I Quit My Job and Open a Café

* * *

Hana Kim was feeling extremely stressed these days because of work she didn’t want to do.

She had been working as a designer at a clothing company for two years now.

But from the first day until now, she had only been doing things that had nothing to do with design.

Photo editing, blog management, customer service for the online shop—she did everything except design.

She had already been sent on so many business trips that she had lost count.

At this point, she even wondered if the company was trying to get rid of her on purpose.

The more time passed, the less motivation she had for work. 

Every morning before going to the office, she felt depressed.

The more she worked, the more she felt that this wasn’t the job for her. Of course, her condition kept getting worse, too.

When would she finally be able to do the designs she wanted?

She sometimes shared her worries over drinks with senior colleagues who had started working before her.

But they only told her to “just hang in there a little longer.”

Hang in there.

And hang in there again.

‘But… for how long? Someone should at least tell me that.’

She had been waiting with no clear end.

Because of that, she started to feel anxious about her own abilities.

She didn’t even hope for recognition or praise anymore.

Actually, what could she hope for when they didn’t even give her a chance?

What could she expect when they didn’t let her do anything?

This wasn’t what she had imagined back when she was a student.

She had already become a tired office worker, dreaming only of quitting.

But the worst part was…

If she wasn’t going to quit right now, she had no choice but to keep going.

‘Since I have a day off today, I should go for a drive. But… where should I go?’

She decided to do something fun to clear her mind.

She had always loved travelling, even back in college.

Leaving the city and being surrounded by nature.

A place where she could relax but still have some comforts.

‘…A café.’

Whenever she felt too stressed, she would visit cafés outside the city or in the countryside.

That always made her feel a little better.

But now, she had already been to most of them.

She searched on her phone but couldn’t find any new places.

‘I’ve been here before… The drinks weren’t great. And this place… had way too many bugs…’

Some places looked good in pictures but were disappointing in real life.

As she kept rejecting options, there was really nowhere left to go.

She started to feel like her day off would be wasted just wandering around.

And then—

“Huh? Where… is this place?”

It didn’t show up on social media or search engines.

But when she checked the map, she found a place she had never been to before.

There were no details, just the location and name.

‘It’s a risk.’

If it turned out bad, she could just count it as a drive.

Right now, she just needed a place to go.

She got in her car and drove there.

The road leading to the café was a small forest path, so she parked nearby and walked the rest of the way.

And then—

‘Wow…’

She stepped into a clearing surrounded by trees.

Above her was the wide-open sky, and in the middle of the space stood a beautiful wooden cabin.

Even the wooden sign outside looked perfect.

Without hesitation, she pushed the door open and walked in.

Ding-a-ling!

The clear sound of a bell welcomed her first.

“Welcome to Café Tiger… Rest…!?”

A man, who seemed to be the owner, greeted her.

But for some reason, he looked surprised.

He seemed like the type of person who wouldn’t show much emotion, so why that expression?

* * *

Now that he thought about it, there was something he had missed.

The recipe book mentioned using fresh mint.

He had assumed it was for the taste. But where had his grandfather gotten it?

It was hard to get deliveries out here.

There was no way he had been buying fresh mint every time.

And there wasn’t any in the fridge.

The answer was simple.

It had to be grown here.

The window floating above the customer’s head and the one above the mint.

It would be strange if they weren’t connected.

So…

‘This should work too.’

If he made the drink, he would find out.

Before heading outside, he looked back.

The customer still had that dark energy surrounding them.

‘Fatigue…’

There was an old commercial that showed stress as something heavy stuck to a person’s back.

If he thought about it like that, the black aura around the customer felt even more real.

Like a thick, sticky tar that wouldn’t come off easily.

‘And this mint.’

He opened the back door and stepped outside.

There was a small garden.

Lang was still rolling around, and next to him was the mint.

Carefully, he picked a handful.

Even as he held it, the floating text box was still there.

He let out a breath.

“Okay.”

Now he just had to make the drink.

He went back inside, washed the mint, and prepared it.

Everything else was the same.

Whirr!

The process wasn’t much different from using mint powder.

He blended ice and milk, then finely chopped the fresh mint and added it.

The rest of the steps were exactly the same.

Would this work as he expected?

Would using fresh mint make a difference?

A lot of thoughts filled his mind, but his hands moved smoothly without hesitation.

Once the drink was mixed well, he poured it into a clear cup and topped it with whipped cream.

For the final touch, he placed a whole mint leaf on top.

And then—

[Mint Chocolate Frappuccino]

—Effect: Fatigue Recovery, Stress Relief

Another floating window appeared.

As expected.

Unlike before, when he used mint powder, the drink now had its own effect.

He gave a small nod and took the tray.

“Here is your drink.”

The customer, who had been sitting by the window, slowly stood up.

Without saying much, they took the drink and sat back down.

Then they took a sip.

How would it taste?

Did it work as he had expected?

He watched eagerly.

