Free Web NovelTime rewinds to two days earlier.
It had already been three days since they set out in search of “a café with friendly coffee and a delicious owner.”
From Yeonnam-dong to Garosu-gil to Gangnam—they’d visited every hot café, but Taeeon remained elusive. Every night, Hojin—who’d never lied in his life—told tutors he was bedridden with a terrible flu to cover for sneaking out to help Roy. The teachers still believed Hojin was seriously ill.
But he’s a third-year. Am I taking up too much of his time?
Roy at least had a shred of conscience.
When I see him today, I have to say I’ll look on my own from here on.
He’d barely resolved that when Hojin’s message came through.
[Hojin: Roy, I think I found it this time for real! (link)]
Hojin sent an address for a café with a perfect 5.0 rating and over 999 reviews.
But Roy felt nothing—too many hopes dashed before.
How does this cramped tiny town have so many cafés?
Roy tapped the Reviews tab halfheartedly.
Roy’s jaded eyes scrolled automatically. There were tiny photos of a presumed “owner,” but none large enough to identify.
Then he found one clear picture and gasped.
“Kim Taeeon?!”
Crash—Roy leapt up so quickly his chair clattered to the floor.
He’d finally found him!
✧
Thus began their trip to Sokcho.
“Roy, have you ever been to Sokcho? They say the fried chicken there is famous. Should we swing by our café, then grab some food?”
Did Hojin always talk this much? Pre-Wilderness Hojin had been laconic. Wilderness Hojin, by contrast, seemed quite chatty.
Hope this isn’t a side effect of my skill.
Roy glanced at Hojin, who gave him a sly look.
“Roy, take bus 7 from over there. Oh, it’s coming—run!”
Before Roy could reply, Hojin grabbed his wrist and bolted. Thankfully the stop was crowded, and they boarded safely.
“Whew. Look over there.”
“What? He’s so handsome.”
“A trainee?”
The handsome stranger and his equally handsome companion set the bus buzzing.
“Gasp, why are we running when we could’ve taken a taxi?”
“This bus only takes twenty minutes. No point wasting money.”
“I have plenty of money.”
“Got your allowance recently, huh? So cute. All the more reason to save it.”
Hojin ruffled Roy’s hair, winking. Clearly Roy was his pet kitten. Roy had no defense and stayed silent—no one would believe otherwise after Hojin deposited five million won into his account as a single lump sum.
Even I wouldn’t believe that.
His parents couldn’t resist giving allowances for every reason: “Don’t get discouraged,” “Thanks for staying healthy,” “Thanks for video-calling Roze,” “You’ve grown taller”—soon they’d be paying him to breathe.
Such was life as a chaebol scion. The allowance they’d given him in Wonderland already far exceeded his lifetime earnings in the real world.
“Roy, we’ve got a seat over there.”
Hojin guided Roy to a pair of empty seats. Side by side, they admired the ocean outside.
Until then, everything went smoothly.
But one stop before theirs, the bus stirred. Passengers rose and clustered at the rear door, leaving only Roy and Hojin behind.
“They’re all in a hurry, huh?”
Hojin’s easy tone fooled Roy—he felt no alarm. When the bus halted, the passengers disembarked en masse and dashed off.
“Where are they all going?”
“Wow—so many people. Roy, stay close so you don’t lose me, okay?”
“Okay.”
At first Roy thought they were headed for the beach. But the coast had lined both sides of the route all along, and no other spot was this crowded. While Roy scanned around, Hojin checked a map app: the café was just °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° two minutes away in the opposite direction.
“That way, Roy.”
Roy clutched Hojin’s bag and moved—then nearly walked into him when Hojin stopped dead.
“Ow! You’ll give me a concussion if you freeze like that.”
Hojin’s expression, once bright, was now a mask of horror and shock.
“R-Roy...”
“What is it?”
Roy followed Hojin’s gaze and froze. Along the sidewalk stretched an endless human queue—a Great Wall of people.
“In China?”
“Are all these people waiting... for coffee?!”
Absurd.
“Hyung, come see.”
Gripping Hojin’s bag, Roy led him through the throng—back and forth along the line’s snaking path. After what felt like forever, Roy spotted a sign and sank into despair.
[Expected wait from here: approximately 8 hours. ∖(^0^)⁄]
They’d caught the first bus at dawn... their first attempt had spectacularly failed.
✧
The next morning, they even stayed overnight nearby to “open-run” the café. They arrived ten minutes before opening, only to find the line already coiled outside.
“What is this? We came early!”
“Roy, we should’ve come even earlier...”
The temperature was already 30°C and rising—despite it only being March, a heatwave warning was in effect. The only blessing was the line was shorter than yesterday’s.
[Expected wait from here: approximately 2 hours. ∖(^0^)⁄]
Two hours baking in the sun, they finally stepped inside.
“May I take your order—?”
“Iced Americano, please.”
Roy, a fire-attribute Awakener paradoxically weak to heat, wiped his sweat and scanned the café. Reviews said the owner usually took orders, but a handsome staffer emerged instead.
“And the owner?”
“He’s stepped out briefly.”
Interpreting “briefly” as “he’ll be back soon,” Roy finished ordering.
“Please note: café time is limited to two hours per guest. Thank you for understanding.”
“Riiight.”
With his buzzer in hand, Roy claimed the spot with the best view of the bar—and spent another two hours waiting. Having missed breakfast, he devoured five pieces of honey bread and cake.
Then—
“Excuse me, sir, I’m sorry but your time is up. We need this table for the next guests.”
They hadn’t even glimpsed the owner—and now they were about to be ejected.
After all that trouble, you want me to leave empty-handed?
Impossible. Pretending to pack his bag, Roy leaned toward Hojin and whispered.
“Hyung. You said you’d get me a star, right?”
“Huh? Me?”
“Thanks. You’re the best.”
With a beguiling smile, Roy flung himself onto Hojin’s lap, wrapping his arms around his waist.
“Hyung—close your eyes.”
“Gah!”
As Hojin’s startled cry rang out, Roy launched into his worst acting yet.
“Oh no—my poor hyung! Snap out of it!”
“Is something wrong?”
A startled staffer rushed over to support Roy and the collapsed Hojin.
“I... I... pushed myself too hard, and now... it’s because of the lemonade!”
“Pardon?”
“My hyung only eats top-grade organic lemons from the Côte d’Azur in southern France, right? Where is the owner right now?”
“Uh... I—I’m not sure—”
“Never mind! Get the owner here now! Owner! Come out nowww!”
The sudden commotion drew every patron’s gaze. Hojin’s eyes trembled behind his hat—thankfully he still wore it.
✧
Meanwhile, the very owner Roy sought was deeply absorbed in roasting at a small factory beside his coffee farm.
He smiled at the toasty aroma of fresh beans—until he noticed coffee trees shaking violently beyond the window.
“Huh?”
It was a still day under the heatwave warning, and his farm was under a greenhouse—no sudden gust should shake the trees like that.
Did a bird fly in?
He must have left the door ajar after watering. Taeeon grabbed a shovel and hurried outside. If a bird or pest had entered, he needed to drive it out before it wrecked the farm.
He hurried down to the crops, hearing leaves rustle. The coffee trees were only just bearing fruit, and Taeeon’s heart pounded. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
“Shoo! Go away—get out!”
He advanced, expecting whatever it was to flee—only to meet a pair of glowing red eyes among the foliage. His legs froze in shock.
