Author’s POV:

 

 

-11 December 2002 (Wednesday)-

 

 

A powerful tropical cyclone named Mega was expected to hit South Korea at today midnight. Korean Meteorological Administration (KMA) had issued a warning to the public for the past three days. News about the typhoon could be seen everywhere in Seoul. Because of the strong typhoon, all flights have been cancelled nationwide, public transportations were suspended, and sudden release of water from dams has taken place to avoid over of water level in the reservoir. Force evacuation in certain part of the country has taken its peak, especially housing near to the sea or a place that geographically easy to be flooded by heavy rainfalls.

 

Since late afternoon, the rain starts to fall gradually. From slow downpour to heavy shower. With winds recorded 100 kilometres per hour. The storm just begins, but the news already reported a few accidents happened around the city. It’s December. Christmas season and end of the year sales. Where traffic would be packed at normal time. Road accident always recorded high at this festive season. But Taeyeon never expected it would happen today when people should’ve stayed at home.

 

Taeyeon turned off the news report that she sees from the TV in her café after a loud thunder. This is just another storm that she knows will eventually pass them in a couple of hours more. Her coffee shop still opens though. With only her alone works the shift. Two of her staffs were already returned safely at their home when she checked on them nine hours ago. She had asked them to go home earlier, even if her two employees insisted to stay and wanted to work extra hours together. Getting two devoted staffs like Nayeon and Seolhyun were really worth worrying.

 

Both of them were given a day off like the other two of her staffs that she had. She wanted them to be safe and be prepared for the incoming typhoon Mega. However, both of them were also spotted coming at the same time at her café this morning, ignoring the message she sent. She had to give them the cake she baked and promised them an overtime work with her at some other day in her desperation to make both of them return to their own family safely. What's better than to be around with family to endure this national catastrophe, she thought. She was actually fine to be left all by herself if that’s what make Nayeon and Seolhyun insisted to stay.

 

For Taeyeon, her café was basically a place that she can calls as home as well. By all means, she was staying in her real home. This place was previously her family two-story house in Cheongdam-dong area. She had refurbished the lower ground entirely to make her dream café come true. Her café is located on the ground floor of the property, the basement is where she kept all of her food stock, while the first floor is where she supposed to have her own private space that normal people calls it as a home.

 

It’s not strange to turn a house into a business property. One third of the housing area in her place have been renovated as business property just like her. Some of them open a restaurant, bistro & bars, wedding boutique, flower shop, beauty salon, and the list continue. The location was actually a hit. They are closed to public park, shopping mall, junior and senior high school, hotels, and government and private office buildings. It's strategically located in the busy city where public transportation can easily to be accessed as well. The place has a proper sewerage system that can prevent from flooding was the main reason why Taeyeon remains to stay at her café and feels unbothered.

 

When Taeyeon’s parents passed away, she received a big sum of money from their life insurance policy other than her parents’ asset that was handed to her as the rightful receiver. Half of them were spent for the café, one forth for coffee beans investment from her overseas dealer, and the balance was kept in her saving account for emergency usage. Sad, but the truth, her parents’ death happened to be in the same year about five years ago. It gave a big impact in her life when that happened. First was when her mother died from lung cancer, before her father was following her mother a few months later. Her father, who died in a road accident has given her 30% more insurance money compare to her mother. All the money she received, she made sure to use them not only to support for her living, but for others who's in need. For the record, she is one of the active members for homeless foundation in Seoul.

 

Before her parents’ death, she was a famous female Executive Chef in a five stars hotel in Gangnam. She had experience working as Sous Chef in Dubai and LA before she got promoted to be an Executive Chef. Cooking and baking were always her all-time favourite ever since her childhood. When she grew up, her parents supported the education that she chose without any objection. After they passed away, she has taken a longer time than she thought to grieve them. It caused her a job dismissal when she failed to give a proper notice for her absent from work.

