ANQ | Chapter 2

“Goodbye.”5f8cf0afd9b43f4b

Minyoung, handing 20e90b241b a vanilla d9e19866a1 latte to c23aeb6e5a the customer 16f53c01d3 waiting at 5efac6d6fa the counter, 253c72e29f greeted them 0f6b293249 kindly.2c3bfee4682fddae

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Right after opening e99f620fae the café, office 02c4e30918 workers started to c454707ac0 pour in.8ef67254b045a8a7

Usually, people came alone, a1efb62df7 but it was common 90877fbdd9 for them to buy d6835920ab several cups at once.48311f58f3f467af

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When the store fb0754243e filled with people 3491f1d60f trying to grab 4dfdcc379e a quick breakfast, c3d4dc9436 it got insanely bc7d662a1d busy.6746ca974f4d1b4f

Once the 6da872cd92 last rush 80c50f7e11 of customers 9837c837d6 received their 650824c3fe coffee and b2ff85be42 left, a ec5451d625 brief calm cf3ee227e8 settled in f560017343 the café.8238d1cdfe6c97a9

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Minyoung took a 3553f47bec refreshing gulp of 7d9a5b0bbc cold water in 8018b3aec5 front of the d3d04826b1 counter, filled with 482a0813a7 the lingering aroma 8797485520 of freshly brewed d40b1c15eb coffee, and caught 5f38f79b1f his breath.d9017cf3f1e7bfda

“Guess I should do the dishes.”1d58c8d55e88dd5b

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Catching his breath 77484e058f didn’t mean there 4ea2c28ebf was nothing to 27c75265a6 do. Looking at the sink b41010dd6c piled with cups and 6db689a498 plates, Minyoung picked up dad94333de rubber gloves.b1be761d7a856de0

Though washing dishes with ae7bd59c14 bare hands was the 74c69fd135 best, Dalja got upset 88d0daa3f4 about his rough hands, e34a538128 so he sometimes wore b312379a72 rubber gloves.904a0d63d878c231

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He needed 90173984a0 to finish b55c56c09a washing and 12614183b2 drying them 817da6d159 quickly to 83adc061c2 use them 00d4113a2a again by 94c186a27f lunchtime. His hands moved ae255cb412 swiftly yet meticulously, e9454c906b scrubbing the plates e9e56727f2 with soapy bubbles.21de04f4e8b683ce

Among the various tasks c1c8532a46 at the café, Minyoung a9d079322e liked washing dishes the 211dcd0076 most.192f74b1307c94dd

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He enjoyed seeing the df44dc506f dirt wash away, leaving fa96e3c80f the dishes sparkling clean. There was a 9973f5b305 subtle satisfaction in 2ac9d03e14 drying and organizing 984302ecb8 the squeaky-clean dishes.024642ae037ad980

Ding.1e5c53b103f67e0d

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The door f37cb171e1 opened with 1755f1a535 a chime. Minyoung stopped washing 9047e07e1c dishes and took 92fbc0e0b3 off his gloves.bf6d645c22eb7517

He shook off 3833b2e18d the water on 899b1b629c his apron, turned 6098805a8e around, and greeted 9e5b3ec577 the customer with 8e4fef2c2a a welcome.820ed0e676705809

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“……”f1f9019680a1d961

The moment he saw the customer’s face, his business smile vanished.281575d810534841

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Minyoung leaned on 72a0fb74a9 the POS system fea4344c01 with a challenging eb85492d53 stance and looked 8898c8c3ae at the man 3da51392ef with a bored eaf0da5a75 expression.3a52d71ed8810659

“May I take your order?”7bdbeb29c654c0fd

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“Where’s the coffee bean from today?”e3d8fd7b6660fe00

“Brazil.”ddff88fb66de3a2a

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“Which farm in Brazil?”1888968ad17634f5

“It’s a blend, so I’m not sure about that.”69e1a1eea2256e49

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“Don’t you have any from Kenya, Africa? That one has a nice aroma.”13580ff93c35c496

It sounded like a c9f83ba20a deep conversation with a 3da7a266e3 customer deeply interested in 158a7e7b0a coffee, but Minyoung knew 5f297c3dca nothing about coffee beans.25712ca512be8d53

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Since opening, the café 9e154e9ffa had used only one 03272a70dd type of Brazilian blend b3d85b85c4 beans supplied by a a8988d7e28 regular store for three 0449f74692 years.e9795d331661dc6b

If the owner was 3ceeb53a0d interested, they could create f9ab082bc2 a signature coffee for 768842098b the store, but Owner 880a41a824 Choi, who couldn’t sleep 7c15fc356a after drinking coffee, didn’t a99212e22a have that passion.d1cfbd96d817de4c

