SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon
chapter-175

Anyway.

I pondered over the list of recipes. With a boss battle coming up, I thought it would be nice to give them some buffs to enhance their abilities or protect their bodies from damage.

Well, then … okay, this should do it. With my mind decided, I grabbed the ingredients from the fridge.

The first drink I made was a recently acquired recipe, the Mugwort Latte. The effect of reflecting attacks three times would come in handy. The unique flavour of the mugwort and the smooth cream blended well in the cup. I made sure to add more syrup to Ash’s cup, and then handed everyone a cup.

“Here, try it.”

I looked around for reactions. Luckily, everyone liked the mugwort latte, even the first-timers.

However, the last person in line, Jijon, refused to accept the mugwort latte and made the following request, “Owner-nim, please give me the Supreme Latte!”

“Drink this.”

“Supreme Latte….”

“No, you have to drink this.”

“Okay…….”

I felt bad seeing him looked downcast, but it was necessary for him to get the ‘Reflect Attacks 3 times’ buff. I added to cheer him up, “You can have a Supreme Latte the next time you come to the store.”

“Huh, I wonder if I’m allowed to go to a place like that…….”

“What? Of course you are welcome, come and visit us when you get back.”

“Wow, Owner-nim….!”

In a fit of happiness, Jijon jumped up and tried to hug me, but Ki Yoohyun and Ash quickly pulled my arms away, causing Jijon to roll on the floor.

“Ouch, ouch…….”

That looked pretty painful.

Next, I made a vanilla latte. As we all sat on the floor and drank sweet vanilla lattes together, a warm energy flooded into this messy space. It’s a magical sight. The demon’s castle was right around the corner, and soon we would get there and face the battle to seal the Demon God.

With such a big task ahead of us, I couldn’t believe how relaxed I felt over just a cup of coffee. Hope filled my heart that we would all be safe and sound soon.

“By the way, is that your real hair?”

“Of course, it is.”

“Awesome!”

The twins, Choi Rona, and Ash gathered together and talked amongst themselves. Ash looked grumpy as ever, but he got on well with the children.

“Waeooong! I want to play!”

“Kkyuuu!”

Mieum and Lime picked out Kang Hyunwoo to play with and approached him.

“Harder! Waeoong!”

“Kkyuuu!”

“Ah, like this?”

As Kang Hyunwoo carefully played with the animals, the animals, who wanted more hardcore and extreme play, scolded him.

It’s a little chaotic, but the atmosphere was pleasant. Well, that’s the effect of coffee.

After a few moments of observing my surroundings, I slowly got to my feet and approached Ki Yoohyun.

“Yoohyun-ssi, I need to talk to you for a moment.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Can we talk in private?”

“…..All right.”

“……?”

What was that? I just felt gazes on my back.

“What was it, oh, right, we were talking about hair, weren’t we?”

“That, yeah!”

“Kkyuu, kkyuuuu!”

“Uh, uh … do you want me to throw you one more time?”

But when I turned my head, everyone was drinking coffee and chatting as usual. Was it just my mood?

Whatever. I grabbed Ki Yoohyun and moved to a spot a little further away. Only when we were far enough away from the others that I couldn’t hear them did I open my mouth.

“Are you feeling well? You used your skill before entering the gate.”

“I’m fine.” Ki Yoohyun replied with a refreshing smile, but the way he said it so straightforwardly made it seem rather suspicious.

“You don’t mean it’s okay by Yoohyun-ssi’s standards, but by universal, common sense standards, right?”

“You don’t believe me.”

“Of course I don’t.”

“Ahaha … I’m telling the truth. Would you like to check it yourself?”

He took off his gloves and revealed his hand. His white hands bore none of the strange black scars I’d seen before. He had no fever either. My shoulders finally relaxed at this reassurance.

“Here, inside the gate, the system’s influence is weaker. Perhaps that’s the reason why I feel my powers are more enhanced since entering the gate, so there are no after-effects.”

“Thank goodness, really.”

“Is that what you brought me here to ask?”

The current leader of the party was Ki Yoohyun. Even if he was sick, he wouldn’t be able to show it in front of the others, so I wanted to keep an eye on him out of the prying eyes of others. But that wasn’t the only thing I wanted to tell him. I shook my head slowly.

“Yoohyun-ssi, there’s something I want to tell …… No, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“….Yes.”

In an instant, his expression turned serious. Under his steady gaze, I felt my throat burn. From the moment I came here, I felt the force that had been holding me back had been lifted, leaving me confident that I could say these words to him now.

I was afraid. But now I must tell him. Now was the time to say it, as we were about to head to the Demon God’s castle.

“…….”

Even with my resolve, the words wouldn’t come out of my mouth. As my lips remained still, Ki Yoohyun gently intervened.

“Rieul-ssi, if this is something that is difficult for you to say, you don’t have to force yourself to say it.”

“No, it’s something I need to say now.”

“All right.”

I raised my head and made eye contact with him. I gazed into his beautiful black eyes, filled with tenderness, and spoke softly, “Yoohyun-ssi, I’ve regressed too.”

“….Yes?”

“I died on the same day as Yoohyun-ssi, so I went back in time by the same three years.”

“…….”

“I’m sorry I haven’t told you all this time, the system was blocking me ……. I didn’t mean to hide it on purpose ……. Uh, Yoohyun-ssi?”

He crouched down on the floor and covered his face with his hands. His fingertips trembled as if he were holding something back.

Oh, don’t tell me……!

“Yoohyun-ssi, are you okay?”

