Chapter 39
Shin Young-soo, who ran a small café in Jongno, recalled a troublesome problem he'd recently been worrying about.
Customers were dwindling.
Recently, cheap coffee had been on the rise, and the profits of specialty cafés like his were rapidly shrinking.
'Should I start thinking about closing the shop...'
It was a shame.
But he couldn't keep running it while watching it bleed money, could he?
He looked around his café.
An old-fashioned, tidy café interior.
The café he'd operated for more than ten years was practically a part of his life.
-Ding!
"Dad!"
The door opened and his daughter came in.
Her eyes were shining with excitement.
"But will Lee Bin really come?"
"Who knows?"
Shin Young-soo thought of the customer who had come a few days ago.
A young man who had introduced himself as Kang No-ah.
He had only made coffee for him and his daughter, and even brewed a latte on the side, yet he had revealed a future.
Lee Bin.
An actor both he and his daughter liked.
An actor loved by many for his mature acting and outstanding character.
Would someone like that really come here?
"But that Kang No-ah guy. They're saying he's really amazing?"
"Yeah."
At first, he'd thought he might be a somewhat strange guy.
Still, he was just a regular customer from the neighborhood.
So he'd acted as though he agreed, but he turned out to be far more incredible than expected.
An infallible fortune-teller.
The abilities he showed on his internet broadcast were so uncanny that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them ghostlike.
'If that's the case... I absolutely can't serve cake.'
The almond pound cake was Shin Young-soo's specialty.
But if a problem came up because of the cake he made, he absolutely couldn't put it out.
So he hadn't baked cake at all today, and while brewing coffee with his daughter, he kept glancing toward the door
.
-Ding!
"Welco... come in."
The door opened and a man walked in.
He had pulled a hat down low over his face and wore thick horn-rimmed glasses.
But there was no way Shin Young-soo and his daughter wouldn't recognize him.
Lee Bin.
Their favorite actor was walking into the café.
"May I have an espresso?"
"Y-yes!"
"And..."
The hooded man grinned and brought a finger to his lips.
Did he want to enjoy his coffee quietly, on his own?
Then they'd keep their mouths shut.
Just meeting the actor he'd admired all his life was honor enough.
Shin Young-soo nodded hastily and brewed the coffee with his utmost care.
"Ah, Dad...!"
"Right, right. You take it to him."
He handed the coffee to his flustered daughter.
A strong espresso.
A drink only someone who truly enjoyed coffee would order.
With it in hand, his daughter carefully approached Lee Bin, who was sitting in a corner seat by the window.
"Thank you."
"Oh, no... And I've been enjoying your movies. I'll always support you."
"I'm truly grateful."
He grinned and gave a slight nod.
Just that was enough to make the daughter so happy she didn't know what to do.
"But... I heard the almond pound cake here is especially good. Don't you have any?"
"...Ah. Well..."
Almond pound cake.
Her father was good at making that dessert.
But there wasn't any today.
"W-wouldn't it be better to avoid the almond cake?"
"Huh? Why?"
"Because you might have an allergic reaction..."
"Hahaha. I don't have anything like an almond allergy."
Lee Bin laughed.
An almond allergy, of all things.
He shook his head firmly.
"Uh... really?"
"Did someone tell you I have an almond allergy?"
"A person named Kang No-ah..."
"Kang No-ah...? Who's that?"
"A famous streamer."
Lee Bin tilted his head.
He'd thought he was some streamer who dug up celebrities' private lives, but after checking, that wasn't it either.
"An incredible fortune teller...?"
"Yes. He even predicted that you'd be coming here today. And he also told me you'd eat the almond cake and be taken to the hospital because of an allergy."
That was absurd.
He'd only come here on a whim after hearing from a friend yesterday that this café's espresso was the real deal.
And that someone had predicted he'd come here days ago?
That alone was surprising enough, and now he was saying that eating almonds would cause an allergy...
"...I see. Thank you."
"No, not at all. Then please enjoy yourself."
After greeting him, she returned to the counter.
Lee Bin, still seated, fiddled with the espresso cup before bringing a sip to his lips.
"...Phew."
Good.
It was exactly as he'd been told.
The rich flavor filled his mouth, and the sugar that had settled at the bottom blended with the bitter espresso, creating a complex taste.
Normally, he'd have focused on that taste.
But then he remembered what he'd just heard.
'What on earth... is going on?'
He had predicted the future and helped him avoid danger.