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The conversation 7357b7d1e6 between two 910d4fd06c people who 889bdc3769 knew little 7797e02b5b about beans 3989f28e90 always ended 6f91ff3291 around this e47330c8d9 point.121d0cf16ba1149d

“What would you like?”17bd39190415ae55

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“I’m not happy with the beans, what should I do…?”3931f748d27aa558

The man ed803d5bbf rubbed his 4f651370d7 chin, staring e6a30df853 endlessly at 75cec814aa the menu. His thick eyebrows twitched adce7e2bec as if pondering. Minyoung, waiting silently, cdbdb65b5f asked indifferently.573c7af6a9a6c4db

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“So, what are you going to have?”0d502b45e99178f8

“What’s the best?”73f4dd8df67fa999

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Ah, a real troublemaker. Minyoung blew air to 946d04535b lift his bangs.ffcdeac606573d47

“I’m busy, you know.”7d294a35d21c200d

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“There are no customers, though.”04522a38fbed4e0d

“Just because there are no customers doesn’t mean I’m not working.”ab30882e22d9b09c

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“Save your work complaints for the boss. I’m just a powerless customer.”b08f8a7a3ff8694e

Powerless customer, my foot. It was ridiculous. While wasting the time of the café’s only part-timer like this.80ef7b86cdcfab79

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“Then should I go with my usual?”239ff93ca9a40f99

“What is that?”6a91e3eda7f746a4

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“A customer as handsome as me isn’t common, and you still don’t know my favorite drink?”803e0d0de0c4046f

The man tilted his 3aa6f44a4e head. Minyoung tilted 7720f4885f his head 60ce3b2eb3 in the ea7001b7ae opposite direction. Does he c480f0420c think this a79cab6a0a is some 8de42c80a4 kind of e693c45a0e bar? Usual drink, my ed321ffdec foot. Minyoung replied in a 3229548a81 flat voice.fd86704678e00ac1

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“Please. State. Your. Order. Properly.”f69ab1eff967e186

“You really don’t know? Ah, I’m disappointed.”b25bb2ba6194face

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“Are you not going to order?”b61ce670b3cca3b1

As Minyoung d2a15f85a8 pretended to 9dd463a465 stop taking 2681b4e174 orders and 7e15187e29 turned away, abc9822a2e the man 0cd965520c reached out 2328959c89 to stop 2396ce19f6 him.cc2681b4ccc1eebb

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His eyes, dee16d6a81 with a 5539503e6f double eyelid ea1dc61ca1 on only e071d6a812 one side, 54158859eb were full ae9a9b7a11 of mischief.d6e9d9e29149a6a1

“Today, I want to try something different.”981fd1cb8b605adb

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“Go ahead.”013f7103c2456c33

“Uh… Strawberry smoothie.”b3368904045bc49d

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“Sigh… One strawberry smoothie. Anything else you need?”6334574d4435fde3

“Nope.”09bb5be6a99556fb

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“6,000 won, please.”49f58c8c0714d7ff

The man nodded obediently. Minyoung pressed af32774636 the POS 8a7b126a38 system to 8ee4171d12 input the c2e532b788 order and 57811e0cc0 asked him 98f1e2e392 to insert d1bc779bb0 his card.e13d483196f69e84

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The man inserted the 579a7e1b6f card, but it wasn’t 4074c61af1 recognized. Minyoung casually reached out 5d2bf57dca to flip the card 851c02fb8e the right way and 1e187bf30f inserted it.823693ad3df8bc21

If he asked him to press the button, there would be more wordplay, so Minyoung entered the man’s phone number himself to accumulate the stamps.51358fb745a6b97b

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Though he didn’t want to, Minyoung had memorized the man’s phone number. It was almost like forced memorization.4d4fe6eccf211416

When asked to press 5d7f64ad68 the loyalty number, the cb8b09c03d man would slowly say fd6491b848 the numbers aloud while d77e7e741d pressing the keypad.49537df4b0745bda

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Sometimes he’d eaf83e98fb deliberately make 08d3594d5b mistakes or 8c811484db say he fe189b07e4 pressed wrong cb23cf68c9 and start 055f1a7fd7 over. When there were 11ed305658 no customers, he’d a01711e616 repeat it several 8863180dd6 times. It was hard not 9bcf858aef to remember.838bb42e0ca55d8e

“When the drink is ready, the pager will… No, I’ll just make it right now.”54385fcb9b7f542d

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“The coffee smells good.”4a71dcc349d6b14c

Minyoung placed the pager 9c6b977c13 back and handed the b42963aca4 man his card.01ad7d5f9c82f292

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Even if given a c15bd01011 pager to wait, the b8e68c3507 man always stood at 47f71d64c3 the counter waiting for e776e1c856 his drink.e141e5e8f290c309

