civil servant?
I understood the situation. Before the regression, the most common sight on my way home from working late and catching the last train was this civil servant uniform.
"Are you okay?"
"Ugh..."
"Please come inside for a moment."
"I'm fine... I just got tired and fell over. I'm leaving now..."
"No, please rest for a moment. Okay?"
I almost forcibly pulled the person, who was trying to refuse, into a chair.
"Thank you..."
As I expected, she was a regular civil servant from the <Dungeon Management Bureau>. In other words, a non-hunter civil servant who works on dungeon management.
Dungeon management sounds good, but in reality, it's a tough job that involves doing all the dirty work for hunter civil servants. It's also known as the hell and graveyard of civil servants. The resignation rate within a year was...
The civil servant, who introduced herself as Kim Jin-a, had dark circles under her eyes from overwork. I used to look like that too. Seeing her reminded me of myself before the regression, and I felt a sense of empathy.
'My cafe in my hands.'
I made a cup of instant coffee. It has an effect that speeds up recovery, so I hoped this poor civil servant would drink it and regain her strength.
"Please drink it all."
"Ah, and you're giving me coffee too. Thank you."
Jina took the paper cup and gulped it down. Her tired expression relaxed a bit with the warm instant coffee. Seeing the quest window's number increase, I couldn't help but smile.
"Would you like another cup?"
"No, I can't impose that much..."
"It's just instant coffee, really. Here, have another."
Another cup, and another...
After making her drink three cups in a row, Jina's face regained some color, and she seemed less tired.
I watched her round back as she bowed and left.
"Why, why that look?"
"There's something about it."
"What is it?!"
"Something only humans understand."
"Whyyyyy!"
Ducking to avoid Miyumi's paw, I thought,
'I hope she comes back.'
Of course, completing the quest is important, but seeing her wobbly steps made me feel uneasy...
Hmm, is this what they call the shared suffering of a former civil servant and a current civil servant?
* * *
"I knew our daughter could do it."
It felt great when she passed the civil service exam in just one year.
Mom was so proud, treating Jina like a genius. She even tried to put up a banner in the neighborhood, which I had to talk her out of. If I hadn't, the whole neighborhood would have seen a banner saying, "Kim Jin-a passed the civil service exam."
Jina had always been interested in dungeons since she was young. A treasure trove of the unknown, a mysterious space created by the 'System.' There was no better place to fuel her academic passion.
So she aimed for the <Dungeon Management Bureau>, despite everyone's warnings about how tough it was. The interview pass rate was low, but Jina memorized the dungeon management regulations and the ecological survey report of the Great Dungeon, The Abyss, and passed right away.
Finally, she started working at the <Dungeon Management Bureau>, her dream job.
But what Jina saw was hell. She finally understood why the <Dungeon Management Bureau> was called the hell and graveyard of civil servants.
The problem wasn't just the amount of work. If she had been busy with dungeon management and research, Jina would have been happy. The joy of doing what she loved would have outweighed the physical exhaustion.
But Jina's main job was to assist the hunters of the <Dungeon Management Bureau>.
Being an assistant might sound good, but in reality, it meant catering to their whims and serving them.
All hunters were arrogant and capricious, but civil servant hunters were even worse.
They received much higher salaries than Jina, yet they often complained about tasks they should have done themselves.
It was common for them to be unreachable during working hours, treat regular civil servants with disdain, and even ask them to do menial tasks.
Balancing these hunters and scheduling dungeon raids often led to conflicts, and Jina found herself caught in the middle.
How could someone without an Awakened ability bear this...!
The fantasy of the <Dungeon Management Bureau> was thrown in the trash by the third day of work, and by the end of the first week, Jina had become a hunter hater.
She wanted to quit, but the thought of her mother's happy face when she passed the exam made it hard to say the words.
"I knew our daughter could do it."
'Mom, if this continues, I might end up hitting a hunter's head.'
That night, Jina trudged home late.
Her assigned hunter had dumped the tutorial dungeon preparation on her, claiming it wasn't his job. Of course, it was ridiculous, but Jina had no power to argue.
'What's so talkative about a guy who couldn't get into the Hunter Guild and became a civil servant? If you were a capable hunter, or even a D-rank, the Hunter Guild would have welcomed you, not given you simple management tasks. You're just trying to take advantage of me!'
She wanted to say this, but couldn't utter a word in front of him. She was naturally timid, and even an E-rank hunter was intimidating.
After finishing all the overdue work late at night, she stumbled on a stone and almost fell.
"Ugh..."
I really want to quit. If I could just hit that hunter once before quitting, it would be great.
Lacking the strength to get up, she plopped down on the ground. A yellow light shone in front of her.
At first, Jina thought she was dreaming. Had she finally hallucinated from overwork?
Maybe she had already died from overwork, and this was the entrance to the afterlife.
After all, it was unlikely to find such a warm and cozy cafe in a desolate area of Seoul near the Dungeon Gate 3.
But a calm voice called out to the fallen Jina.
"Are you okay?"
A gentle woman was looking at Jina with concern. She said she was the owner of the cafe in this secluded area.
Somehow, Jina followed the cafe owner inside and got a cup of coffee.
The instant coffee, which she rarely drank, tasted surprisingly good. The sweet and smooth flavor and aroma melted her heart, and she ended up drinking three cups.
After venting a bit while drinking coffee, her stress eased.
'Well, I'll manage somehow tomorrow. Even if it doesn't work out, it's not my fault!'
With this thought, Jina returned home with a lighter step.
But the next morning,
Eh? I woke up?
Usually, she needed at least five alarms to wake up, but her eyes opened immediately. Moreover, this natural surge of energy was strange.
The chronic fatigue that always plagued her was completely gone.
No headache, and her body felt as light as air. How long had it been since she felt this way?
'What's going on?'
Suddenly, the instant coffee she drank yesterday came to mind.
It's an absurd thought, but... maybe it was the power of that coffee.