Chapter 4 

Coffee Master Is Way Too Strong

His Only Family

5:00 a.m.

While the world was still shrouded in deep indigo darkness, I slung a light backpack over my shoulders and tightened the laces of my running shoes.

I was going for a run along the coastal trail of Simgok Village.

It was a routine I’d kept almost every day since settling here.

There was something surprisingly refreshing about running while taking the full force of the morning sea breeze, and I figured I was getting to the age where I needed to start taking better care of my stamina, too.

“Huff, huff, ha!”

The cold sea wind pierced deep into my lungs.

I reached a gentle uphill stretch.

Normally, this was where my heart should have been pounding like it was about to burst and my legs should have felt like they weighed a ton.

But—

“Yaaaah!”

Instead, I accelerated to full speed.

My breathing wasn’t even the slightest bit labored.

Every time my feet struck the ground, a thrilling sensation ran through me, and my body seemed to spring forward like a coiled spring.

It was as though I were a machine with electricity surging through my entire body. My muscles were overflowing with vitality, and my vision was sharper than ever.

“Why has my stamina gotten so good lately?”

I stopped for a moment and placed a hand against my chest.

My heart rate recovered to normal at an astonishing speed.

I wondered whether my Hunter awakening had something to do with it, but soon shook my head.

“It’s probably just because I’m living somewhere with good air and clean water and eating well.”

After all, I was only F-rank.

I reached the spring at the top of the hill and took the empty water bottles out of my backpack.

I filled them with the clear spring water pouring out in abundance, put them back into my backpack, then grabbed the wooden dipper beside the spring and gulped down some water.

“Ahhh, that’s good.”

The water had a unique texture and a smooth finish that made it exceptionally refreshing.

Being able to make coffee with this water every day—what more could I ask for?

When I returned to the café, the red sun was beginning to peek over the horizon.

Watching the waves break into gold, I resolved to have another pleasant day.

“Hm-hmm, hm-hmm.”

Humming to myself, I filled the bowls outside the café with fresh food and water for the animals.

I opened the café, thoroughly cleaned both inside and out, and turned the grinder with the utmost reverence.

Every morning, I sampled all the beans to check their condition.

As a barista, this was another routine I could never compromise on.

I was deeply focused on the flavors when a familiar voice broke the silence.

“Young man! I’m here!”

It was Oh Chun-mae.

As usual, Grandma casually tossed a bag containing a large octopus onto the counter, sat down, and placed her order.

“Today, give me that… iced thing instead of the mix.”

“You mean an iced Americano?”

“Yeah, that one. I tried it last time, and it felt so refreshing. I liked it.”

I couldn’t hide the slight upward curl of my lips.

There was a deep sense of accomplishment in knowing that I’d gotten a woman who had spent her entire life drinking nothing but instant coffee to actually enjoy coffee.

And so, the peaceful day passed.

That evening, as the sunset faded into night, Hunter Song Ra-yoon came to the café again.

“Vice-head Grandma isn’t here today.”

“She came earlier this afternoon. Why do you ask?”

“No, it’s just… It feels a little empty without her.”

We had grown close enough that asking about each other’s well-being no longer felt awkward.

Even an S-rank Hunter who normally stood beneath dazzling spotlights was simply a regular customer here, enjoying coffee and quiet conversation.

To protect Song Ra-yoon’s privacy, I never brought up anything related to her work as a Hunter, but by now we’d become close enough to make casual small talk naturally.

After finishing such a fulfilling day, I was cleaning up the café when—

Bzzzt!

My phone rang.

【Younger Sister Seung-hee】

“Hey, Seung-hee. What are you calling about at this hour?”

《Oppa… Can I come stay with you for a few days?》

“Huh? All of a sudden? Is something wrong?”

《It’s just… I’ve never visited your café since you opened it. I’m curious, and I have some free time.》

Her voice over the phone was trembling slightly.

She was trying hard to sound cheerful, but I could tell immediately.

If she’s talking like this, something must be seriously wrong.

She had always been someone who handled her responsibilities properly and never complained, even after spending years caring for our mother.

For someone like her to say something like this…

There was definitely something wrong.

《Ah, if it’s inconvenient, it’s okay. Oppa, don’t worry about it…》

“I’ll buy you a plane ticket. Come right away. I’ll pick you up at the airport.”

《Huh? You don’t have to go that far.》

“Stop arguing. If I tell you to come, then come.”

《Ah, okay.》

Even after hanging up, I couldn’t bring myself to put my phone down for a while.

The sound of the waves outside seemed unusually loud.

“What on earth happened?”

Inside the airport terminal.

To Kang Seung-hee, the bustling scene around her looked hazy as she dragged her suitcase along.

Most people visiting Jeju were tourists, so the cheerful, excited atmosphere around her felt completely different from how she was feeling.

Then, on the wall of a café, she noticed the smiling face of a model above the words:

“Cheer up! You can do anything!”

“You can do anything.”

Not when I can’t.

She opened her phone with a heavy sigh.

The message she’d received yesterday was still sitting at the top of her inbox.

【Despite your outstanding qualifications, we regret to inform you that due to the limited number of available positions, Kang Seung-hee has not been selected following the final interview. We hope you will consider applying again in the future…】

She had read the message hundreds of times, but every time she saw it, her heart felt hollow.

She’d really thought things would be different this time.

Saseong, one of South Korea’s leading companies specializing in supporting Hunters.

The salary was certainly important, but more than that, she wanted to feel the pride of standing firmly behind the heroes who risked their lives to save people.

