# Chapter 4. Panama Geisha

"Oh, my secretary informed me that Miss Jinju Baek would be coming. That's how I found out. Since the name of that café is Café Jinju, I assumed that must be your name."

"Oh..."

"Are you not Jinju Baek?"

"...Yes, I am."

He walked over to his office chair, grabbed his coat, and approached her quietly.

"Shall we go then?"

"…Where?"

"To your place, Café Jinju."

He gave her a casual smile.

"What? Why would we go there?"

Jinju frowned as she stared back at him.

"Well, you took the trouble to come here, so I should at least escort you back…”

"No thanks, I'm good.”

Her sharp voice cut through his words.

"In that case, let me give you four thousand won back."

Junhui spoke with twitching eyebrows and a mischievous grin on his face as he opened the white envelope she had given him.

"Since you came all this way, Miss Baek."

"I mean, of course, I had to…”

"Oh dear, there are only two ten-thousand won bills in here. Do you have any one-thousand won bills? I'll give you four thousand back."

"Are you serious?" Jinju asked, looking serious as Junhui slowly grinned.

"Miss Baek, hmm, I actually have some other business at that café, so I was going to visit again today."

He looked quite serious as he raised his head.

"I heard your offer yesterday, and as I mentioned then, I can’t help you any further with that. So, is there anything else you wanted to discuss?"

Jinju had hoped to be left alone after repaying her debt, but this man kept trying to trap her in conversation.

"I'm not sure how to explain it. Something caught my eye when I visited the café, and I can't stop thinking about it."

‘What could have caught his eye?’

Jinju looked at him quizzically, waiting for him to continue.

"I saw some coffee beans that I really like at Café Jinju."

"Coffee beans? I don’t know what that has to do with me. Just like I said before, I don’t own that café."

‘I wonder if I’ve seen those coffee beans around there. I mean, maybe, it is a café after all.’

Jinju narrowed her eyes as she tried to picture the inside of the café.

"Can’t you get any coffee in this huge hotel of yours? Even if you can’t, I'm sure you can afford to get it elsewhere."

"Unfortunately, they recently banned the import of those coffee beans, so our hotel doesn't have them."

"But still, do they really taste that good?"

"Taste is subjective. But personally, they’re my style," he replied calmly, with a faint smile.

"Are you sure? Did you really see them?"

Jinju questioned him skeptically.

"Yes, I'm sure. Those beans have been on my mind ever since I left the café."

Now that Junhui Kang had mentioned it, she could see coffee-related utensils like drippers and servers on his desk. It seemed as if he was a coffee enthusiast.

"May I? If you don't mind?"

His expression appeared serious and somewhat desperate, yet he still maintained the dignity he had shown just moments before. She couldn't help but wonder how he could make such a face.

Though hesitant at first, Junhui's anticipating eyes compelled her. She glanced at him as if signaling that it would be fine for them to go together.

As Jinju got into a chauffeured car for the first time in her life, she regretted not just accepting the four thousand won and being done with the whole coffee bean shenanigan.

She felt uncomfortable enough having a man old enough to be her father driving the car, let alone with Junhui Kang sitting next to her in the back seat.

He seemed familiar with this lifestyle, which only added to her discomfort.

"We’ve arrived. Thank you, sir."

Jinju thanked the driver as she stepped out of the car.

Fortunately, Haerang May Forest Beach Hotel wasn’t far from Café Jinju, so the ride only took a few minutes.

Taking a deep breath, Jinju walked toward the café, with Junhui Kang following behind her.

"What's the big deal about those beans when all coffee tastes the same?"

Jinju grumbled in discomfort as she sensed him walking behind her. She arrived at the entrance to the café first, opened the door wide, and glanced back.

"Come in."

They immediately felt a gust of cold air as they entered the café together.

"We should turn the heater on. Why didn't you turn it on before you left? You did that yesterday. That’s why I thought the owner had come back."

"I didn't know before, but paraffin costs a lot…"

"But still, if you leave it off, it’ll be cold when you get back. Doesn’t that make you feel lonely?"

"I don't care."

Junhui sidled up to her as she sat down to turn on the heater.

"I'll do it."

"No, I'm fine."

"Could you get me a glass of water then?"

Since Jinju appeared determined to stay put, he asked her for some water, prompting her to stand up. Jinju filled a cup with water, then grabbed a kettle on the kitchen table to pour mineral water into a kettle. Junhui switched on the heater in the meantime.

"Here you go."

Jinju handed him the glass of water and placed the kettle on top of the heater.

"Where did you see them, by the way? Were they roasted or raw beans?"

"Hmm, they're right over there."

He pointed toward a bag on the windowsill between the hall and the kitchen.

"I didn't even notice that was there."

Jinju walked toward it as if she was genuinely seeing it for the first time. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a tag on the bag.

"Is this the one?"