 

A year later, she fought her grievance by promising to her decease parents to make the best version of her even without having them around. The idea to open her own business always stored in her deepest mind. The only thing that’s preventing her before is she has not enough budget to start her own café after her mother fell ill. The cost to treat her mother’s illness was a lot. She spent all her salary for her mother’s operation and treatment before. And therefore, when she made up her mind to open her own business, it forced her to work with much responsibility and effort for the following years after.

 

Having her own business had taught her a lot about hardship and responsibility. It's not easy to survive during her pre-opening. Advertisement was a bit costly. And her blogger account was not really helping much to promote or attracts visitor like what she hopes. She had to invite the media that she has a link while working in the hotel to attend a food tasting at her cafe for a few times. They help her better in promotion by giving a recommendation of café or restaurant to visit in Seoul via TV, radio, newsletter, food magazines, and newspaper articles. Other than that, she had to work her off to do frequent promotions, discounts, free coupons, and changing the café’ decoration and menu to sustain her business.

 

All of her efforts were eventually paid off. Her café has a lot of regular customers since the past three years. Among her regular are top celebrities, idols, and TV crews. Her café became more popular after she received an offer to use the place as filming location. It was such a great experience to arrange a request for filming a movie and a drama in her café. What can she say other than thank you to her employees and the bad days she encountered? She learned quite a lot about how to handle her business after the frequent loss in sales during the early days. Instead, she is still learning more. In two years, she plans to open her café in two new locations around the city. This plan is not only a dream, she already allocates a budget for the two cafés. Seolhyun had taught her in proper budgeting and ledger keeping. She will buy her own website to promote her café better before the two cafes’ grand opening. And she will promote Seolhyun to take in charge of the account and Nayeon as a Store Manager in the new location.

 

Demand from the public to have coffee as the best selection of drink throughout the day has given her this great opportunity to join the business. Coffee shop is booming these days. She hits a jackpot to be among a few local coffee shops who offered the best quality imported coffee beans to her customers. Among the tagline that her customer used to say to her is ‘their morning begins by having a cup of quality coffee from her café.’ This statement used to flutter her effortlessly until now. Knowing her small operation café was accepted in the local market, following not far behind the famous international coffee outlet like Starbucks, and The Coffee Beans.

 

Of course, she cannot beat those gigantic companies yet. She starts from scratch to own what she had right now. In the long run, probably ten to twenty years later, she might can be as competitive as them if she commits more into her business. By the time, she hopes her café will have a branch in every province of the country. Right now, her operation was mainly in small scale, even if it hits big. She only has seven employees, including herself. Four were permanent staffs, while the other two were a part time worker. The part timers were only working during weekends and holiday to cover the busy period. She did her own marketing and payroll with the help from Seolhyun. She is the boss, and she is also the workers. She works hand in hand with her employees to be where she was right now.

 

Taeyeon took a peek from her café, the street in front of her looks pretty empty right now. The street lights were so blurry. Heavy rains had changed the visibility in her surrounding area. The situation she sees was making her feel like living in a ghost town. No one was seen walking on the street since a few hours ago after the junior highschool teen left from her café. From the news, they were advised to stay indoors to avoid any casualty. Only a national phenomenon like this could empty the busy street from human, she thought. Obviously, because no one wants to get in trouble.

 

She got to know from Nayeon, ready to eat food like bread, biscuits, snacks, milk, mineral water was mostly out of stock in every convenience store or supermarket since yesterday. She decides to open her café till the storm was over because she has lots of foods to offer at her café to those who needed them. In her menu, she even has instant cup ramen to offer. Since last night, she had baked enough cakes, pies, macarons, donuts, puffs, tarts, bagels, scones, and made special sandwiches. She thought to open extra hours because her property has backup generator just in case if they have to face a power cut within the area. She had distributed half of the things she baked to homeless people staying at the subway station nearby to her place while having Seolhyun and Nayeon at her café this morning.

 

Because of the typhoon Mega that expected to reach South Korea at midnight, she has zero sales today. The junior highschool student who came to her café not paying her anything. She even made a funny accusation by saying she was trying to molest her and therefore, she wanted food in return if she didn’t want to be reported to the police. The teenager's behaviour was making her headache until now. She recalls back the incident that happened at 3PM. When the rain isn’t falling heavily as of now.