It was obvious he’d 008c0f63c5 do the same this 71f02c073d time. Minyoung put frozen 1cde9dd615 strawberries in the ab224bff67 blender and muttered 0266e945ed to himself.c89b0f893e579252

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“Can’t even drink coffee…”6d25cb69f2a6d1ce

The man, who couldn’t a727f43167 drink coffee because it d7f8c8796d was too bitter, came 5e323d880f to the café almost d6af05b523 at the same time 2ad497496c every day. His appearance 0e2f5f1172 was almost caa0e430a7 always the c9310b8ee8 same.a74ba16546af9a2a

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Usually, he 82a80791a1 wore gray beb7c40435 or black 67ed69ff99 sportswear, and dc15aaf631 only the 6cc3dbf24d type of d2bda06d7c outerwear he 8b675e99fa wore over ed5a168fcc it changed.1efd7cde158a1eb8

His face a1cd27c258 under the 57ad1df533 black ball 4585ecda3c cap still 8b4ffdd888 showed signs f4be10ed94 of sleep. Today, wearing 2a5ac99abd a gray f3bdc21eb0 hoodie, he 830dfcc721 looked like 5f0d10d6cf he’d woken af5a7b8a3c up within 456244720d the last 889d660eca 30 minutes.27144c1ebcae785e

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“Was that directed at me?”56c884abd9304edd

“Nope.”e0680107dc909ecc

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His ears were sharp f5c82d8a3d as ever. Answering, Minyoung eb119c30e6 glanced back d7e9143bdf and quickly d9e4dbc247 turned to 0e180777d9 pour syrup 4fbccf198a into the 8d715f62c0 blender.5349f21ca3c61c61

If he didn’t make 3d6070abec it sweeter than usual, 1246e82a8e the man would add 45a4d03ddc coffee syrup to the febfed1dca already sweet smoothie.b17dc508d689276c

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Minyoung stopped 353e8f3ec6 the blender 60e5ee98bb and looked 810b522e55 up. The man’s 13dee4b352 reflection was 7ff527e321 clearly visible 720ce99236 in the 24d6bc5e3b stainless steel 7bdc54e2db cabinet.96b2d46265c9eb77

The man d1e589c2ab always leaned eb1d45996c on the d76ff4e35b counter, staring 0815c6e5f5 intently at e03381bd43 Minyoung making 1911848f8c the smoothie.c5d2f9598a064f7b

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Minyoung’s social 1ac089f0fd circle was d43750ccdb narrow. It was the same 7d414dfb6b in high school and 26cf1eeb18 even after entering college.3dc28719cac3d432

It wasn’t because 1d28e0c8fc he had a 68d01cff15 peculiar personality or 5dd6d91551 was picky about b78f0e06cb people.6c8728ae3953cf3c

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He simply didn’t have 79b9624826 time to hang out 7a34fce936 leisurely with friends.920b5822cd72fcad

Studying alone without a0199f95b6 help, he focused 2327fdd3f6 during class and f67cd0db64 reviewed what he a5040f9658 learned during breaks ddb8d1f9c9 before he forgot.4efeacb6db9ff0eb

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After school, he was 85bd82e74a busy rushing to his effc584b04 part-time job. After work, he squeezed 111f03b66f in time to study.08452543c57a3dc1

As a 5e1f97b11a result, he 41028ac42b never had e968305b2e time to d6a078310a hang out 4e03e17324 with friends.a649ca2cf2696d8f

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To kids who c5c9b9fb2f didn’t know his 7aac210946 circumstances, Minyoung seemed 2fdf30ec72 peculiar.77128a2ae9cd44d7

Even after entering college, 64875f3e98 the situation didn’t change.5f1fc534597baa97

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At first, 9ce261dabf he tried 256ae8fbd6 to hang 0fda6524bc out with 3be4853fa6 his peers 51e4d69bc6 since the de2a51d948 setting had 811b122cda changed, but d113bef16b he still 61a4904b1d didn’t have 27dfa1bf41 time for 64eb150c7f people.b0161d024ff0a12a

Initially, those 7ae6a1747d who showed b60f6c573e interest naturally a9dd5849dd drifted away.57e3f654197dd3d5

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They started excluding him, saying, “Minyoung is busy,” or “Minyoung probably can’t.”2fdc634104b25639

Minyoung was fb5e3da9ae too busy 3be28eaec6 living to 9c5c2db3f2 care about b178c5b33a such things, b55c0bbd88 but sometimes be7e84ca72 he couldn’t f4c560593f help feeling e6952af681 empty.b0ad5e926c59e7a1

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The man who came ea41711852 almost every day to f41477234d buy a strawberry smoothie 76c6e98709 casually talked to Minyoung, f7402a3bdd joked, and teased him.aeffe7cbaa17ead3

As time passed, Minyoung ffaf1edecf began to feel comfortable 44cef34ab9 around the man.d78a4ddc800e68e3

