"Do you know that guy?" Yeon-Su inquired, his gaze drifting toward a solitary figure seated by the window, absorbed in the pages of a newspaper. He watched as the sunlight streamed in, casting a warm glow around him, accentuating the deep lines of concentration on his face. Sung-Hoon set down the tray filled with glasses on the counter, wiping his hands on a cloth as he turned to follow his line of sight. "He's been coming here since I started working," he added, a hint of curiosity in his voice. "Is he a regular of yours, or maybe a friend?"
It had only been a week since Sung-Hoon reluctantly decided to hire Yeon-Su after Yeon-Jun had been unable to continue due to his health and was hospitalized. Sung-Hoon had deliberately sidestepped discussions about him, leaving Yeon-Su completely oblivious regarding Yeon-Jun. He felt as if convincing Yeon-Jun would be a hard time for him, and for his chances to solidify, he had to train Yeon-Su properly without any pressure.
"I don't know him," Sung-Hoon replied with a nonchalant shrug, his eyes now scanning the cafe. He picked up a clean cloth to wipe down the counter in a habitual motion. "He might've just moved to the area and is getting accustomed to his surroundings." Yeon-Su nodded in understanding but continued to steal glances at the man, intrigued by his quiet demeanor, before returning his focus to serve another customer.
As he maneuvered around the cafe, the stranger's voice broke through the ambient sounds of clinking dishes and hushed conversations. "Excuse me," he called, his tone polite yet somewhat hesitant. Yeon-Su turned, noticing him setting down his newspaper and rising from his seat. His heart raced a little; he was still getting used to interactions like this.
"Can I assist you with something?" he asked while approaching him, a warm smile on his face, despite his growing nervousness.
The man shook his head slowly, a flicker of uncertainty dancing in his eyes. He seemed to wrestle with his words for a moment before finally speaking, "I'm searching for someone named Yeon-Jun Shin. Does he work here?"
Knowing nothing about Yeon-Jun, with a firm shake of his head, he replied, "I'm sorry, but I don't know anyone by that name. As far as I'm aware, it's just me and the boss working here."
The man's eyebrows knitted together thoughtfully as he absorbed his response, clearly disappointed. He nodded slightly, still seeming to weigh his options, before gathering his belongings and requesting him to clear the table for him. With a polite thank you, he exited the cafe, leaving Yeon-Su behind to wonder about the peculiar encounter.
"What a strange person," he muttered to himself, shaking his head slightly as he cleared away the remnants of his visit, continuing his work.
"Wasn't he also named Yeon-Jun Shin?" Hee-Jun began, setting the neatly organized financial records of the first quarter down on Woo-San's desk with a soft thud. "The guy you were looking for after that trip a few years back?" The mention of the memory struck a chord, and Woo-San felt a wave of unease wash over him, his heart racing. Internally, he panicked while striving to maintain a facade of calm. He wanted to respond, but every excuse that flitted through his mind echoed as hollow and implausible. He knew he had to deftly sidestep the inquiry, yet evading it might only arouse further suspicion.
"Who?" Woo-San feigned ignorance, deliberately turning down the corners of his mouth and furrowing his eyebrows in a practiced display of confusion. "Oh, you mean that guy who supposedly was my girlfriend? The one who triggered my grandfather's infamous tantrums, pushing me into a relentless cycle of blind dates?" He scoffed, a brittle laugh escaping his lips. "No, I have no recollection whatsoever, because I've chosen to erase that man's name from my life. Forever."
Hee-Jun hadn't anticipated Woo-San's defensive stance, and he could see the glimmer of frustration in his friend's eyes. Sensing that Woo-San had recognized his feigned ignorance, Hee-Jun pressed on with curiosity, only to find himself met with an unexpected response. "I saw him once, just from a distance," Woo-San added, his tone shifting sharply as he forced a smile that felt more like a grimace. "He left his job, and I never got a chance to return afterward—thanks to someone's interference." With that, he turned on his heel and strode away, the aggressive smile faltering as the strong smell of his perfume followed after.
That time, Hee-Jun relayed to Yui-Hyuk that Woo-San had been searching for someone he had met during a trip, unintentionally omitting the intricate details of their fateful encounter. This omission ignited Yui-Hyuk's suspicions, prompting him to take drastic measures. He arranged for Woo-San to be followed and imposed a ban on him from meeting anyone outside his established circle, determined to push him into a series of contrived blind dates that would match him with someone deemed suitable for his status. Despite Yui-Hyuk's attempts at control, Woo-San's resilience shone through.