 

 

 

Taeyeon just finished setting up all the tables in her café after Seolhyun and Nayeon left her an hour ago. The Christmas tree and empty presents were set up nicely near the fireplace. It’s almost Christmas. She had turned jazz Christmas instruments in the café to bring the Christmas mood alive. The antique decoration, and brass instruments on the wall of her café has been wiped clean by her earlier than that. She chose music instruments and antique furniture to display at her café because she wants to offer a different kind of experience to her customer that staying in the place. Other than her interest in cooking and baking, music clearly has taken a space in her heart as well. While the antique furniture, they are just a pure hobby of hers. A hobby that she felt attached since she was a kid. Maybe because her mother used to collect antique items when she was young.

 

While trying to check the floor mat and the umbrella stand at the front door, she caught a kid tripped herself due to strong wind not too far away from her café. The road was slippery and the wind was strong with drizzling rain maybe in diameter between 0.010 to 0.015 centimetre. Surprise to see a situation like that, especially when she checked no one was accompanying the kid, Taeyeon made a quick decision to invite the kid into her café. Little that she didn't know, the kid is a con.

 

She offered the kid a temporary shelter from the strong wind and rain while treating bruises on the kid’s knee. It's pure silence. The kid didn't speak a single word. She kept on staring at her face like maybe she was scared with her. As such, she tried to tell the kid that she's not going to harm her. She just wants to clean her wound. When she was done, no thank you, or explanation that she received from the kid on why she was running alone during a big day like today. Instead, she was accused of having a bad intention to bring her inside the café alone.

 

"Are you a ert?" The teenager tried to pin point directly.

 

She gets used to scare innocent people each time when she made a false accusation other than her adoptive parents in her past experience. This time might be easier too, since her body was wet from the rain. No bad people will admit they are bad. They always tell they are good people. Just like her adopted family. It might be the same right now. It's strange though. Even after staring at the stranger's face, she doesn't feel the same to the rule she taught to herself.

 

This person looks like a college student from the spectacles she wore. Her ginger hair was gathered and secured at the back of her head with a hair tie. But the elegant chef uniform she had on her body was telling her differently. She might be not a college student anymore. She is clearly an adult. Which is way too older than her, although she has no wrinkle on her face and has a beautiful feature. Like no pimples, no freckles. Her face was clean and fair. With no makeup. Her natural beauty was quite astonishing her awhile ago.

 

It seems like she is not really a bad person type too. But how certain she was to this? Her instinct told her hundred percent. The unnie looks pretty innocent to receive her accusation. If a psycho adult like her adoptive parents, they will respond to her immediately. She can see it in their eyes if they are the type of people that she hates. However, this unnie is not showing her that sign. This makes the unnie as an easy target, she thought. A target to get what she wants before she leaves the place.

 

Her eyes wander all over the place after her accusation. She feels cold because of not wearing properly when she went out of her house. But the heat from the fireplace at least give her a little warm. Jazz music was playing slowly in the café since she entered the place. The café has a musician vibe from all the display she sees. The luxury gold color from the brass instruments and lighting has changed her mood entirely. She felt like coming into a different place. A quite comforting space. Shining, shimmering, splendid. Like living in a castle of a Disney movie. She loves music. Very much. However, her adopted parents hate her to listen to any type of music, what’s more to play or learn any of them.

 

Taeyeon felt weird to get goosebump for no reason when she heard the first four words from the kid. The kid’s voice was unique. They are soft, but firm. When she looked upward to find the kid’s eyes, she was greeted with a piercing stare from the kid immediately. The kind of stare that look so rare. No one was ever looking at her this way. The kid's arrival is quite unexpected, actually. She wondered why the kid was walking around the place without any supervision from an adult? How old is she? She looks so young. Based from her height and look, maybe she is a junior highschool student, she predicted. So, she is not a kid, but a teen?

 

"What makes you say that?" Taeyeon asked calmly to get the details of the accusation she received.

