The Coupon That Wouldn’t Let Him Go

Taehwa stood in front of the door, quietly looking down at the small metal sign that was almost too humble to be called a signboard.

[Cafe Name]

Taehwa came to his senses when his fiancé found him, right after the distracted man had left.

“The condition for me giving you the medication was that your fiancé accompanies you from start to finish.

You should be together when you leave, just as when you entered.”

“Yeah.

And that’s what we’re doing now.”

“Tch… You’re so transparent I don’t even want to humor you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Let’s pretend today’s appointment never happened.”

After suffering through hours here, now you want to pretend it never happened?

Taehwa blocked the path of his fiancé, who was about to turn and leave after delivering his line.

He couldn’t comprehend the sudden caprice.

“I’m asking what nonsense you’re spouting.”

“Can’t you dodge alcohol?

Can’t you dodge people?

You deliberately got drenched in wine.

This is a protest against me.”

“…….”

“And after doing that, you still intend to take the medication?

Isn’t that utterly shameless?”

That’s when he realized it.

Despite the man bumping into him, grabbing him and pushing him against the pillar, and even putting his hands on him under the guise of wiping him down, nothing had happened.

He alone had been tense for nothing.

There had been no pain, no rejection whatsoever.

Heading straight home, Taehwa took out the paper in question.

The slip he initially thought might be a business card turned out to be a coupon with ten blue stamps on the back.

A prank?

A mistake?

Or did it have another meaning?

He was lost in thought even under the shower’s stream.

Lying in bed with his damp hair, resting his head on his arm, he twirled the coupon in his hand, replaying the encounter at the party.

He had been touched, so how could he have felt nothing?

This had never happened before.

About the man, and about the coupon he gave, there was no choice but to find out by meeting him directly.

Ultimately, the only thing he could do was search for information about the cafe ‘Name’ that issued the coupon.

And so, in front of Cafe ‘Name’, where he had rushed as soon as dawn broke.

The plain exterior was already familiar, as if he’d been there several times, to a Taehwa who had scoured every single review.

Taehwa hesitated, fiddling with the corner of the coupon.

He didn’t even have a vague plan for what to do or say if he met him.

“At least wipe the wine with this, and please be sure to contact me at this number.

Be sure to.”

He said to be sure to contact him…

Using that flimsy excuse, he finally opened the door and stepped inside.

Jing-a-ling, a small bell chimed.

The interior looked much smaller than in the photos.

It was a cozy size where just a few steps took you from the entrance to the counter, with about eight tables to the left of the entrance.

Taehwa walked straight to the counter.

“Welcome.”

The owner, who had been busily wiping something down, stepped forward and greeted him casually.

Although it hadn’t been long since opening, proving its popularity, not a single seat was free; customers filled the place.

The atmosphere was generally bustling yet oddly quiet.

Do people really just come here to drink coffee?

Taehwa, who had always thought crowded places were just noisy and tiring, found the quiet curious and scanned the shop as he looked around.

Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, the face he was looking for wasn’t there.

He withdrew his fruitless gaze and pulled out the coupon, its edges slightly worn by now, offering it to the owner.

“I came because I thought I might be able to find the owner of this coupon.

I happened to find it yesterday and really wanted to return it.”

At that moment, the already quiet shop fell even quieter.

Quiet enough that if someone spoke, anyone in the shop could hear.

“Is it difficult?”

The owner, who seemed distracted since his initial greeting, took the coupon held out to him and stammered in reply when Taehwa asked again.

“Uh, well… it’s not a personalized coupon…”

“Yes.”

“There’s no way to find out…”

Taehwa accepted this easily.

Even though he had dramatically narrowed the scope by learning the coupon the man gave was not a general one but one given out to regulars, with high sales would naturally come many regulars.

He didn’t expect to find him in one go.

“I understand.

My apologies.”

He took the coupon back from the owner’s hand, put it in his pocket, and gave a small nod.

Then the owner urgently called out to stop him.

“Excuse me, customer!

What did that person look like?”

Taehwa, who was about to leave, turned his head.

The owner continued as if he hadn’t been spaced out earlier.

“If you have this coupon, they must be a frequent visitor, and come to think of it, I might be able to find them for you.

As the owner, I know all my regulars.”

“Hmm…”

Taehwa searched his memories from last night.

How should he describe his appearance?

Even with his nose nearly numbed by the spilled wine, he had observed the back of that head, busy being chased by something, so his impression was clear.

“…Hard to take your eyes off him, I suppose?”

Perhaps because his heightened senses were much less discerning than usual?

The first impression he gave—there might be a more fitting expression—was, inappropriately for a man, somewhat pretty.

Even considering the possibility of distorted memory, it was certain his looks were arresting, holding one’s gaze so it wouldn’t wander elsewhere.

He only realized the man was wearing ratty clothes after seeing his fleeing back.

“It would help if you could be more specific… Were they tall?”

“Not particularly tall.

At best, late 170s cm.

Not a petite frame but quite slender…”

Taehwa was listing off the description when he suddenly noticed the air, quiet beyond still to the point of desolation, and stopped.

“…The shop is very quiet.”