The undercurrent of tension in Woo-San's voice had been enough to deter Hee-Jun from probing any further, leading him back to the mundanity of his work.
"I'm certain this is the cafe he told me about," Woo-San mused to himself, his breath momentarily fogging up the mask he wore. He stood outside Strawberry Hanok, his eyes fixated on the old wooden sign that once adorned the cafe—one crafted by Sung-Hoon before its replacement by a more modern design commissioned by Yixan. The nostalgic aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafting from within stirred a mix of emotions in him. "It seems like the part-timer is off today…" he murmured, peering through the glass, trying to catch a glimpse of any familiar faces behind the counter but it was only Sung-Hoon, preparing to close the cafe.
As he adjusted his mask, a sudden movement behind him caught his attention. He turned to see a small figure standing close by, and to his shock, he recognized who it was.
"You—" Woo-San started, but before he could finish, a distinct voice pierced through the air, calling out a name he'd recently recalled. "Yeon-Jun!" The voice—one he dreaded hearing—belonged to his cousin, Yixan. She approached, her expression a mix of surprise and slight annoyance. "I'm sorry," she offered, bowing politely as she signed something to Yeon-Jun beside her, making it painfully clear that she hadn't recognized Woo-San in disguise. "My friend can't speak," she explained, her tone heavy, as if she had just come from a sprint, her cheeks flushed.
Yeon-Jun responded with a series of quick gestures, to which Yixan's gaze fell to Woo-San's footwear. A nervous chuckle escaped her lips. "He wanted to say that your shoelaces are untied," she relayed, her smile awkward yet sincere.
Woo-San instinctively glanced down, his cheeks burning with embarrassment as he stepped back slightly, another wave of unease washing over him. "Thank you," he stammered, barely able to meet their eyes as Yeon-Jun inclined his head in acknowledgment and started to walk away, Yixan weaving in step behind him.
As he returned his gaze to the window, Woo-San watched Yixan follow Yeon-Jun toward the back of the store, a sense of dread flooding over him. "She works here? I'm definitely doomed," he breathed out in a mix of frustration and anxiety, lightly thumping his forehead against the cool, glass pane. The idea of starting a conversation with Yeon-Jun while avoiding Yixan felt like an insurmountable task. "The part-timer..." he thought, feeling a spark of inspiration. Fortunately, he didn't have to ponder for long.
"I'm sure he could speak," Woo-San mumbled to himself as he sat in the corner of the cafe, his brow furrowing in thought. After observing Yeon-Jun intently for an entire week, he had convinced himself that the young man was mute. However, the vivid memory of Yeon-Jun uttering a name during his rescue replayed in Woo-San's mind like an echo that refused to fade. "Maybe I was mistaken?" he pondered, wrestling with the possibility that he might have misheard. Yet, the name remained clear and unshakable in his memory, raising more questions than answers. Why, then, did everyone around him treat Yeon-Jun as if he couldn't speak? "Should I ask him?" After a long moment of contemplation, Woo-San decided it would be prudent to observe the other man a bit longer before jumping to conclusions.
Looking around, Woo-San noticed that it was quiet; it appeared that Yeon-Jun was the only one working. Sung-Hoon was away on a business trip, and it wasn't a day for Yeon-Su to be present, either. Furthermore, Yixan was inundated with her own tight schedule. And luckily, he was able to extract this information from the part-timer with just a few sweet words and harmless lies. This circumstance provided Woo-San with the perfect opportunity to attempt a conversation with Yeon-Jun.
Taking a deep breath, he approached the counter with an awkward smile plastered on his face, attempting to mask his unease. "Hi," he greeted, forcing a casual tone. Yeon-Jun glanced up, his expression calm yet cautious. Without a word, he reached for a handbook, jotting down Woo-San's order with swift precision. Iced Americano—the quintessential choice for any office worker, though the irony wasn't lost on Woo-San, who wondered if Yeon-Jun would ever speak that aloud. He composed a thank-you note adorned with a playful sticker and an estimated time of arrival, then handed it to Woo-San before retreating into the workings of the cafe.
When Yeon-Jun brought out his coffee, Woo-San accepted it, offering a shy smile, longing to bridge the silence that lay between them. With the delicate aroma of coffee wafting around them, he took a leap and ventured into a rather sensitive topic, hoping to gauge Yeon-Jun's reaction.
