“Um… so… what can I get you to drink?”
“Tomato juice and… um… th-that chocolate… no, no, uh… um… a matcha latte…?”
“Tomato juice, a matcha latte, and cookies… right?”
At my question, the huge snake fidgeted, then gave a big nod.
For something that looked that terrifying, their tastes were sweeter than I expected.
“Y-yes! A matcha latte and cookies, please…! Oh, right! The cookies… you do have them…? When my son came earlier, you said it seemed like you didn’t….”
“Ah, I baked them not long ago. I’ll give you some.”
Was that guy from earlier—the one whose lower half was a snake—their son?
The moment I nodded, the huge snake lowered their head toward me, slow and smooth.
Aaaagh. When that giant red eye came close, it was honestly terrifying, but I only screamed inside my head and forced an a-ha-ha-ha, awkward laugh on the outside.
Lick.
They handed me the card with their tongue.
I took it and pointed inside.
The card was extremely damp.
“I’ll make it and bring it right out. Both iced, right? That’ll be 6,500 won.”
“Huh…? The cookie price….”
“It’s not on the display yet. I’ll give them to you as a freebie.”
Honestly, it had been bothering me that their snake son hadn’t gotten any cookies and had just left earlier.
When I said it with a smile, the huge snake’s eyes widened like they were startled, then they smiled and nodded. I took the card and went back inside. Fuuuh— I took a deep breath, then lifted my head—and my eyes met Lord Bihyeon’s, standing there with his arms crossed.
“Just a minute. I’m going to hurry and take care of the snake customer’s order.”
I grinned and gave a little shrug. Like he didn’t care.
Still… what does this guy do twenty-four hours a day? He looks like he’s in a suit every single time. It suits him, but he also gives off this intense underworld-boss vibe.
…Wait. Is that actually what he is?
I mean, the way the customers and Boss Bbiik are scared of him. And Boss Bbiik said this place is his assigned district, too.
‘Nah… probably not.’
His cold aura fit him way too well, but at the same time, it felt like he didn’t… match blood, somehow. Complicated. And everyone who came to the café was scared of Lord Bihyeon, sure, but it didn’t feel like they disliked him. If anything, it looked closer to respect.
After I rang it up, I made the drinks quickly. I could feel someone watching me, but I forced myself not to turn around. Lord Bihyeon was one thing, but those red eyes outside staring at me were way scarier.
I wrapped the cookies carefully, grabbed the drinks, and headed for the door. Uh… did I grab packaging that was too small? How are they even going to carry this?
The huge snake, watching me with expectant eyes, lowered their head.
“Um… th-that… do you see the little bag hanging around your neck?”
The one who’d come so close to my face turned their head, smooth and slow. There really was a tiny bag and a cup holder hanging there—absurdly small compared to their body. I nodded, slipped the paid card and the cookies into the bag, and set the drinks into the cup holder.
“All set. I put the card in the bag, too.”
“Y-yes! Thank you!”
The huge snake bowed their head, lifted the corners of their mouth, and hissed—then turned and went on their way.
My legs felt so weak, I thought I might collapse onto the floor again.
Dragging myself, I turned back and went into the shop. Lord Bihyeon was seated at the table right in front of the counter, looking at his phone, but he lifted his head.
Still smiling at me, he tilted his head.
“Our world has a lot of beings like that.”
“…Sorry?”
I stood at the counter, staring at Lord Bihyeon. He rose slowly from his seat.
“Beings that look frightening to humans. Beings that are truly frightening to humans. And beings that hate humans.”
So… what, exactly, was I supposed to do with that?
I blinked, trying to parse it.
“…Ah. So you came because you were worried?”
Of course not.
It felt more like he was telling me, It’s scary, so quit on your own, but I smiled and deliberately answered wrong, pretending I was clueless.
I didn’t know if it worked in another world, but it’s harder to spit in a smiling face.
“You could say that, and you could also say you can’t.”
Lord Bihyeon shrugged and let out a quiet snort of a laugh.
Huh? He didn’t completely deny it.
“I can’t tell if you’re fearless… or if you have to be fearless because of money.”
Both.
I’m not exactly the most scared person to begin with, but the hourly wage made me act even bolder than I was. And… honestly, because only good ones had kept coming to the café, maybe I’d started to fool myself into thinking everyone from another world was like that.
And even if I wanted to quit, it wasn’t just the wage—Boss Bbiik and the regulars had grown on me too much.
When I didn’t answer, Lord Bihyeon smiled lazily.
“An Iced Americano.”
“Yes.”
…Ah. So when he told me to be careful so I wouldn’t get into an accident, he literally meant an accident.
He’s cold, but kind.
It’s just that his tone and vibe are practically designed to be misunderstood. Maybe he’s only cold to me because I’m human?
I made the drink and carefully wrapped cookies alongside it, then held them out to Lord Bihyeon.
He hesitated like he was thinking about it, then took everything—the drink and the cookies—and looked at me.
“Be especially careful today. It’s a day with weak moonlight.”
