Chapter 14

It's been a while since I've had the chance to show my skills.

I rolled up the cuffs of my shirt.

I pretended to be a genius.

When Shin Yuwon entered the kitchen, Kang Taejun also went in, saying he would check it out himself.

The two who had been standing off against each other disappeared from the table.

Only then did the other members start to speak up.

"How can you do that in front of someone?"

"That goes for Yuwon too. He hasn't said a word either."

"Still, I'm so glad Yuwon is here after so long, but what's with this atmosphere?"

"But why hasn't Yuwon shown up all this time?"

"I don't know. Maybe something happened because of his marriage. Poor guy, really."

The members were already on Shin Yuwon's side emotionally.

But they weren't sure how the coffee would turn out.

"Are they going to do a blind test?"

"Yeah, they'll probably ask which one tastes better."

"To be honest... wasn't that one a bit bland just now?"

Lowering her voice so the kitchen wouldn't hear, Park Sojeong asked, and everyone whispered back.

"A bit, yeah."

"Right, it usually doesn't taste this sour. I like the acidity, but it's a bit too much?"

"The middle flavors seem to be missing."

"I've had top-grade Geisha before..."

"Huh?"

"It's been too long, I can't remember!"

"Hehehe."

"Still, Hyung Taejun should tone down his temper. It's not like he's dealing with just anyone, but picking a fight with Yuwon over coffee."

"This is all because of you, Chae Yeon."

"......What?"

Seeing Min Chae Yeon's blank expression, everyone chuckled and raised their voices again.

"You're just pretending not to know, right? You really don't know?"

"Hey, what kind of attitude is that to our SNS star!"

"......A star?"

"But, Unnie, why aren't you shooting a movie and here instead?"

"Enough!"

Feeling embarrassed by the jokes, Min Chae Yeon stood up.

"I'll... go and check it out."

As Min Chae Yeon headed to the kitchen, three people came into her view.

But her focus couldn't leave one spot.

Shin Yuwon, with his disheveled bangs, was intensely focused on tamping.

His clear, clean skin and white shirt.

The brown apron and his brown eyes.

Everything else was blurred out of focus except for this mixed subject of white and brown.

Then, someone called out to Min Chae Yeon.

"Are you a staff member here?"

"Excuse me?"

Turning around, Min Chae Yeon saw another customer in the cafe.

"I want to order something."

"I'm not a staff member."

"I know. I've been watching you for a while, and you're so beautiful. I want to order your number."

"......"

Min Chae Yeon's delicate features stiffened for a moment before relaxing.

Rude advances and rejections were as natural to her as breathing.

"Sorry, I have a boyfriend."

"Ah! I just want to get to know you and become friends."

As the young man tried to brush it off, Min Chae Yeon glanced at Shin Yuwon.

It's him, her gaze seemed to say.

Following her gaze, the young man looked at Shin Yuwon.

'Fuck, he's a strong opponent...'

...he couldn't help but step back.

"Sure. Good luck."

"Thanks."

As the man walked away, Min Chae Yeon's long, loose hair swung back to the kitchen.

"Brother Taejun?"

"......What? No."

"Then Brother Yuwon won."

Kang Taejun's face turned bright red.

His lips moved, but he couldn't say anything.

If it had been anyone else, he might have lashed out, but he was a man who couldn't even make a sound in front of Min Chae Yeon.

"Ah... I'll go smoke a cigarette."

Kang Taejun quickly stood up and left for outside. The other members leaned in toward Shin Yuwon.

"Shin Yuwon, what kind of magic did you use?"

"Exactly!"

"Why didn't you tell us about this earlier, you bastard?"

Sipping his coffee, Shin Yuwon replied.

"Nothing special. I just removed the softening filter."

"The softening filter?"

Shin Yuwon continued.

"Last week, it rained on and off. After that, the alkalinity in the water dropped."

"Alkalinity? Oh, was it the carbonate hardness?"

"Right, I think we learned about that in the barista class!"

The members started to vaguely recall what they had learned in the barista class.

Coffee is 98% water.

The taste of the coffee is created by the coffee grounds combining with the minerals in the water, so the taste of the water is as important as the taste of the coffee grounds.

And the concept of checking the amount of minerals is alkalinity, or carbonate hardness.

Water with high carbonate hardness expresses the coffee's components more richly.

However, water in Korea generally has low carbonate hardness, and during the rainy season, the minerals are further diluted, causing the carbonate hardness to drop below the standard.

"The coffee Brother Taejun made just now was probably a bit bland because of that. The flavor expression was also thin."

"Oh, I remember now!"

"In such cases, extracting without the softening filter can make it much better."

"Wow, is that the difference?"

"Maybe. Geisha beans are naturally high in acidity, so the difference might be more noticeable."

The members finally understood the principle but also had a question.

"Did you taste it briefly and then decide not to use it?"

"I've had this happen before."

"You're really crazy..."

After a rough explanation, the members' spoons started moving busily.

They wanted to taste the remaining coffee a bit more.

"Wow, it's really good."

"Geisha isn't the coffee of the gods, but Shin Yuwon's coffee is."

"Compared to this, the other one was... ugh."

