Chapter 13

“Miss Jin Seol-rin, I hope I didn’t disturb your weekend by calling you in?”  

“No, it’s fine. It’s just one day.”  

Arriving at a café near the university, Seol-rin smiled brightly at Bong-shik, the café manager. She had worked part-time here during her undergraduate days, and today, the manager had urgently contacted her, saying they needed someone to fill in.  

Since she had always maintained a good relationship with the manager, and because she had nothing to do and was short on money, Seol-rin immediately volunteered for the one-day job.  

“Since it’s last-minute, I’ll increase your hourly wage by 1.5 times.”  

“Oh, thank you so much for that! I’ll work hard!”  

“Alright, I need to visit the head office for a bit. I’m counting on you!”  

“Sure, don’t worry and take your time.”  

Equipped with a capitalist smile, Seol-rin rushed to the counter and started fiddling with the coffee machine. Even though it had been a long time since she quit this job, she quickly remembered everything because she had learned it hands-on.  

She skillfully operated the coffee machine and took orders one by one. Being a Saturday, the café was packed with an endless stream of customers. Time flew by as she worked tirelessly.  

By late afternoon, the café finally began to quiet down. Stretching slightly, Seol-rin glanced out through the café’s large glass windows, where the beautiful red sunset was setting. Lost in thought, Tae-oh’s face suddenly flashed through her mind.  

‘That’s right. Now that I think about it, the professor sat exactly in that spot. Does he come to this café often?’ 

She couldn’t forget the image of Tae-oh she had seen on her way to work. Sitting by the window reading an English newspaper, he had looked like a model in a photoshoot. Then again, with his face, anything he did would probably look like a photoshoot.  

“Hey.”  

At that moment, a middle-aged woman rudely addressed Seol-rin, snapping her out of her thoughts.  

“Me?”  

“Who else here besides you?”  

“…”  

Seol-rin instinctively felt a strong sense of trouble. Occasionally, there were customers who treated part-timers like servants, and in such cases, it was best to avoid confrontation.  

Though her insides were boiling, she forced a kind smile and lifted the corners of her lips.  

“Yes. Would you like to place an order?”  

“Iced Americano. Bring it to my table.”  

“Pardon?”  

“Did you not hear me? Bring the coffee to my table.”  

“I-I’m sorry, but we don’t provide table service…”  

“What’s wrong with your service here? The café across the street brings coffee to the tables just fine!”  

The woman huffed and puffed, looking ready to yell, ‘Call your manager!’ Seol-rin, with an awkward expression, responded carefully. She wasn’t avoiding the trouble because she was scared but because it was simply not worth her time.  

“No, it’s fine. I’ll bring it to you. Iced Americano, right?”  

“You should’ve said that from the start. Tsk.”  

“Yes, I’ll bring it right away.”  

As the woman walked back to her seat, Seol-rin’s delicate brow furrowed deeply. Though anger boiled inside her, she didn’t want to argue further with the troublesome customer. Quickly preparing the coffee, she brought it to the woman’s table.  

“Here’s your Iced Americano. Enjoy!”  

“Hey, you.”  

“Yes?”  

“What’s this?”  

“It’s coffee?”  

Seol-rin looked at the woman with a face that seemed to ask, ‘What kind of question is that?’ She was nearing her breaking point.  

“I asked for hot coffee. When did I say I wanted iced?”  

“Pardon? But you clearly asked for iced earlier…”  

“Shut up and make it again.”  

“…”  

“What are you standing there for? Didn’t you hear me? Are you mocking me? Do you think I’m easy to mess with?”  

The words, ‘You’re the one mocking me,’ were on the tip of her tongue, but Seol-rin swallowed them down and responded calmly.  

“I’ll remake it for you.”  

Still, her lips trembled slightly with frustration. As she turned back to prepare the coffee, she clearly heard the woman muttering loudly enough for everyone to hear.  

“Tsk, so dumb. No wonder she’s stuck working part-time.”  

“…”  

Seol-rin froze in her tracks. She couldn’t understand why she had to endure such humiliation just for working a part-time job. Overwhelmed with anger and sadness, tears threatened to fall.  

‘Hold it in. Just hold it in.’ 

She didn’t want to cause a scene while working a one-day job. Returning with a hot Americano, she carefully handed the coffee to the woman.  

“Here’s the hot Americano you asked for. Please be careful, it’s hot…”  

“Ah! Hot!”  

Before Seol-rin could finish her sentence, the woman grabbed the coffee hastily, spilling it everywhere. The coffee splattered all over the floor, staining the hem of Seol-rin’s pants. Luckily, she had stepped back quickly enough to avoid getting burned.  

“Well, that’s why I told you to be careful…”  

“Ugh! What kind of idiot messes things up like this?!”  

