NOVEL WEB Chapter 278
Chapter 278. Dessert
“Your order of grapefruit ade, iced Americano, and dessert box is ready. Enjoy your meal.”
The café operation was smoother than expected.
Though I lacked talent for making coffee, I seemed to have a natural gift for serving.
The experience I gained from my part-time job at a barbecue restaurant was proving to be useful.
“Huh? The grapefruit ade isn’t ours….”
“Eh↗?”
Oh, it’s not for this table?
“It’s the table next to you, next!”
“Ah.”
As Lee Yugeon poured espresso into iced water with one hand and pulled out a new cup with the other, he lightly kicked a box that was in the way on the floor to push it aside and shouted.
A truly remarkable multitasker. I was glad I brought him along.
Utilizing all my acting skills, I turned as naturally as possible and set the drinks down at the next table.
“Your order….”
“No, to the right!”
“Oh, sorry.”
Geez, how embarrassing.
“Here you go, your drinks and dessert are finally here.”
“Thank you~”
As I placed the grapefruit ade on the table, the fans nearby giggled and started taking pictures. I made a peace sign with my hand, pretending not to notice the cameras.
“I don’t usually mess up like this, but I’m a bit nervous today.”
“Is Hajin nervous?”
“I thought I wasn’t, but maybe I was a little. I can’t seem to focus.”
“For someone who’s nervous, you’re talking an awful lot, aren’t you?”
“That’s more like a passive skill, so it doesn’t matter if I’m nervous or not.”
Laughter erupted here and there at my casual remark.
With reactions this good, it’s easy for anyone to develop bad habits.
‘No wonder people develop a superiority complex….’
I used to wonder why some celebrities, who were dull and not particularly funny, were full of confidence and arrogance, laughing at their own unfunny jokes. Now I realize it’s because they were overly coddled by those around them.
Even someone who’s good at self-objectification would undoubtedly develop an inflated ego within six months if they were constantly told they were great in this kind of environment.
“Hyung, the next drink is ready.”
“Oh.”
Lost in thought, I was making eye contact with the phones pointed at me when Lee Yugeon called out, having already prepared the next drink.
Our original plan was for Lee Yugeon to handle the coffee and me to take care of the non-coffee drinks, alternating turns serving depending on the situation. But after serving a couple of drinks, Lee Yugeon, saying I was in the way, told me to just take care of the front of the house.
He said it was because it was bothersome, but seeing how he was whipping up drinks like a machine, it was obvious that he was being considerate, letting me interact more with the fans.
‘What a softie.’
How is he going to survive in this harsh world with a personality like that?
With worries even his grandfather wouldn’t have, I headed back to the counter to pick up the drinks when a short alert sound popped up on the system window.
[Warning! ※Information Leak Alert※]
[The ‘Information Leak Prevention’ system set by the Fixed Regressor is in operation.]
[Would you like to block the upload? (Y/N)]
The reason I had zero concern about information leaks while pulling off something this daring was thanks to this system. Last time, it filtered my speech, and now it seemed to be managing people’s phone networks.
‘The headquarters guys really gave me something incredible….’
Anyway, I’m using it well, so thanks.
I pressed YES to block the upload and set the rest to handle itself on auto mode (a feature I added myself).
While I couldn’t prevent people from spreading the word after leaving here, just stopping it from spreading on the internet should ensure that today’s event ends successfully.
“Is this the last one?”
“Yes, that’s the last one.”
“Okay, good job.”
“…I’ll remember this on my birthday, seriously.”
Leaving behind Lee Yugeon, who was grinding his teeth, I served the final drink.
Then I returned to the counter and sat on the high bar stool that the staff had prepared in advance. After tidying up the kitchen area, Lee Yugeon also took off his apron and sat next to me.
“So, now that all the drinks are served, should we just chat and hang out for the remaining time? There’s not much time left, everyone.”
Sounds of disappointment came from all around.
Thinking about it again, this really was an environment that could easily spoil a person.
Even though I knew I shouldn’t get used to this, being surrounded by people who had taken time out of their day to come here just to celebrate my birthday made it hard not to smile.
‘A satisfying splurge.’
Though all the money spent was deducted from my earnings, meaning the amount hitting my bank account next month would be lower…
‘Well, it was never really my money to begin with.’
