Yokai Come to the Countryside Café

Chapter 67 : Transformation Technique (1)

Chapter 67: Transformation Technique (1)

"Thanks for the meal."

"Goodbye."

Around dusk, just as the sun was setting and the surroundings turned dim, Han Sewoon Kuksu, who had been in the midst of playing Baduk with the Immortals, finished paying and left.

Now a regular, Han Sewoon Kuksu couldn't visit often due to his busy schedule, fitting of a Baduk champion.

Maybe once a week?

Like today, he'd come for lunch on the weekend, spend a full day with ramyeon and coffee, and then leave. Most of the time, he played Baduk with the Immortals or watched dramas and movies on his laptop.

If you exclude the occasional need to get up and take a coffee order, his day wasn’t much different from mine.

And thanks to Han Sewoon Kuksu, there was someone who ended up suffering unexpected consequences.

-Dododododo.

"Is he gone!"

"I said, come down if he's gone."

As soon as Han Sewoon Kuksu drove off, Sanyi came rushing down from the second floor.

Then, after checking the trash can, she slumped down and cried.

"You ate something without me again! Hueoong!"

Indeed, we had eaten it.

The Castella that Han Sewoon Kuksu received as a gift at a tournament in Japan.

He always brought treats like that as an apology for staying long, to the point where I felt bad even charging for coffee.

And today too, Sanyi missed out because she was hiding on the second floor.

"It was delicious. It melted right on the tongue."

Elder Gumiho poured oil on the fire as Sanyi sobbed in grief.

"Hueooong!"

"Elder."

"Heh heh, but I’m not wrong, am I?"

Sanyi was the only one among the guests at the café who couldn’t hide the fact that she wasn’t human.

So when a person came in as a customer, she had to scurry up to the second floor. Then she'd poke her head out the window and wait for the guest to leave.

Each time, Ria would go up and play with her, sensing the mood, but what’s sad is still sad.

Especially if she missed out on treats like today.

But this was karma.

It wasn’t the customers’ fault that Sanyi couldn’t perform transformation technique—it was her own.

"Can’t she just come clean? I already know anyway. And with how often he visits, it wouldn't be strange if he knew too."

"You only found out by accident, Dohyuk. If you hadn’t, we’d still be hiding it."

"Aw, come on! Are we strangers or what?"

"Dohyuk is right! We should just tell that Baduk player my identity!"

"No."

That would be the same as announcing to every café visitor that there are Yokai here.

Director Baek would be horrified and waving his hands in panic—that would be the worst-case scenario.

Of course, I was also against it. I was already overwhelmed with the nonstop chaos as it was.

"Then I have to keep hiding like this forever! Hueooong!"

"Who told you to be so bad at transformation technique?"

"Elder, isn’t there someone who could teach transformation technique? Maybe she’d get better with some lessons."

"Yokai with even a bit of awareness usually have a natural instinct to become human. That instinct leads them to naturally learn transformation technique. But that one only ever thinks about food, with no desire to be human at all."

"I understand."

In short, there has to be will to learn.

Sanyi’s will was wholly directed at playing and eating. So much so that she didn’t even have the desire to learn transformation technique.

"But we can’t keep hiding her forever. There’s no guarantee another guy like Dohyuk won’t show up."

"Hey! Why me again?"

"Then let’s help Sanyi with her transformation technique!"

"Help her? How?"

"By cheering her on and complimenting her, she’ll do better!"

"Like that’ll work with that rascal."

"No, Ria is right."

"Huh? You’re joking, right?"

Elder Gumiho frowned and asked again, but no matter how I thought about it, Ria’s suggestion was the correct one.

"We should cheer Sanyi on. With dining out."

A sudden decision for an outing was made.

Those permitted to dine out were me, Ria, the Elder, and Dohyuk.

Naturally, Sanyi was excluded.

(Hueooong!)

"Poor thing."

"We had no choice. If we don’t do at least this, she won’t even try to practice."

The outing would be broadcasted live to her through video calls and Ketalk photos.

If it got too painful, she could just turn off the video call, but since we didn’t say where we were going, all Sanyi could do was hold her phone and cry miserably.

It’d be a lie to say I didn’t feel bad.

Anyone would feel sympathy seeing her cry like that—unless they were heartless.

But we couldn’t let these dangerous, secret-revealing days continue.

"So, what are we eating?"

"It’s where you go when you don’t know what to eat."

A literal paradise that would make Sanyi faint from shock—yes, it was a buffet.

And so we arrived at a high-end buffet in downtown Namyangju.

"Dohyuk, stick the phone in your front pocket. Make sure Sanyi gets a good view."

"Huh? Why not you?"

"You’re gonna eat the most, aren’t you?"

"Hey, I don’t eat that much!"

"Sure. Do your best."

The plan was simple.

If Sanyi desperately managed to perform the transformation technique while we were eating, we’d immediately call a taxi and bring her over.

Even in the taxi, she’d have to avoid suspicion—so just mimicking a shape wouldn’t cut it.

I was sure that if she saw the mountain of food here, Sanyi would pour all her effort into transformation technique.

