(note : this is the direct continuation of s2's last scene.)
As the counters finished up with this odd evil spirit gang, the counters started drowning Mun with questions. "Did you meet other cool counters?" "Did you see pretty girls?" "Were the evil spirits strong?" Et cetera.
Mun backed up awkwardly to give himself some space as Hana was calming Jeokbong and Motak down. "First of all, I have a question," he started.
"Show me our new hideout."
-
The counters were in the car as Ms. Chu explained how she felt bad that Jangmul was paying for their rent, so they decided to open a cafe. Jeokbong apparently kept insisting to buy the old noodle place, but the new owners were doing the place so much justice.
The cafe has a hidden base underground as the counters rooms are on the floors above.
"We'll leave you and Hana at home, we need to run some errands."
Mun nodded and Hana looked at him. "I'll show you around."
-
Mun was soon introduced to the counters new home. As he entered the cafe, a little jingle came from the wind chimes hung on top of the door. He was greeted by softly lit, spacious room adorned with earthy tones and lush greenery, giving it a serene garden-like ambiance. The furniture was a light brown colour, sometimes added with a bark pattern to give this kind of forest vibe.
The cafe also had two cats. A black furred one called Sol and a Norwegian forest cat called Saja. Saja's name, meaning lion in Korean, was chosen because of her long hair all around her head and on her chest. Sol's name, meaning sun in Spanish, was chosen because of his bright yellow eyes.
Hana entered not so long after Mun and brought her hands to her hips, accompanied by a proud look. "I designed most of this. I studied architecture in school and I wanted to impress you since you're an artist yourself. What do you think?"
Mun turned to her and rolled his eyes. "... it's good," he mumbled, trying to hide his amazement. "She really did a good job," he thought to himself as he walked up to Sol and Saja who were sleeping next to eachother on a cat tree. "Hey guys," he said in a half whisper.
As he was stroking the cats, Hana walked to get behind him, her mouth awfully close to his right ear.
"Tell me about your trip," she said. Her soft voice ringing so close to Mun's ear made him shiver.
He nodded and smiled. "I'll prepare us tea then."
-
The two sat down at one of the cafe's tables with a warm cup of tea each.
Mun started talking about all his adventures in Europe, his meetings with counters, the evil spirits, how he met Wigen's daughter, and many, many more cool stories.
Hana looked and smiled a little sadly at Mun. "You've been gone for more time than I thought you would have. I really missed you."
Mun was taken back by the fact that Hana was actually showing affection towards him so explicitly, especially in a casual, non life-threatening situation like this.
"So you regret not hugging me that day?" Mun pushed a little further to see if she actually did become even softer after 6 months.
The young woman looked at him, surprised that he also remembered that as much as she did. "I didn't know it would've meant a lot to you. But yeah, I do regret it."
The two had to snap out of their moment as they heard the jingle of the wind chimes. Motak, Ms. Chu, Jangmul and Jeokbong entered the room holding bags full of food and drinks. Motak lifted his bags up. "We'll treat you to all your favourite dishes tonight!"
-
After a filling dinner, Mun unpacked in his new bedroom. It was quite spacious and it would be sunlit in the day, under the sloped rooftop. The window was towards the West, so he would have a nice view of the sunset.
Mun noticed a note in his bed.
"Hey Mun, I'm actually quite sad not to be sharing a room with you anymore :(
- your brother"
Mun smiled at Jeokbong's note. He was actually quite sad too. The two laughed a lot together and it's always comforting to sleep in the presence of someone you can trust.
Mun was actually the first to introduce the "brother" label for them two. Yes, the counters are family, but more in the close friend / bond way. But Jeokbong kept mentioning how he was sad to be an only child, Mun thought it would be sweet to treat him like an actual brother.
As for Ms. Chu, Jangmul and Motak, they've always been more of parental figures to Mun. Always looking out for him, scolding him, comforting him. Motak even introduced himself as his dad in a shop because there was a father's day discount for a console they both wanted.
And last but not least, Hana.
Ever since Mun first layed his eyes on her, she became this beautiful and cool person you could never forget about. He keeps thinking to himself, "this isn't love," but deep down he knows it is.
He's good at hiding his feelings, though. He was happy for Hana when her first love, Dohwi, appeared. She seemed so happy with him, but he knew something wasn't right. Hana was at peace with her past and she was ready to move on, but of course something (or someone in this case) had to trigger her back into reminiscing. He's a nice guy and he did nothing wrong, Mun knows that. Hana did the right choice making him forget about her. He'll be safer that way, and she'll be able to move on.
But little did he know,
they met again while he was away.