"Panama Geisha."

"Panama Geisha?"

The both of them muttered in unison.

"Would you like to try it, Miss Baek?" Junhui asked, his eyes sparkling.

"No, thank you. How much do you need? Take as much as you want. You can even take the bag if you’d like. It’s not mine, but I'll gift it to you. Even though I repaid you for the paraffin, I still feel like I owe you."

"A gift? Well, I'm lucky that I'm not a complete stranger to you."

"Anyway, I'll pay you when my mom comes back, so take as much as you need."

"You'll pay me?"

"Yes, since this is my mom's place. Then it’ll truly be my gift to you.”

Junhui frowned as Jinju turned to leave, staring at her back coldly.

"You don't seem to have a good relationship with your mother. Normally, mothers will give their daughters their things without any price."

"We're far from having the typical mother-daughter relationship."

It seemed like she had been distancing herself from her mother since she struggled to contact her and said she didn’t have any influence over her.

Secretary Choi mentioned that no one had seen Jinjuaround Haerang after she moved to Seoul at twenty years old.

‘What happened to their relationship… and Jinju?’

Junhui couldn't help but wonder.

Lost in thought, Junhui didn't notice Jinju looking back at him until she caught his eye. He smiled, but she didn't like it. She didn't like people who smiled too much for no reason.

"I'll just have one cup.”

"One cup? That's all?"

‘Does he really come here all the way from the hotel just for one cup of coffee? Or is he trying to use it as an excuse and urging me to contact my mother?’

Jinju frowned upon hearing his ridiculous words.

"It takes twenty grams of coffee beans to make one shot. How much do you think twenty grams of Panama Geisha coffee beans cost?"

"I have no idea,” Jinju replied, seeming disinterested.

However, she began making calculations inside her head.

One cup of Café Americano usually cost four thousand won, which included staffing expenses and store rent. Therefore, the price for the raw materials would only be around five hundred won.

Junhui spoke up just as she was about to answer.

"It costs at least ten thousand won, but this bag is ten kilograms. Which means..."

"…Five million won?!"

This time, Jinju figured out the answer first.

'Where in the world did my mom buy expensive coffee beans that even Junhui Kang couldn't get?'

"Are you a math teacher?"

"No, I'm a Kor..."

She stopped herself as she was about to reply. After all, she would soon disappear from Haerang once again. She would leave here again, without getting involved with anyone and leaving any trace.

"Your mother might have thought these coffee beans were precious. One cup should be enough."

Junhui smiled as he finished speaking.

Jinju was stunned to learn that one bag was worth five million won. She felt foolish for considering giving such an expensive gift to a man she had only met twice. Was she out of her mind…?

People always said that ignorance was a sin, which seemed appropriate in this situation.

"It's a shame you didn't realize it even though it was right here. This coffee is quite exquisite. Let's try it together."

He walked over to the bag, dug inside of it, and grabbed a handful of coffee beans. After taking a sniff of them, he approached Jinju and held his hand out beneath her nose.

Jinju stepped back, taken aback by the action, but he reassured her and stepped closer.

It almost seemed as if the owner of the café had changed. Thanks to his love for coffee, he seemed at ease, while Jinju felt out of place.

"You know who I am, I've explained why I'm here, and I truly love coffee. So, you don't have to be so cautious."

After hesitating for a moment, Jinju quickly got a whiff of the coffee beans.

"I don't smell anything."

She had been anticipating something grand but was left pouting, feeling like she had been tricked.

"You should compare later what aroma and taste it produces.”

Junhui leisurely took off his jacket and hung it on a chair before heading to the kitchen. He smiled after spotting something and wordlessly asked for her permission.

"Do you really have to do that?"

"Your mother seems to like coffee, so aren't you curious?”

Jinju furrowed her brows.

‘But how did my mom get this coffee? Was this café doing well? How could she afford a five million won bag of coffee beans?'

She was completely taken aback by the situation and couldn't help but feel curious about how the coffee would taste.

Despite her curiosity, Jinju remained nonchalant as she watched him.

"I'll only use the roaster, grinder, dripper, and server,” he said, raising his eyebrows and staring at her.

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh, giving him silent permission to proceed.

Junhui grinned and began roasting the coffee beans, filling the café with a rich aroma. He then took them out to cool them down and rolled up his sleeves, revealing his muscly arms. Pouring the beans into the grinder, he began crushing them up.

The air was filled with the sound of coffee beans being ground as he moved his arms diligently.

‘Is he the CEO of his hotel or this café? I can't tell.’

Jinju watched the man roam around her mom's café as if it were his own.

‘He seems really serious about coffee,’ she observed.

He didn't rush at all, appearing both serious and delighted as he made the coffee.

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

Junhui glanced up at her as he placed the coffee into a paper filter.

"What?"

"I noticed you couldn't take your eyes off me."