Well, even if she failed, it wasn’t a big loss.

This was also a great chance for Ria to try out foods she hadn’t had before.

"Wow! There’s so much food! Can I really eat it all?"

"You can put as much as you want on your plate. Try a little bit of each kind."

"Okay!"

The buffet we entered with our plates was quite decent for the price.

Compared to the average wedding hall buffet, it was so much better in quality I almost felt sorry for the owner here.

"Mister, look! These are the fritters and bread I saw online!"

"Wait, that’s…"

I tried to stop Ria, who was cheerfully piling her plate with fritters and bread, but I soon gave up.

Choosing only the undisputed worst-value-for-money buffet items could be considered a skill in itself.

But these were foods Ria had never tried before, not even once since she was born. If she filled up and couldn't try anything else, we could simply bring her back another day.

At the same time, in a vacant lot near the Dangsari Café.

A black sedan slowly pulled in and came to a stop.

"Deputy General Manager, over there."

"Yeah, I see it too."

Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik and Employee Shin Ji-hye stared tensely at the café in the distance.

From the outside, it looked like an ordinary café, but there were clear traces that the Gate of the Afterlife had opened and closed.

It meant a soul had passed into the afterlife from there.

"You asked Team 3 again this morning, right?"

"Yes, they said they’ve never operated in this area before because redevelopment drove everyone out."

"Then that place is definitely it."

"Could it be an exorcist? Exorcists often go to haunted places like that."

"Who knows. These days, any exorcists capable of sending souls off have all become money-grubbing shamans, so there are hardly any left. Maybe a priest held a rite of expulsion. We’ll have to check to know for sure."

It was a situation these Grim Reapers had encountered many times in their work.

People who could see spirits boldly challenging malevolent ghosts lingering in abandoned buildings.

If they were lucky and succeeded in the exorcism, all was well. But more often than not, they ended up being taken themselves, delivered to the afterlife as a combo package with the ghost.

Days like this were welcome news for the two Grim Reapers, for whom each case directly affected performance reviews.

Maybe that’s why the eyes of the two approaching the old café were tinged not just with tension, but with a strange sense of anticipation.

"Back during the Gonjiam case, we caught so many we had to go on season break. This place looks just as bad from the outside."

"There are tons of talismans hiding the aura stuck everywhere."

"This kind of stuff is just trash... huh?"

Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik tried to peel off a talisman from a paving stone and a roadside tree, but only the edge tore a little—it was stuck fast. Adhesion like this didn’t come from strong glue.

"Huh, this is a real talisman."

"You mean it’s not just paper?"

"Each one of these easily costs over a million won."

"What?! Talismans that expensive are just scattered on the street?"

Ninety-nine percent of talismans were fake.

Talismans made by shamans infused with spiritual power were that much more rare and valuable.

And yet such a rare talisman was being used merely to conceal an aura.

‘Something is hidden there. Something truly malevolent that even real shamans couldn’t deal with. I thought it was just a mid-tier ghost, but damn.’

"Ji-hye."

"Yes? Y-yes!"

It was the first time Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik had called her by name.

"While I contact HQ, get my armor and sword out of the trunk. And if I’m not back in ten minutes, request backup from HQ and run—don’t look back."

"Wouldn’t it be better to wait until backup arrives?"

"Even if we request backup, I have to confirm first. That’s the rule."

"Deputy General Manager…"

"What are you waiting for? Move!"

So, armed with armor and sword straight out of a Joseon-era drama, Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik cautiously made his way to the café.

‘A life full of regret, ending here.’

Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik instinctively realized the overwhelming presence inside the old building marked as Dangsari Café.

With each step he took, the pressure from all sides made even his spiritual armor useless.

And from time to time, a horrifying wail echoed out.

"Hueoong!"

‘Ugh.’

Shrinking back, he almost lost his balance and fell.

‘Stay calm. The rookie is watching. Don’t embarrass yourself. It’ll be fine. Just get a feel for it, and if it’s too much, run.’

Resolving himself, Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik turned himself invisible and charged toward the café’s glass window.

Or rather, he tried to.

But through the window, his eyes met a hairy monster with limbs sprouting in all directions.

Its grotesque appearance was unlike any malevolent spirit he had seen before.

And from its mouth came a voice like that of a little boy.

"Hueoong, I want to eat too… I want to eat too…"

"Aaaaargh!"

The dignity of a senior was meaningless in the face of a life-threatening situation.

"Start the car! Start it!"

Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik came running back to the car, panting, and urged Employee Shin Ji-hye, who was in the driver’s seat.

"Deputy General Manager, what about your gat?"

"Forget it! If I go back to get that, I’ll get eaten! Step on it!"

After the commotion subsided,

-Dding-ling.

The café door cautiously opened. What came out was Sanyi, once again in the form of a raccoon dog.

"Huh? I’m sure I heard someone’s voice."

But looking around, there was no one in sight, just a black gat someone had left behind.

"Hoooo! This is…!"

And it seemed Sanyi knew exactly what the gat was used for.