****

It was 2 PM, after the lunch rush, relatively quiet.

The owner, having finished washing dishes, wiped the splashed water around the sink with a cloth and glanced at the tall, handsome customer who had been stamping his attendance, so to speak, for a week now from behind the espresso machine.

The long-limbed handsome man who appeared wanting to find the coupon’s owner and had been holding his ground.

The first two days it was for an hour or two, but from the next day onward, he stayed for three or four hours at a time.

Since he single-handedly boosted sales decently even when alone, there was no reason to kick him out.

Moreover, he looked like a painting even just sitting still, giving the feeling of having bought an expensive decoration, so the owner generously overlooked the inconvenience of him occupying a four-person table by himself.

That customer hadn’t come just to return a coupon.

That was the attitude of someone desperately searching.

At first, it was mere curiosity, but after about a week, even the owner was dying to know which regular the customer was looking for.

If he collected stamps, he was likely mainly a takeout customer.

Having a special coupon meant he was either a nearby office worker who often took away seven or eight cups at once, or a customer who visited alone at least three or four times a week.

Plus, a slender build in the late 170s cm, a beauty you couldn’t take your eyes off?

If it were a female customer like that, even if not a regular, he, as the owner, couldn’t possibly not know.

Just who is it?!

Dying of curiosity!

The clear bell signaling a customer’s arrival chimed.

The owner instinctively looked up, spotted a familiar face, and beamed.

When the two part-timers, who had been taking a break, abruptly stood up, the owner stopped them and stepped up to the POS himself, engaging the customer affably.

“Welcome, Manager-nim!

It’s been so long!

Have you been busy?”

“Not too much, a little.

I hope you’ve been well too, Owner-nim?”

“Oh, I’ve been fine.

Ah, today’s Friday, so you must be heading to the broadcasting station schedule!

Shall I get you a decaf latte and an Einspänner?”

“No.

I won’t have schedules for a while.

One fixed gig fell through.

I was so busy running schedules alone I had no time to rest, but I guess it worked out.

Today, just one Einspänner for me, please.”

Sangjin had been a regular at Cafe Name for years.

Even though his agency had rented a space in a commercial building a 5-minute walk from Cafe Name for years, and moved last year after constructing a new building, putting quite a distance between them and the cafe, Sangjin, unable to change an acquired taste, would deliberately stop by on his way to or from work like today to buy coffee.

The owner, about to take his card and process the payment as usual, asked curiously.

“Come to think of it, didn’t you finish collecting your stamps last time?

I remember stamping the tenth one for you.”

“Lost it in a blaze of glory, what can I say.”

“You, Manager?”

“One of my kids.

Of all things, the one with all ten stamps collected… How admirable.”

Sangjin said with a strained smile, looking as if he were engraving the character for ‘patience’.

“Oh my… Then shall I start a new one for you?”

“Yes, please do that.

I come often anyway, so I’ll collect them quickly.”

“Using the owner’s authority, I’ll consider that coupon received and give you one drink on the house today.

You’re a regular here.”

“Gasp, I’ll be buried here forever!”

The owner, smiling slightly, handed Sangjin’s card back without charging him, signaled to the part-timer to make the drink, and continued the small talk.

“By the way, which one lost it?”

“That kid Yoo Hyun.”

“Oh my, really?

He doesn’t seem like the type to lose things like that?

How did it happen?

Every time he came alone, he was always meticulous about bringing his coupon.”

“He says he doesn’t know where he lost it either.

This morning, he even had the nerve to ask if I lost it and was pinning it on him.

oh my, that kid…”

As Sangjin listed Yoo Hyun’s faults as if he were a troublesome youngest brother, the suspicious customer who had been looking for the coupon’s owner for a week strode over briskly behind him.

Leaving?

Stay a bit longer.

The owner cast a regretful glance at the tray in the customer’s hand.

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes.”

“Please leave that here.

Thank you.”

Noticing the owner glancing behind him, Sangjin made an “Aigoo” sound and moved aside to make space.

The customer placed the tray on the pickup counter, left the customary “Enjoyed the drink” farewell, and turned to leave.

He seemed to be on a call, immediately speaking in a low, subdued voice.

The owner pricked up his ears.

“Just got it.

Thanks for checking.

I’ll stop by the company sometime soon.

No, I’m outside.

There’s something.”

Unconsciously mesmerized, the owner followed the retreating back and newly realized how tall the suspicious customer was—tall enough that Sangjin, who likely hadn’t lost to anyone by kilogram anywhere, would have to look up slightly.

He’s really tall…

The owner was lost in thought, not seeing the part-timer holding out the drink with a sleeve for a while, until finally the part-timer prompted softly, “Mr. Owner, here’s the drink.”

The owner startled as if waking from sleep and handed the drink to Sangjin.

“Ah, look at me spacing out.

Manager, here you go.”

Sangjin, standing there absentmindedly, took it, opened the lid, took a sip of the cream, and muttered curiously.

“But, there are still people who wear turtlenecks in spring weather like this.

Must be stuffy.”

It’s true, he’s wearing a turtleneck….

The owner, who had had no thoughts about the customer’s attire all week, watched the receding back with fresh eyes.