Yokai Come to the Countryside Café

Chapter 55: The Reward of Good Deeds (4)

"Saerin, did something bad happen?"

"Huh? Ah, no!"

At Ria’s question, I tried to reply with a downcast voice but quickly smiled and shook my head.

What was happening in Saerin’s household was beyond just something bad.

Her mom and dad had been coming home late every night lately.

Outwardly, both of them pretended to be composed, but pretending to be asleep in the car, I overheard them saying they had borrowed money from various places, and that they might even have to sell the house and move.

Even a child who seemed innocent couldn’t be unaware of her parents’ burdens.

But just like the parents, the child couldn’t show her sadness.

Not at home, and not even in front of her best friend.

It wasn’t about pride.

Boasting about good clothes, bags, and school supplies from a wealthy home had ended back in kindergarten.

It was because of Ria.

The photos she proudly showed on her phone of her house revealed a barely standing café. Behind the building was even a construction site.

Even Ria, living in such a construction site without a mom, lived happily like this—so to express sadness felt almost sinful.

"Is your mom busy again today?"

"Yeah."

"Then we can ride the bus together again today!"

"Yeah."

"Wow! Then since the bus leaves at twenty past, we can look around the stationery shop before we get on."

"You said 'stationery shop' again!"

"Mister keeps calling it a stationery shop, so I guess I call it that too, hehe."

To Saerin, it seemed Ria often got names wrong.

Calling her dad 'Mister'—Mom said Ria’s family was different from others, so I shouldn't ask even if I was curious.

But it wasn’t just ‘Mister’ that Ria misnamed.

The stationery store was ‘stationery shop’, and elementary school was ‘national school’.

It was Ria’s only flaw in an otherwise flawless memory, and I really liked that about her.

Just for a fleeting moment, I forgot my gloom.

"Let’s go in!"

"Yeah!"

With laughter back on my face, I grabbed Ria’s hand and pulled her.

"Hello!"

"Welcome. Oh my, the princesses are here. Look around and bring what you want over here."

"Okay!"

Greeted by the shop owner housemaid, the stationery shop they entered was a wonderland for two kids.

Colorful writing tools, toys of unknown use that nevertheless stole girls’ hearts, and things somewhere between toys and school supplies.

Whether now or then, this was a space that captivated kids and made it hard to return home or to academy.

"What are you going to buy, Ria?"

My question wasn’t because I was choosing something myself and needed a reference. I was just purely curious.

‘I don’t think Ria would want to buy anything. Why did she come?’

It wasn’t because her family was poor.

We’d only known each other for a little over a month, and in that time, I’d never heard her say she wanted to buy or have anything.

Even when kids boasted about fancy school supplies their parents bought, Ria would just be amazed or curious.

So it was unbelievable that she not only invited me here but was actually choosing something.

"Ria?"

"Huh?"

"What are you going to buy?"

"This!"

She must have been so focused she hadn’t heard me talking right next to her.

In Ria’s hand was a small keyring with a talisman tied to it.

"It’s a lucky talisman! If you carry it, good things will happen! Mister, I’ll take this!"

She took out a crumpled bill from her wallet, quickly paid, and placed the talisman in my hand.

"Here."

"Why are you giving this to me?"

"If you have this, something good will happen."

On the talisman, it kindly read in Hangul, ‘Only good things happen’.

Even I didn’t believe a talisman bought for three thousand won at a stationery shop could have any real power.

But Ria knew I was struggling and had given me this without prying. Hoping something good would happen.

"Then I want to give you something too, Ria!"

I clutched the talisman and quickly picked out another of the same keyring for Ria.

"Oh my, how kind-hearted the princesses are! Come again."

"Thank you!"

‘I really hope something good happens.’

Clutching the talisman tightly, I made a desperate wish.

And when we stepped out of the stationery shop, a familiar car was parked in front of the school gate.

"Mom?"

"Hello!"

"Oh? You were there? I finished everything today and came to pick you up. Hop in! Let’s go eat black bean noodles like you promised Ria!"

"Okay!"

Mom had driven herself without a chauffeur, wearing the same face I’d longed to see.

"This talisman must really work!"

"Yeah! We’re even going to eat black bean noodles!"

"Puhaha, right!"

Was it really the talisman’s effect?

That affectionate mother and daughter were, without knowing it themselves, saved from a deep pit.

They didn’t know that the friend who gave the lucky charm was the Spirit of the Divine Tree, possessing mysterious powers, nor that Jinseong, the protector of that tree, had helped them too.

Just as no expectation of reward was behind the good deed, so too did the returned blessing come without receipt or origin.

"Good work. I’ll head off now."

(Yeah, Manager Kim. Good work. Let’s clock out too!)

Work hours were over.

Since Saerin’s mother said she’d feed Ria dinner and send her home, I could finally relax and enjoy a cup of coffee alone for once...

"Why are you still in here after work?"

"Huh?"

Outside the door, Sanyi stood with her arms crossed and her hind legs tapping the ground.

"This is serious. There’s no Ria or Fox at the café. I’m sure they went to eat something delicious without me."

"I’m still here."

"Jinseong eats well at work, so it doesn’t matter!"

"What are you even talking about?"