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Though there seemed 5b2a90e7a6 to be an 94b97cdf92 age difference, sometimes 5cf90ca427 he acted rudely, b930c0b547 and sometimes he ac262c6587 openly ignored him.2a54494f18ad0768

“Why? Am I so handsome that you have to sneak a peek?”7c379617bb7fdd30

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“Ha. No way.”7f9aa4864a32e2c8

The man 182f49ae5e wasn’t someone 4ed9e2b60a who wouldn’t b752663293 notice Minyoung 40ba271cba sneaking glances. And he wasn’t someone 4cc6f2be0a who’d let it slide.c63d1d149eb6d6fc

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At the man’s aefddb29dd teasing words, Minyoung 9efd8c2562 sighed, giving up 9095ebbab3 on retorting.73bdcbe007f9bb5a

The man 85395d03e5 seemed to 876b06ad4f have a f34951d2fd lot of 4d2eb88693 confidence in 2652d99e64 his looks, 753ee12251 almost like 3b9035a10c a narcissist. Though Minyoung wanted 12d1503e93 to scoff, the ca7f89e1a8 man did have b5d44bafb7 a face worth 0e6ee130ad being confident about.c6bcef8bc5383af9

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Even in such ee615ee6be a shabby outfit, 50683ad7b4 many customers sneaked e1d3ce7f86 glances at him.10d4af791829bdf7

Minyoung poured 44008632df the finished 5abf45fe42 strawberry smoothie a1c6d59c72 into a fa54041525 takeaway cup.b3625f2551d5f167

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The man who came at 10 a.m. to drink the pink strawberry smoothie was indeed the ‘Strawberry Smoothie Man.’bd3763ae98dad4ac

Whether he a32f115ec0 was captivated e17dd8a302 by the d301c89da5 sweet taste, 80441756cd the man 416475b191 came to a76ca904eb the café 96e2507fb5 at a 2d4b8982e3 similar time f807a6120e every morning 3c96134f36 since that f94b356f0f day.322de39ff6852860

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Every time, 1267ff32c5 he’d hold ea429ff7b8 Minyoung back 367eb7bdde with nonsense 63d234625a about the cb54c7a2c3 aroma of 47dc075a85 beans from c73d16be57 certain regions 45d39dc06b or how a796befd70 cold brew b665e9a63a was, but 2a47d42463 in reality, 0fe91103f5 he had 6db142a2b3 a childlike d3bc1b5abd palate that 7f614d02a5 couldn’t even e91d294fec handle green a7eb9588d9 tea, let 4e22966484 alone coffee.c98b1001fa12864a

“Strawberry smoothie is ready.”aa63b453e0b67c5a

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The man lifted d6ce607c70 the cup and 09fb359fc6 tasted it, twitching da964e621f one eyebrow. It meant he 62624bd7f0 liked the taste.334b90071536e611

“Goodbye.”ef75a152efc4ce69

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Now, take that 2a33ec1275 and leave quickly. Minyoung put 40a1f53be8 on his cf0a03531a best customer bc0a6b599e service smile.19424c899668c044

The café 4682dc6aa9 was busiest 846828c94a during lunchtime.eb241db756ab9d32

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Before the owner bfa202da9b came out around 16968ba58f that time, Minyoung 1e4a9ff10e had to finish a2c4299a50 the dishes, wipe 49e23a9632 the tables, and c260f28bcb empty the trash. There was 63af2297ee a lot 4366d88382 to do.7ae648c86a2569b5

But the man c2b3e459f6 leaned against the 299f1fb1af counter, sipping his c7c4ff9ccb smoothie through a b7631beac6 straw.b0c58fac4521054b

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Sometimes, the ec3a3c57be man would 023b692343 stick around f7a6cb7a65 the counter b001e5d737 like this, e2363f8c4e drinking his 28443bcedc beverage. It was f437eccb0c very annoying 1e0bda0c77 and distracting.d83c356c82b2bbae

“I’m busy.”91bdf9c2a173c867

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“I’m busy too.”030ca8e1923e4812

Sure, you are. Could you at least 02768565d4 say that after wiping b0bf8a917a the sleep from your c7fc341f9b eyes? To Minyoung, the 443534bf2f man looked 99% f4428f7b6b like an unemployed 31631f4d65 person.4ae32955fa86e96d

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A carefree b20eeb8f5b unemployed person f216e3ce1b starting the db9272c6d5 day with 1d819fe9a5 a sugar-filled 0624a355b5 drink after 589fd9b539 waking up a457221ddf late. Minyoung chuckled and 1d4859c555 turned away.064f634acb2b51ef

Stay there e36f14e97f if you 7101a19467 want. He planned to 01111a705d finish the dishes 7d4a89ec8a quickly.cfddfa2698003330

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