If what he said was true, he would have eaten the almond cake here and been rushed to the emergency room.
'I'd better go straight to the hospital and get checked.'
"Thank you, I enjoyed it."
Unable to sort out his tangled thoughts, he drank the coffee.
After finishing the espresso, he headed to the counter.
"It was really delicious. May I come again sometime?"
"Of course. The honor is all mine. Um, and if possible, could I ask you to sign here?"
"Haha. Thank you."
He quickly signed the paper Shin Young-soo held out.
After hesitating for a moment, Lee Bin asked.
"Does Kang No-ah come to this café often?"
"Often... is hard to say. It seems like he lives nearby, though..."
Shin Young-soo told him about what had happened before.
A rough-looking man with a huge build had knelt before him and begged.
After the customers stared in amazement, he had basically stopped coming by.
"They didn't seem to have a bad relationship. I saw the two of them together sometimes..."
Shin Young-soo said it casually, mentioning that he'd seen them walking around together through the window.
"I see."
"Are you asking because you want to meet him?"
"Yes. I'd like to meet him once."
"If he comes by, I'll let you know."
"Yes. Thank you."
Lee Bin smiled.
Could he really meet him again?
.
.
.
The meeting came much sooner than expected.
A week later, he returned to the café.
Lee Bin spotted a man sitting in one corner, sipping a latte with a black-haired beauty.
Kang No-ah.
It was the same man whose face he'd seen online after hearing about him last time.
"Hello."
"You've come, Lee Bin."
The man sitting in the corner, Kang No-ah, greeted him calmly.
At Lee Bin's approach, the black-haired beauty tilted her head.
"Sorry for interrupting your date."
"Haha. It's not a date. We just came out for coffee as friends. More importantly... if you came looking for me in person, then you must have something you want to ask."
"That's right."
"Then please sit."
Where should he sit?
Kang No-ah and the black-haired woman were sitting with a small table between them.
Logically, he should sit opposite Kang No-ah, but that would put him beside the woman.
"I'll move aside."
"Huh? Miss Yu-na doesn't need to... Ah. You're coming over here."
The black-haired woman rose to her feet.
Han Yu-na sat down boldly beside Kang No-ah.
Apparently, she had no intention of leaving them to talk alone.
It wasn't really a problem.
It wasn't like he was going to bring up anything shameful.
Lee Bin let out a heavy sigh, sat opposite Kang No-ah, and asked seriously.
"I'm worried about how I should choose my next project."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Director Jang Hong-gi's project and Director Gu Dae-hyeong's project. Both are excellent works. So I'm very torn..."
"Haha. Lee Bin."
"Yes?"
Kang No-ah smiled faintly.
"That's not what you wanted to ask, is it?"
He flinched.
Lee Bin's shoulders trembled.
He swallowed hard.
The eyes of the man casually sipping his latte were unbelievably deep for someone who was only twenty.
'No way... this guy...'
Could he know?
What he was really curious about.
After hesitating, he took a sip of the espresso he'd ordered.
The rich aroma of the coffee cleared his head.
"...Then, if you don't mind..."
He wondered if he should even say this.
He glanced at Han Yu-na out of the corner of his eye.
"This seems like a personal matter, so I'll step away for a bit."
"Thank you."
"Not at all."
Han Yu-na casually got up and walked to the window.
Seeing that, Lee Bin hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"...Actually, it's about my son."
Lee Bin let out a heavy sigh.
"My son is making a fuss, saying he wants to become an actor too."
Lee Bin was an actor worthy of being called a great actor.
That was why he knew just how hard and painful the road of acting was.
"I don't want my son to walk the same road as me."
He would definitely be compared.
Compared to a father who had built up such great achievements.
He'd be no match for his father.
He wouldn't even come close to his father's level.
How much would that hurt his son?
That was why he wanted to stop him.
But blood will tell; his son still refused to give up on becoming an actor.
"Mr. Kang No-ah. Will my son be able to make it as an actor?"
At Lee Bin's earnest question, Kang No-ah silently held out a card.
At the instruction to turn it over, Lee Bin carefully flipped the card.
Kang No-ah continued.
"Your son won't continue as an actor."
"Is that really true?"
"Yes."
He won't be an actor.
Then would he get a job at a company?
That might actually be better.
Before the relieved Lee Bin could say anything, Kang No-ah calmly continued.
What he said next
was enough to send a chill down Lee Bin's spine.
"Because on your next shoot, you'll lose the use of one arm and be forced to retire."