One sip.

‘Huh?’

Two sips? Three?

Gulp, Gulp!

They weren’t just drinking—they were finishing it in one go!

And then—

“Wow! Amazing!”

The customer, forgetting he was even there, shouted in excitement.

Were they satisfied?

Was there another change…?

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a strong wind blew.

The door was closed, so where did it come from?

But before he could even wonder about it—

He saw it.

The wind was coming from the customer.

The dark aura that had surrounded them was now swirling in the air.

It rushed straight toward him.

He realized it too late.

It was too fast.

By the time he saw it, it was already in front of him.

And then—

Whoosh!

“…?!”

He couldn’t move away.

The wind hit him head-on and sank into his body.

 * * *

It felt like something was flowing through his body, just like blood moving through veins.

It started from his chest, then spread to his arms, legs, and head.

The wind went into him and moved around like it was mixing everything inside.

But wherever it passed, it left behind a cool feeling.

It was similar to drinking something cold and feeling it travel down the throat into the stomach.

Except now, he felt it all over his body.

‘What is this?’

Was this really happening?

The moment the wind passed through his head, he felt a sharp, minty coolness—like chewing a bunch of mint leaves at once.

His mind suddenly became clear.

This was not the time to stand still like this.

There were more strange things happening.

“Boss? Boss!”

“…Yes?”

“I called you so many times.”

“Oh.”

“Um… Can I order one more of what I just drank?”

The customer in front of him tilted her head and spoke.

That meant—

The dark energy that had been surrounding her earlier was completely gone.

Now, she looked like a normal woman.

The deep dark circles under her eyes had faded a little.

The tired and dull feeling around her had brightened up.

She now looked just like someone her age should.

It was almost like she had become a completely different person.

If his eyes weren’t mistaken, he was sure of it.

“Boss?”

“Oh, sorry. You want to order one more, right?”

“Yes. Um… Oh! I don’t usually drink this much. It’s just that I was really thirsty from the drive, and it was so delicious.”

The customer was talking too much.

It was as if she didn’t even know why she was talking like this.

So, his guess was right.

She seemed cheerful now.

This must have been her true personality all along.

“Anyway, I feel so fresh! It’s like eating a whole tube of toothpaste! Oh, just joking, just joking!”

Was she always this energetic?

Either way, the important thing was the result.

Because it wasn’t just her appearance and mood that had changed.

She might not have noticed it herself, but to him, it was very clear.

He could see it.

Literally.

‘The text above the mint is still there. And also… that.’

[Kim Hana]

—‘Mint Chocolate Frappuccino’ Applied (36)
—Effect: Fatigue Recovery, Stress Relief

The text floating above the customer had changed.

It was definitely different from before.

His mind cooled down.

Now that he confirmed the change, he could understand the situation.

He quickly made another drink and handed it to her, sending her back to her seat.

Then, this time, he carefully observed her as she relaxed and enjoyed the drink.

Gulp! Gulp!

“Mmm~! So good….”

Unlike before, no dark wind came out of her this time.

Instead, a green glow slowly rose around her.

Seeing this, he quietly took out his phone.

Out of habit, he opened the notes app.

Looking at the long list of notes he had taken during his old job, he thought he should organize them later.

But for now, he had to focus on this.

He had found an answer.

He needed to write it down before he forgot.

‘Assuming this is reality…’

—The customer is an ordinary person (seems unable to see what I see).

—The text floating above the mint is real.

—The green glow (let’s just call it an aura) around the customer is the drink’s effect.

—The dark energy surrounding her earlier (a different kind of aura) disappeared due to the drink or got absorbed into me with the wind.

—All of this happened because I started seeing things I couldn’t see before.

He underlined the last sentence.

Yes.

Everything had started from that.

And that was the real problem.

Everything that followed made sense—it was just hard to believe because it felt like magic.

Anyway,

What was the reason for this sudden change in him?

‘…A dream?’

His hand stopped writing.

A dream? Where did that thought even come from?

This café, Tiger’s Rest, stood in a mysterious place.

He looked out the window.

The open space and the forest outside still looked magical.

At that moment, a memory overlapped in his mind.

It was a scene from a dream he had right after coming here.

The dream was still fresh in his memory.

A wise old man and various animals had appeared.

And now, he realized something he had missed back then.

The scenery in that dream.

‘Yeah. It looked just like this place.’

At first, he thought it was just because this place held childhood memories for him.

But his logic told him that wasn’t the reason.

Suddenly, he remembered something else.

Whenever he lay down here, doing nothing, all his worries fade away, and his body felt lighter.

Maybe that wasn’t just his imagination.

And there was one more thing.

‘Grandfather had the same dream. A dream about a tiger, just like me.’

He always thought it was just a lucky dream.

But maybe… it wasn’t.

Maybe that dream had a deeper meaning.

And this place was named Tiger’s Rest for a reason.

This land, and the café built on top of it—

There was definitely something special here.