 

She moved from the floor to sit in front of the teenage girl. She had treated the teen’s knee with a band-aid after cleaning it. It's not that serious though. Only a minor scratch. She believed the teen can walk fine and no need to be carried by her like when they walk into the café. Both of them were sitting on a table for two in the café right now. She took a proper look at the teen in front of her. The teen was so skinny with pale skin. She looks sick, but her behaviour tells her otherwise. Her hair was in jet-black, long, and very wet. She used oversized black shirt and short pants with faded vans sneakers that totally wet as well. The leather sofa might be wet like the floor now. It seems like the teenage girl just bathing in the rain before she found her fall not far from her café. Did she play in the rain at a wrong time like, today?

 

"Your eyes were on my s awhile ago." The young girl confidently announced without thinking much.

 

The coffee scent was so strong in the café. But she wasn't interested with coffee. She wanted to eat some food like what she sees on the food display near the cashier counter. Cakes, puff, donuts… She was hungry. Her crazy rich adopted parents have left her all alone since the day before yesterday. She lost contact with them when she tried to dial their number from their house phone. Or they probably want to leave her to die at home during the typhoon. Because they don't refill the food stock in the house and they didn't give her any money when they left. She was starving. Her stomach was empty, begging her to fill with something. All the restaurant she went were basically closed. And the two convenience stores that she visited had no more bread for her to steal. This place was not in her target though. She was directed to this area after she got lost finding her way back to her adoptive parents’ house.

 

"What’s on your s?" Taeyeon wondered.

 

She felt already amused with this topic that the teen initiated. The teen thought she had s when her chest was flat? She wants to shake her head and sighs. Her shirt was not even seen through for her to set her eyes on that particular area. What the teen announced were slightly bothering her anyway. What makes the teen thought as a person in the same gender as her has an interest with her ? Even if she has it, it won’t bother her. Because she has her own s.

 

"Duh! My s, of course!" The young girl rolled her eyes and caught the unnie is staring at her chest for real this time. "See, you check on them again."

 

Taeyeon begins to let out her ahjumma laughter that made the teen gave her an icy glare on the spot. She can't hide her first impression about the young teen. "You are absolutely cute!" She declared earnestly. The teen’s behaviour is quite entertaining. "Why would I do that when you have a flat chest, young girl?"

 

"You touched my thighs in an inappropriate manner while treating my knee. You are clearly a ert!" The teen retorted out of frustration to recall she has no s yet. The unnie was right. And she was embarrassed by this. Thankfully, she knew how to pick a right accusation again. "You bring me inside this café when no one was around. What do you have on your mind? I can make a report on you. I know you try to molest a minor like me. Do you know how many years you can get in prison for this?"

 

There comes another accusation, Taeyeon thought. Her smart talk was making her heart flutter. What happened to the her? Every time when the teen accused her something, it feels so different. Like she was okay to accept her charge. The teen must have been watching scary movies too much till she thought she was having a bad intention towards her. This is not an amusing topic to her anymore. She suddenly feels concern.

 

"Where are your elders?"

 

"I can’t tell you." She discontinued her sharp glare on the unnie to check the front door. It was closed, but she wasn’t locked. Not that she scared with the unnie now. She just wanted her eyes to look somewhere far for a moment. She was tired from her continuous glare that seem doesn’t work. The laughter from the unnie almost made her lost concentration awhile ago. It's so distracting to hear a deep laughter that sound the same like when an old people laugh. It's not suiting the unnie's face, she thought. And you know what's stupid? She wants to see the unnie’s beautiful face while talking again. Her eyes seem like having a magnetic force against her. It’s irresistible. She can't resist the brown orbs that look stress-free from all her foul claimed. So, she ends up staring at her face again when she announced her next lines. "You will do more bad things at me if I said they were not around."

 

Did the teen just tell her that she was alone from her statement? It sounds like it is, Taeyeon thought.

 

"What can I do? I’m a bad person like what you’ve thought I am. You are really in a big trouble right now." Taeyeon announced in her half