Chapter 1: Echoes of a Fading Bond

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It was an unusually cold Sunday, with plenty of rain.

The wedding of Min Woo's distant cousin.

At the insistence of their father- in- law, they had set out early in the morning for the countryside to attend as representatives of the family.

"The traffic is infuriating."
Min Woo's irritated voice echoed in the quiet car, and Ji Yeon, who had been watching him, grew anxious.

In the meantime, the message from her mother- in- law was more than enough to perplex Ji Yeon.

[There's a famous bakery near XX- dong. Please buy XX bread from there. It's not like you go there often, so make sure you buy it! Min Woo must be tired from driving, so you should go by yourself and buy it after the wedding.]
Where did she hear about this?

She might have deliberately found out about it just to give Ji Yeon a hard time.

But as she had sent the message several times saying 'Make sure you go and buy it', it was difficult to pretend she didn't know, and the thought of how annoyed she would be if Ji Yeon didn't buy it sent shivers down her spine.

When she finally told her husband Min Woo about his mother's errand, an additional layer of irritation settled on his already frustrated face.

"So you're saying we need to find this place. In this rain."
One glance at his furrowed brow and wrinkled forehead told Ji Yeon that his patience was running thin.

Fortunately, Min Woo didn't say anything more and turned the car toward the destination.

After about 30 minutes of breaking through the congested road, they arrived at a dilapidated building in a narrow residential alley.

Despite the rain, many people were already waiting in line at the bakery, which seemed to be quite famous.

"Min Woo, it seems like the line will take at least 20 minutes. Go to a nearby coffee shop and have a cup of tea. I'll go quickly and buy it, and call you when I'm out."
Ji Yeon carefully spoke, watching Min Woo's reaction, and quickly got out of the car with her umbrella.

She didn't even open her umbrella in her hurry to run towards the bakery, getting soaked in the rain, but Min Woo didn't notice any of this.

His frowning face was reflected in the rearview mirror.

"Ah... I definitely need some caffeine."
He didn't want to do as Ji Yeon said, but it seemed that it would indeed take about 30 minutes.

Driving out of the narrow residential alley, he spotted a coffee shop about five minutes away and parked the car in front. He then stepped inside.

A first- time encounter with a quaint neighborhood coffee shop, with an outdated interior.

It was a place Min Woo would never have visited under normal circumstances.

But not wanting to wander further in this complex neighborhood, he just went in, and luckily, the café wasn't crowded, so he could order right away.

"One Americano."
"That'll be 3,500 won."
After paying by card and stepping aside to wait for his coffee, there was a crashing noise from the back kitchen, followed by an annoyed voice.

"No, Se Ah, how many times is this! What will happen if you keep doing this? Even if the boss spares you, you have to do your job properly. Oh, I really have to clean all this up!"
"No, I didn't do it on purpose, it's a mistake!"
"Mistakes are once or twice, then clean and tidy this all up, Se Ah!"
A loud argument that completely ignored the customers could be heard, and soon a person popped out from the inside.

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