1.
I wanted to become rich. The reason I resigned from the large franchise cafe I had been with for a long time was exactly because of that.
But I couldn't become rich. Whether it was the limit of the occupation called cafe, or my own limit, I don't know, but I couldn't become rich with that.
Probably all reasons for failure lie with me. Since there are definitely people who succeeded even in the same occupation.
"Should I not have named the cafe like this in the first place?"
I raised my head and looked at the signboard above my head.
'Cafe: THE GATE'.
It was a name I came up with after agonizing day and night with painstaking effort at the time.
It might sound funny, but It was a signboard with the meaning of opening a door to all coffee.
And as I hoped, the door opened. A door where monsters appear.
"They said you follow your name..."
There is a saying that singers follow their song titles. I followed my name, and the shop followed its signboard.
"Next time, I should name the shop well."
It might sound like a crazy person talking nonsense, but I intended to run a shop again.
Anyway, this shop must close soon. Because a gate will open not long from now. Naturally, a situation will come where I have to look for a shop elsewhere.
But the anxiety or fear like before was less.
Because this time was the 2nd round.
'Above all, because I know a 'great spot' good for opening a shop!'
I slowly looked around the surroundings. Although there were many vacancies, it was a commercial district lined with shops. There were also many apartments nearby.
The place where my first shop was located was an area luckily selected as a 2nd phase new city.
Although business didn't go well from the start, it was an area where people gradually flowed in. It was also a shop where sales naturally increased. But even this won't last that long.
Shops started turning off their lights one by one. Current time 1 AM. It seemed some shops were closing up business and laying down their tired bodies for tomorrow's business.
"Shall I try making coffee?"
The empty shop after employees got off work. I turned on the lights again inside the dark shop where no one was.
2.
Far in the future, a high ranker said this:
"What is more important than the grade a class possesses is the level. You must have a high level to enter high-rank dungeons, and only then will growth speed follow quickly. To put it bluntly, level is the gangster."
Meaning the rank of the awakened class is not largely important.
Rank can be raised through effort. Only in the case of a few hunters.
Representative methods were acquiring legendary titles after clearing high-rank dungeons. For example, the 'Dragon Slayer' that Kang Guk-yeong acquired for the first time.
Another method was awakening multiple times, secondarily or tertiarily.
The maximum awakening limit for a hunter is the 5th awakening.
One could change the awakened grade randomly through a rare item called Awakening Stone. If the rank is F after the 5th awakening, one has to live as an F-class hunter for life. It means it is an item that must be used carefully.
'Although the probability of obtaining an Awakening Stone would be abysmal.'
One could increase the chance to obtain an Awakening Stone by running numerous dungeons with effort, but the probability of obtaining one was abysmal. Some luck must follow.
Although a certain ranker said rank is not important, there were many opposing opinions too.
Because depending on the grade, there was a remarkable difference in the items one could wear and the number of skills one could use.
Basically, there is equipment power and skill power, and opinions were that pressing down rank with level has limits.
Of course, there were those who very occasionally pressed down rank with level, and the reason they could do so was skill proficiency.
It was a method of raising destructive power by raising skill levels, although they were similar types of skills.
And the only method to raise that skill proficiency was to continue using the skill. Simply put, it means grinding (nogada).
I, an F-rank, was personally practicing grinding.
[You have succeeded in Tamping. Proficiency increases.] [You have succeeded in Espresso Extraction. Proficiency increases.] [You have succeeded in Coffee Manufacturing. Proficiency increases.] [Vitality is consumed by 1.] [Experience points increase.]
As I completed manufacturing an Iced Americano, the same hologram as before floated before my eyes.
[ICE Americano]
A well-made Americano. Effect: Vitality recovers by 1 with a 20% probability.
The bean extraction amount was perfect, and the espresso extraction time was also good. The force control for tamping was also sufficient.
But the effect of the beverage was different.
'Last time it was 50% probability?'
Is it perhaps the difference between hot beverages and cold beverages? This time I manufactured a hot Americano again.
[HOT Americano]
A well-made Americano. Effect: Vitality recovers by 1 with a 10% probability.
Likewise this time. Rather, the probability dropped.
"Am I going to be carried to the hospital for caffeine addiction before filling vitality?"
