IH Ch 57

Chapter 57

Jae-i pressed his lips firmly together and turned his gaze away. At that moment, the child who had been sitting stood up cautiously. It hadn’t been noticeable when he was simply sitting, but once he began to walk, his gait was awkward. Supporting himself with crutches and hobbling toward the back, the boy seemed to be on a call, saying things like “Uh, uh, I found them.” When he came back out, he held a basket in his hand.

When he spotted Jae-i watching him, the boy beamed and made his way toward them with determined steps.

“My mom says she’ll be here soon. In the meantime, please have some of this. It’s complimentary!”

What the child handed over was a bottled drink and individually wrapped rice cakes. They looked like items one could easily sell, so Dohwa shook his head, thinking, How is this complimentary?

“I’ll just wait a bit and order when your mom arrives.”

“We give this to everyone who visits our café. We’ve got tons in the fridge. It’s okay, please enjoy.”

Then, steadying himself on his crutches, the boy opened the bottle cap himself and placed the drink in front of Dohwa and Jae-i.

“These rice cakes were made using mugwort that’s been touched by the sea breeze—it has a deep fragrance and tastes amazing. My mom’s rice cakes are seriously the best.”

He had already said something similar earlier.

Seeing the boy’s eyes gleam as if waiting for him to eat, Dohwa picked up the bottled drink. He lowered his mask slightly and took a sip—it was refreshing. Intending just to taste it, he ended up finishing the whole bottle, and the boy grinned widely.

“It’s good, right?”

“…Yeah.”

Even though they’d already eaten a full meal of janchiguksu and bibimbap, the drink went down easily. Curious about the rice cake too, Dohwa opened the wrapper and popped a piece into his mouth in one go. The taste was clean and the chewy texture pleasant. He looked up.

“This is really good.”

You’re not supposed to talk with your mouth full, but knowing the boy was waiting for a reaction, he couldn’t stay silent. Jae-i clearly wasn’t going to touch any of it, so it was up to him to say it was tasty. While chewing the rice cake thoroughly, Dohwa squinted his eyes into a smile.

But then he noticed something odd about the boy’s expression. The blank look on his face made Dohwa pause—and then he realized he had lowered his mask. In a fluster, he tried to raise it again, but the child motioned for him to wait and hurriedly moved. He nearly lost balance but quickly grabbed his crutches with both arms and rushed off. From his previous seat, the boy picked up a sheet of paper and, turning to Dohwa, held it out proudly.

“I’m good at drawing! So, I was wondering… could you be my model?!”

“……”

“Just for one hour—no, thirty minutes! I promise I’ll draw you really well!”

Just as he said, the boy seemed quite skilled. The drawing wasn’t fully complete, but even at a glance, it had recognizable features. As Dohwa looked at the face on the paper, he almost turned to look at Jae-i without realizing it. The crown drawn on the man’s head was in a style that seemed familiar.

Unable to answer right away, Dohwa just uttered, “Uh…” Perhaps mistaking that for a rejection, the boy’s eyes drooped.

“…I could really make it look beautiful. I’m confident.”

As the boy lowered the drawing hesitantly, Dohwa opened his mouth to say something. But just then, the door opened, and a woman stepped in.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect any customers today—Jaehyun, what are you doing?”

Panting for breath, the woman looked curiously at the boy, who stood there listlessly. Then the boy quickly shook his head and smiled at his mother.

“I already served the customers, so go catch your breath.”

“You served them? Good job.”

Looking again toward the two guests, the woman nodded her head politely. She headed to the back, and soon soft music began playing. Matching the rhythm, the boy moved toward the counter and picked up a menu.

“Mom, I’ll take the menu to them.”

“No, it’s fine—I can do that, so just sit.”

“I can handle this much. Take your time coming out.”

Holding the menu in one hand, the boy approached the two once again, grinning.

“My mom’s here.”

Watching his now-bright expression—as if he’d never looked disappointed—Dohwa accepted the menu.

“Thanks.”

“Take your time choosing.”

As the boy walked away, Dohwa straightened his posture and sat properly.

The single-page menu was charming. Decorated with flowers and delicate patterns, one could easily guess whose handiwork it was.

It had been a postcard that led to this seaside visit—a card sent to Jae-i, bearing his beautifully drawn face and inviting him to a sports festival. Remembering that, Dohwa murmured,

“…I think this is the kid who sent you the invitation.”

“……”

“I didn’t expect to meet him like this. It’s kind of amazing.”

No reply came to his quiet musings. Not that Dohwa had really expected one. He simply stared at the menu for a while, then lifted his head.

“…I’m full.”

After the delicious bibimbap, janchiguksu, the drink the boy gave them, and the rice cake—he really was full.