I wanted to check on him immediately, but he raised one hand to block my approach.

“For a moment ……. I’m sorry, but please stay away for a moment.”

“What? I know it, where did it hurt?! Let me see!”

“No. My body is perfectly fine, I’m just ……. please leave me alone for a moment.”

His earlobes and the nape of his neck were red. And the emotion in his dark eyes, revealed between his fingers, was…….

Uh……. Embarrassed……?

I didn’t understand his behavior, but I obeyed his wishes and took a couple of steps back. After a while, Ki Yoohyun, who had regained his composure, raised his still red face.

“I’m sorry. I must have given you a bad impression.”

“No, that’s okay…….”

“The castle where the Demon God awaits is just ahead. It’s probably the last time we can relax like this.”

“Yes, I suppose so……?”

Even now, the time limit for the Demon God Seal quest was gradually decreasing. Although we still have more than two days to spare, it hardly changed the fact that we were facing an unknown battle. I tightened my fists in nervousness, but Ki Yoohyun lowered his head at an angle and avoided my eyes.

“At a time like this, you suddenly say you have something serious to tell me ……. I thought, at my own discretion, that Rieul-ssi would tell me about something completely different, that’s all.”

“Something different?”

Was there something more important to talk about than revealing my regression?

“No, that ……. Let’s drop the subject, unless you want to turn me into an ‘Irwin Award’ winner who died with his nose buried in the bowl of water¹ because he couldn’t stand the embarrassment.”

“Okay…..”

“And I had a vague idea. That Rieul-ssi is a regressor.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Well, to be precise, I didn’t know it was a regression, but since you were at the center of all the changes that happened in this life, I figured you must have some kind of secret, Rieul-ssi.”

“No way. I thought I hid it perfectly!”

“Did … you?”

At his disbelieving reaction, I took a moment to reminisce about the past. As I recalled the various incidents we’d gone through together since I’d met him…….

Hmm, I was pretty suspicious…….

I didn’t say outright that I had regressed, but I thought it must have been very suspicious for Ki Yoohyun, who remembered the events before the regression.

I was a bit taken aback that he had guessed my regression, but ……. I also confessed that I had glimpsed some of his past through his grandmother’s notebook. I wanted to apologise to him for reading into his past without permission, even though it wasn’t my intention.

I kept my regression a secret because the system blocked me, but on the other hand, I was afraid to tell him. Would he get angry at me for deceiving him? Or would he be hurt that I found out about the memories he wanted to hide?

At the same time, a part of me had a desire to reveal the regression. Even if it had already been lost in the rewind of time, I wanted to tell him that I knew his pain and sorrow.

“I see. I have shown Rieul-ssi a very unfavourable side of myself.” Ki Yoohyun simply smiled bitterly. It was a way of expressing that he didn’t care about his own suffering. To my puzzlement, he added, “It’s all in the past.”

But all the past left traces. How could this man draw such a line under the pain of the past?

“My life has already changed this time. Look, now. Do I look as tormented as the vision that you saw, Rieul-ssi?”

“…No, you don’t.”

I thought back to the group of friends who had been chatting over coffee. Despite their different abilities and personalities, they all had something in common: the hope of completing the quest and returning home safely, and the trust they have in each other.

Ki Yoohyun’s eyes twinkled and he smiled. His expression softened with affection.

“So please don’t worry, I’m not saying this just to comfort or reassure you, Rieul-ssi.”

“…….”

“Because after meeting you, so many things changed, and they all became tragedies that no longer exist.”

“Could I have been of any help to you, Yoohyun-ssi?”

“Perhaps….” He swallowed the last word and thought for a moment. Then, with a look of determination on his face, he said something else, “Rieul-ssi, I also have something to tell you.”

“Okay.”

“Later. After we get out of here ……. I’ll definitely tell you then.”

There was a look of shyness, nervousness, agitation, and anticipation on his face. Just by looking at his handsomely sculpted features, I could tell he was about to say something very important.

It was strange. Just making eye contact with him made me catch my breath. If I kept looking into his eyes, I felt like unexpected words would leap out of my throat.

If I took another step closer, our shoulders would be touching. This time I was the first to look away. My cheeks tickled as if they had been rubbed with the softest feather.

‘What are you taking so much trouble to talk about?’ … I was going to say that, but I stopped myself. I had a hunch that if I said it here, I’d come across as a very tactless person.

Instead, I turned to face the direction we had come from.

“Then, let’s go back now.”

“….Haha, shall we?”

With a shaky step, I headed back towards the group. Behind me, I could hear Ki Yoohyun’s footsteps slowly following. I didn’t look back, but my attention was completely focused on the sound of his footsteps.

Translator’s Corner:

1. I translated it just as it is. It’s originated from the Korean idiom ” “접시 물에 코 박아도 죽는다 (Even if you stick your nose into a bowl of water, you will die)”, this phrase meant lamenting how easily a person’s life can die due to unlucky circumstances. See, if you fall and lose consciousness and your mouth and nose fall into the water on the plate, and there is no help from those around you, you could suffocate to death. The probability of it coming true is very small, but if you are unlucky, you could end up in the worst situation.

   As this expanded, the phrase “I will die by sticking my nose in the bowl (plate/dish) of water” appeared to mean wanting to die when something embarrassing happened, and this phrase was used in the exact same meaning as the English’s phrase “kicking the blanket” ↩︎

omg why is this even considered romance, THE ROMANCE TOOK A LONG TIME TO BLOOM why am i doing this to myself