You can view vitality as indicating the fatigue of hunters. When performing certain actions, vitality is consumed. For example, it was like a price for labor when I made coffee.
If vitality is completely consumed, the effect drops even if using the same skill as before. Destructive power decreases, accuracy drops, or occasionally the skill doesn't activate at all.
To fill vitality, sufficient rest is needed. Just as one needs their own healing point after finishing company work.
But if one could recover vitality when drinking coffee, it means one can be active infinitely.
"The problem is that recovering just 1 is too little."
Moreover, it wasn't even 100% probability. As mentioned before, caffeine addiction might be faster.
I opened the skill window and checked the skills I had in a little more detail.
Another passive skill I possessed.
[My Own Golden Recipe (LV1)]
If you manufacture coffee or beverages according to the recipe, a random effect is granted. The higher the skill proficiency, the effect increases.Recipe ListHOT Americano (LV1): Recovers vitality with a random probability.ICE Americano (LV1): Recovers vitality with a random probability.
Americano was all there was in the recipe list. It seemed the number of manufacturable coffees or beverages increased according to skill level.
"Random probability means, in the end, the only way to increase probability is to try making a lot?"
It meant that to make good beverages, There was no other way but to raise skill proficiency.
"Let's try. Until 100% probability comes out."
I had to make an Americano that could unconditionally recover vitality with 100% probability.
The reason was simple. Only then will hunters come to find my shop.
Practice was the only way to live. I poured new beans into the grinder hopper. I intended to continue trying to manufacture Americanos.
"Shall I start?"
I steadied my breathing and entered into manufacturing Americanos, which I had done so many times. I don't know how much coffee I made and threw away that night. But the result was rewarding.
I will provide the highest quality coffee to customers.
Repeating effort upon effort with just this single conviction, I came to be able to manufacture an Americano close to perfection.
3.
Monday, April 8, 2019, 8:00 AM. The shop door opened and Ye-ri revealed herself. One minute later, another female part-timer entered in succession. It was Seon-yeong, who worked in the same time slot as Ye-ri.
"Unni, hello!"
Seon-yeong greeted Ye-ri who had just changed into her uniform and come out.
"Hi."
Ye-ri was the unni, two years older than Seon-yeong.
The two immediately embarked on opening preparations familiarly. They organized the logistics the delivery driver had left in the morning, and filled the ingredient containers that were used and emptied at yesterday's closing. Afterwards, they densely filled the straws and napkins at the condiment bar and pick-up counter.
"I heard a new part-timer is coming for an interview today?"
Seon-yeong, who was opening the machine, suddenly opened her mouth.
"Man? Woman?"
The interest was always gender first.
"Two women, one man."
"Who said so?"
"The boss said so last week."
"If possible, I hope he hires a man. A handsome one."
"Unni, aren't you too obsessed with looks?"
"It's better to be handsome than ugly. Humanly speaking, I think our store's gender ratio is too skewed towards women."
Seon-yeong nodded as if agreeing with Ye-ri's words. It was understandable since the only male employee in this store was the boss alone.
Opening preparations ended and the lights in the store turned on. Music flowed out, and the figures of customers on their way to work started to be seen little by little.
Generally, two 'Rush Times' existed in the store. Rush time meant a time slot where customers flooded in like a tide for as short as one hour, to as long as about two hours.
Usually for the opening shift, between 12 PM to 2 PM, which is lunch time. For the closing shift, 7 PM to 9 PM was rush time.
In peak seasons like summer, the meaning of rush time itself disappears, but other than that, most rush times appeared in fixed time slots.
Today's rush was the same. Strangely, as it passed a little over 12 PM, customers started flocking in.
"Two iced Americanos, and one plain yogurt."
"Give me one iced latte, one hot latte, and one soft serve ice cream."
"Excuse me, please take my order."
"It takes 10 minutes? For one cup of coffee?"
.... ....
From orders coming in incessantly.
"What's delicious here?"
"Is coffee refillable?"
"Where do I go for the restroom?"
"Is there a password for the restroom?"
"Do they enforce parking regulations here?"
.... ....
Even customers who squeeze through gaps without even a moment to rest and bombard with various questions. Ye-ri and Seon-yeong felt like they wanted to escape this place quickly as always.