The interview atmosphere had been good, and she’d been satisfied with her answers.

She’d worked incredibly hard for that one day.

But the result was always the same.

Rejected.

And this wasn’t the only time.

There had already been dozens of rejections before this one.

Why am I like this?

After her mother passed away, the world had felt particularly cold to Kang Seung-hee.

The friends she’d lost contact with while devoting herself to her mother’s care had moved far ahead in life, while the silence she had to endure alone in an empty home spread through her body like poison, slowly wearing away at her emotions.

But she couldn’t complain.

Oppa… must have had it much harder than me.

Her older brother, Kang Seung-gyun, had sacrificed his youth for her.

She knew very well that the only reason he’d endured more than ten years at a notorious black company that appeared in the news constantly was to pay for her tuition and their mother’s medical expenses.

She’d watched him suffer through all of that.

So no matter how difficult things became, she couldn’t bring herself to act spoiled or complain to him.

It had been the same when her brother retired and told her he’d opened a café in this remote countryside.

She’d wanted to run over immediately, but she’d held herself back.

Rather than showing up half-heartedly and becoming a burden, she thought the right thing to do was to find a proper job as quickly as possible and help lighten her brother’s burden.

But now, she’d reached her limit.

Repeatedly failing to find employment.

Living in isolation.

She felt as though she would go crazy unless she could at least confirm that her brother—the last connection she had to her life—was still there for her.

She scratched her head roughly.

She hated the weak part of herself that wanted someone to comfort her.

At the same time, she was tormented by the conflicting realization that this was the only way she could breathe right now.

And so she headed toward the gate where she’d arranged to meet her brother.

At that moment—

“Seung-hee! Over here!”

She saw her brother in the distance, waving his hand and smiling brightly.

He had brought an old Porter truck.

Seung-hee loaded her suitcase into the truck bed and immediately climbed into the passenger seat.

“Oppa, when did you buy a truck?”

“When you run a café, there’s a lot of shopping and equipment to transport. So I bought one when I was setting up the shop.”

“Oh… I see.”

Seung-gyun skillfully turned the steering wheel and headed deeper into the village.

“What happened? Is something wrong?”

“No, I just wanted to come see you.”

“If something’s troubling you, tell me right away. Don’t keep it to yourself and get scolded when I find out later.”

“What are you talking about?”

Maybe it was because they’d spent so long communicating only by phone.

There was an awkwardness between them, yet at the same time, Seung-hee felt a strange sense of security in her chest.

They continued driving while listening to the radio playing inside the truck.

After some time, a puzzled expression appeared on Seung-hee’s face.

“Oppa, are you sure this is the right road?”

“Yeah, it is. It’s just a little rough.”

They passed one winding road after another, venturing deeper and deeper into a cliffside village that looked like it barely appeared on maps.

He really opened a café here?

Seung-hee peered suspiciously out the window.

People normally didn’t open cafés in places this remote.

After driving for quite some time—

“Here we are. This is my café. Pretty nice, right?”

“Wow…”

Seung-hee’s eyes widened.

A stylish two-story building stood near the sea, and beyond it stretched an unobstructed view of the ocean so beautiful it seemed almost unreal.

Before she even had time to take it all in, her brother gently pushed her inside.

“Come on, let’s go in first. You must be hungry.”

“Oh… yeah!”

As soon as she entered, luxurious interior decor completely out of place with the atmosphere of the village greeted her, along with the rich aroma of coffee.

This is the café Oppa opened?

It was much more impressive than she’d expected.

She was waiting somewhat awkwardly when—

“Here, try this first. It’s the signature menu at my café.”

What Seung-gyun handed her was a richly aromatic black coffee and a chocolate chip cookie.

It was the killer combination that had impressed both Vice-head Grandma and Song Ra-yoon.

“Did you bake the cookies yourself, too?”

“Yeah. I have a small oven at home.”

Seung-hee reluctantly took a bite of the cookie, and her eyes immediately widened.

Behind the crisp texture, rich chocolate and buttery flavors enveloped her tongue.

It’s delicious. Really delicious.

Then she took a sip of the warm coffee.

The slightly bitter yet nutty coffee perfectly balanced the sweetness of the cookie as it flowed down her throat.

A perfect balance.

It felt as though the two flavors were warmly embracing her.

At that moment, the tension throughout her entire body suddenly released.

This…

Simply calling it delicious wasn’t enough.

It felt as though all the sorrow, anxiety, and loneliness she’d been suppressing alone had melted away in a single sip of that warm liquid.

“Seung-hee, eat slowly. You’ll make yourself sick.”

“Uh… okay.”

As her hand holding the cookie began to move faster, Seung-gyun gave her a little scolding.

She ate several more bites.

Plop.

Her vision suddenly blurred, and a single tear fell onto the table.

Once the tears started, she couldn’t stop them.

“S-Seung-hee? What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Does it not taste good?”

Seeing her brother completely flustered and unsure what to do, Seung-hee finally let out all the tears she’d been holding back.

“Oppa… Oppa… I… I’ve really had such a hard time.”

“What happened? Take your time and tell me.”

“I failed another interview. Mom isn’t here anymore, and I don’t have anywhere to go… I really tried my best, you know? So why can’t anything work out for me? I know it’s selfish to come crying to you like this… Oppa, can I tell you what’s been going on? I feel like I’m really going to die.”

Kang Seung-hee sobbed like a child, pouring out everything she’d been holding inside.

Seung-gyun’s expression turned bitter.

Then he gently patted her back and said,

“Then tell me everything today. I’ll listen to all of it.”