Boss Bbiik said the exact same thing.
Why are you doing this? You’re making me seriously worry.
I have a morning shift later….
I watched his back as he left the café, then pressed hard at the corner of my eye. I sat on the chair by the counter, sighed, and lightly tapped my coffee cup.
‘Like I have the energy to worry about something else.’
I was too busy just surviving. I didn’t have the headspace—or the strength—to spare for threats and danger like this.
Ugh.
I sighed again, then chewed my coffee straw between my teeth.
Suddenly, time felt like it was crawling.
*****
Seriously… this is driving me insane.
Even going to my convenience store shift, I stayed as alert as I could and stuck to alleys whenever possible, but the place I worked during the day was, of course, right in the middle of a big road with tons of traffic.
I figured nothing would happen while I was inside the building, but still.
Even as I tore open a box of snacks inside the convenience store, I sighed and checked outside through the door.
Come on. A car isn’t going to suddenly launch off the road and fly in here.
I couldn’t sleep at all because I kept thinking about what Lord Bihyeon said, and that talisman-looking thing. My eyes felt dry and gritty, so I rubbed them with the back of my hand—and now they stung, throbbing with pain…
The second I closed my eyes, I got sleepy.
This is why people need to sleep to live.
Ugh… I’ll do the rest later. I need to sit down for a minute.
I finished stocking the snacks and went behind the counter. I felt like if I sat, I’d pass out immediately, so I gripped my phone tight and pinched my thigh with my other hand.
When the convenience store shift ends, can I get, like, two hours of sleep?
The moment I became an adult, my aunt took out loans under my name left and right. I was paying them off, so no matter how good the café wage was, I couldn’t quit my afternoon job.
Also… it’s weird. I’ve been seeing nothing but not-people at the café, and here it’s nothing but people with perfectly normal eyes, noses, and mouths.
“Huh?”
Even after I’d sent all the customers out, I stayed standing there, blankly staring through the door, pinching my thigh—when I saw a familiar back.
Without thinking, I blurted it out, shoved the convenience store door open, and went outside.
Wasn’t that him? Lord Bihyeon.
He’s tall, sure, but more than that—there’s no way I’d mistake that face. His hair looked completely black, but still.
I could’ve sworn I saw him walking near the convenience store, so I held the door and looked around.
No, wait. I’m happy to see him, but even if it is him, can I act like I know him?
This is the human world.
Mm….
I hesitated, then decided I should just go back in and lowered my hand.
That’s when Lord Bihyeon stopped and turned around. He looked back.
Our eyes met, so I lifted my hand again and gave a small wave.
He tilted his head slowly. Black hair and black eyes… how is that even fair? It looked like someone had set black gemstones into his irises.
Ugh—also, the smoke from the guy smoking in front of the convenience store is burning my nose.
I kept waving, thinking, Is it really okay for a man who isn’t human to be here this openly? Then I figured I should go back inside and reached for the door handle.
I was about to pull it open and step in when I saw him striding straight toward me.
What? Why does it look like he’s coming to me?
…Oh. He is.
“H-hello…? Lord Bihyeon, I’m scared. W-why? What is it?”
But why is he walking over here with his face twisted like that?
I stared at him, wide-eyed and blank, then reflexively bowed in greeting. As he got close, Lord Bihyeon grabbed my wrist and gave a light tug.
I hadn’t expected it at all, so I stumbled. Even as he pulled me along, I tapped his arm—lightly, not to hurt him.
“Ow. That hurts. Are you mad because I said hello?”
Seriously. Petty much, getting mad just because I said your name….
“Uh, Lord Bihyeon? Hey—? I said it hurts!”
I was yelling, getting dragged along, thinking maybe he really hated that I greeted him—when suddenly, behind us—
KWAAANG—!
A sound so loud it felt like something had exploded.
“What kind of human did you get involved with to end up with a curse this strong?”
My ears rang. I froze, instinctively covering one ear, then turned around.
A truck had slammed into the narrow convenience store entrance.
More precisely, it had crushed the counter—exactly where I’d been standing until seconds ago.
“What….”
My hand flew over my mouth as I stumbled backward. Lord Bihyeon caught my arm again, steadying me when my legs went slack and I almost collapsed.
Wh-what…?
When he said to be careful around cars, that included inside the building too?
And this wasn’t even something you could “be careful” and avoid. It wasn’t like I could’ve dodged that.
If I hadn’t seen him, I would’ve gotten hit. I would’ve been slammed by that truck and taken a one-way trip to the afterlife.
Uh…? There was definitely a guy smoking in front of the convenience store.
But now he was gone. Did he get caught in the crash?
When I looked to the side, I saw people on the ground clutching arms cut by broken glass. I stared blankly downward.
The floor was a mess—blood and shards everywhere.
Th-this… what is this…?
It was hard to breathe. Even though I was staring at the floor, my vision kept blurring.
Get it together. Get it together and call 119, and call the store owner….
But exhaustion, shock, fear—everything piled on at once.
My eyes slid shut completely.
The world swayed.