"Do you know of anyone named Hae-Seong?" Woo-San asked, using his warm tone to mask the heaviness of the question. An immediate, palpable shift colored Yeon-Jun's features; the casual atmosphere shattered as his face fell as if he had just heard the name of a ghost from his past. He stared blankly for a moment, eyes darting nervously as he struggled to comprehend why a stranger would toss that name into their conversation.
Noticing the change, Woo-San quickly withdrew a business card from his pocket, sensing that he had inadvertently stepped into delicate territory. "I'm from a news company," he explained, gesturing toward the card as Yeon-Jun's eyes painstakingly scanned the information. "I'm investigating a case and wondered if you might have any insights regarding a person named Hae-Seong."
Yeon-Jun's response was a quiet shake of his head, an action steeped in reluctance, effectively closing the door on the conversation. Just then, fortune smiled on him as another customer entered, breaking the tension that had thickened like fog in the air. Woo-San offered a polite smile as he turned away, realizing he had let a valuable opportunity slip through his fingers.
Banging his head softly against the cold, rough wall of the cafe building, Woo-San found himself lost in a whirlwind of thoughts about the choices that had led him to become so invested in the life of an absolute stranger. "Why do I care so much?" he mused inwardly, frustration bubbling within. "It's not like he's someone I know or even care about? His condition—whether he's mute or not—doesn't concern me." Just as Woo-San was about to reach a resolute decision to distance himself from this peculiar fixation, he caught a glimpse of Yeon-Jun emerging from the cafe. Clad in a mask and a hefty backpack, Yeon-Jun scanned his surroundings with a cautious gaze before embarking on his journey away from the bustling street. "Last time, Woo-San. Just this once," he whispered to himself, a silent promise, as he trailed behind Yeon-Jun, maintaining a safe distance.
After a long stretch of walking, they arrived at an abandoned area in the early stages of undergoing significant remodeling. The park lay veiled in darkness, with barely a flickering streetlight to illuminate the crumbling playground equipment and overgrown grass. It was a stark contrast to the lively cafe they'd just left behind. Woo-San, instinctively retreating behind a nearby cluster of bushes, watched as Yeon-Jun switched on a flashlight, its beam slicing through the dusky gloom, illuminating his path ahead.
In the heart of the park, the neglected playground was draped in a plastic cover, remnants of a past life, while a makeshift entrance, constructed from a sturdy branch and some frayed wiring, offered a glimpse into the secrecy Yeon-Jun had created within this forgotten space. Settling himself on the grass next to the entrance, Yeon-Jun anchored his flashlight using a tripod he'd fashioned, his movements deliberate and practiced. He then began to rummage through his backpack, pulling out cans of assorted sizes and colors, each one reflecting the faint light of the flashlight. With meticulous care, he positioned them into eight distinct piles and gently struck one with a fork, the metallic clang reverberating through the silence like a beckoning call.
As Woo-San observed in bewilderment, a small cat unexpectedly brushed against his ankle, causing him to startle. Turning back, he noticed a small gathering of cats and dogs emerging from the shadows, cautiously venturing towards Yeon-Jun. Some animals approached him without hesitation, curling up against his legs, while others grabbed cans from the meticulously arranged piles, finding a quiet spot to feast.
"What is he, some kind of mythical princess?" Woo-San murmured to himself, a hint of disbelief lacing his voice as he began to feel the ridiculousness of his actions. Just as he made the decision to retreat after noticing that Yeon-Jun wasn't in any danger, a familiar, melodious voice broke through the night air, prompting him to pause in his tracks. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw Yeon-Jun delicately caressing a tiny kitten, the warmth of his words wrapping around the furry creature.
"You poor thing," Yeon-Jun began, his tone tender, laced with genuine empathy. "No one is here to take care of you with all this construction chaos. It's just heartbreaking how many people abandon their animals when they prepare to leave." He sighed, his expression shadowed with a distant sadness. "I often come here to vent about my own life, but every time I see you poor souls, it breaks my heart even more."
Woo-San stood in shock, watching as Yeon-Jun conversed tenderly with the small creatures surrounding him. He felt an overpowering urge to step closer, his curiosity igniting like a flame, yet he wrestled with the caution that urged him to maintain his distance, particularly after their earlier conversation. As Yeon-Jun began to pour out his heart about the trials of his day to the gathering of animals, various thoughts cropped up in Woo-San's mind about how he could bridge the gap between them using the raw emotions that seemed to flow so freely from Yeon-Jun. Suddenly, an idea struck him. "Hyung…" he whispered, the realization dawning that perhaps it wouldn't be so hard after all.