Sometimes, talking with Sanyi made me feel like I was getting dumber. I almost accepted her nonsense thinking, ‘Is that so?’

"Anyway, Ria said she’s having dinner with a school friend, not Elder."

"I knew it! We can’t lose either!"

"Huh?"

"We’ll eat something really delicious and brag about it too!"

"Don’t be ridiculous. You just want to eat something."

Though my words were harsh, I had to eat dinner anyway.

Since Ria wasn’t around, I didn’t feel like preparing a proper meal. I was tired of delivery too, which left only going out as the remaining option...

"Donkkatsu is good, and stir-fried pork is good too! Ramyeon and boiled pork, and also the lunchboxes Director brings sometimes are all good!"

Maybe reading the hesitation on my face, Sanyi rattled off her cravings like a rap.

Unfortunately for her, I had absolutely no intention of stepping into the kitchen today.

"Let’s go out and bring something back for dinner."

"Ohooo! Are we going to the mart? But there are too many people, so I shouldn’t go..."

"No, I’ll get takeout."

Honestly, I could go alone. Actually, that was way more convenient. If only I could overcome the anxiety of leaving Sanyi alone in the café.

I put Sanyi into the carrier and set her in the passenger seat.

"If I leave the lid open like this, you can see well, right?"

"It’s much less stuffy! But where are we going?"

"We’re going to get hamburgers. Sounds good, right?"

"I saw it on YouTube! There’s meat inside the bread!"

Tasty, inexpensive, surprisingly low on waste, and almost a complete meal if you ignore health concerns.

I had bought it with Ria a couple of times after school, but sadly Sanyi hadn’t had the chance until now.

Fifteen minutes by car.

The children’s song medley I played for Sanyi hadn’t even finished before we bought two hamburger sets and headed straight back to the café.

But instead of devouring it, Sanyi looked serious when she saw the hamburger set.

"This one... is dangerous."

"What now?"

"They give you this much food, and even a toy. I never imagined I’d get a toy with a meal. I might have to eat only this from now on."

"Stop talking nonsense and just eat already."

I couldn’t bring myself to outright deny it.

After all, I’d seen Assistant Manager Lee eat nothing but hamburgers for two straight months just to collect the twenty dolls released in the kids’ set.

With Sanyi’s stubbornness, it wasn’t an impossible scenario. I couldn’t relax until the hamburger was completely gone.

-Ketalk.

Right after the questionable dinner ended, I got a Ketalk from Ria, who had eaten dinner around the same time.

「Ria: Mister! Saerin’s Mom bought us black bean noodles! They’re really delicious!

Ria: (photo)」

In the photo were Ria, Saerin, and the CEO of SL Software holding black bean noodles and smiling brightly.

It was exactly the scene I had seen through the Divine Eye.

The office of the Chairman of Daecheon Group.

-Flap.

Around Chairman Joo Man-ho’s desk, piles of documents lay scattered thickly.

Though Chairman Joo Man-ho usually disliked disorder, he didn’t bother fixing the toppled A4 papers and was completely absorbed in flipping through the document in his hand.

"See? Didn’t I tell you? That son of yours really caused a big mess this time, huh?"

"Indeed. I didn’t expect to be this busy myself."

It was already confirmed that Jinseong was behind the recent incident. He’d grilled his son and heard that even the sudden appearance of an AI-related business was his doing.

Nothing to lose.

Jinseong and Sales Team 2 had merely added a spoon to a table that was already set.

If permission was granted, they could enjoy a solid meal. If not, they could simply brush themselves off and walk away.

But somehow, the person from whom permission had to come appeared to be even busier. The one who couldn’t let go turned out to be Chairman Joo Man-ho himself.

"The stocks holding up?"

Still without taking his eyes off the documents, he asked.

"Yes, the media outlets in question have low credibility, so there hasn’t been much disturbance."

"That’s perfect. By the way, wasn’t it Team Leader Kang from Sales Team 2? Kid was so invisible I didn’t even recognize his face, but he’s got guts. Taking a dumped project from Chairman Ji and reworking it—takes some nerve."

"The projects carried out with SL Software didn’t show any irregularities during the audit either. As long as the shareholders don’t oppose, we can proceed immediately."

"They always foam at the mouth when money goes out, don’t they?"

"OrcaAI’s profit structure is limited to operational efficiency, making actual capital recovery difficult. That was the reason it was halted seven years ago, and it’s likely to be cited again."

"Back then, we had no choice because all our money was tied up building apartments. But now it’s different, right? People even say we’re gambling with retained earnings—this is the right time."

Circumstances had changed. Even the one who had previously shut down the project had reconsidered.

"And those guys don’t have much choice either, right? Once the party starts, someone’s gotta come out and do a jig before it ends. This one’s a sure thing, so you keep stoking that fire."

"Understood."

There were already dozens of articles waiting in standby due to lack of approval.

Once those articles were released, as Chairman Joo Man-ho said, Daecheon Group had to at least act like it was launching the business—unless they wanted to see their stock nosedive.

"But really, the son starts this and why are we the ones suffering?"

Reversed roles.

The actual instigator of the event was leisurely sipping coffee, enjoying himself.