I grabbed the iced chocolate I had prepared for myself, thinking that this was the perfect way to make my first purchase from my first paycheck.
* * *
Thirty minutes is a very short time to meet your favorite.
Moreover, Hajin and Yugeon even left the café five minutes earlier than the designated time to prepare for the next session!
‘I’d rather pay… Just let me stay a little longer, please….’
Human desires are endless. Despite being unexpectedly selected for a free fan meeting, Gwajam felt a wave of disappointment rising to the top of their head without even having time to fully enjoy the moment.
While Gwajam was busy checking the photos they had eagerly taken of Hajin and Yugeon on their phone, a staff member, who was giving final announcements, approached and handed them something.
“Before you leave, please write a birthday message.”
What the staff handed over was a cute blue post-it note and a pen. The pen was engraved with the café’s name and its SNS account name, “Pride Of You. It’s only for you, My D.” in cursive. Since there were no instructions to return the pen, it seemed to be one of the gifts.
‘Hajin, what are you going to do next year after this…?’
Though it hadn’t even been a year since meeting Hajin, Gwajam instinctively knew.
Given the detail and scale, there was no way this wasn’t the result of my fan-savvy baby’s involvement.
– We’re still in the early stages, but we think things will only get busier from here on out.
– So we wanted to do what we could while we’re a little less busy.
Reflecting on the reason my precious boy had personally revealed for holding this birthday event just ten minutes ago, Gwajam carefully grasped the pen.
Listening to Yugeon earlier, it seemed they were incredibly busy preparing for the year-end stage again, but it was disappointing that all they could do to thank Hajin for preparing such an event was to write a post-it note message.
‘What should I write?’
Honestly, if Gwajam were to write everything they wanted to say, they could fill 1,000 sheets of a 1,000-character manuscript paper. But the truth was, Gwajam had already poured out all those feelings in a birthday fan letter to Hajin that they had sent by mail.
Even though their love for their favorite was endless, it seemed there was a limit to human vocabulary, as Gwajam found themselves spending more time than expected pondering over what to write on the post-it note.
– Honestly, I’ve been really busy with work these days, and I’ve had a lot of worries and thoughts…. But after playing with the Destis today, my mind feels a little clearer.
Then suddenly, Gwajam remembered something Hajin had said during the conversation earlier.
Looking back from before debut until now, there probably wasn’t a single moment that wasn’t difficult, but Hajin wasn’t the type to show that he was struggling.
Gwajam was actually a little surprised when Hajin expressed for the first time in front of fans that he had been ‘thinking a lot.’
“…….”
After much consideration, Gwajam carefully wrote their feelings on the small post-it note, letter by letter. It wasn’t particularly profound, but they hoped that Hajin would smile, even just a little, when he read the message.
“…Sigh. I’ve never even wished for my own life to be this happy.”
Despite feeling a slight sense of anticlimax after writing the note, such thoughts quickly evaporated when Gwajam saw the dessert box that Hajin had personally made.
‘Yeah. There are idols who only care about their own happiness. When will I ever get to stan such a filial idol again?’
Might as well enjoy it while it lasts.
With that thought, Gwajam packed up the post-it note and their belongings and stood up from their seat. There were still several birthday cafés left to visit today.
* * *
The first review post about Kang Hajin’s birthday party, hosted by Kang Hajin himself, was uploaded at 4 PM, as promised, after the birthday café had closed.
Not all of the roughly 100 people who managed to reserve a spot at the birthday café kept their word and stayed silent out of loyalty to Hajin. It was thanks to the ‘Information Leak Prevention System’ that Hajin had activated, which had just ended.
Because of this system, even if fans wanted to brag about this amazing story all day, any SNS or messenger app containing related content would inexplicably stop working.
Taegun-do @cherrygun2
Went to the main birthday café
The host turned out to be our
main…………
#Kairos #KangHajin
(A photo of Hajin sitting on a table, chatting with fans)
(A photo of Yugeon making coffee)
Grape Crackers @ppoppo1130
#Hajin #Kairos #KangHajinBirthdayReview
I’m posting this now because my hands were shaking from wanting to spill the tea
Turns out Hajin was behind the Pride Of You birthday café
He wanted to give back to the fans and surprise us
All the members came and worked a shift
I was at the Tae-gang brothers’ time
More to come ↓
(A photo of Hajin and Taehyun arguing in the kitchen)
∥
Grape Crackers @ppoppo1130
The café will be open until tomorrow
Any leftover desserts and goods will be raffled off
For more details, check the Pride Of You announcement
Hajin kept emphasizing that we should follow the rules if we want this to happen again next year!!