Dohwa slid the menu across the table toward Jae-i.

“You pick something. I’m not good with these things.”

Only then did Jae-i react. Watching his gaze move toward the menu, Dohwa fiddled with the empty rice cake wrapper.

A quiet, peaceful atmosphere. Pleasant music. It all felt so serene. He was full, yet contemplating ordering more—it felt strange. Sitting across from Hwang Jae-i in this moment made him wonder if the situation was even real.

Flattening and folding the wrapper neatly, Dohwa asked casually,

“Are you full too?”

He wondered if that was why Jae-i hadn’t ordered anything yet. At that moment, Jae-i let out a short sigh and picked up the menu.

“……”

His response seemed to say, You’re being annoying again, so Dohwa fell silent. He tried to sneak a glance at Jae-i with just his eyes, but sensed someone’s gaze. Turning his head, he locked eyes with the child, who had been watching him with shining eyes.

As if waiting for that moment, the boy held up another drawing. This one featured a cute, cartoonish character. Waving it enthusiastically, he mouthed, I’m good at drawing! His earnest attempt to recruit a model made Dohwa chuckle. As he narrowed his eyes into a smile above his mask, the boy’s cheeks flushed red. Gripping the paper tightly, the boy nervously averted his eyes before quietly sitting up straight.

“Jaehyun, could you open the window?”

“Oh, okay!”

With a cheerful voice, the boy got up and went to open the closed window. Dohwa started to turn his head back—but then stopped.

Hwang Jae-i was resting his chin on his hand and staring at him.

Meeting Jae-i’s gaze through the lenses of his glasses, Dohwa blinked in confusion. Just as Jae-i seemed about to speak—

“Mom!”

—a panicked shout rang out.

“They’re back! Over there, in front of Grandma’s shop…!”

Having just opened the window, Jaehyun shouted and stepped back, clutching his crutches in both hands. At the same time, the woman who had been preparing coffee inside ran out and looked out the window. “Those bastards.” She muttered to herself and wrapped her arm around her son’s shoulders.

“Jaehyun, go down to the basement.”

“N-no. I want to stay here…”

“What did I tell you—you have to listen to me in times like this! No being stubborn—do as I say!”

“But…”

Seeing her son on the verge of tears, the woman fell silent. She tried to put on a stern face to make him listen, but her eyes were filled with worry and fear.

For the mother and son, it was clearly an urgent and dangerous situation. And in the middle of that, they momentarily forgot—the customers.

As she was about to urge her son again to go downstairs, the woman hesitated. One of the customers, who had been seated inside until a moment ago, was now standing near the window, looking out.

From there, the kalguksu shop they had eaten at earlier was visible. Several black vehicles were parked out front, and from them emerged a number of suspicious-looking men. Turning back, Dohwa’s eyes met the café owner’s.

Wearing a forced smile, she spoke cautiously.

“If it’s alright, may I take your order later? And if you don’t mind, could I ask you to move to a safe place with my son?”

“……”

“I know it’s hard to explain, but lately there’s been a lot of tension around here due to redevelopment issues. I wouldn’t want our problems to cause any harm to our customers. There’s a door behind the shop that leads to a basement… Oh!”

She stopped mid-sentence and flinched in surprise. Dohwa quickly looked back outside.

What he hadn’t seen earlier was now visible—the men exiting the vehicles each carried something. When he realized they were holding baseball bats, Dohwa’s expression hardened.

There was no time to waste. The woman grabbed Dohwa’s arm.

“Or stay here—we’ll lock the doors.”

Simultaneously, she looked at her son and said, “Stay with the customers.”

Sensing the seriousness of the situation, the boy said nothing and, on the verge of tears, called out, “Mom…” As that was happening, the men continued approaching the shop, and Dohwa turned his gaze toward the inside of the café.

Hwang Jae-i was still seated, chin in hand.

“……”

Hunters are not allowed to interfere in civilian matters.

In the past, violent incidents between Awakened and non-Awakened individuals were not uncommon. Crimes committed by those abusing their powers led to a policy preventing hunters from intervening in civilian affairs. It was a rule designed to protect non-Awakened civilians from those very threats. So in situations like this, Hwang Jae-i wasn’t supposed to step in. However—

Dohwa looked Jae-i straight in the eye and said,

“Time to earn that meal.”

A faint crease formed between Hwang Jae-i’s brows as if to say, Are you serious?

“You ate for free earlier, remember?”

Walking over to Jae-i, who still sat there, Dohwa looked down at him.

Why aren’t you moving?—his eyes clearly asked the question. Meeting his gaze, Jae-i let out a sigh and finally opened his mouth.