But there were still about two hours left until the shift change with the closing shift workers. They had to endure somehow.
"Phew, when did the dishes again..."
Seon-yeong clicked her tongue. After all the ordered drinks went out, this time it was a dishwashing terror. As the use of plastic cups within the store was banned starting a while ago, the amount of dishwashing increased further.
Noticeably more than last year.
The fact that customers entering the store decreased was a fortunate fact at least.
Jingle—!
No, the rush hasn't ended yet.
Ye-ri turned her head toward the door.
Four male students wearing school uniforms. One male student who looked to be the same age was wearing plain clothes.
The face of the male student wearing plain clothes was quite handsome. Enough to draw Ye-ri's gaze anew.
"Retard! That's why I told you not to come top for a gank!"
"No, fuck! How was I supposed to know there was a counter-gank in the bush?"
"You should know. A jungler should look ahead that far."
"Bullshit. When you're the one who shat the bed all by yourself."
"No, fuck...!"
"No, I fuck!"
"No, it's noisy so stop it already."
Repeating "No", "No", "No", the male students entered the store noisily.
Ye-ri and Seon-yeong's expressions distorted simultaneously. They were one of the types of customers they hated receiving orders from.
Noisy middle/high school students.
"Would you like to order?"
Ye-ri forced a smile and asked the male student who approached the counter.
The male student staring intently at Ye-ri. It was the student who was the only one wearing plain clothes.
'Looking just at his face, he could be an actor?'
Ye-ri looked at the male student suggestively and asked again.
"May I help you with your order?"
But the male student's purpose wasn't an order.
"I came for an interview."
"Yes?"
"The boss here told me to come for an interview today."
"Ah, interview! The boss hasn't arrived yet. Could you wait just a moment? I'll try contacting him right away. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I'll be waiting on the terrace."
Ye-ri taking out her cellphone to contact the boss. Ye-ri's gaze moved following the male student going out to the terrace with his friends.
'But why is he the only one in plain clothes? Is he a kid who quit school?'
4.
"But they say they hire minors here?"
A student wearing a uniform asked the student wearing plain clothes.
The plain clothes student shrugged his shoulders and answered.
"I don't know either. I just put in a resume and they told me to come for an interview?"
"Even if you say you don't attend school, they probably won't hire a minor?"
"It's okay. Then I'll just put a resume in somewhere else, whatever."
"Kikik, it'll probably be the same elsewhere too."
"But if you were the boss, would you hire me?"
"I wouldn't, retard. Just quitting school is already a first impression out. Because they'll take one look and say, 'Ah! This kid must have quit school because he had some problem!'."
"I guess?"
"The boss here will probably be the same. If it's a boss, they're mostly our mom or dad's age, right? My mom and dad also went crazy saying I was out of my mind when I said you quit school. Adults at that age are mostly the same."
It was the moment the uniformed student had just finished speaking.
The terrace door opened, and a man walked out this way from the inside. He was a man in his mid-to-late twenties.
He stared intently at the plain clothes student. The man examining the student's face here and there in detail.
"My memory is coming and going these days so I forgot someone was coming for an interview."
"Eh?"
"I'm the boss here..."
In an instant, the plain clothes student showed a somewhat surprised expression.
'He looks super young, but he's the boss?'
Unlike the friend's thought, the person called boss was a young man.
It was Won-du, who had run to the store in a hurry after receiving Ye-ri's call.
"Handsome then and now, unchanged. Name?"
"It's Kang Guk-yeong."
"Even the name is perfect. Good, you pass."
"Yes...?"
"I said you pass. Come to work starting tomorrow and receive training."
"I, I haven't even had the interview, why, no, how did I pass?"
It was the same for Guk-yeong's friends to be puzzled.
This easily? Passing when he had only said his name, let alone an interview.
'One name is enough.'
They didn't know. That Won-du had obtained what he wanted.
'Congratulations on becoming our store's part-timer, S-class Hunter.'
His two hands clenched tight. As if vowing never to let go.
A smile spread on Won-du's lips. It wasn't a smile simply due to the joy of grasping an S-class Hunter.
His smile was filled with anticipation to the brim. Not anticipation for the S-class Hunter...
'Finally tomorrow night, the first gate opens.'
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