The woman angrily pointed her finger at Seol-rin, her voice loud enough to draw the attention of everyone in the café.  

“Did the part-timer spill the coffee?”  

“Looks like it. Shouldn’t she be more careful with hot drinks?”  

“Seriously, how do they train part-timers these days?”

Those unaware of the situation began to criticize Seol-rin, as if she had spilled the coffee herself. Her vision darkened, and the sharp gazes of everyone around her felt like they were piercing into her. She wanted to protest her innocence, but for some reason, she couldn’t.  

Encouraged by the atmosphere, the woman raised her voice even more.  

“I could’ve gotten hurt! Call the manager! Get the manager here now!”  

“Um… the manager is currently out…”  

“What?!”  

“I’m really sorry…”  

“Is ‘sorry’ all you’ve got? Then get on your knees and apologize!”  

“What…?”  

“What, you can’t kneel? Get down on your knees and apologize right now!”  

“…”  

Seol-rin bit her lip hard. She had no idea what to do. Dozens of eyes were on her, and cold sweat dripped down her body.  

“Wow, look at her just standing there with her eyes wide open. Are you going to kneel or not?!”  

“Enough.”  

Just as tears were about to fall from Seol-rin’s eyes, a low but familiar voice cut through the tension.  

“What? Who are you?”  

“I’m telling you not to treat my assistant so rudely.”  

It was none other than Professor Ma Tae-oh.  

“Wait… This part-timer almost spilled coffee on me, and I could’ve gotten hurt—”  

“Are you absolutely certain it was entirely the part-timer’s fault?”  

“So, you’re saying it’s my fault now?”  

“Fine. But do you know this café has five CCTV cameras? If you feel so wronged, call the police and let’s verify the facts.”  

His cold, commanding voice rang clearly throughout the café. The obnoxious customer, who had been so bold in front of Seol-rin, suddenly shrank in front of Tae-oh. She seemed like the type who acted tough to the weak but cowered before the strong.  

“Ugh… Forget it. I don’t want to escalate this any further.”  

In the end, the woman pursed her lips and left the café. Still in shock, Seol-rin stared blankly at Tae-oh. His face was still as cold as ever, but his words felt kinder than anything else.  

“Are you hurt?”  

“No… I’m fine.”  

The thought of being indebted to her professor once again made Seol-rin feel embarrassed. She didn’t know how long he had been there, but she hated that he had seen her in such a state.  

‘Tsk, so dumb. No wonder she’s stuck working part-time.’ 

The woman’s voice kept echoing in her ears. Seol-rin felt overwhelmed with sadness, wondering what she had done to deserve such treatment.  

“Hmph… I thought I’d been living my life as best as I could… But I guess people just see me as a fool. Still working part-time at this age…”  

Finally, the tears she had been holding back spilled in front of Tae-oh. Once she started crying, she couldn’t stop, no matter how hard she tried.  

Tae-oh’s gaze wavered slightly as he watched her trembling and crying. He wasn’t someone who knew how to comfort others. He had no idea what to say to his assistant, who was breaking down in front of him.  

“Don’t cry, Jin Seol-rin.”  

Tae-oh gently placed his hands on her shoulders, meeting her gaze as he spoke. He seemed to have forgotten that he was speaking informally to her. His voice was steady and firm.  

“You have no reason to let someone so rude hurt your feelings and make you cry.”  

“Professor…”  

“The one at fault is that person, not you. Don’t belittle yourself or blame yourself for something you didn’t do.”  

At that moment, Professor Ma Tae-oh’s resolute voice gave Seol-rin a surprising amount of comfort.  

Thankfully, Bong-shik returned to the café not long after. After Tae-oh explained what had happened, Bong-shik immediately sent Seol-rin home, apologizing profusely for calling her in on her day off and putting her through such an ordeal.  

As Seol-rin left the café with Tae-oh, she hesitated for a moment before bowing deeply to him.  

“Thank you so much for today, Professor.”  

“…”  

“I keep relying on you every time…”  

“It’s fine.”  

Tae-oh’s short response was followed by silence as they walked. When they reached the front of the school, Tae-oh nodded lightly, signaling her to go on.  

“I need to head to the research lab. See you on Monday.”  

“Oh… Were you already on your way to school?”  

“For the academic journal preparation.”  

Seol-rin’s eyes widened in surprise. At the same time, she felt guilty for taking up his time.  

“Did I make you waste your time because of me?”  

“Well, my schedule’s been delayed by about two hours, but it can’t be helped.”  

“T-Two hours?!”  

Two hours?!

Tae-oh brushed it off like it was nothing, but Seol-rin felt too bad to just leave things as they were. Determined to do something to make it up to him, she asked,  

“Is there anything I can help you with?”