Checking outside the window, Park Sojeong said to Shin Yuwon.

"Brother Taejun was too harsh just now, right?"

"Well, he's always like that."

"Still, in this day and age, what's the big deal about a broken engagement?"

The other members chimed in.

"Right, it's a hundred times better than getting divorced later because of incompatibility."

"Even so, he was too harsh."

"Anyway, only Brother Yuwon can handle Brother Taejun, hehe."

"Now come out more often, okay? Let's see you more."

A pleased smile appeared on Shin Yuwon's lips.

At that moment, Min Chae Yeon, holding an empty cup, said.

"Brother, it's really delicious. Can you make more?"

"I almost used up the beans?"

Shin Yuwon tilted his head as if there was no other choice.

"No, I didn't."

Seeming to have an idea, he stood up.

"Wait a moment."

He intended to return the favor for the dinner he had been treated to.

*

In the kitchen, he said to the cafe owner, Park Minseok, who followed him.

"Hyung, I'll make it myself. Please sit and rest."

"Okay, okay."

"By the way, do you have Brazilian beans in the store?"

"Yeah, over there. Use them?"

"Yes, I'll use them for a bit."

"Customers are kings. Use as much as you want."

After confirming that Park Minseok had left, he hid his body under the bar.

Holding the Geisha beans.

"How about this, Coco?"

A blue-white light stroke caressed the beans and fluttered happily.

──The power of "Quality to Quantity Conversion" is activated.

Okay!

──Item: 15g Costa Rican Geisha beans

──Quantity: 1

──The estimated work time is 1 minute and 40 seconds.

──Do you want to start the conversion process?

Praying for a decent result, he nodded.

'I need to level up Coco when I get home.'

I wish there was a "Preview."

──"Quality to Quantity Conversion" is complete.

──Please "consume" the converted item.

──Time limit: 3 minutes

Coco gently dropped the beans, but they were still grains.

"Ah!"

He barely caught the beans with a large plate, making a fuss.

They looked almost identical, the same variety.

Since he did a "Quality to Quantity Conversion," the grade probably dropped a bit.

When he weighed them, it came to about 100g.

'Okay, the quantity is just right.'

This time, he took out the roasted Brazilian beans and weighed them.

The Geisha beans were known for their intense acidity.

However, many Koreans don't prefer sour coffee.

I remember Chae Yeon also enjoyed the acidity during tastings but didn't usually seek it out.

On the other hand, Brazilian beans are characterized by their nutty sweetness.

They also have a heavy body, which can complement the lightness of the Geisha beans.

So, I thought blending the Geisha beans as the main and the Brazilian beans as the secondary would create a well-balanced coffee.

A kind of post-blending.

'The ratio should be about 2:1.'

It would be good to test the secondary coffee and the blending ratio more, but there wasn't time, so I relied on past experience and intuition.

'It should be delicious.'

After grinding and extracting the blended coffee, he took it to the people.

The reaction was.

"Wow......"

"It's so delicious?"

"Did you blend it in between?"

"Man, the balance is insane."

All positive reviews.

Min Chae Yeon had a blissfully happy expression, her eyes closed. Thank goodness.

"What did you mix it with?"

"With Brazilian."

"What's the ratio?"

Ah, I can't say the ratio.

My eternal secret, "Quality to Quantity Conversion."

"Just, by feel?"

...So I pretended to be a genius.

"Damn, unbelievable."

"Shin Yuwon, Shin Yuwon, Shin Yuwon!"

"I want one like that too, that skill."

As long as it tastes good, that's all that matters.

The members started to get even more excited.

"Shouldn't we make this at a reasonable cost and sell it? Brother Minseok, get the recipe."

"Right, I think people will look for this in the summer."

"I agree."

But Park Minseok's reaction was lukewarm.

"Ah, really."

"Why? Don't you like it, Brother?"

"No, it's delicious. I want to sell it too. But......"

Park Minseok's expression darkened as he spoke softly.

"I'm only going to operate until the end of this month."

"Really?"

It was a sudden announcement to us.

"Why?"

"There's a family situation."

"Wow."

"It's already on the market."

At that moment, Kang Taejun, who had just come in with a strong smell of cigarettes, interrupted.

"What if we lose our meeting place?"

His father owns a few buildings, and his specialty is to act as if they're his own money.

"How much?"

Without considering Park Minseok's situation or feelings, he started to act up again.

Park Minseok, looking a bit taken aback, hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

"5,000,000 won deposit and 180,000,000 won goodwill."

"That's a steal?"

Park Minseok's brows furrowed slightly.

"......I had to lower the goodwill to get rid of it quickly."

"But we have a tradition in our group. How about I take it over?"

Kang Taejun's words drew reactions from everyone around.

"Oh."

"Of course, Brother Taejun!"

"Amazing!"

Money is power, after all.

It's an inevitable group dynamic.

Even if someone is annoying, if they spend money a few times, everyone cheers.

Kang Taejun was the one who brought the beans today, after all.

"Really, Brother, you're taking it over?"

"I'll think about it. Of course, I need to look into it more. Hey, be nice to me?"

But as I listened to the conversation, a thought formed in my heart.