Below are my thoughts
Sunset University @SS_university
I just got back from the first shift at Hajin’s Pride Of You birthday café
My hands are still shaking……………..
(A photo of the dessert box and welcome kit)
(A video of Hajin sitting on a bar stool, chatting with fans)
Jeong Chouxcream @ice_ciu
Oh my god my coffee prince is here
(A photo of Jung Siwoo sitting at a table, resting his chin on his hand, looking at the fans)
∥
Jeong Chouxcream @ice_ciu
My friend who just got back told me that
Siwoo sat like that the whole time
Just drinking misugaru
Apparently, Hajin told him showing his face was helping
So he just sat there like that
When will Kang Hajin stop flaunting his oldest member?
As if by prior agreement, review posts started flooding in, causing yet another stir in the online world.
Since this was during the period when interest and new fans were rapidly increasing due to the buzz around
[Am I the only one who feels a bit disappointed about this birthday café event?ㅠㅠ?]
They should have properly announced it on the fan café or held some sort of fan-lympics or something…
People who usually don’t attend birthday cafés or don’t use SNS didn’t even get a chance to participate…ㅠㅜ
We all want to celebrate his birthday, so why make it a secret only for those who knew…?
I just want to celebrate, but it keeps making me feel upset and disappointed..
– It was a surprise reverse fan service, so no one knew about it in advance; why are you even upset;? It’s not like some people knew ahead of time and went;;;
– I understand where you’re coming from, but I’m not as disappointed as you are. I just think the company was a bit thoughtless? I don’t really get why they handled it this way.
└ It’s not like they were responding to a public scandal or anything; why call it thoughtless? Miro is handling things better than ever these days.
– I’m honestly so sick of our fandom’s fragile mentality. Now they’re even complaining about a reverse fan service event the day before the idol’s birthday? You’re the one upsetting me with this nonsense.
– The café is open until tomorrow, and they’re raffling off all the goods, even the drinks, with 100 free drinks. Why are you upset? This is an event from an idol group only three months into their debut, and you’re complaining about it?
└ But Hajin isn’t going to be there tomorrow..ㅜㅠ
└ If you want to see Hajin, spend your money and go to a fan sign event…..
Although it wasn’t entirely unreasonable to feel disappointed about something that happened during the group’s break after their official activities ended, the Destis knew all too well that the original intent would fade as more people joined in, and the atmosphere would quickly turn toxic with trolling and flame wars.
Especially since Hajin was the second most popular member of Kairos after Taehyun, many of those adding fuel to the fire were likely not even Destis.
Given this, the Destis, who had learned the importance of maintaining discipline from their experience during the Miro Maze event, quickly moved to restore order in the fandom.
[Guys, let’s not worry about this and just focus on the birthday hashtag campaign later.]
If you’re going to complain, make sure you show proof of streaming later. This is seriously annoying.
– Miro, please just give us the Desti 1st generation already. When is it coming?
– Maybe it’s because they’re such dutiful idols, but there are too many fake Destis who just run their mouths and cause stress…
[The real joke is]
That Hajin’s birthday hasn’t even officially arrived yetㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– It feels like Hajin’s birthday has been going on for 48 hours.
– Everyone, check out the barista photos of Leader Kang that just dropped. (Photo)
└ Oh my god
└ Insane
└ Ah, Kang Hajin, ah!!!! So annoying!!!! So good-looking!!!!!!!
While the Destis were doing their best to weather the storm, time continued to pass until it finally struck midnight.
November 30th.
The long-awaited official birthday of Hajin had arrived.
And, as expected, it was once again the official Kairos account that first announced this.
Kairos @Daily_KIRUS
[Hajin] Starting the birthday mention party super big
Starting with fanfare, popping fireworks
Starting until all the Destis who went to bed come back
Starting with trumpet sounds and party stuff
(The original four-cut photos given as goods)
∥
Jini @genieminie
Our Hajin is so freaking excited about his birthday again
As long as you’re happy, we’re good.
Destis who saw the post smiled benevolently.